Interest
Negima, Patlabor Creators Discuss Illegal Manga Scans
posted on by Gia Manry
The blog 2chan.us translated Negima!?/Love Hina creator Ken Akamatsu and Mirage of Blaze novel illustrator Kazumi Tōjō's comments on Twitter regarding fan-scanned and -translated manga this week.
Akamatsu suggested on Tuesday that illegal scans have "fallen into the category of 'property of the Internet'" and that it will be impossible to eliminate them. "The only thing we can do at this point is [launch our own free websites with the] 'advertising model.'" Last November, Akamatsu announced his plans to launch a free website for his and other creators' works that are no longer in print. He later added that the site may carry dōjinshi (self-published manga).
Akamatsu also expressed concern that the popularity of erotic (and boys-love) manga on mobile phones will decline as Japan-only phones are replaced by iPhones and other devices with content restrictions.
Tōjō launched another conversation on Wednesday by relating a story about a friend who makes about as much money as she does, but does not feel the need to pay for manga when it can be acquired for free online. Ryū no Yumemiru Machi de novel author Riri Shimada noted that people will not simply take a physical item from an unmanned sale booth, but that they don't feel the same shame about downloading.
Unbalance Tokyo manga creator Minako Uchida added that fans may enjoy the instant gratification of downloads "without noticing that their repeated plunder is leaving the soil barren." Patlabor/Birdy the Mighty creator Masami Yuuki suggested that the rationalization that "the best creators will naturally survive" has become widespread.
