Forum - View topicManga changed a lot for american release
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JustinSane
 Posts: 269 Location: The Punk Underground, NJ |
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TokyoPop released Parasyte a long time back and it has been currently discontinued but I have to say that they handled it pretty bad when they released it. First of all, they flipped the manga, which isn't too bad but because of that they changed Shin or Shinji's parasytes name to Lefty when in the original japnese manga the parasyte infests his right arm hense his name migi or Righty. The worst of it was how they shortened the chapters in each volume to make the manga 12 volumes instead of 10. Now I know that back when they released it manga was not nearly as popular as it is today but I would really like to see a second edition because I want to buy the manga but I don't want to own the first edition. Also there is a Parasyte live action american movie in pre-production. There was talk about the movie being done in 1999 but now it's finally being taken seriously. For more information on the movie visit http://www.fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=4394
Do you know of any manga that has been changed a lot for the american release? If you can please explain how it has been changed. |
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Kagemusha
 Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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Man I hope they republish Parasyte. But yeah, back in the day Tokyopop was infamous for doing stuff like this. Jiraishin (or as they called it "Ice Blade") was heavily edited as well, so much so that the content of the manga was changed (for instance, a suggested homoerotic scene was cut desptie the fact that it was of key importance to understanding a particular character). Plus they only released 3 of the 19 volumes...
As for other changes, many have been possitive: I'd go with Studio Proteus' adaptation of Oh My Goddess! over something where half the words were left untranslated (or as Tokyopop likes to call it, "authentic"). And before someone mentions Tengo Tenge, I wouldn't consider that applicable since the edits didn't hurt the story (since there's virtually no coherent story for several volumes, that would have been pretty tough). |
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Abarenbo Shogun
 Posts: 1573 |
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Tokyopop has been known for it's Basket of Errors here and there.
The most often referenced one is Initial D, where to make the Manga and Anime "palatable" for American Audiances, they rechanged a vast majority of names and added "Street slang" in both the Manga and Anime. Of course, starting in issue #12 or #13 with the AE86 Levin Driver (Wataru), future characters kept their original names while the bastardized names of past characters still stands. And to bite the bullet after not getting Initial D picked up by a TV Network, Tokyopop decided to release their "Tricked Out" version alongside the "Classic" on the DVD's, which has sedated few. In addition to the aforementioned Name changes and Street Slang, they dumped the very well tuned Eurobeat Soundtrack for the amaturish attempts by DJ Milky (The same guy that also has a hand with Courtney Love's Princess Ai Manga). In many cases, the music doesn't meld with the scences very well, at at times, the soundtrack actually drowns out the audio of the engines and cars, even at critical moments. Instead of hearing blow-off valves, you have this horrid hip-hopish track that is completely out of sync with the scence. But again, Tokyopop did offer the Classic option, so at least they thought well enough to do it or risk alienating a massive fanbase. I'm still wondering how a company that releases "Sport Compact DVD's" and has all this established fanbase to tap (many whom would've seen Initial D via HK and Chinese bootlegs) whom would know a little bit of Japanese would choose such a route. We may never know. |
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Michi
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 741 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Ahhh, poor poor series from the old Mixx days. I think only Rayearth has been given a revamp and re-release in the correct format with a faithful translation (however, it was edited poorly.. I noticed at least a few quotes in the wrong bubbles o_O).
I'd REALLY love for Parasyte to be re-released in its entirety in the correct format. I enjoyed what I read (uhh the first few chapters  ) And... HAHAHA, for some reason it never occured to me that "Lefty" was actually in his right hand since it was flipped.  Ahahaha. Oh my gosh. Memories of my first few manga.. 
Ice Blade was neat, but I don't think I'd buy it if they re-released it. I'd wanna read it, but... it's so long.. and I didn't like it enough for that many volumes.  Mayyybeee. Depends on where it goes.
TokyoPop is... I dunno. I like them, but their editing jobs can be so horrible. I've seen text in the wrong bubble in two different titles, text OUTSIDE the bubble... x_X; I want to be an editor for them just so their releases would be cleaner and more professional. In this sense, I prefer Viz because they take their time...
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linlinchan
Posts: 286 |
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This is sad because I hear similar comments often. It seems that people think that Tokyopop editors don't exercise love and care for their series, and don't go over them with a fine-toothed comb. There are bound to be things which will slip through... when you are working on 6+ series per month. I can understand what you are saying, I just don't think it's fair to assume that were you an editor for TP, that releases would be "cleaner and more professional." |
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Aromatic Grass
 Posts: 2424 Location: Raleigh, NC |
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Exactly. I don't think anyone would find the job of editor to be easy. Don't assume you can make something better, especially when you don't know the whole process. (Not saying that you don't.) Also, VIZ does take their time, but that doesn't mean their manga is more professional. I actually can't stand what they do with their Shonen Jump manga (especially Naruto). It's hard to read with the changes in the sound effects (they mess up the original art sometimes), and the fonts are a little annoying, especially when they stretch or shrink words. |
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Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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It's not that people think that you guys (assuming you work for TP) don't love the series, but like you said, when working on so many projects at once it becomes difficult. When compared to a company like Darkhorse, which releases series on a much slower basis, most of Tokyopop's titles are going to have more errors. Personally, I feel that TP has impoved alot in the last year or so and their editing at the moment is about as good as most other big companies in the industry. While I still have problems with many of their translations, they also have signifigantly improved (just look at early Kare Kano compared to newer volumes). With the amount of stuff they release, it's unrealistic to expect them to treat stuff like Studio Proteus, but I think they're doing a solid job as of late. On the other hand, many of Viz's products have taken a nose-dive in terms of production quality in recent times, which is annoying since they do amazing jobs on things like Vagabond and Sexy Voice and Robo. |
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milcor1
 Posts: 337 |
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Well it's partly Tokyopop's fault then for overloading their editors with so many licenses that just saturate the market.
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Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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That's true, but I don't really want to start a debate on TP's flood tactics because they have signifigantly diversified their licencing and there was already a VERY lengthy debate on the subject after Toren made similar comments about a year ago, and that went nowhere (it was basically me and a couple other supporters of Toren's accusations fighting alot people who disagreed with him over the fine points of economics which most of us probobly had no idea about  ).
Back on topic: one manga that was changed for the better was Crayon Shinchan. Lets face it: most of us don't know enough about Japanese culture to enjoy a comedy to its fullest. Not only were most of the culteral jokes changes in Shinchan, but they're actually well written and hilarious. |
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Michi
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 741 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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 Whoa, whoa, whoa. linlinchan, Aromatic Grass, please don't take what I said the wrong way! O_O I definitely did not mean to act as if I had an editor position, everything I released would be error free and wonderful! 
I tend to write message board posts (unless in a deep conversation, or for special instances like now) fairly quickly and I didn't realize how it may have seemed that I was assuming anything of the sort that you guys said. You make me sound so full of it. I reaaaally wasn't assuming anything you're claiming that I am.  
What I meant was that I'd like to work for really any of these companies to help out and produce quality releases... I didn't mean to sound like "Oh, I could totally do better and they're all horrible." or something lame. I understand they have a lot of work and it's not an easy job, but come on; text in the wrong/someone else's bubble more than once in the same volume? I'd rather a release delayed to ensure quality than have a $10 book with glaringly obvious errors. =/ |
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linlinchan
Posts: 286 |
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I... don't think you understand how the publishing industry works. YOU may not mind having a book delayed, but the money that you lose delaying the release of a book is not acceptable from a business standpoint. It's simply not realistic to assume that mistakes are not going to be made time to time. Pick up any novel. Flip through it. You'll find some mistakes. It's not like we are the only ones who make mistakes in our books. I understand that you don't think that many of the editors have done a good job, but honestly, it's a subject I'm just a little touchy about, considering my position, and the fact I see how hard they all work. Besides, taking on new series is a company decision, not an editorial decision. I just think that it's not right for you to assume that you know how to do other people's jobs better than them. I understand that not all fans are going to like TPs releases, but I find that unfortunate, because of the sheer amount of love and work I see people putting in to each release. |
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Aromatic Grass
Posts: 2424 Location: Raleigh, NC |
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BTW, TOKYOPOP did release .hack//AI Buster, right? As in it's out in stores right now?
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Abarenbo Shogun
Posts: 1573 |
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And Tenjho Tenge is what, a "freak accident?" |
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milcor1
Posts: 337 |
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Wow, so as a consumer I'm *supposed* to accept the fact that the product I buy will have glaringly obvious errors in it? |
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studioplugnplay
 Posts: 52 Location: Texas |
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First off, as a reader of English and Japan releases, the ones overseas also have errors at one time or another. Not all of them are perfection on paper-everone who read these books knows that there is a margin for error in either language. Second, Otaku culture is consumer culture, not collector culture. The manga market is filled with readers who buy a cheap trade paperback and once read they will sell it or give it away, unless they really love the series, then it gets kept and shelved. Barb-Lin Cooper said 'It's all about consuming the work, not about thinking it might be of intrinsic value one day.' Most readers buy manga because they want to consume it, not because they want to save it and sell it ten years from now. No, the editing standard is not the same for Western comics which must be perfect before it hits the shelves because it MIGHT worth a fortune someday. As for TP, yes, they have quite a tidy rep for their typos in lettering and some bad sizing choices-but this is not native to every title they produce and nor is it exclusive to TP. Viz and others have their share also, especially in their early days. Now that the market is evening out the quality can only get better- so hashing over nit picky things like this with broad generalizations are rather harsh. When G*d starts publishing Manga, then let's start complaining about errors in type and editing, after all, supposedly, she isn't only human...  milcor1, not snapping at you, but there are errors on both sides of the fence and the above statements were meant for the whole thread to express my opinion not my anger. 
-Gynocrat peace |
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