Scanlations: It is all about demand and supply

Abel buys what?I came across an article recently about the scanned manga works that are being uploaded to various websites without the copyright holder's permissions. According to the article, the injured parties in these cases are thinking of ways to counter this and have already dreamed up a few schemes. I was quite upset with the views and stance of these companies regarding the scanned work or scanlations as they were referred to in the article. And that is what prompted me to write this article.

Basically, the article highlighted how scanlations were bad for the manga creators. Interestingly, the most common anti-pirate arguments of the music industry did not crop up here – i.e. the sad image of the starving artist – but rather, it focused on quality control as the theme of the day.

Thus, it appears that various companies have rolled up their sleeves and presented what they deem to be the ideal solution – either paid subscriptions online or free viewing to select countries.

My comic was lost in the post tooLet's set something straight before I dive into the crux of the matter – I am not promoting scanlations or endorsing the illegal downloading of copyrighted material. Far from it. I am a manga fan who makes a point of buying my share of manga and anime works, be it DVDs, books or weird little figurines. However, as someone who has lived in different countries at different times, I have felt the pangs of being denied access to my favorite manga or anime. Sometimes it was the bad luck of being stuck in a town that snubbed comic book culture in general. Other times, it was mourning the lack of decent manga titles in such stores Typically, such conversations went along the lines of: 'What do you mean you've never heard of Ouran Host Club? No, I don't mean this silly soft-porn nonsense … not all manga is in the hentai genre …. no, wait, seriously I am looking for a high school drama book, I don't want to see that... Aargh! My eyes, my eyes!' Thus, given the lack of a decent supply of comic books to a growing number of fans around the world, I can see why these eager fans might opt for scanlations.

There is more to manga than Yaoi?

This leads me to my complaint about the attitudes of the copyright holders mentioned in that article. In talking about a solution, they have completely ignored the reason why scanlations exist in the first place. Sure enough, there will be schmucks in every country who will not pay a cent for anything that they can nab for free. But such scrooges are a small percentage and they do not define manga fans as a whole. Keeping aside the mooches, let's focus on the niche group, the avid manga fans who will buy anything and everything related to their favorite comic. These are loyal readers who will stick by the manga creators. The only problem is their location: most of them are based in countries that do not offer numerous manga titles. Even in US, it is only recently that a wider variety of manga genres have been made available to the public. And if these folks are really unlucky, they will be provided with manga titles that no one in their right mind would read. Remember the previous paragraph and bookshops bringing in weird, dodgy soft-porn style manga that no one had heard of? Yes, that was the store's answer to the customer's demand for popular manga of the day. How could they get it wrong; titles like Bleach and Death Note were making waves all over the world?!

This brings me to the second problem that the copyright folks seem to ignore. A lot of readers don't want to dish out oodles of moolah for a comic. Fair enough, folks are willing to pay a bit extra for good comics. However, there is such a thing as trying to milk a concept by overcharging the customer. Fans know what the prices are for comics in general and they are upset to see that the much anticipated comic is over-priced and out of their budget. Remember, the keyword here is available to a larger group of readers. What actually bugs me personally in this matter is the price differences in various countries. A comic may be set roughly at $6-7 but end up with an overblown price tag when it lands in another country.

Hailed as the next best thing the internet has seen, Hulu is unfortunately one of the best examples of geospatial limiations

Which leads to the next point, one that is closely linked to what folks consider to be the next best solution – providing your own online versions. Right, all good and well but there are a few hiccups you didn't consider. Firstly, the geospatial restrictions imposed on these sites don't exactly solve the problem. Sure, sometimes it is free but only to ____ (pick a Western country in the favored list). Aren't we forgetting the purpose of the internet, to provide information – paid or free – to everyone at the same time? Sometimes these services aren't even free; they are charged at weird prices or impose annoying payment methods. While I am on the topic, what is it with official sites having flash-based applications that slow down your PC? With all their money and know-how, couldn't you come up with a faster, better interface?

Secondly - alright, I'll admit it – a lot of people don't want to buy a product before they have had a preview of it. Perhaps people will buy it after reading the first chapter. Others might want to read the full volume before deciding. Point is, some of the scanlations do act as a preview of sorts to some of the fussier readers. And it's not that unusual when you think about it; in places with decent comic bookshops, it is not out of the ordinary to read up a few pages of mangas on the shelf. This also means that a paid subscription service won't work with everyone.But I just wanted a preview!

Solution? Why not go the Monty Python way, try something completely different? They hosted their videos on Youtube and soon boasted a spike in sales of their DVDs. Or you could just enjoy the free publicity. After all, would manga be loved by so many folks around the world if the internet didn't provide the ease of access and reachability. Well, if you are really iffy about the problem, then why not find something similar to the Steam route? Do note, one of the companies mentioned in the article appear to provide limited glimpses into the Shonen Jump magazine. However, there seems to be a limited time period to the manga availability and the site does work well in different browsers and OSs. *cough* Lame! *cough*.