Scanlations vs. Licensed Manga

[-Kin-]

When it comes to manga, do you prefer reading scanlations (online translations) or licensed versions?

I myself like scanlations better. I think scanlations tend to be more accurate as they leave in all those weird Japanese puns, mannerisms and references, while manga companies usually like to "Americanize" them.

[Ch*yeuk]

Scanlations, and the same reasons as yours (=

[earthboundwish]

I read alot of scanlations... <.< >.>
But as soon as they're licensed, I usually buy the books. There's just something about being able to have the stuff in your hands that makes it all the better for your neck and back. XD Plus, you don't have to turn the compy on to read it! <3

[black_myst]

Scanlations are better, hands down. you can't trust licenced manga, because some of it is either wrong, or the way they translate it make it sound REALLY awkard. not to mention licencing companies didn't really realize that yaoi/ shounen-ai/ BL is REALLLYYY popular, and changed the gender of a male character in clamp to female, when it's CLEARLY male, and also, tone down the suggestiveness of a BL manga, even thought it's CLEARLY there.
also, licencing manga, make shoujo and straight coupled series, really perverted. i mean, why tone down yaoi when u have a triple D sized girl in like NOTHING on the cover of a manga, it's stupid and annoying because it dosn't appeal to everyone.

[Klawzie]

I prefer...... licensed manga!

Omg!

The only scanlations I read are for the Legend of Zelda manga, which I doubt will ever be published in English. Weep, weep.

[Anjolina]

Scanlations are soo better because they care to show the exact dialogue and explain it if necessary. :D

[raine]

It's odd how we're discussing this on a manga licensing company's forum.

But, I agree. Scanlation is my preference in getting manga. Particularly because they don't just do "mainstream", but a number of types, and themes.

[Tyleete]

I have to agree, the scanlations usually DO get it right more oft. However, it just seems wrong, as the creators of the books aren't getting any money for their hard work. I Hate going into a Borders store, and seeing all the Bums just reading these books for Free. It's just wrong, and really downright stupid for a bookstore at that.
However, I have found this person (on ebay) that sells me You Higuri books, and sends a CD Rom with the English translation on it. THAT is nice. ;)

[earthboundwish]

... I wonder how much the artists make off of royalties..? :confused:

[Tyleete]

Probably not a whole lot. I mean, my Korean books are like, $6.00? And here in America, they average around $10. per book. Not a lot to go round. Why people should definitely get the books.
But I also like having them home to read and Reread, if they're that good. And I like to draw pics from them too.

[AmyIshida]

Scanlations are better since they usually are fans themselves and know what readers want and understand the anime culture with the Japanese left in for effect.

As for liscensed mangas, the translators and publishers have to think about what kind of market they are releasing it into. Of course, it's an anime-based community that pick up and purchase these volumes but for new American readers, they can't keep Japanese cultural references or shounen-ai/yaoi material in. They have begun to include them in now with warnings, but sometimes the authentic material isn't all there.

Of course, liscensed mangas should still be bought for the purpose of supporting the artist, collecting purposes or just to stop distrubution of liscensed material on the internet...XD

[GlazedDonuts]

I only ever read scanlations of Prince of Tennis which I loved, and then Viz boght it and turned Ryoma into a Cocky bastard, I resent Viz for this and for making Naruto into a putz in the Anime, I'm not sure that it is Viz' fault, but I blame them nonetheless.

[dessa]

I only read scanlations for series that aren't available over here (and I only do that for 1 series anyway). My one exception to this rule is when there are blatant changes to the text of the manga, in which I refuse to support the English release.

[Alexis]

You guys don't realize that most of the translators at the companies are former scanslators...do you? For example, the BLU translators are people who worked on a site called Shi-ran. I translate and ran what used to be the biggest scanslation site on the net... The translators who work for the companies are the best of the best. You have to be insane to think that scanslation translations are better. For the most part they are crap. Many of you are just believing what you want to believe... Have you ever actually compared both to the Japanese book? 98% of the time, the official release is better.

[AmyIshida]

I don't doubt their translating abilities, it's the fact that sometimes it's better for fans to leave certain words as they are. Such an shinigami, where VIZ translated it to "The Harbringer of Death" but later kept it as shinigami. o.o;; It's also the fact of deleted some scenes sometimes due to the factor of American viewers with contents like yaoi.

Another one of my pet peeve is misspelling of Japanese names. Even if they do directly translate it to the best they can, we know it's wrong.
Eg
Izumi Rio -> Izumi Lio
We know there isn't an "l" sound or character in Japanese. ^^;;

[black_myst]

I only ever read scanlations of Prince of Tennis which I loved, and then Viz boght it and turned Ryoma into a Cocky bastard, I resent Viz for this and for making Naruto into a putz in the Anime, I'm not sure that it is Viz' fault, but I blame them nonetheless.

actually, ryoma is suppose to be a cocky bastard, but yea i agree, they stil messed it up

You guys don't realize that most of the translators at the companies are former scanslators...do you? For example, the BLU translators are people who worked on a site called Shi-ran. I translate and ran what used to be the biggest scanslation site on the net... The translators who work for the companies are the best of the best. You have to be insane to think that scanslation translations are better. For the most part they are crap. Many of you are just believing what you want to believe... Have you ever actually compared both to the Japanese book? 98% of the time, the official release is better.

i'll have to disagree with that. though, i think u mean, mean former scanlators who work for places that do more BL based works, if then yea, the translations are fine, but tokyopop and the ones who churn out the manga that is featured most in books stores, are generally not the best translations. besides, in the yami no matsuei, book, they repeated screw up names and translated 'puppet' in to 'poppet'. that's screw up. and Naruto, i don't even wanna know how bad that translation turned out, because they traslated TOO much and it killed the manga

[Alexis]

Another one of my pet peeve is misspelling of Japanese names. Even if they do directly translate it to the best they can, we know it's wrong.
Eg
Izumi Rio -> Izumi Lio
We know there isn't an "l" sound or character in Japanese. ^^;;

Maybe it was supposed to be like that? Mangaka spells things weird in manga all the time. How about Yagami Light from Death Note? Or Gon Freeccss(I think that's what it is...) in HxH?

[AmyIshida]

Maybe it was supposed to be like that? Mangaka spells things weird in manga all the time. How about Yagami Light from Death Note? Or Gon Freeccss(I think that's what it is...) in HxH?

With Yagami Light, his name was written in Kanji and his name at first was "Raito". Although, they decided to write the direct translation which is Light and they kept it that way. The scanlators did the same. It's just how romanji is suppose to be. ^^;;

[earthboundwish]

Maybe it was supposed to be like that? Mangaka spells things weird in manga all the time. How about Yagami Light from Death Note? Or Gon Freeccss(I think that's what it is...) in HxH?

That's true. Kohta Hirano of Hellsing has been known for experimenting in how to spell Seras' name alot. (Like sometimes he'd spell it "Ceres" and etc.)


I really don't like how they changed Zoro's name in One Piece to Zolo though. >__<

[CatMarieS]

I used to do some work on a scanslating team for the lj community love_deeper, which did Samurai Deeper scanslations, and it was a lot of fun, and I always felt a lot of pride. We felt superior to the official translators because we kept in things like honorifics and color pages. However, I prefer an official version if they translate the sound effects. Also, some official versions are extremely sloppily done, like the crappy Dark Horse translation of Hellsing.

[Alexis]

With Yagami Light, his name was written in Kanji and his name at first was "Raito". Although, they decided to write the direct translation which is Light and they kept it that way. The scanlators did the same. It's just how romanji is suppose to be. ^^;;

What happened to the "there's no L" in Japanese...? Now it is "how it's supposed to be"...? Be consistent...or admit that mangaka are crazy with spelling many a times.

[Rubbersoul]

Well, I like the fact that you can read licensed manga anywhere and that you support the manga-ka's talents.

[AmyIshida]

What happened to the "there's no L" in Japanese...? Now it is "how it's supposed to be"...? Be consistent...or admit that mangaka are crazy with spelling many a times.

There is no "L" in Japanese. Yagami Light is written in the Kanji in the Japanese manga obviously, since they will not put English in there. And to say it, it is pronounced "Raito" and it was how the scanlators had written it for a while. But then it was officially changed to "Light" in scanlations and the liscensed manga because it was meant to be read as a direct translation. As in the Kanji actually meant Light as in the thing you turn on when it's dark. So it's more like a translation while you will say it "Raito".

I'm saying it's how romanji is suppose to be with the R not L.

[Ixis]

How ironic :D

Anyway, I worked at Manga Entertainment in Chicago in the summer of 03'. At the time we were working on R.O.D. The day before my job interview to become an intern my friend showed me the fansubbed version of R.O.D. yet didn't tell me Manga hadn't released it yet. I was all the more embarassed when I told Marvin Gliecher to his face that I loved the way he produced R.O.D. despite the fact they hadn't released it (they had posters of it all over the friggen place.) :/

He laughed and told me that the liscensees of manga and anime simply cannot get the series out fast enough and as a result have come to depend on popularity of specific series through the scanlation/fansub communities.

Of course there's something to be said about localization (which I will touch on briefly) namely: you have to deal with the FCC, in-jokes that don't translate well, lip-sync, and all kinds of other discrepencies.

As a person who's at least dabbled in the localization of anime I can tell you the localizers (well, most of them) do try hard to get you the closest translations, but sometimes that's simply not possible. Not to mention localizers have to run the gamut of pleasing the fans and their funders/board of directors. It's not all possible.

I've read original Naruto tokuban, scanlations and the actual ViZ books (of the same chapters) and in the end, even the scanlators mess up. There's some things you can't convey in english. Plus the problem with scanlators is that they're not very well edited or spell-checked. Of course there's my favorite groups that do a decent job, but scanlators have translation mishaps just as much as the localization teams.

Plus you also have the monster issue of... Not supporting your favorite artist. Of course in the end your individual dollar may or may not have an intended impact on the way Yoshiyuki Sadamoto views his international presence, but the numbers can speak for themselves. If no ones buying the iscensed books than the manga-ka will have less of a view on how popular they truly are across the pond.

Lastly, I will admit I've read scanlations. I read a few every week too. However I also support my fellow artists and buy their books when they come out, even if I don't read them in the end. And I read Ribbon, Shonen Jump! and Shonen Sunday regularly in the original format (only 'cause I can. :P) Besides, what if Kishimoto made an appearance at a con and you have no book for him to sign? Then what? 8D

[CatMarieS]

Well, I like the fact that you can read licensed manga anywhere and that you support the manga-ka's talents.

yes, but I wish I actually knew how much of the proceeds actually go to the artist themself. I do agree that people vote with their money, which is why I usually by the official versions of manga I like, except when I wish to boycott an abnormally shoddy job, like Dark Horse's Hellsing.

[Alexis]

yes, but I wish I actually knew how much of the proceeds actually go to the artist themself.

An infinite amount more than what they get from scanslation.

[bearmoon]

My own honest opinion? I think that either will do. There are some series that have been licensed and translated, which I'm grateful for because no one is willing to scanlate them (such as Dragon Knights. I love you for that Tokyopop!) and then you have the oportunity of reading a series before it has becomed licensed through scanilations without having to wait a year or more for it to reach american audiences.

I most definatly prefer having the manga in my hands though. That is the best feeling. And it's easier to take with you than a computer. >_<

Also, I find reading a scanilation can sometimes be poorly done. I've read numerous ones where the grammer and sentences make no sense at all and it kills me. Then again you have that with licensed manga as well with companies like Viz. <---(not a big fan of their translations)

If you really want to go down to which is the best...I'd say the japanese version! You can't get more close to the actual translation than that! ^_~

[CatMarieS]

Not neccesarily an "infinate" amount more. They could have struck a one time deal by selling the rights to the work for a fixed amount, therefore, once it's sold, they do not see any more money coming from that work. On the other hand, it could be "infinate" if they receive a percentage from every copy sold, but it probably depends on the publisher.

[AmyIshida]

As a person who's at least dabbled in the localization of anime I can tell you the localizers (well, most of them) do try hard to get you the closest translations, but sometimes that's simply not possible. Not to mention localizers have to run the gamut of pleasing the fans and their funders/board of directors. It's not all possible.

Basically what I stated before and it's nice knowing that you can speak with truth since you worked at the company. ^^ Even if the translations are well done, it's the fact they still need to hold back to please the fans AND their directors. ^^;;

[Alexis]

Not neccesarily an "infinate" amount more. They could have struck a one time deal by selling the rights to the work for a fixed amount, therefore, once it's sold, they do not see any more money coming from that work.

They would have to lose their mind to make a deal like that... I've never heard of such a deal in publishing and that would make no sense at all for either licensor or licensee.

[CatMarieS]

Basically what I stated before and it's nice knowing that you can speak with truth since you worked at the company. ^^ Even if the translations are well done, it's the fact they still need to hold back to please the fans AND their directors. ^^;;

What is it that pleases the fans that doesn't please the directors? Though I can understand conflicts between who wants what. When I was working as an editor of a scanslated version of Samurai Deeper, there was a family where everyone had western names, and one guy's name was spelled "yuan", and I wanted to call him "Ewan" because his dad's name was Julian, and he had a brother named Henry, etc, but nobody would go for it. Le sigh.

EDIT:
They would have to lose their mind to make a deal like that... I've never heard of such a deal in publishing and that would make no sense at all for either licensor or licensee.

My dad wrote a book once and struck a deal like that where he got a few hundred dollars at the outset, then never got any more.

[vanityvile]

I admit that I've never read a scanlation of a manga.

Hehe, only scans I've read are for my yaoi smut stuff...that's not manga :rolleyes:

Anywho, it doesn't really bother me that I read "questionable" translations because I'm not a manga expert, nor am I a manga elitist, which isn't a bad thing because they probably expect so much more from a little floppy ten dollar book. I recently picked up Negima which has so many bad, dated cultural references that I just roll my eyes and pass on over (dear god, bend it like beckham?? wtf?)

So I have to say that my biggest peeve with licensed manga is the shoddy way they replace Japanese pop culture with Western/American culture. It may be horribly vulgar to people who know the Japanese language/culture, but most people can't, don't want to, don't care about a faceless Japanese reference. I do appreciate the work that goes into the translation and even more, I appreciate explanations for changes at the end of the manga.

[CatMarieS]

I'm okay with them replacing Japanese pop culture references SO LONG as they print editor's notes in the back. If something is being altered, I like to know about it. On the other hand, it's also good to include a note in the back explaining the reference if the original is kept.

[Alexis]

My dad wrote a book once and struck a deal like that where he got a few hundred dollars at the outset, then never got any more.

That's probably a work for hire deal and not "licensing."

[shootingthebull]

The upside to licensed manga is that you have much better editors and translators provided better translated material.
I've read enough scanlations to know that the people doing it, god love them for it, though, have trouble with the grammar... And so you have some dialogue that is often stilted and sometimes incoherent.
However, I know they're doing their best (and doing it for free) so don't get me wrong, I love scanlations, and the wonderful people who do them.

[Rubbersoul]

Okay, one more upside to liscensed manga. I really wanted my friend to read Death Note, but she has dial-up and she's computer illiterate. However, since Viz released Death Note, I can expose her to this manga I love.

[saori]

I tend to use scanlations to gauge how interesting a series may be. Sometimes, I'm not very confident about the translations either. Particularly, when there are noticeable differences when more than one person translates in the same series.
Some else made a point that without people actually buying books the artists suffer and less will be released.
I do think that people should pressure for the original work to be presented instead of censoring and/or making substantial changes to manga. A good example of this is Loveless. There are substantial changes from the anime to the licensed manga.

[saori]

I tend to use scanlations to gauge how interesting a series may be. Sometimes, I'm not very confident about the translations either. Particularly, when there are noticeable differences when more than one person translates in the same series.
Someone else made a point that without people actually buying books the artists suffer and less will be released.
I do think that people should pressure for the original work to be presented instead of censoring and/or making substantial changes to manga. A good example of this is Loveless. There are substantial changes from the anime to the licensed manga.

[bearmoon]

A good example of this is Loveless. There are substantial changes from the anime to the licensed manga.

I think that's slightly different though. You'll almost always find changes between the manga and the anime. It's inevitable.

[dazzleanddestroy]

Scanlations all the way..

I don't think it's wrong, I think scanlation groups are helping mangaka's getting their work known.. hell, I wouldn't have known some of my favorite mangaka's work if it weren't for the scanlators. And I do support by buying it when it gets licensed, and start releasing them. Scanlators drops their projects if they do end up getting licensed.

I'm in a couple of scanlations myself, and I really do enjoy scanlating them.. people seriously don't know how hard it is to scanlate mangas, it takes up a lot of time, and for free at that.

[KittyBlue]

I prefer scanlation too.. but mostly because it's almost a miracle when I actually can find some mangas in portuguese or even english.. most of the translations here are in french.. :mad:

And then of course it's quite true that some scanlations are better then the licenced version.. Especially if they are yaoi! :p

[SakuraRay]

Books - i like saying i own them and being able to throw it in a bag to take to read somehwere - and they don't cost a fortune, though sometimes, living here, its hard to get hold of some titles, or i have to wait months extra for it to make it over :( ....The one manga i did read online has finally got a book format, so that's getting bought, woo hoo!

[RisikaFox]

Scanlations are okay, if you can find them, but I always buy the manga when I get the cash.

[Iyashii]

A good example of this is Loveless. There are substantial changes from the anime to the licensed manga.

I don't quite understand what you're getting at. There is not a connection between a translated manga and the anime. The translators of a manga have absolutely nothing to do with the anime, and since most anime are based off manga in the first place, if the anime is different than the original manga it has no bearning on the translation of the manga. If you're going to complain about censorship, you need to compare the translated manga to the original manga and leave the anime out of it.

There is no way around the fact that scanlations are wrong. They are the distribution of material by someone that does not have the rights to do so, and while most authors and companies will not come after the distributors of it, that doesn't make it okay. Yes, it can have some impact in the licensing of a series, and yes, it creates a fanbase and allows for a test run of sorts of a story and all that jazz, but no matter how much you may like a series, if you do not purchase a legal copy, then you are harming the very creator you adore. All this said, I will not deny that a nice little chunk of my computer's harddrive is devoted to scanlations and another to fansubs. ;)

I'm surprised to see how many people think that the fansubs are better quality than the licensed versions. Granted, there are a handful of decent/good groups out there, but an awful lot of the scanlation groups are terrible, whether in the bad art quality or terrible grammar. Yes, changes in diction are made, but a lot of times they come off for the better because they improve the flow of the page/scene. I would much, much rather see a slight change to the sentence so long as the core meaning remains as opposed to a direct translation that comes off awkwardly, and face it- that's what happens with a lot of the scanlations.

I do have a problem with the pop culture references that are changed in professional translations, and it makes me wince when I re-read an older title and see them. However, the very fact that it is an older title is key. While not all titles keep the original references, a lot more are now than they used to be. Translation styles and quality have improved greatly over the past years, for which I am very greatful. It's no longer safe to assume that all pop culture references are going to be edited out during the translation process. And don't forget, if you're that upset about not having the references, there's always the option of learning Japanese and reading the originals for yourself so you don't have to worry about the translation...

Besides, I fail to see how the smell of a hot computer is preferable to the smell of good ol' paper and ink.

[Aratos]

Usually I buy licensed, if only because the way I look at it, I'm paying for the brilliant artwork just as much as the text. On the other hand, sometimes I hate the adaptation so much I'll download scanlations. Usually I buy the licensed version as well though. The only time I've been driven that far was with the Battle Royale translation though. I feel Kieth Giffen ruined it and changed a lot of the major plot points, so the way I see it I've been ripped off. Oddly enough that hasn't stopped me buying them all though.

[MorbidGnome]

I love having the books on my self, so I always end up buying a copy of any scanlations I download. So really, I don't prefer one over the other.

[Kyaa the Catlord]

What a funny topic for Tokyopop's message board! :P

I'll admit that I read scanlations. But usually what I read scanlated is doujinshi, not manga, and those are very gray in the first place and terribly unlikely to ever be liscensed.

My poor bookshelves would have you believe that I like liscensed manga, but it is a love/hate relationship. I love to have the books, hate to store them. :D

[luningning]

i like reading scanslations because they give u an idea about the story. I think that some scanslations group does the translating better though. And scanned manga gives u a wider access to those stories that are not licensed or are far from getting licensed :)

[Ixis]

I wonder what would happen if a publishing company started an online business that had a distribution model somewhere between iTunes and bittorrent.

Basically, said company would gain the liscense for a few different titles (perhaps try to buy out Young King Ours, as an example.) Then set different teams of about three for each title with 1 head director and 1 lead translator (or, 1+X where X=+1 for every 7). These groups could work on the projects as a side-service and would be paid on how well their series preforms (so it wouldn't be a full job.)

Users could activate this service by paying $1.35 (more or less) per chapter of a series they download, or $7.50 for entire books worth of content (and have full book downloads cost more points per chapter than buying chapters alone when accounting for series popularity.)

The only problem is that it would be hard to get the liscenses for different series in batch. If you could pull it off though that would be cool. Probably wouldn't work but the goal would be to provide a paid service for different manga series that users could download on a chapter by chapter basis instead of by book. If TP was even advantageous enough they could split up some of the manga/manwha/OEL/cinemanga they already own the rights to and release them by chapter as soon as new chapters are made/translated.

The proposed business model would cut out the middle-men of bookstores and all the profits would go straight to TP. It might also be possible to do more (or even less) than three books (in TPs publishing contracts) if a series is popular/unpopular enough.

[Libby]

Definitely licensed. First of all, I like having the books around. ^_^ But mostly, I don't want to cheat the creators of thier money. These are books I really really love, and those manga artists work really hard to churn them out each new chapter. I think they deserve thier money. Sometimes, I'll try a sample chapter online, or if I just have to know what happens next in "Death Note" or whatever -- I'll download something that's licensed. But really I'd rather have the licensed version.

I've never noticed any *major* difference in quality, not since the days of CardCaptor Sakura and Initial D and all that. (*has awful flashbacks*)

That said, I don't think Tokyopop OR Viz are really the best in the business when it comes to licensed translations.... GoComi! and Del Rey are my choices for that. I love the footnotes and historical/cultural notes at the ends of those books. Plus, they just have a nice natural sound to the translation, I think.

[CatMarieS]

It is true, quality of manga on the American market in general has become a zillion times better than what it used to be.

[Kitsune]

I 100% prefer licensed manga. I completely understand where some of you are coming from in regards to scanlations being more accurate, but there are some mangas that do attempt to keep it very close to the original, mannerisms and all. Tsubasa does this, and has translation notes at the end of the book explaining their Japanese culture references. There's also a little glossary of honorifics at the front. I hope we see more manga that does this in the future :)

[Meowchi]

I really love to read scans for titles that are not out yet in the US. But as soon as the book is for sale in the US I buy it. To download scanlations of a series that is licensed in the country that you live in is STEALING. No way around it, so download all you want before a company buys the rights to it, but if you can go to a local store and buy a copy that's what you need to be doing. :) Just my humble opinion.

[Koshiba]

I prefer licensed manga. I look at it like Fansubs. I'll read/watch something that isn't licensed but once it is, I stop. And scanlations/fansubs have introduced me to series that I am now buying. But yeah, I hate sitting at the computer reading scanlations. As for the price of manga.. it can be a bit cheaper depending where you shop. I remember paying at least $16 per manga volume I used to buy. :p

As for scanlations being more accurate.. that isnt' always true. Alot of translators for those groups are college kids starting to learn japanese. So unless you understand japanese and have the original to compare to, I wouldn't be so sure. :P

[anil495]

I like scanlations better since the translations are usually better. Plus the scanlators do a better job cleaning up and editing the manga pages than the licensing companies do.

[Riotfug]

Where does everyone get their scanlations?

[Kyaa the Catlord]

Where does everyone get their scanlations?

Off teh interwebs.

I bet we'd get in trouble if we posted links. Ask via PM is absolutely necessary.

But I don't think even then it would be a good idea to give out links HERE.

[elisegrey]

I usually prefer scanlations, because the page size is generally much larger, and closer to the original size. (I'll make an exception for Del Rey, though, because what they do is magic.) Also, most scanlators choose (or are too lazy) to edit out the SFX, and put a translation alongside - I love that. Even if the translations are sometimes less slick, they often make up for it by remaining literal, rather than attempting localisation.

I love scanlations, I really do. I buy as much manga as I can with the little money I have to spare, and so were I to stop reading scans then the manga companies still wouldn't get any more money than beforehand. In fact, they'd probably get quite a bit less, as I'd just lose interest from lack of exposure.

It's not that I don't realise it's theft - even if manga companies did lose money from this I'd probably carry on. This is because the manga I like to read haven't the faintest chance in Hell of ever seeing the light of day over here, but also admittedly because I'm a manga whore. :D

[Riotfug]

I hear ya, i should have thought o that

[dudie]

When the manga is licensed i prefer Licensed manga, better quality and the right names mostly (allthough Delrey and Tokyopop write Chun Hyang different) done by good editors. But there are so many good mangas which are not licensed yet so then offcourse i read scans and then buy it when it get licensed:)

[luukasama]

This is a toughie question. Actually, I'm glad scanlations are out there. Other than the fact that people might think artists are getting ripped off, I think it's quite the opposite. Thanks to scanlators out there, I have bought a lot of manga that I haven't heard of before or plan to own eventually. Because I'm a bishounen hunter, I need good art [tis my energy, folks] because it also helps me draw and improve my style.

[Eku53ru]

I do prefer scanlations more (for the same reasons that were stated by the person who began this thread), but I wish Tokyopop, as well as other companies, would be as quirky as the scanlation teams.

Cultural notes would help a lot (even when they're the most minute of details - maybe it's just me), and from what I remember of reading a recent Tokyopop volume, sound effects should be captioned instead of indexed in the back.

[glamorousjrocker]

I do like scanlations better, for reasons mention they are more accurate and leave more of the Japanese things in.

But I when a manga I'm reading or like, is licensed, I make sure I get it because I would rather have the manga in my hands then reading the a screen all the time.

[natsumikan]

Scanlations a fast way to get manga, read it all the time ^^ heehee
but still like having an actual book to hold and read. Theres just this difference b/w having it physically there and on the comp. But still like orginal jap version or chinese scanlated/translated version more than english ones

[black_myst]

i definatly prefer scanlations... and who was the one that said, licenced manga get the name right more.. i have to disagree with that. licencing manga are horrible w/ names and the flow of the book is usually off and sound awkward. Besides, Scanlations, even if i download the entire series of w/e their translating, introduces me to the manga, and would definatly order the japanese version. thought i think the best licencing companies are BL ones because former scanlators work there, and i trust them(scanlators) more than american licencing companies.

[AjisainoHime]

It doesn't matter to me but Scanlations are harder to find in the series i like.

[froggyguy]

I like having a real paperback to stick on my shelf, so I buy liscensed manga, but if I just have to see the next issue, I might to look for a scanlation online (or if the manga isn't liscensed yet).
In regards to the "Americanizing" of translation, I find that Del Ray (they do Tsubasa for example ) does great translations, and if there was a japanese pop culture reference they leave it in and explain it in the back of the book. They also do japanese sound effects with english subtitles which I personally prefer over all japanese (even with an index) or all english :3 If it's in english, then it's not the original art, and if it's in japanese I don't know what it's saying, and if it's japanese with an index, i'm too lazy to look it up. My only exception to this is the Nausicaa translations, which have an index, which I like because Nausicaa to me is a work of art, not just a comic, and therefore deserves 100% of the original work :3
In most other cases, I'm just reading for fun and would rather know what the sound effects say while I'm reading ^^

[Tobosaku]

Probably not a whole lot. I mean, my Korean books are like, $6.00? And here in America, they average around $10. per book.

I generally pay between $4 (gently used) and $6.00 (new) for Chinese; a bit more for Japanese... but still less than the $10 and up for English. However, the English is easier for me to read :p

I like owning the books,regardless of language. I'm divided on the 'who does a better job' question... I do like the verbal mannerisms of fan translations better, although not always.

[KitKat286]

I like liscensed manga. I read scanlations but while I'm reading I'm always thinking "Wow I really, really hope someone liscenses this!!" It's funny cos I always thought that was the point of scanlations, to promote the manga and to get people to buy it. I don't think that scanlations are more accurate or anything, I won't lie some series are messed up in the offical release but this is not true in most cases. People who translate for companies know what they're doing and I trust them for the most part, I'm not going to say a scanlation is more accurate cos it was what I read first and I really believe that people who can't read Japanese don't have any place saying which translation is more accurate cos what can they know?

Anyway IMHO I think most people who harp on and on about how much better scanlation translations and quality are are just looking for excuses because scanlations are a heck of a lot cheaper and they just don't want to pay.

[Alicia]

Licensed Manga because it's on the go....you hold it. And your face isn't pressed up against a computer screen trying to read tiny print.

[Akemi]

I would love the licensed copies to be as well done as the scanlations. In fact when I found out that a scanlation I read had come out in the stores I was excited. I bought exactly one volume and was very disappointed. The words the chosen in the official version I found were very flat. I didn't laugh it the same places as the scanned version.

Frankly, if that had been my first exposure to the manga, I wouldn't have continued reading it.

[hagekure]

Not neccesarily an "infinate" amount more. They could have struck a one time deal by selling the rights to the work for a fixed amount, therefore, once it's sold, they do not see any more money coming from that work. On the other hand, it could be "infinate" if they receive a percentage from every copy sold, but it probably depends on the publisher.

... I wonder how much the artists make off of royalties..? :confused:

You're going it at the wrong way. It's not just the artist that should be getting paid for his or her work. It's all the people that are involve with it. That include the publishing companies because they have to print the book and market it. They also have to pay all the salaries like the manga assistent and editor that help the mangaka.

So just thinking that only the original mangaka deserve the money isn't really thinking at all. A lot of people put in work to make the manga you enjoy.

When their series is popular both in the Japan and the U.S., the mangaka makes more money. It's as simple as that. So by buying the license book, you're supporting her work.

[Hokutochan]

Scanlations are helpful when they are for older stories or things that would have a hard time finding a mainstream audience. I'm still waiting for the day Reiko shimizu manga gets licsenced so i can throw out my kaguya hime scans :(
I'll admit i read death note and fullmetal alchemist scans, but i also buy them when they come out or when i can. I love manga for its fun portability factor. On the train, at work, in my room, during dinner, etc. There's also the expirence of reading a physical copy that a PC moniter cant compare to.

Some people dont even know what they're talking about; how can one claim a translation as wrong when they cant even speak or read the language? i've read scans that have WTF or sentences that dont feel right. Obvioiusly scanlators take liberties where needed, and that a translation differs from a scanlator should never be a reason to not buy a licensed copy. Stop making stupid excuses to relieve your guilt. There's more than one way to translate a word, a sentence, or even a name. the manga industry was changed so much since the late 90s, hell, even from 4 years ago. No more flipping, Usagi=serena, random localization, and some of the companies even include translators notes. things are getting better all the time. And changing the angels genders from Wish is baseless because THERE ARE NO GENDERS!!! The english language is too limited to allow for non gender-specific pronouns. About translations being dated- hm, maybe, just maybe its the manga? look at GALS. not only the diaologue but the fashions and tastes are older than getting jiggy with it. Poppets is a word. I havent read Yami no matusei but judging from the content i'd say voodoo-esque dolls fit right in.

Its insane how people can bash their industry host and proudly proclaim their illegal activites as helping the artist. Helping them by filling your harddrive with their blood sweat and tears that is their manga? and then discouraging others from supporting these series and mangaka because it doesnt match the scanlations?? and saying your helping? how? WHO???? Can you not see whats wrong with this picture?!!?!!

Sorry. the unnamed CLAMP series comment kinda started building this rant. I'm a nice person, but I dont like reading bullshit.

[YamPuff]

It depends. Companies like Del Ray leave in honorifics and fans love them for that. I don't know if they Americanised them or not (they did Tsubasa and Wallflower) because I never bought anything from them before.

Other than that, I love scanlations for the same reasons. The honorifics, puns, all the little things, the side notes explaining the Japanese things we normally wouldn't understand. Even the untranslated sound effects.

On the other hand, all these things make it harder for a newbie to get into manga. If Sailor Moon began as a sub, most people wouldn't have got into it. Same for other manga. Once we get into mange we want all the un-Americanised glory, but did we at first?

(Off the Topic) Thanks Luna P for pointing that out about Wish!! Finally, someone who doesn't dis Tokypop for not turning it into a shonen-ai. Some people just don't get the genderless idea and the limits of the English language. I like the way it was handled, personally. The masculine-looking ones are 'he' and the feminine ones 'she'. They can't call them 'it'!!! Maybe I'll make a whole new post dedicated to this...

[Libby]

Scanlations are helpful when they are for older stories or things that would have a hard time finding a mainstream audience. I'm still waiting for the day Reiko shimizu manga gets licsenced so i can throw out my kaguya hime scans :(

You know about CMX is translating Moon Child, right? I know a lot of people are shying away from them because of TenTen, but their Eroica is actually quite good... Probably Moon Child is too....

There's a lot of bad stuff you can say about CMX, but they do seem to be picking up a lot of great classics. :D

[Onime_no_Kyo]

What do I prefer? It doesn't matter u must remeber that idea to do scanlations was to create manga market in US, right now it's not necesarry anymore... just translate manga which is not licensed, i think this is newest idea...

[black_myst]

Scanlations are helpful when they are for older stories or things that would have a hard time finding a mainstream audience. I'm still waiting for the day Reiko shimizu manga gets licsenced so i can throw out my kaguya hime scans :(
I'll admit i read death note and fullmetal alchemist scans, but i also buy them when they come out or when i can. I love manga for its fun portability factor. On the train, at work, in my room, during dinner, etc. There's also the expirence of reading a physical copy that a PC moniter cant compare to.

Some people dont even know what they're talking about; how can one claim a translation as wrong when they cant even speak or read the language? i've read scans that have WTF or sentences that dont feel right. Obvioiusly scanlators take liberties where needed, and that a translation differs from a scanlator should never be a reason to not buy a licensed copy. Stop making stupid excuses to relieve your guilt. There's more than one way to translate a word, a sentence, or even a name. the manga industry was changed so much since the late 90s, hell, even from 4 years ago. No more flipping, Usagi=serena, random localization, and some of the companies even include translators notes. things are getting better all the time. And changing the angels genders from Wish is baseless because THERE ARE NO GENDERS!!! The english language is too limited to allow for non gender-specific pronouns. About translations being dated- hm, maybe, just maybe its the manga? look at GALS. not only the diaologue but the fashions and tastes are older than getting jiggy with it. Poppets is a word. I havent read Yami no matusei but judging from the content i'd say voodoo-esque dolls fit right in.

Its insane how people can bash their industry host and proudly proclaim their illegal activites as helping the artist. Helping them by filling your harddrive with their blood sweat and tears that is their manga? and then discouraging others from supporting these series and mangaka because it doesnt match the scanlations?? and saying your helping? how? WHO???? Can you not see whats wrong with this picture?!!?!!



okay... the scanlation teams i know about keep up to date with EVERYTHING, they don't just do older series. some teams get chapters out weekly or monthly as the chapters come out in magazines... licencing companies are too slow. they take out he humor and excitement of a lot of stuff in licenced books. and about the wish, ppl are just saying that female dosn't fit right in with the book because the angels don't look female at ALL. stop yelling at other ppl when ur the one SPAZZING out about it. that's UR opinion up there. i know ppl who would much rather trust scanlations. besides, ur saying they do old works. compared to licencing companies, scanlations are soo much faster. i mean, licencing companies wait years before licencing to mangas. I'm sorry but i don't feel like waiting a year until loveless 6 is translated by tokyopop okay, as well as other new series comming out.

and how can translations be wrong. maybe because they can! i've seen obvious mistakes before. besides, i have japanese friends. they've told me this stuff before. if ur fluent w/ any languge or know Anything about languages, especially Asian ones like Indian [dialects], Chinese, Japanese, Korean, u know how hard it is to translate things. EVEN translators take liberties because u can't translate word for work so stop yelling at that. the flow of asian languages, especially japanese is VERY different from English. There is NO SUCH THING as DIRECT TRANSLATIONS, even with eurpean languages, it's not just asian language (i happento know this becaues i speak french and chinese) i've done translating things,and even with simple phrases or senteces in either language, the flow is very different espcially when translated directly in to english. anyother language translated in to english would be GRAMMATICLY INCORRECT, so STOP spazzing. yea not everyone has top notch translators, but i've seen bad translation and flow with sentences as wella s grammar too in licencing companies too. [worst pet peeve. is in Yami no Matsuei's translation... i nearly cried when i saw Poppet! i mean wtf... it's PUPPET... PUPPET Damnit. which is why i am the proud owner of 7-11 of ynm (NOT the english version). i actally used my own money to buy them as opposed to using my parent's credit cards to buy everything else.

in my opinion , the main difference between scanlations and licenced books are that, in scanlations the words flow much better together and still retains most of the origional humor or w/e is suppose to be in there. translations on the other had is much more stiff to me.

i'm also not saying that all translting complanes are bad, some are though, but the ones that i think are good are the ones that most likely carry BL manga, because former scanlators for like shi-ran scanlaters [mentioned to me by a mod who was a former member of shi-ran] i don't really hate licencing companies at all, i just get annoyed at them somethings... thought i love BLU and DEL RAY and afew other ones. but some companies just don't really change and kills some of the books

and also, most ppl who have DL scanlations, we do buy the origional books. i mean, i'm planning to have all of loveless sent to me, the origional japanese version, same w/ other series. don't think just because we prefer to dl stuff before it hits america [like 2 yrs later] does it mean we don't support the artist. my book shelves have lots of origional manga.
i'm just saying, prefer to have scanlations and the Origonal japanese books, though i am still greatful to some licencing companies. the one series i'm really glad for is the licenced version of CLOVER.the team that origionall scanlated it did was kinda bad... the scans were also to small. they weren't one of the ones i usually get manga from that i trust soo much... aka f_m. Obsession, aarinfantasy, and sooo much more.)

about wish, some ppl are just saying that by calling the angel female, sounds worse than calling it male cause it looks nothing like a female and if they didn't use 'IT', male would have been better. because while reading the licenced one, i couldn't connect with the character as a female at all. it just didn't seem right... same with the older angel

hey btw. off topic thought, but does anyon notice that the format of this for looks EXACTLY like the one at aarinfantasy except for the reps and thanks part.??? i mean, the layout and color of this site is different but all the post stuff and the user CP and resister and that stuff look exactly like the one at aarinfantasy.. even the PM things do!

[danbeck]

Licensed of course. I probably read more unlicensed scanlations manga when it comes down to it, but I'll always buy the licensed if it's going to be available. Suzuka, Pastel and a few others come to mind. I'd love to read the scanslations out there, but I'm willing to wait for the licensed versions to show up in stores.

That said, publishing companies that censor and trash their licenses (I'M LOOKING AT YOU DC/CMX) will never get my money. On principal, I will never waste my money on garbage they put on shelves.

On the other hand, Del Rey has made me a customer for life. They have treated their licenses and customers with the utmost respect and they are a company that takes a chance on listening to the fans.

[herchuckness]

I prefer both. XD About 95% of my manga collection is comprised of things I first read in scanlation, and I have bought at least one volume of the licensed version of every single scanlation that I've read and enjoyed. In fact, for series I'm really in love with, I have 3 or 4 copies - scanlations, English volumes, Japanese volumes, and sometimes the Japanese manga magazines they originally ran the series in. Yes, I'm obsessed, I know. :D

[Libby]

That said, publishing companies that censor and trash their licenses (I'M LOOKING AT YOU DC/CMX) will never get my money. On principal, I will never waste my money on garbage they put on shelves.

The only title they censored is Tenjho Tenge. They did a great job with Eroica. As much as I dislike censorship, I'm so happy with them for bringing Eroica, Swan, and Moon Child over -- classic manga no other company would bother with -- that there's no way I could boycott them. I did send a nastygram, though. :D

[AnimeDudde]

Naah, they dont really Americanize manga anymore. The puns and such are still there. The best with this stuff is 'Del Rey' they go from honorifics to puns :P

[scarecrow]

If it's not liscenced that means I can't get it so I'm scanlations all the way, but if it is liscenced, I'd rather have the actually book.

[emeraldisdead]

I read quite a few scanlations but honestly I prefer licensed titles. But then again I'm a bit of a bookworm.

[Manadevil]

I prefer to buy my manga in volume form.

[danbeck]

The only title they censored is Tenjho Tenge. They did a great job with Eroica. As much as I dislike censorship, I'm so happy with them for bringing Eroica, Swan, and Moon Child over -- classic manga no other company would bother with -- that there's no way I could boycott them. I did send a nastygram, though. :D

Personally, that title was enough for me to pretty much personally boycott them forever. I was reading the scanlations when I found out they had licensed it and was very excited that someone had the balls to bring a title like that over here. Much less a newcomer to the manga publishing scene...

Then, I found out they were going to edit it. A new imprint with absolutely no reader capital in the market and they decide to trash such a high profile title with a potentially huge fanbase. Well, screw them. I have little love or time for idiotic fools like DC/CMX.

What would it take for me to change my mind? They need to completely re-release the title in unedited format so that I can buy and enjoy it. And make sure those old TenTen edits are thrown in the trash, where they belong.

[KurataSana]

I just need to put in my two cents here.. I personally perfer scanlations. They usually keep the dialogue as close as possible and they don't Americanize it and as someone else said, they explain the Japanese phrases instead of dumbing them down. Also, people always say the mangaka gets more money if you buy your manga from a liscencing company, but the money goes mainly to the liscencing company and then to the mangaka's publishers and then to themselves (not a huge piece of the fundage, I'd say). When I find a manga I really want I generally buy the manga from Japanese websites because then the mangaka will get more of the money.. Not saying I don't buy liscenced copies, I do, but only if I can't find the Japanese versions.. ^^;
Also, it is really annoying when a liscencing company snags a series you're reading because if you are on say, volume twenty, you generally have to wait a couple of years until they get caught up to you because of how slow the liscencing companies translate (mainly because they take more manga than they can translate). No offence intended, just expressing my opinion.

-Ally

[black_myst]

i definatly agree with u. one example for me is black cat. I finished volume 17 or 18... it's gonna take AT LEAST a year for w/e licencing company to catch up on that. D.Grayman is another one. i finished voume 8 or 9 and that's gonna take like a year for it to be caught up. who everysaid that licencing companies have the most recent manga is definatly wrong. licencening companies wait at least a year in which the origional japanese manga is released before getting their hands on it


I just need to put in my two cents here.. I personally perfer scanlations. They usually keep the dialogue as close as possible and they don't Americanize it and as someone else said, they explain the Japanese phrases instead of dumbing them down. Also, people always say the mangaka gets more money if you buy your manga from a liscencing company, but the money goes mainly to the liscencing company and then to the mangaka's publishers and then to themselves (not a huge piece of the fundage, I'd say). When I find a manga I really want I generally buy the manga from Japanese websites because then the mangaka will get more of the money.. Not saying I don't buy liscenced copies, I do, but only if I can't find the Japanese versions.. ^^;
Also, it is really annoying when a liscencing company snags a series you're reading because if you are on say, volume twenty, you generally have to wait a couple of years until they get caught up to you because of how slow the liscencing companies translate (mainly because they take more manga than they can translate). No offence intended, just expressing my opinion.

-Ally

[Iyashii]

i definatly agree with u. one example for me is black cat. I finished volume 17 or 18... it's gonna take AT LEAST a year for w/e licencing company to catch up on that. D.Grayman is another one. i finished voume 8 or 9 and that's gonna take like a year for it to be caught up. who everysaid that licencing companies have the most recent manga is definatly wrong. licencening companies wait at least a year in which the origional japanese manga is released before getting their hands on it

Gee, I wonder if that's because the companies have to go through legal procedures to acquire the rights to the manga instead of just ignoring it like the scanlation companies do? Hate to break it to you, a company doesn't just get the rights overnight, whereas a scanlation company can begin work the day the manga hits the streets.

Yes, the wait can be excruciating sometimes. But somehow, I just don't think that you're going to keel over dead from having to wait for a translated version of your manga. I know it feels like the world is going to collapse, but somehow, I hope you can manage to pull through.

[SAKUxDD]

scans rule
=)
they get you stuff that are orginally in another language
by the time the stuff comes out in english
its going to take a LONG TIME
like Black Cat [completed in Japanese]
it finally came out with the first volume
[but i already bough the others in japanese...o.0 i have to wait for the volumes i don't have to come out...]-which could take like forever

[azngurl0088]

I both like the scanlation and the licensed version. It was the scanlation that had help me introduce to mangas that were later or presently licensed.

I read all 23 volumes of Hana Kimi, but I am buying the mangas too. If it weren't for scanlations, I wouldn't have as much mangas as I have today and have so many favorites.

They even have this one manga that I really love called Skip Beat which Tokyopop have already licensed, but I have been keeping track of this manga for almost over a year. I am still following it and I believe that there are over 11 volumes in Japan already. Too bad that nobody licensed Skip Beat's creator other work which is called Tokyo Crazy Paradise. Luv her work!! But forgot her name ^-^'''

[SAKUxDD]

I both like the scanlation and the licensed version. It was the scanlation that had help me introduce to mangas that were later or presently licensed.

I read all 23 volumes of Hana Kimi, but I am buying the mangas too. If it weren't for scanlations, I wouldn't have as much mangas as I have today and have so many favorites.

They even have this one manga that I really love called Skip Beat which Tokyopop have already licensed, but I have been keeping track of this manga for almost over a year. I am still following it and I believe that there are over 11 volumes in Japan already. Too bad that nobody licensed Skip Beat's creator other work which is called Tokyo Crazy Paradise. Luv her work!! But forgot her name ^-^'''
yeah
Tokyo Crazy Paradise is awsome
where can you read Skip Beat online? i only found Tokyo Crazy Paradise

[black_myst]

Gee, I wonder if that's because the companies have to go through legal procedures to acquire the rights to the manga instead of just ignoring it like the scanlation companies do? Hate to break it to you, a company doesn't just get the rights overnight, whereas a scanlation company can begin work the day the manga hits the streets.

Yes, the wait can be excruciating sometimes. But somehow, I just don't think that you're going to keel over dead from having to wait for a translated version of your manga. I know it feels like the world is going to collapse, but somehow, I hope you can manage to pull through.


the thing is i don't have to wait. i get scanlations. i don't like waiting. besides, i read all large series ones on line. it's alot faster. i know they have to get through lebal procedures. i'm just saying it's annoying if u've like read the almost all of that series and then it gets licenced. it's fine if u havn't read the scanlation.

[Kurama]

I prefer licensed manga more. But i also do read scanlations for a few series (Naruto, Bleach, Deathnote, Gantz). However i also buy each of these series too (except Gantz cuz its not licensed). I even compare translations from licensed manga to scanlations when im bored. I'll actually sit down read a frame from the translation then compare it to a frame of a scanlation for a whole volume of a manga and from what i can tell especially with Bleach the translations are basically the same except a few words like Soul Reaper instead of Shinigami but Soul Reaper is the correct translation for Shinigami in the Bleach series plus Soul Reaper jus sounds better to me.

[hiimrisa]

It really depends. I read a lot of scanlations. I like the scanlated series a lot better, then when it's licensed I buy it. I don't know anything about translations because I don't speak Japanese or any other foreign language. But sometimes scanlations can be confusing when it's translated poorly. Also, all the slang some companys put is really annoying. It just depends on the company and the group.

[PrinceElly]

There is no "L" in Japanese. Yagami Light is written in the Kanji in the Japanese manga obviously, since they will not put English in there. And to say it, it is pronounced "Raito" and it was how the scanlators had written it for a while. But then it was officially changed to "Light" in scanlations and the liscensed manga because it was meant to be read as a direct translation. As in the Kanji actually meant Light as in the thing you turn on when it's dark. So it's more like a translation while you will say it "Raito".

I'm saying it's how romanji is suppose to be with the R not L.

That's not true. If you were to write the word Light out in kana, it would be written Raito. It's not a translation of Raito, it's a transliteration. Also, when writing in katakana, Ls and Rs can be interchanged. That's why you can get different people translating the same name differently, like Elemental Gelade or Erementar Gerad.

I prefer the official releases because you get a copy of the series and it supports the artist and the industry. Plus, because translators are hired professionals, their translations can be taken as more reputable.

[Deacon Blues]

Plus, because translators are hired professionals, their translations can be taken as more reputable.

Yeah... except alot of the translators who are translating the Gundam manga are actually Japanese, so therefore their comprehension of their own language trumps that of what an American-taught translator would come up with. Besides, look at some of the manga TP released (Astray, Ecole, etc.)... the scanlations were better than theirs...

[Gabycat]

When it comes to manga, do you prefer reading scanlations (online translations) or licensed versions?

I myself like scanlations better. I think scanlations tend to be more accurate as they leave in all those weird Japanese puns, mannerisms and references, while manga companies usually like to "Americanize" them.


Same reasons.
Yet, I am of the idea that publishing companies, like TP coudl hire the scanlators groups.
Because they already have the work, and I am sure these groups would feel happy to have their scanlators work recognized this way.
There are several groups, whom in my opinion, have done a far better and more accurate job with a scanlation that the Publisher with the license.
Scanlators group even add small footnotes to localism jokes, words games and even historical events and shows that are in the manga scanlated.
I noticed this with Pet Shop of Horrors - the scanlators group were doing a beautiful work, noting all the correct names of the sweets Count D adores,and never once mistook D's granfathers with D's father. Yet, on TP's translations, many things were left out, and text balloons inversed.
if it were for money, I could bet that scanlators groups would be a good option.

[dazzleanddestroy]

Wow.. I read all of the comments above.. o.O!

I agree with you guys.. for me, I read scanlations that aren't licensed or has been just to check them out if I like it.. (it's no different from going in a bookstore and sitting there reading manga.. i've seen lots of people just sitting there reading the whole series and not even thought of actually buying) and if I absolutely love it.. I order them in JAPANESE or from an american company(it all depends on who though).

Like I said, I belong in a scanlation team as well, and the translators do try their hardest in translating and their best in keeping it original.. Even the editors, they try their hardest in keeping it clean and neat.. and yes, it all depends on which group. :)

If it weren't for scanlators, I wouldn't have all these mangas in my room right now.. and I wouldn't be such a manga and anime fan as I am now.. :)

They should licensed tokyo crazy paradise, the mangaka is amazing.. she's the same one that does skip beat!! (loves her)

anyways, I respect everyone's opinion on this.. though, this has been going on for years now.. XD it's the same answers I've been hearing..

[KiraVolfield]

Yeah... except alot of the translators who are translating the Gundam manga are actually Japanese, so therefore their comprehension of their own language trumps that of what an American-taught translator would come up with. Besides, look at some of the manga TP released (Astray, Ecole, etc.)... the scanlations were better than theirs...
Translation errors on the level of what exists in the Gundam manga are scary.

But errors aren't the worst possibility (I'll still buy books with errors, provided the bulk of the book is good).

I read scanlations, but I always buy the books as well- unless one truly horrible thing occurs- censorship.

[Alphonse Elric]

licensed.. because then i can own it and take it anywhere with me

[blossomingdeath]

I read scanlations mostly cuz I don't go out of my house a lot, so I don't have lots of time to go to booksstores. But if I really like the like the scan that I'm reading I will go and buy it once it's licensed. One od the things I don't like is once it does get licensed I'm way ahead of the story already and have to wait for months till they release to the point where I'm on it the story. But licensed ones are good too cuz then you don't have to stare into the comp all day.

[Alphonse Elric]

i've never tried to read manga on the internet.. is it easyer then buying? i know it saves you money...

[KiraVolfield]

i've never tried to read manga on the internet.. is it easyer then buying? i know it saves you money...
Scanlations are, for the most part, illegal- and generally taboo once the series is licensed. However, yes, it is easier than buying if you know where to look. It's laos much more illegal and, depending on your own views, dishonest than buying as well.

[Alphonse Elric]

i don't know where to look for them.. so i think im gonna stick with buying ^_^

[Rem Akimichi]

I like scanalations (easier on my wallet), but often times, scanalations will lead me to a series that I wouldn't have bought normally. Like Loveless: I saw the first three chapters scanalated and decided I just HAD to buy it *hugs*

[Alphonse Elric]

and plus if you buy it.. then you can take it to school and read it^_^

[dunno001]

You guys don't realize that most of the translators at the companies are former scanslators...do you? For example, the BLU translators are people who worked on a site called Shi-ran. I translate and ran what used to be the biggest scanslation site on the net... The translators who work for the companies are the best of the best. You have to be insane to think that scanslation translations are better. For the most part they are crap. Many of you are just believing what you want to believe... Have you ever actually compared both to the Japanese book? 98% of the time, the official release is better.
Obviously, I can't speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself. I'm not going to question the translator, persay, rather, that the real problem lies with the multitude of steps between translator and finished product. I'm a fan of the real book, I love having it in front of me, to take whereever (I don't have a laptop), and well, making my room into the library from R.O.D. sounds kinda cool. And while some books are masterfully done, others seem to suffer from poor adaptations. I'll pick a series I love: Gravitation. I read through the first 3 volumes, thinking that some things didn't seem too smooth, but Murakami did evolve herself while doing this series, so I wrote it off to that. Volume 4 made me see something that I thought would be quite a clever pun, but the emotion (for Yuki) didn't seem right, and it was too rooted in English. A quick check of my Japanese volume shows that the translation was a little loose- too loose for my tastes. Now, I admit that my Japanese is limited at best, but if I can pick out that it doesn't seem right, then something's wrong. Wrong enough that I went back to the first 3 volumes and looked at the rough parts, and could tell that some of them weren't as accurate as I would have hoped.

I'm not going to say that scanslations don't have any problems, as some of them also have communication problems internally, but since there are so fewer people, it's much easier to go back and make sure that something's right before it goes out.

(For those curious, the line I had an issue with was right after Shuichi was raped, and Yuki says "ASKの相沢滝はどこにいる？" This became "Where can I get my hands on this son of a bitch singer from Ass?" I could go into all the details, but that's for another time...) It doesn't stop me from preferring the real books, but sometimes if something just isn't done right, I have to vote with my dollar and stop buying the flawed version, and just get the Japanese version.

[Shinigamiyoko]

I like scanlations, but since I'm such a goody-goody, I go out and buy the book if I like the scanlation of the book. All the culture references are more fun to pick out in scanlations though, since it's almost more rewarding to find a subtle reference to something yourself, than to read it in the back of the book.
I feel almost guilty inside if I don't go buy the book after I read a good scanlation. Such a goody-goody...

[DKW 001]

I'll read a scanlations if I can find one (particularly if it's something that probably won't ever get licensed, like Wangan Midnight), but I definitely don't go out of my way to get them.

I know nobody likes to say this, but there are reasons an absolute word-for-word translation isn't desired, or even necessarily possible. I believe that understanding the market counts for something, and smoothness and ease of reading is far more important than honorifics or gender specification. The act of translation itself is a change; it's just a matter of whether or not it's a change I'll accept. I haven't had any problems with the professional work yet (and I have the entire Initial D collection, fer cryin' out loud).

Re. Borders, they allow you to read as much as you want because...well, they can't stop it, and customers don't spend more than they're willing to in any case, so no sense ticking them off. They have to pay for the manga before they sell it, so no one's being ripped off here.

[Tsukiko_Sango]

personally i like the licensed ones better because i'm more comfortable with them (constantly paranoid that i'm gonna do something against the law and somehow get mixed up in bad witht he government lol) but every once in a while i'll read something in a scanlation and find it hilarious and then read it in the licensed version....and they messed with the joke making it gay or not funny...i really hate that:p

[Jacku]

I'm fine with both. What I like about scanlations is that they tend to leave more footnotes than licensed manga but other than that everything's fine with me.

[aniluver]

i totally love scanlations! anyone know a good website?

[Arcademan]

i totally love scanlations! anyone know a good website?

Don't ask for sites here. Links to such places are not permitted here in the forum per the rules.

[crispy]

Uhm... for everyone saying that OMGS SCANLATION TRANSLATIONS ARE SOOOOOO MUCH MORE LOYAL TO THE ACTUAL JAPANESE!!! I'm sorry to burst your bubble , but that's not always the case. Sure, there are those few really great translators who manage to do a good job -- but the fact of the matter is that a lot of scanlation translators aren't nearly as fluent in English as they are in their first language (or vice versa for some). They do their best, but it's not professional quality. I worked in scanlations for five years, and we had our share of really good translators and really bad ones. With the bad ones, it was up to whoever put the words on the page to fix up the script and make it make sense. Sometimes, it didn't matter what the Japanese REALLY said, so long as the translation made sense and fit what was said well enough. Hell, some groups don't even translate from the Japanese -- they translate from the chiense translations of the Japanese, which only allows for even more errors.

I'd always take professional translators over scanlation ones. A lot of the good scanlation translators have already moved on and are now working professionally as freelance translators for other companies. I can think of at least three right now who are fantastic at what they do who were hired because of 1.) their proficiency with Japanese which was in part aided by 2.) their scanlation experience.

[chibikodo]

Ehh.. Not sure I can really say. I buy manga to support the artist, even if I feel like the release isn't the best that it could be...

I mean, it's not like I don't read scanlations to find out about new series that would be worth spending money on if they get licensed. But I do spend the money whether or not I think the publisher deserves it, cause the people who put time and effort into making the series deserve to get paid regardless.

And as for which is better, I can't really say. I like owning the manga, but sometimes the translations... could be better.

[Alexis]

I was reading a short scanlated chapter the other day and it was horrible! I couldn't understand what the characters were saying half the time, missing words, bad grammar, misspellings. Sure, some scanlations are at professional quality but on average they suck. It really drives me crazy how some people don't want to admit they are cheap leechers and argue the whole "they are better quality" line... What's the worst professional job you've ever seen. You wanna bet I can't find a scanlation that was done worse?

[feder]

I like both.
Manga are nice because you can take them anywhere, and they look pretty on your shelf.
But I like how most of the scanlations I read keep the honorifics and last names when most of the English companies take them out. With some series that's not big deal, but other series just feel wrong without them. Like DNangel for example.

TP even ended up completely editing DN in volume 2, altering the Japanese text to make up for the fact that the characters call each other by their first names.
In the original Japanese Daisuke calls both twins "Harada-san", and Riku asked Daisuke to stop calling her Harada-san so she could tell which twin he was talking to. Daisuke blushed about this because it's considered very informal and intimate to call someone by their first name in Japan; and that's why he transformed.
In TP's version she said something like "Don't look at me like that! I'm not Risa!"
That totally ruined the joke and took away from the original version.
Now the Scanlation, which used the Japanese last names and honorifics, kept that in, and so I have more respect for their translation than I do TP's.

[talyhawk]

I personally like both, however there are some manga such as the case with DNAngel that was stated before. The Naruto manga is also another that had some names changed, and I want to say that One Piece had some name changes as well. Overall though I enjoy reading the scanlations that currently aren't licensed, since I hate waiting for manga to be released. I usually do still end up buying the licensed manga even if I have read a scanlation, but that's only if I really enjoyed the manga.

[Kiwee]

I like both, but I do perfer scanlations. I'm the sort of person who'd read everything in one go, so scanlations are a better choice, as they are usually farther ahead on releasing the mangas. Also, I do think that scanlations would be little less Americanized, and controversial issues wouldn't be censored. And, scanlations don't tend to butch the names as much, and the flipping of the pages in licensed mangas (not all, but some) really irks me.

For example, in the manga Wish (by CLAMP) in the Japanese version, the angels are devils are all genderless, so if you would like to interperate that as BL (seeing as how they have no curves and the assets of a female). But, in the licenses version, all devils/demons are he's, while all angels are she's. It makes a bit angry when they deliberately changes things like that. I realize that they probably had no choice, as English doesn't contain genderless articles, save for it, but that doesn't apply to a peson. The English version ruined my BL fantasies. I abhor them for it! My precious BL...T^T

If I really do like a manga, and I find the translationm, masking of sound effects, etc to be good, I'd buy the licensed version. After all, having a hardcopy is better than having it on your computer, and buying it would ensure that there are more manga!

[melusinespuppet]

I like both, licensed ones are easy to find while some great stories are only scanlations.

[DeathJr]

When it comes to manga, do you prefer reading scanlations (online translations) or licensed versions?

I myself like scanlations better. I think scanlations tend to be more accurate as they leave in all those weird Japanese puns, mannerisms and references, while manga companies usually like to "Americanize" them.
same reasons and the fact that americans water down everything so it can be marketed to the widest audiance

[Cojiro]

I prefer licenced manga because it keeps the industry going and it's much easier to read a book than to look at a screen. I'm sort of a collector too so after reading a great manga it's kinda fun to add it to the collection. (If kinda sad. XD)

[WEZ88]

mhmm i I like scans better because they ahve a more literal translation but lets thank god that 4kids doesnt do manga lol

[Cojiro]

mhmm i I like scans better because they ahve a more literal translation but lets thank god that 4kids doesnt do manga lol
I've always wondered about that. Reading a manga and watching an anime are so diffrent. Anime is aired on TV so of course younger people are going to see it. Manga is something you have to find in a store and if you do buy it you have to at least be smart enough to read it...I think that's why most manga goes unedited, only the dialogue is changed so it'll make sence to people reading in English.

[Kaoru]

mhmm i I like scans better because they ahve a more literal translation
Is that necessarily a good thing? I mean, I tried reading a He Is My Master scanlation. I gotta tell you, the dialog was boring. Not because the story was bad, but because it seemed to be directly translated from Japanese. Like (these are examples I'm making up) instead of saying "hey what the hell are you doing!" they'd put "please stop doing that". I don't know about you but I like my dialog to sound like someone is saying it in english, not all super polite like the Japanese way. I like how the manga industry translates manga. Sure they may change a few things, but it makes it more relevant to the reader.

[bleachedgantz]

Confess! you I know you read scan too. I bet that you even read more scaned mangas than you buy mangas. Okey I know I am not the only one out there that reads scans. What do you read and what do you think about scans, like do they need to stoped or keep going and are thet translation better than mangas that have been licensed?

[alucard666]

i do read scans but not as many as i buy. just the ones that haven't been licensed yet or i can't wait for.

i cant even remember all the scans i've read and as far as what i think about them some are better then others.

[Shay]

I read scans but i buy more than i scan-read. They give me headaches after a while so i don't read very many.

[luningning]

i read scans too, just to see if the series is actually good. If it is then i buy it. Don't wanna spent my monthly salary (a measly $350 a month! T_T ) on something that isn't any good. Just because of scans that i bought the whole Girl Got Game series. ^_^

[MephistoWaltz]

I read scans, I read totally random series that look interesting.

[Arcademan]

I read scans...off of official sites! I used to have all of the [insert title here] scans but I deleted them when I became a moderator here. I don't even look at the advanced scans of [insert titles here] because there are times I don't want to see the spoilers to books I collect ;)

[MomoxD]

I read scans. I read ahead in the [insert title here] ones but as soon as they are released, I buy them. And I mean as soon as they are released xD I anticipate the release date so even a day or two ahead and I go to the bookstore (or order online) to buy the book. So far, I haven't missed it. :]

[crystalstarrlight]

i read some scans, but i read soo much more manga, also im one of those people that fear for the amount of business companies get, so i might buty the book after i read the scans anyways. ^__^ also some of those sites don't have scans of the manga i want so i may usually depend on tokyo-pop and some of its competitors -.-'

[Cojiro]

Personally I don't like scans because reading from monitors is just...blargh for manga. But it's nice that you can read unlicenced titles.

[YamPuff]

I do, but mainly just the things I can't get, since manga isn't sold here. T^T Stuff that's unavailable, out-of-print or hard to get. But if I like it than I will buy the series online; I like to be absolutely sure of what I'm buying before I get it. Manga's expensive. ><

[Jacku]

Well it's something to do when I'm bored.
I do buy actual manga though.

[MidnightShikon]

Only a little bit. 99.5% of what manga I read is what I buy.

[AnimeDudde]

Nope, Cant stand to read scans, its annoying and doesnt get the same feeling as an actual book xD

[kyaroruchan]

I read scans but there aren't usually that many of the series I read but I still want to buy the book anyways so I can read it whenever I want, and to feel satisfied (somehow).

[chaos dragoon]

I do and I don't care. I still buy the manga when it comes out so no one loses money. I'm about to read some of Devil May Cry vol.2 right now.

[philnicau]

I've never read a scanned manga and have no intention of ever doing so!
It wouldn't matter if the only way i could get access to it was though a scan i still wouldn't do it.
Because i believe scans are both illegal and immoral and i try to avoid doing either.

[ZeKarmiSama]

I read scans, but I usually have better things to do online and scans make me lose track of which direction I am reading! Without a book in my hands I always forget if I am going left to right or right to left! @_@ I had to read some pages like five times wondering why it made no sense and then it's like "Oh... I'm an idiot!"

[alucard666]

When it comes to manga, do you prefer reading scanlations (online translations) or licensed versions?

I myself like scanlations better. I think scanlations tend to be more accurate as they leave in all those weird Japanese puns, mannerisms and references, while manga companies usually like to "Americanize" them.

i like that the scans are more accurate but i do prefer reading a book to reading them off of the computer, and of course the scans are nice for mangas that have yet to be released. so i read both but like the books better.

[stickmanbob0]

I started reading some naruto scans but i dont like it as much as having them on the go, and its stealing. sorry for doing that shonen jump :(

[Vicious]

Hm. Yeah I read scans. Heh. That's all I have to say.

[Chisame]

This is tough because while professional translators tend to use more smoothly-flowing English (and perhaps in the process sacrificing some idioms/etc. embedded in Japanese culture), scanlators tend to be more exact.

This isn't always the case, but usually. So I really can't choose... They both have their pros and cons. I do prefer having the actual book in my hand tho, if that's any comfort.

[Nyanyan]

Woot! Scans...

I do read em, especially those obscure ones...
On the other hand, they do help though, it's like an introduction for me to buy a series that is going to be/is already licensed. For example, Loveless and D.Gray-man. For those 2 series, I've stopped reading scans, and wait patiently for the volumes. T_T

[Countess Cain]

I've read a few scans, yes, but I don't really enjoy it. It's annoying to wait for it to load on a computer, and then have to maximize the page so it's blurry to see all the words. :/

And the ones I have read I buy as soon as I can. (Most of the time they're not out when I read them~. In fact, I can't think of one series I've read as a scanlation that was completely out. o.o)

Oh, and two of the series I read scanlated, 'Kaine' and 'Boy's Next Door', I ended up buying in Germany. (Even though I can't read German. xD)

[elisegrey]

*stands up* My name is Eleanor and I am a scan-addict, with far more scans than licensed tankoubon.

I really do buy as many manga as I can with my (very) limited budget, so the companies are losing nothing by me doing this, especially as most of the series I follow are unlicensed, and I imagine will remain so forever. It's still wrong - I'm not blind to that - but I find it hard to care that much, really. The manga's there, so I'm going to read it.

All this talk about scans being low-quality both image- and translation-wise is just . . . completely wrong. Yes, there are some really quite lame scanlation groups out there, but they're in the minority. Some series I follow (Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Pluto, The Hour of the Mice...) I couldn't imagine being improved by a professional scanner or translator; if anything, the concession's they'd have to make to their target-group would prove detrimental.

. . . In short: the guilt, she is not there. :D

[feder]

Don't you mean scanlations?

If that's the case, then yes, I read scanlations.
In fact, I read scanlations of DNAngel and Yami no Matsuei, even though I own the whole series of DNAngel in Japanese and all of TP's English released.
Same goes with Yami.

I read a lot of stuff that hasn't come to the US, or stuff I can't get.
I don't really feel bad about it because it gets me into new series which, in turn, I buy when they are released to the US.
Take Saiyuki for example. I read all of Saiyuki eons ago online, but when I found out that TP had licensed it I started collecting the manga volumes as well.

And considering reading DNAngel actually got me into manga in the first place, if not for reading scanlations I would have never bought manga or even read them at all.

So yeah, I don't really feel bad about it, especially if I know I'm going to buy it. And if it's not licensed in the US I don't even think it's wrong considering that would be the only way I could get it (unless I decided to spend all my money buying Japanese manga that I know nothing about).

I think that only reading scanlations and not buying is not right, however, but I feel that if you read something online that's licensed and don't like it and don't buy it it's okay.
I guess to me it's the same thing as going to a bookstore and reading a book and then deciding you don't want to buy it.

[neko ewen]

I prefer to read the original Japanese; no worries about translation issues (except in my head), and it's cheaper. ^_^ I usually buy the translated version for stuff that's really difficult to read (i.e., anything by Masamune Shirrow) or, you know, not originally in Japanese (any good manhwa I should know about?).

I don't mind scanlations, but my eyeballs don't have a high tolerance for doing lots of reading on a computer screen.

For some titles the Japanese version can become very hard to come by in the U.S. (like with Dragon Half and Milk Closet), so a scanlation or official English translation becomes the best option.

[kinbari08]

Don't you mean scanlations?

If that's the case, then yes, I read scanlations.
In fact, I read scanlations of DNAngel and Yami no Matsuei, even though I own the whole series of DNAngel in Japanese and all of TP's English released.
Same goes with Yami.

I read a lot of stuff that hasn't come to the US, or stuff I can't get.
I don't really feel bad about it because it gets me into new series which, in turn, I buy when they are released to the US.
Take Saiyuki for example. I read all of Saiyuki eons ago online, but when I found out that TP had licensed it I started collecting the manga volumes as well.

And considering reading DNAngel actually got me into manga in the first place, if not for reading scanlations I would have never bought manga or even read them at all.

So yeah, I don't really feel bad about it, especially if I know I'm going to buy it. And if it's not licensed in the US I don't even think it's wrong considering that would be the only way I could get it (unless I decided to spend all my money buying Japanese manga that I know nothing about).

I think that only reading scanlations and not buying is not right, however, but I feel that if you read something online that's licensed and don't like it and don't buy it it's okay.
I guess to me it's the same thing as going to a bookstore and reading a book and then deciding you don't want to buy it.

I totally agree with everything you said. Scans are usually what gets me interested in a series and if I like it I buy it. Scanlations are what got me into Furuba, and now I own all 13 volumes avaiable in English. For unlicensed stuff, scans are a means of spreading a mangaka's work to a place where it will be hard to find. Usually when stuff becomes licensed though I'll be buying it. I plan on getting Vampire Knight when its released January after reading the first few chapters thorugh scans.

[Arcademan]

Similar topics merged, along with the poll.

[lolitagothgirl]

Hmm... I read scanlations. They are my friends. I don't keep them on my compy, generally, though. I recognize that this is how the creators and the businesses make MONEY. This is a business, so, yeah, using scanlations is cheating. However, at $10 a pop, I can't just go out an start collecting Naruto, can I? That's too much. Especially since, I really have no desire to reread any of it. So that's how I decide to buy or not. I read a scanlation and then if I want to read it again, I have to buy it (or download it again and promist myself to buy it). Current ones on the Must Buy List are HxH, Tsubasa, xxxHolic, and Fruits Basket. I've already bought all the Kenshin I downloaded :-D

Another reason I read scanlations: they come out faster. I can't wait for my favorite manga to come out our time. And why should I when they come out every week in Japan, and in my cornor of the US with a click of a mouse?

~Lolita

[Chuplayer]

I have only read the Cardcaptor Sakura scanlation. It was nice, but I'll never read another scanlation except for a few things like small short books and bonus mini-manga that will never get published outside of Japan.

Since CCS, the only scanlations I have read were that Rex book by CLAMP and a bonus Magic Knight Rayearth manga that came with some CD.

In fact, I'm now buying the entire Tokyopop CCS series. I'm already halfway done.

[flurryofdancingflames_08]

i personally prefer scanlations simply because alot of the series i read aren't lisenced(silver diamond, toumei shounen...)