Forum - View topicQuality vs. Quantity
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Hon'ya-chan
 Posts: 973 |
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Recently, I was remarking to a friend about why I hate Tokyopop's OEM or whatever they call it nowadays "manga." I remarked to her that the artwork is a mix between "flat and lifeless" to "so bad, stick figures make it look bad" type of comments.
So she asks why I read Seven Seas (Aoi House, Last Hope), seeing i'm bashing OEM. I tell her that the artwork is clean, it's presentable, it doesn't look like some toddler took a black crayon and ruined a coloring book, etc. She then remarks: "Tokyopop disgusts you via Quantity, while Seven Seas dupes you in via Quality." Is her assessment fair? |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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"Dupes you in via quality" is an oxymoron. If a book has a level of quality, it attracts people. Whether titles published by Seven Seas have better quality or not is purely subjective, though.
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Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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Quality is a very subjective thing, as dormcat wrote, so it's a personal issue. Now, if you bought something thinking "wow, this looks great! I'll bet it's got a cool story to go with that nice art!" and then you thought the story was crap, then you would have been "duped via quality." If your friend thinks that all OELs are a ripoff regardless of the quality of various things, then that might also explain her statement. Personally, if those are her exact words you're quoting, it kind of sounds like she's just trying to be a consumer philosopher. (In other words, she thought it made her sound cool and smart so she said it.) |
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blind_assassin
 Posts: 755 |
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I think what the TC meant to say was that Seven Seas has little volume to back up the quality. It's good but there's not much of it.
Anyways, I'm not sure what OEM/OEL means but if you're talking about the general quality of Tokyopop then I'd agree. Aside from Twelve kingdoms and Kino no Tabi, they haven't done much of anything to get my attention. I was into Wild Adapter for a while but I'm dropping the series after Volume 2 turned into a gay romance novel instead of drug dealing Yakuza (I still don't know how you make that transition in a single volume thats about half the size of a normal manga). |
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Richard J.
Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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OEL = Original English Language Or at least that's what I think they mean. |
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KyuuA4
 Posts: 1361 Location: America, where anime and manga can be made |
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No, it really isn't. Then again, everyone has their own taste regarding "quality". For example, some people love Dragonball. Others simply abhor it. As stated before, quality is a sheer matter of preference. Yet, this is best applied from series to series. To complicate "quality" - both manga and anime. That assessment is made under two categories -- Artwork and Story. Artwork takes precedence as it is the quickest to assess; and it is therefore subject to the First Impression, by which later judgements on a work is based upon that. Assessment on storyline follows on further -- if the artwork ever got your attention. Now, to attach that same logic to OEL manga -- that's judging an entire branch of an art medium. Some of them have quality. Some don't. That's the same as a person never seeing an anime -- and then concluding that "anime sucks". Not fair at all. Just about 3-4 months ago, someone here complained about Tokyopop "jumping the shark" regarding OEL manga. Furthermore, the concept of such material sold along side manga was offensive and deceitful. However, to a retailer, manga and OEL manga are one and the same. If there's a problem with that, then it's best to approach Barnes n' Noble, Waldenbooks, Borders, and others. Regardless, that allows the comparison of manga and OEL manga on equal footing. Then, any one of us -- the consumer -- decide what to buy. Admittingly, some genres of manga and anime just do not get my attention. That's regardless of quality -- simply because -- it's not my thing. For example, Yaoi. I avoid those like the plague. Nevertheless, people like it -- and that's that. |
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Not a Jellyfish
 Posts: 539 Location: Boston, MA |
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While much debate still goes on around if OEL are good or even considered "manga" (NO, I'm not trying to bring that subject up again!), I think there's a chance of people "judging the book by it's cover." (haha, sorry)
For instance, some OEL does have god-awful art. I remember seeing a series I think was called My Dead Girlfriend, and gagging at the art on the cover. Flipping through it was even worse! I can't believe it was even made into a series. But, later I had heard it was funny. The opposite actually happens with Del Rey's Avril Lavigne series. The artwork is beautiful and unique. However, it's a series featuring Avril Lavigne.......um. NO. Personally, I have yet to find and OEL that balances this wonderful artwork with an equally great story. But there are some web comics I'm a fan of with a decent balance. Arcana, The Way to Your Heart, and even the liscenced Red String. But I think what it boils down to is that one publisher isn't necessarily better in quality or quantity than the other. I think it can be said about TokyoPop that they are overwhelming in quantity. But I don't know if it can be said that either are overwhelming in quality. That is a matter of opinion. And also, I think I've heard far more good things about TokyoPop OEL than anything else. That could just be because they have so many though. So, it's just a cycle. |
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jgreen
 Posts: 1325 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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OEM actually means "original equipment manufacturer" and has nothing to do with manga.... "OEL manga" is the correct term, although as we've firmly established in many other threads, I'm not fond of that one either. 
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kirbyboy102
 Posts: 157 |
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Quality in art and story? in OEL? I've only seen 3 examples:
Sokora Refugees Mark Of The Succubus Amazing Agent Luna They have a pretty good balance of both. |
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Aromatic Grass
 Posts: 2424 Location: Raleigh, NC |
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Oh, man. I hated the movie, but I was planning on "trying out" the manga* because it had amazing artwork on the cover. Good thing I looked inside...  I was planning on checking out Alichino because of the art, but I've heard negative reviews on the story. (It's only three volumes, though.)
* I thought it was manga until I looked inside, and...it's definitely not. |
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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3 volumes of an unfinished story. The art is gorgeous, but all and all I would not recommend the series, I only got one volume into it before calling things quits. |
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