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NEWS: Digital Manga's PeCChi Imprint Launches Kickstarter for Kodomo no Jikan Manga

I doubt KnJ will ever be sold in bookstores, but it's not like bookstores are even relevant now.

Potting the content aside, how many Digital Manga Kickstarter projects actually end up in chain stores (or libraries)? Their Tezuka titles have the biggest mainstream appeal, but when I see them in stores, it's usually the small independent type, and it's rare. I'm actually curious if anyone has seen them in Barnes & Noble or Chapters.

I am against censorship, and if people want to read it they should be able to, but I don't see how this is some kind of grand statement for free speech/anti PC-culture or whatever.

Thread_Alchemist wrote:

I have never read the comic so I guess I can't comment on the content. However I do think that offering the body pillows was a bad decision. Just from a perception stand point. You spend a lot of time explaining why people shouldn't call the comic child porn because the intent is not to titillate but then ruin that by offering something to titillate the buyer. I think that they probably should have coughed up some more money and had the creator draw up a few more originals. Her art seems lovely and it would have helped to reinforce the paragraphs above about the comics plot. Personally I won't be contributing.

That's fine if you don't contribute, this kickstarter isn't for you but for people that were already fans of the series. Not exactly a fan of body pillows myself or anything like that but honestly there's nothing wrong with giving fans some fanservice like that. Yeah, there are people that do like the loli characters in KnJ and that's fine because even if it was meant to titillate (Which some content in the manga clearly does while still offering a pretty interesting plot and characters) that doesn't suddenly mean it can't be sold because it's a fictional story. Period.

Also again, it's NOT child porn because it doesn't involve real children. No one was harmed making this series, it's just like playing violent videogames. Most people can tell the difference between fantasy and reality.

If someone doesn't like some story or some form of art, just because some people are against it doesn't mean they can censor it for everyone else or try to stop it from existing. That's a dangerous slope to start down. Just ignore it if its not your thing.

I never called the manga child porn. I do however think that the hug pillows are and that selling them could damage the campaign. This kickstarter already has an uphill battle when it comes to the perception of the work. Whether it is for the fans or for company profit makes no different; this is a public campaign and will be scrutinized by the public.

I don't think that the manga should be censored and didn't say that in my post. Just because I will not be buying a product doesn't me I don't think it should be sold. But I do know what if feels like to be a fan who has to defend their hobby against an overwhelming negative outlook. The hug pillows are poking the metaphorical bear.

And honestly if a fan wanted something like that hug pillow then there are dozens of places on the internet where they could purchase either a legitimate or cheap duplicate of the pillow. It wasn't a necessary perk for the campaign. Especially when they spend so much space attempting to quell the rumors of the manga's content to non-fans of the manga.

A hug pillow of a fictional character is not child porn -_- Child porn involves sexual acts with real children and there is none of that here. Hell there isn't even straight up sex in the series itself, it's all just ecchi content. The kickstarter honestly shouldn't have to defend itself, it could be straight up hentai and still legally be sold because it's FICTION and DOESN'T involve REAL people.

The issue is whether people will think it's child porn and what the backlash of that will be, not the legality of it. It honestly felt kind of insulting to have a section insisting on how it wasn't child porn and then follow it up with something that only appealed to someone who found a third grader from the series sexually attractive. It's hard not to just call bullshit on everything they said when you see that. I'm not the only one who's going to see it and react that way or worse. Like I think it's a matter of time when someone's going to do more than just report this to Kickstarter like I did, and how do you think Kickstarter is going to respond to the public backlash that's going to bring about?

Kickstarter is most likely not going to do anything no matter how much fuss people make, because it's legal and its quite clearly going to reach its goal. Report it all you want, but you're not going to censor a legal product other people want. We're past an age where majority of people think censorship is ok, because its not.

Thread_Alchemist wrote:

I never called the manga child porn. I do however think that the hug pillows are and that selling them could damage the campaign.

A hug pillow of a fictional character is not child porn