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Forum - View topicManga Answerman - Digital, Print or Both? How Do Manga Publishers Decide?
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murdock_tm
Posts: 22 |
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Deb - if you don't mind, I have a slight correction to the article:
Fullmetal Alchemist is fully available digitally, but only in the first edition (so 27 individual volumes are available to purchase at $6.99 apiece from the iBooks store), the Fullmetal Edition rebundle is not available on the online store. Reprints (aka 2-in-1s, 3-in-1s) are completely random whether they appear digitally on the eBook store. Also of note, Seven Seas does not use Apple's iBook stores, so I tend to get their manga from the Kindle App. Also the actual size of the manga across the 200 pages of a manga is publisher dependent. Kodansha's ebooks are around the 200MB range for a volume, while Viz / YenPress can be around the 100MB range. One thing I tend to check for ebook licensing: is the original volume available in a kindle edition from the Amazon Japan store. If so, then if the series is licensed, then we are likely to see an eEdition. If not, then back to the books we go. |
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Blanchimont
 Posts: 3582 Location: Finland |
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One example which doesn't have a digital version, at least in English, is Log Horizon (light novel).
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debaoki
 Posts: 11 Location: Emeryville, CA |
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Ah, that's a good point. when i wrote the article, I vaguely remembered that Hiromu Arakawa's autobio comics about growing up on a farm were available digitally, so I thought, "hm, that's odd that she's one of the hold-outs." So it makes sense that FMA is available digitally, but not the new editions in hardcover w/ extra content that VIZ just started putting out. I'll see if i can add a correction to this. thanks for pointing it out. |
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OjaruFan2
Posts: 674 |
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Unfortunately, it seems that the Doraemon manga isn’t popular enough to warrant a print edition in North America. 
It’s also pretty easy to pirate physical books, so I don’t really get how some manga artist think that making their work physical-only is gonna decrease the chance of it getting pirated. |
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Calico
Posts: 383 |
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I'd think pirating physical books would be a lot harder/cost more. With physical books, you'd have to buy the book, physically take it apart, and then scan it online, probably with a loss in the quality of the pages. With digital copies, you'd just have to buy the book, copy the pages and then upload them elsewhere. I know that at the very least, several Crunchyroll and Kodansha simulpub series have had problems with people copying the chapters and then uploading them to piracy sites. |
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lys
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 1017 Location: mitten-state |
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Another factor in FMA's case is that the digital edition was released by Yen Press a few years ago, as part of a deal/partnership with the Japanese publisher. It's still the original Viz edition's translation and lettering, but obviously there'd be some additional work involved to release the new Viz print edition in a digital format, and I'm not sure it's worth that fuss for Yen... Anyway, this is definitely a unique situation compared to most series! |
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RegSuzaku
Posts: 273 Location: Ikebukuro |
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Japan is really behind with digital in a lot of things... music, especially. Especially 2D/2.5D idol music - that is, music by anime-style characters, sung by seiyuu, some of which are adapted into anime and games (like Tsukiuta or Marginal #4), some of which start in rhythm games (like Idolm@ster), some of which just have drama CDs or visual novels, and continuous CD releases (like Dear Vocalist and the incredibly popular Hypnosis Mic). A lot of these either never get put on iTunes, or they get put on itunes after a long while. Also, the main point of a lot of these CDs is the drama tracks, which don't get released digitally at all.
The difference in profit is probably significant between a 3000-yen CD and a 500-yen digital purchase of the same music, and getting the fans to go to a store and buy the CD is probably worthwhile to get them to pick up some merchandise while they're there. I don't really mind the cost, because I want them to get as much return on it as possible and keep making amazing things, but, shelf space... A lot of these series are really popular in Japan and barely acknowledged in the West, because the only things that get translated are the anime series, which aren't meant to be seen first, and I feel like this makes it look even less likely for the rest of the pieces to get released internationally... |
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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Why does it depend on the region? Japan has digital book e.g. Kindle versions of books not available in English. I sent in a as of yet unanwsered question about To Love Ru Darkness, but the same goes for Prison School -- it's not available digitally in English, but is for Japan. Why?
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Adv193
Posts: 191 |
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I do a mixture of both for spacing reasons and to deal with larger series (ones that I am not as loyal to), and to avoid difficulties of keeping my physical copies.
It can depend on what is available in either format. For example since the Rave Master volumes are going out of print, it is easier and less expensive to deal with. In the case of Sailor Moon, as there is no digital releases, I have no choice but to buy them physically. That and since I am a Marvel and DC Comic fan I also have to balance these out with my Manga purchases and I do most of it digitally now (since Hardcover releases are becoming rare and their paperback releases aren't as stable compared to manga paperbacks). Sometimes digital can also be about saving money. |
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stevek504
 Posts: 216 |
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I mostly am a print purchaser, but will double dip at times. Or purchase digital only when it is the only option (or, when I want a book in Japanese). I must say that I empathize with the comments about space requirements and I am starting to think more about digital only purchases. To that end, I am a little unhappy about prices. In many cases I am expecting to save more on the digital version when both options are available - but prices appear to be to high to me. When I look at the price I see a figure that I would have expected to pay for a print version of a book just within the past year or so. That said, it is getting harder to find a print volume under $10 USD these days. I also think print is more valuable a medium. When the power goes out, it is nice to have something to read. Plus, you can sell, donate, or lend a print copy very easy (and get them autographed!).
For myself, I may end up selling or donating more of my collection to make room for those "A" series titles. Though I would never buy it in a digital format, A Bride's Story is available from Amazon Kindle. If you count that as digital. I prefer no DRM or restrictions with my digital. That said, I am very happy that publishers are offering the digital option. |
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13626 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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This is ironic since Crunchyroll started out hosted as a pirated fan-sub streaming site. |
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