Come on, Hina! There's still hope!
Some Unrequested Advice
日本語版は英語の後
(Japanese version below English)
So, I was speaking to my Japanese culture interested friends about J-Comi. I had asked for an update if the site went up, and apparently it did. Also, it apparently has some issues that a quick explanation made obvious.
First, the site is using an affiliate purchase business model. That is, creators aren’t paid for clicks; they’re paid for purchases made through the clicks (and through the clicks only). This is a more difficult model and is making even testing the idea out a bit difficult, as Twitter posts shown on the site itself are suggesting.
Second, the site relies on a model of PDF downloads rather than on-site hosting. I really, really hate to mention this, but to use one example, the now shut down copyright violating site Onemanga.com had a business model more in tune with the public: making manga readable completely on-site, through a browser, through page by page clicking (or arrow keys). Other sites that I will not name still survive, and put ads for things like free-to-play MMO’s without unduly angering the reader.
Third, as these PDF’s are concerned, let me give my blunt opinion: low-quality PDF downloads are absolutely worthless for reading Japanese. They do have value in the strict sense of viewing the pictures but… people, this is not working. Low quality scans are often adequate for reading ENGLISH, but are completely inadequate for the human eye to properly read kana and kanji.
Now, the site does feature high quality PDF downloads, and these are just fine to read on my 1650×1050 resolution monitor without squinting or annoyance. I plan to catch up on Love Hina manga and intend to support Ken Akamatsu’s effort however I can.
While I’m not sure this is a problem, a site like this can only work if creators sign up. I know Ken said that creators could submit content easily by zip file, but I’m not sure if the sign-up process is smooth. Anyway, if that’s a problem, it needs solving.
Finally, patience is required. Don’t give up, Ken!!
So, in terms of solutions, here’s what my interested friends and I would suggest:
Go to a pay-per-click ad model. It’s better.
Implement on-site viewing.
Make it easy for creators to create accounts.
Don’t give up!!
That’s my advice.
日本語版、手短いに
（下手な日本語を許して下さい。－J)
アフィリエイトのモデルは厳しいね？Pay-per-clickは遥かに優秀な手段と思います。
元翻訳者として、悪いが、軽量版PDFは読む価値がない。英語の場合、出来るかもしれないが、かなと漢字の場合、読めないよ、普通な人にとって。日本語版の価値はゼロです。それに、米国版の画質低下を回避するべきです。
ちなみに、高解像度PDFは全く問題なし。私も喜んで読みます。
真の問題は、サイトの必ず必要物がサイト内見る機能です。でないと、pay-per-clickモデルが出来ないよ。コンテンツを盗む人までサイト内見る機能とアドを混じる。そして、金を稼ぎます。プロのサイト、それぐらいを出来ないなら。。。未来がないかも。
是非、私はJ-Comiを全力でサポートします。武運を祈るぞ！
ちなみに、翻訳者が必要ならば、連絡して下さいね？（汗）
では、頑張って下さい。外人のファンも応援します。諦めないで！（＾＾）
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Above: “Absolutely not!!” (ironic promo image used for the subject of this post by Ken Akamatsu, creator of Love Hina, and thus the actual holder of the intellectual property thereof.)
いいえ、本当かも
（It Really Might Be For Real!)
The Gist:
Ken Akamatsu, the creator of Love Hina, has founded a project that promises to be the YouTube of Manga. I am not making that up; this blog post (it’s in Japanese, FYI!) uses that exact premise. (There’s also a comparison to Nico Video, which is a Japanese, YouTube-style service.)
This is something that the manga industry has desperately needed for years. For serious fans, the sheer physical size and weight of a manga collection is a major burden. This is why, in spite of being a voracious reader of Japanese, I own very few physical manga myself. And I used to translate them for a meager living! (Well, TokyoPop always got the copies back after I was done with them, but that’s another story…)
The Idea:
Manga creators will be able to upload their works in the simplest of manners, .jpg format images in a Zip file, and the site will automatically unpack the data and make it available both in web reader format and in PDF format. Now, I’m not the greatest fan of PDF, but there will be no DRM whatsoever and you can give the stuff to friends at your own discretion. It will also be 100% free, using per-click revenue distribution to reward the authors without thick, thick piles of publisher bureaucracy, red tape and all the massive costs of physical printing and distribution.
Why This Matters:
Manga has been a declining industry for a while. Ken himself has asked the obvious question: what comes after Bleach and Naruto and One Piece? What? These three pillars are holding up the entire industry, and a lot of very good and very creative stuff rests in their shadows. More importantly, the sheer infrastructure of it all is hard pressed to keep up with the modern world… and digital distribution has been a bright light, but has never been implemented in a workable way.
On Nov. 26, we’ll see if this way will work.
Ken is wealthy enough to not need to make one dime on it. His interest is promoting creativity, authors, and getting both as close to the fans as possible. Realistically, this will be covering a lot of out of print works, but that’s OK. There’s a lot of out of print titles people haven’t read.
Ken leads the way with all 14 volumes of Love Hina, which will therefore be available for free download and viewing once the full site is up.
I haven’t actually read the manga, and I only saw a few episodes of the anime (like 3, I think?), so I will be reading.
As a former manga translator (of high skill and great pride in my work), let me tell you my simple and honest opinion: the industry NEEDS this. That includes the U.S. side, though contracts and rights issues may make doing the same thing on U.S. shores more difficult.
If it ever does happen, I would do everything possible to support it myself.
I even have my own dreams of novel writing, for the works of great Japanese artists inspire me deeply and really make me want to create on my own. It’s ideas like this that give me some hope in this world.
This is an idea whose time has come. We’re not all carpenters. We can’t just build shelves to store 100 volumes of manga. Even if you have to pay for it, and believe me, I’m all for supporting creators and artists, the point is having it in a good format that you can have on a hard drive or portable device.
Why can’t you be able to enjoy manga on PC, or iPad, or PS3 image viewer, or PSP, or anything of the sort? Why not? Let’s strip the barriers down, get the support to these artists that they richly deserve, and spread the joy of artistic creativity to the fans and readers who will enjoy and appreciate it.