Tag Archives: digital manga

Some Updated Thoughts On J-Manga

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We have had a little time to get used to the J Manga service, and now that I have had the chance to work with it, actually read some titles, I have a few thoughts about the future of the service and my current opinion of it. Every new medium needs some time to grow, and I think we have gotten a good introduction to the services that J Manga is currently providing (or, in some cases, not providing) for its customers.

First, is the pricing: at $4.99, volumes of digital manga are much easier to purchase and are much more reasonable than their previous $8.99 price point, but I have no idea if this price point will stay the same. Right now I am paying 4.99 for a volume on Viz Media’s manga app, which i can take on my iPhone, iPad, or any laptop computer. The manga available for purchase on the Viz site is, by far and large, better translated and better adapted. There are no graphical glitches or unreadable text, which puts it a step ahead in quality, price, and convenience, all things that I am very sensitive to when it comes to digital content. I will be interested to see if the content goes back up to $8.99 on Tuesday – I imagine that if the price does go back up, I will be discontinuing my subscription. I didn’t buy Yen Press manga for that price digitally, and I won’t pay $8.99 for digital manga.

Second is content availability: there are plenty of books listed on the J Manga site, but very few are actually available on J Manga, The majority of shonen titles in the J Manga store are just the digitally localized volumes from the Viz Media app, and the selections that are available are sparse. This needs to change immediately. If you are going to list a series as available for purchase, it needs to be available to purchase. I understand the idea that these pages are a stand in for when the manga finally comes down from the Japanese companies on high, but nothing is more frustrating or off-putting than to attempt to buy a volume of manga that isn’t actually on the site.

Third: previews – these need to be at least a chapter long. Other digital services are pretty consistently allowing consumers to try the first chapter of a given manga before having to purchase. This is a system that J Manga needs to enact as soon as possible. As it stands, they aren’t meeting industry standards, and it is not helping them sell content.

Finally is a pet peeve of my own, which I don’t think many share: the josei section, which I am extremely interested in as a reader, is mostly yaoi. Not that yaoi is a bad thing. I just think it needs its own section. It clearly caters to women as a genre, but the stories that appear in josei manga anthologies and those that appear in yaoi anthologies are extremely variable. I also find that many series appear in multiple headers. For example, some books labelled as seinen are also available in the josei section. This is misleading at best, and confuses me as a consumer.

I am certainly not giving up on J Manga all the way, despite my gripes. I am interested in the content they can provide as a matter of wanting to read content unavailable in the USA. I am also interested to see if J Manga can provide license rescues that other print publishers have been unable provide. Still, J Manga has a long way to go before I will consider them a successful publisher and not just a flash in the pan. Let’s hope they can bring things around in the next two months.

My Belated Thoughts on JManga

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Since I’ve been thinking about digital comics recently (you can hear me talk about digital at Manga Out Loud with a whole host of excellent manga bloggers), I thought it would be good to give my more formal thoughts on the JManga. I don’t really need to write a long essay, since that sort of thing has already been done, so I think a list should suffice:

The Good:

1. The title selection – JManga has a large number of series that have not yet been translated into English in any format, and have been given the full workup by JManga. Series like Edo Nekoe Jubei Otogizoshi and Anesthesiologist Hana prove that digital opens doors to manga that is basically not going to be profitable in print form but can make it in a digital world. JManga is also using original trade dress and it seems like translations from series from defunct publishers like CMX, which gives me hope that series published by Tokyopop, Go! Comi, CMX, and other defunct publishers will make reentrance into the world of digital.

2. Website Usability – I have not had any problems with the site. It is cleanly constructed, easily navigated, and generally a pleasant experience to use. The Flash reader that they have put in place to read comics with is uncluttered and works well for its purpose. The digital files are high quality, and are generally easy to read.

The Bad:

1. Price– JManga is essentially charging what amounts to print price for their books. Some books are going for even more – a good example is Hawking, a Takao Saito manga which is retailing for about $20 for 400 pages of comics. That’s absolutely insane for digital items, which have already shown a huge price sensitivity. You are not going to convince me to try vintage digital manga at this price, JManga. Viz’s pricing structure is much more reasonable, and I suggest it to J Manga in the future.

2. Translations/Editing – While most of the time this isn’t a problem, there are some issues with the readability of the site (the manga explanation blurbs that show up on each series’ individual page is a good area to reference) because the translation is a little stilted. There have been some comics where the text runs outside of word bubbles, etc. There is plenty of freelance talent in the USA that does work in manga, JManga, and you would do yourself well to tap into this talent.

3. Unavailable content – there are quite a few series that are showing up in the JManga store that you cannot actually purchase. This is a problem. I want to be able to buy a book if it is in your store. Please let me do this. I understand that with Viz, you are redirecting to the Vizmanga.com website. That’s fine. But some series are just plain unavailable, and that is an irritation.

4. No apps?? – JManga is not on iPad or iPod. This should be addressed as soon as possible.

The Ugly:

1. Subscription model – First, it seems ridiculous that users can not just buy a la carte points. Signing up for a subscription for points and then being able to buy a la carte is ridiculous and not that intuitive. If you want to encourage subscriptions, make users pay for multiple months at a time and give them a better deal on points or some other bonuses, but don’t make having a subscription mandatory to get points.

2. Points expiration – this is pretty sleezy. Dollars don’t expire. Forcing your users to use up points within the calendar year that they were purchased is just absolutely poor form. There is no other good explanation. I am sure it make sense in some lovely corporate world, but it doesn’t make sense for regular users, and it shouldn’t be a part of any digital company’s platform.

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I honestly think that JManga will have a hard time with the American market until they fix some of the problems I have mentioned here. Granted, the site has worked well for me, and this is only a few weeks into their opening, so much of this could change. The issue is that JManga needs to change in order to make itself into a really profitable venture. For now, I will be keeping a close eye on the site. I really have liked the content I have bought, but I am holding out until the site gets more of its act together.

Back Next Week

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Yep! I know it’s been a long time since I have posted, but I am trying to revamp my schedule to allow me to write more, so this means I’ll be back to 2-3 articles a week starting on the 12th. In the meantime, check out the Manga Out Loud podcast where Ed Sizemore, Johanna Draper Carlson, Rob McMonigal, Brigid Alverson, Lissa Pattillo and myself all talk about digital manga and the future of digital content. I am a pro digital reader, and this podcast let me really think about what I like and dislike about the current digital offerings from the major (and not so major) manga publishers.  If you have some spare time to listen, I suggest it highly.
(You also get to hear me say “You Know” approximately 100 times)

 

See you all next week!

Moving Review: Otomen, Vol. 1

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Otomen, Vol. 1, Written and Illustrated by Aya Kano
Viz Media Shojo Beat
ISBN 9781421521862, 208 pgs.
$4.99 US digital (iPod & iPad only); $8.99 US

If you haven’t seen one of my moving reviews, please give a look at my last review of Monkey High, vol. 1. The results of a review are the following:

Keep: I liked the book enough to pack it up!
Donate: I liked it or think that others will like it, so I will donate it to the local library system
Trash: I didn’t like this book, and I wouldn’t donate it (eeek!)

One of the great new things about technology is the ability to have your books wherever you like as long as you have your digital device with you. While I certainly appreciate having a physical book and feeling the paper, smelling the ink, and experiencing the raw, unfettered joy of reading, I also enjoy being able to slip multitudes of books into my pocket, and the ability to read during downtime, long bus and car rides, and basically wherever I want. That is why when the Viz Manga App first hit the iPad shortly after the tablet’s debut, I was extremely excited. I would be able to take a whole stack of manga with me on the road. Now, with the iPod App, I can keep all my books between both devices and reread manga whenever I like.

Another good thing about the Viz Manga App is that allows me to check out series that I haven’t read or seen before at a discount price from their retail selling points, and that was good enough for me to check out the first volume of Otomen. Even more exciting, I picked up the volume during Viz‘s March Madness sale and got the first volume for a dollar; you can’t beat that price!

Otomen is a shojo manga about a high school boy named Asuka who is proficient in kendo and other martial arts and spends most of his time at school trying to be the manliest man possible – except that on the inside, he loves crochet, sewing, and cooking. In this first volume, we see him fall in love with Ryo, a girl who is fairly manly.

The premise of Otomen is really quite cute, but, without proper management, could have been pretty terrible. We’ve seen other manga with reversed gender roles (Ai Ore comes to mind) that have been schlock, and others (W Juliet, anyone) that weren’t really that… well, interesting. The whole premise would be fairly predictable, but a third main character, Juta Tanibacha, spices things up nicely as a mangaka who writes Asuka’s favorite manga series Love Chick (which is obviously based on Asuka and Ryo’s relationship, except their genders are reversed).

Despite previous attempts at this type of story, I think that Otomen is probably the best crafted that I have read. The characters are very well developed and the events in the plot, while a bit episodic, are also very basic and don’t try to complicate the general plot line. The first whole volume we see Juta crafting his manga while Asuka sputters about trying to work up the courage to ask Ryo out on a date. Seeing Juta help Asuka work through his problems and try to maintain friendship with his “muse” is really quite amusing, and still stays true to the idea of the story.The whole mangaka writing a story about two characters inside a manga is enjoyable meta-humor that I think is something rarely seen in shojo published in the US, and it is what makes Otomen such a great read.

The art is also wonderful – and yes, I realize that while I normally hate on the hearts, flowers, stars, and glitter, they are quite appropriate given the subject matter, and their use is never cloying, so I can put up with it in Otomen. The art is a subtle mix of shojo and shonen characteristics, which I liked, since there is plenty of “cool tough guy action” as well as stuffed bunnies and ornate bento lunches. I also appreciated the fact that Love Chick, the fictional manga-within-a-manga has completely different art than Otomen, which seems obvious, but is a nice touch.

As far as the digital delivery, Viz Media has done an excellent job with their manga app on the iPad and iPod. Books are easily downloaded and purchased in-app, and also easily read. While I dislike the fact that other tablet users and PC users are unable to access this content, it is a great delivery system for Apple devices. The cost per volume is also very acceptable, since at $4.99 I feel as though I am getting a pretty good deal for my entertainment dollar. Free samples allow you to view the first chapter of the fist volume of any series on the app, which is a good choice, and helped me decide to start reading Otomen. The advent of the Viz manga app will definitely not change my love for the written page, but I will most likely begin to follow specific series on the iPad because I am not necessarily that rushed to get them and I really like the price point. I am glad that Viz has entered the fray with this iPad/iPod app, and hope that they will continue to expand their offerings to other platforms.

As far as Otomen goes, I think it is great fun – it is whimsical and breezy and still has enough depth to satisfy those with tastes for more complicated stories. I am interested to see how the series will continue, especially with some of the hints at what could be some messy/complicated plot lines. I’m also interested in how Juta will play out as a mangaka – this part of the book is what really makes it tick, and I hope that we continue to see his progression as a character. Overall, Otomen is a great read that is cerebral enough to approach gender roles and identity and still has time for a “standard” shojo love story, an unusual mix that makes a really entertaining comic book. Highly Recommended.

Mover’s Ranking: Keep

It’s not hard to convince me to keep my iPad, and that’s one of the strengths of this type of content, but at the same time, even if I had the paperback books, I would be packing these up for my move. This is a manga you really need to read!

Manga for the iPhone?

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While everyone seems pretty happy about Yotsuba&’s new home, I’m looking elsewhere (and praying that Yen can get the rights to the first books!) On a more digital front, and a bit away from NYCC ’09, it appears that UClick, a iPhone App developer has rolled out a comics viewer from the Apple App Store. UClick has teamed up with TokyoPop (which is a much better business proposal than the whole Domo-kun manga, which is still a waste of time) to provide manga like DramaCon to the iPhone. Chapters are provided in $0.99 segments, much like a song on iTunes, and in exchange for your micro-transaction, you can download chapters of manga and read them from the comfort of your iPhone. It’s not just manga though; comics like Bone, and popular web comics are also available (which is good for those of us with good taste in graphic novels from this side of the Pacific too).

Is this the future of digital manga? We know that everyone has been looking at digital technology, and it’s also true that iTunes has made music at least a bit profitable, showing us that users are willing to pay $0.99 for music they could otherwise steal. iTunes has showed us the ability of microtransactions to work; manga is a better deal, because it allows you to preview the rest of the material. If you don’t like the first chapter of whichever manga you buy, you don’t have to spring for the second chapter.

What could be interesting is if UClick allowed more independent writers to put their comic into their iPhone app. Until I can get an iPhone, I’ll be sadly outside of this little window, but I think it’s a good step in the right direction. I’m also really surprised that TokyoPop is the one who took the first step. Will Viz or Yen show up to the table? Or will they have a digital format of their own coming down the pipes?