buying or not buying yaoi manga ^^

[Yggdrasill]

naaaa just reread that editorial on tokudane sitey, makes me wonder why they say that people go for free scanlations & don't buy manga coz of it
now as for me i'd buy everything trans or not but hey isn't it better if ya know what's all about b4 buying, rite? only pretty art is okey but it's better if there's a plot...
i'm not talking about licensed stuff >_<
who wanna hear Dee callin Ryo 'dude' all along in Fake us version
just Yggy havin thoughts lol
i'll try to avoid next time XD
/me goes to play more yaoi games

but i'd like to hear about you guys who are dling scanlations

[Aki]

Hmmmm ... I don't truly need to have something translated cause I can read Japanese, it takes me longer, much longer to read but still. (Well that was a big evident DUH since I do trans *sighs*)

I would say that I read scanlations cause:

1- Yaoi is SO not available here

2- Most often, Fan-trans are better than the real thing (the whole censorship deal)

3- To get an idea BEFORE bothering my "in-laws" back in Japan to buy and then ship the Manga to where I live.

So that's mostly why I do download scanlations. If I didn't, there would be so many I didn't even know existed, some like Koori or Boura-san's work. I think that's why Scanlations are so sugoi because they give someone a peek into a series that is not popular nor published outside of Japan. I mean, if I like, I buy, it's as simple as that. If I don't like and it has happened, then I don't buy and neither will I continue to download that particular title.

So, that's my little opinion on it. ;D

[thanchet07]

ha ha, a big question!

Actually I like anything that free due to lacking of money. I like all kind of mangas. I can read all of them but it does not mean that I want to buy all of them. I just want to buy that I really really like after reading them .

Yaoi is a little bit different because you can't find them in my country of course except from internet. THerefore you only can read them from the internet.

[neo_aish]

nya~~~first time posting here
....i will buy sh-ai manga...if they sell it here... ..but unfortunately..they have limited..and few titles.... ...

*me poof*

<-this is cute XD~~

[lila]

Hi every body! ;D
I personally buy a lot of mangas and all the yaoi and shounen-ai licensed stuff I can grab....
On the other side I cannot find imported japanese yaoi 'cause it's not so easy to find (and even if you find it it is really expensive), but I'm planning to order my favorite series (the ones I loved thaks to scans) asap. When I love a manga, I'd like to support the mangaka the most I can, but I would never probably try to look at original volumes: kanji makes me feeling upset : if I could only found (or buy) a text translation, I would probably scan my volumes and edit them in order to appreciate them properly .
So thank you for your hard work!!!!!!!
Lila

[hatorisohma]

Hello. newbie here.

I personally would definitely buy yaoi and Shounen-ai manga. I love the scanlations, because I get to read some of the manga that has not been officially translated yet. I am indebted to the scanlators. I have found out what I really like because of their scanlations. I know that I love Higuri You, Shiho Sugiura, Nitta Youka, Yamato Nase and many others because I have read their works on my computer.

I do prefer to hold a book in my hand rather than reading off the screen, so I am anxious for many of my favorites to be licensed and released. I own copies of some of my favorite manga in Japanese, simply because I love the artwork so much.

Right now, there are few shounen ai manga and no (that I know of) yaoi released in the U.S., but there are more and more being licensed all the time. I'm just waiting for them to be released so that I can buy them. I do realize that the translations done by fans are very often more accurate than those done by publishing companies. I am hoping that the companies that have been licensing manga will get a clue and strive for authenticity over what they think might be acceptable to english-speaking fans (since I think they almost always get that wrong).

Chris

[Aki]

hatorisohma said:

I do prefer to hold a book in my hand rather than reading off the screen,

Chris

I must say that I am like that also. No matter how great it is to have Scanlations, it does not compare to actually holding the book in one's hand I do believe that there's a more personal experience when one reads it from a book than from the computer (not to mention it is better for the eyes, darou?

The problem is, naturally, the fact that not many Yaoi and very few Shounen-Ai ever get licensed and/or translated for those who can not read Japanese. Like I said, that is not much a problem for me but there is still the fact that one has to find somewhere where they sell them, usually online and, being a bit paranoid, I do not like using a credit card on the Net plus the Shipping and Handling are a killer.

I guess it would be much logical for the publishing companies to come and take a look at how popular Scanlation groups are. I mean, there is this whole clientele they could grab if only they would go and get thsoe series, trans them and then sell them outside of Japan. Of course, the trans should somewhat decent and when that happens, we'll have Utopia!

Oh well, a girl (deliberate typo for a Yaoi Pervert) can dream, darou?

[BNA]

Okey...
My turn to say smthg and since I'm very bored at work right now so ;D let's post!!!
I'm a yaoi fan since a few years now and I think it should be obvious for any fan to get the books they like. I'm not saying that we should buy all the yaoi manga (some are sh*ty) but at least those we like best
The problem is that it is barely available in many countries, because of censorship or simply because the manga shops don't have them or only a few
They rarely sell manga in Japanese anyway...

Crap fact zetsuai is an exemple of translated manga in French but I heard that it won't be published again because the sales didn't reach the expectations of the pub co

And of course, the off translations are most of the time.... ridiculous.... Like Yggy said, which fan would want to see Dee call Ryo 'dude'

I've always bought a lot of manga, even before I started to learn Japanese. I can understand why many ppl won't tho. There isn't anywhere on the web a website that carries images exctract of the manga along with good reviews, I mean reviews by diff ppl not only by one person with a not-opened-mind for new things. I've been disappointed for a long long time by sites like Aestheticism, to me they're just doing pub for their shop without being open to new manga & to diff yaoi styles. Until now, the only nice site with manga reviews is www.mangabonbons.net
But again, they don't give you images to see what the art looks like and they're sometimes extremely partial about the manga they're reviewing. The only site giving manga, artbook & doujin images is the Yaoi shrine, without the review part... And that sucks

There are the online shops solution for those who can affort it, of course. Tho, most of them accept credit cards better than other payment method. And if they do they'll probably ask you some supplements
Then comes the yaoi-manga-lover killer-bomb: the SHIPPING
The prices are just terrible and well most of us aren't eating caviar everyday, right...

Now, for those who wanna give a try, I'll recommand JP queen, especially for not new manga needs... I'm using it and until now, no problems. Only bad thing, new manga are sometimes more expensive than at Sasuga's online shop
www.jpqueen.com (paypal & cc are the easiest way to pay there)

For the new ones or if you can't pay with a cc or if you live in asia, try Acclimate solution
www.aclimatesolution.com (same as above + money order without more charges accepted)

NBdon't fill the form online, send it as an e-mail cos their site isn't protected --> no https://


hope this can help

[lyann]

I think the scanlations are great because you can get to know new series. When it comes to yaoi is very difficult to find information about manga. I rely on scanlations mostly and fortunately in my country we have two yaoi magazines..
Normally I download the first chapter and if I like it, just go on downloading. When I like a series very much I go buy the manga.
The problem, as some of you said it´s the cost of the shipping. Barely two week ago I paid for 4 mangas and one doujinshi 28 euros and the cost of the shipping was 22. So you see….

But for me it´s worth it. Reading the manga is somewhat different from reading the scans on the computer (even if it´s necessary to read the translations).
I tend to drool over some characters and I assure you it´s better with the book on your hand.

So, many thanks to those who works on the scanlation and make lots of us happy.

[Tei-chan]

Well, I do buy manga. Ok, my grandparents buy them for me but it's almost the same thing!

I read scanlations (everything mum leeches in fack! Now if only I can get to read them before her! ) If I didn't read them, I wouldn't haved discovered Koori and Yume!

Now cause I did, my grandparents sended me all of Koori and soon I'll get all of Yume too! And, they also sended manga they thing I'd like, yaoi, shounen-ai, shoujo and shounen.

If manga were sold here I'd spend all my allowence on them but they're not but I'm lucky cause my grandparents live in Japan so they can send me any manga I want. I just need to learned how to read kanji better but papa is teaching me!

Ack! So yeah, scanlations are way coolies to discover new manga and mangaka but it's always way more coolies to read them from books cause you can bring them everywhere and read them in your bed when your parents think you're sleeping

[Aki]

Tei-chan said:

read them in your bed when your parents think you're sleeping

OI! I think you and I have to have a "little" talk about reading past your bedtime missy! Well okai, Haruko will do the talking and I'll just point and laugh

Na you're right though (except the past-your-bedtime-reading-when-you-should-be-SLEEPING part!) It's always better to read from the book itself than from the puter and you actually think your grandmother will send Yume anytime soon?!?! She's probably devouring them over and over again as we speak! hehehe And another one converted to the good cause of Yaoi!

[aoi]

well there aren't any store in my area, and they don't sale yaoi mangas..........

second, my parents will go freak!!! if I have them, my family don't go against them because it's not their business to deal with, but doen't mean they welcome it ^^;

and third.....very common, no money lol haha

but I do hope someday I'll have them in my hand, otherwise I'll hurt my eyes from read on screen too much............

[tsunami]

I love to dl scans- of all genres, because I'm addicted to stuff like the Gokusen (shoujo), which you can only buy 3 discs of and no books translated at all of in the USA- so how would we know how the story ended if we didn't (because the anime ended after like book 4 or 5 and it's a 12 book series)?

Then there's also stories liscensed like Loveless, Love Mode, and Embracing Love. I'm buying all 3 series because I like/love them, but I have the complete Love Mode scans saved on disc (no, I don't pass them around), likewise I am also able to read through the current Embracing Love on their livejournel site.

Loveless, however, I absolutely love and although I'm buying the series, Tokyopop is only up to volume 2 and the group scanning it is on book 6, so of course I'm still dl it. I kinda figure if I'm buying the books, I'm not really cheating Yun Kouga out of any money.

So anyway, with boys love being fairly widely published here in the USA now, I'm a huge fan of scans because it keeps me from spending money on stories I wouldn't want and allows me to own the books of the one I do. After all, as others have said, there's nothing like holding the book in your hand.

[ladyburningrose]

I buy all the yaoi titles printed in English I can find. I' regularly check dmp books for the newest releases. I loved when they called their yaoi store "A Sanctuary for Women" . I realize that it excludes guys, so I can't argue with them changing it to Junemanga.com.

I like their T-shirt: "I'm a girl who (hearts) boys x boys!"

Still I most of the stuff I like the most is not published in English. Downloads are GREAT for bringing us terrific stories, like Essence of Purity does!

[seren]

I buy manga of the scanlantions I like - but my impatient self doesn't want to wait for months (or even years) to know the rest of the story, so I still read scanlations. And since yaoi is hard to find from where I'm from, I have to buy my (english) manga online. This means at least 1-2 more months of waiting (because the shipping cost is killing me ^^) after ordering.

If I get my hands on english transcripts - I would buy the japanese manga. (I'm itching to see what happens in Koori and Yume.) I wouldn't even have known that such a great story exists if not for EoP and other scanlation groups.