Discussion Edited Manga groups

[Tessa]

Hi, I've been wanting to chat about this subject for a while now. I'm really curious, who are your favorite Manga Editors groups and why? What do you expect from a scanator group. Do you want speedy releases and lower quality or the other way around, or do you want both regarding of the fact the you don't help at all?
What do you think about the scan groups that scan licensed mangas as well? Do you think they do a bad thing? Have you ever supported a mangaka by buying a title yourself?
Ok, I know this might sound weird coming from me, but I'm really curious, because I'm also the admin of a scan group and I want to know how people see us in general compared to other groups. We get feedback on our forum, but of course that the users that read our stuff are not really objective when they tell us we are great XD.

Ok, so I'll be the one to start:
1. Who are your favorite Manga Editors groups?
There are 3 and another 2 because I'm sentimentally involved with them.
a. Storm in Heaven: I love they're works, love they're quality and they're speed. I really admire them and hope my own little group will someday be like that ^^.
b. Aerandria: they're pretty new on the market, but they sure work fast, and good. They pick all those good new titles. You can always find something good at they're site .
c. Esthetique: I like it especially because of it's community. On they're site you can find not only scans, but they have a really huge downloading section, a raws section and a lot more. The projects they scan are not all on my taste [they have a lot of cliche], but I still find some very appealing, for example the manhwas and manhuas they scan .
d. Evil Flowers: my little cute group. I founded this group last year on 20 May and it seems like we're doing pretty fine. I love all our projects [since 80% of theme were picked by me...lol]. I love my staff members and our fans and it really make me view the hole scanning mater different.
e. NOIR - they are my formal group. I was actually at first in RC-SCANS that got absorbed by NOIR when our formal admin and founder left. Maybe I like this group because I like the people in it. They are very nice and they scanlate mostly manhwas [my personal obsession XD]

Note: I know I only listed shoujo scan groups, but since i don't really read shounen/seinen titles I'm not really informed about the other groups out there [that may be great but I don't know about them because of my ignorance]. Well, i'll wait for you to list me great sounen/seinen scan groups and maybe even shounen-ai/yaoi or shoujo-ai/yuri scan groups ^^.
2. Quantity over quality?
Well, being in a scan group and knowing all the steps a chapter has to take before being finished I'd say that HQ at a very speedy process it's really impossible. Maybe only if the editor for that project has no life or if we assign more editors on the same project [but that would mean getting other projects stalled]. I personally prefer quality over quantity, but if that thing means less than 1 ch per month then I get impatient and curse the quality process XD. Well, let's say I like both: good looking scans released at a speed of enlist 1 ch per week .

3. Is it ok to scan licensed titles?
Well, I would say no, but there are exceptions. For example if a title is not so well known having a few chapters/volumes scanned from it will make the readers curious and make them buy the title. Sometimes, if you finish a good title and see that it's being licensed you buy it regardless of the fact that you already read it till the end, you buy it because you know it's worth it till the last page . Also, if a publisher is releasing really slow or discontinued/dropped a certain project I would say that scan groups should take it.

4. Have you ever supported a mangaka by buying a title yourself?
Yes, i'm poor so I don't have so many titles, but I do have around 50 volumes at my house. I bought Hissing, Her majesty's dog, Real Life, Bride of water God, Seduction more beautiful than love, Arcana and another few titles that I stooped buying after the first volumes because I didn't consider them worth it to continue buying XD.

5. Other thing you'd like to say?
I like scan groups in general. They really bring joy in my life with every new project that I read and like thanks to them. I think Manga Editors and also fansubers are doing a wonderful thing with this because:
~ They don't earn anything from it
~ They spend they're free time and sometimes even cash [for buying raws, hosting sites]
~ They do it to make other people happy
And I really think that's worth tanking about. So if you ever read/watch something you really like, please don't remain an ignorant lecher for the rest of you're life and go to the Manga Editor/fansuber's site, forum or irc channel and say a thank you. It really helps and makes them feel they're not wasting they're time .

Thank you for reading this ^^.
Hope I'll get a lot of replays. I'm really curious about you're opinion on this mater .

[kaiten]Great topic! To everyone who posts: Please, no bashing Edited Manga groups, translators, or raw providers. Thanks![/kaiten]

 

[Niirouge]

I love how you put so much thought into this thread - great job!

1. Who are your favourite Manga Editor groups?
Well, I don't read many shoujo nowadays, so I'm not sure on how to rate the groups you have chosen... *cough* I tend to read the shounen manga that come out pretty fast and not all the time in great quality but somewhat durable to see. So right now:
a) Mangastream & Binktopia are topping my list as they have both fast and high-quality releases for the few manga I read
... and that's all I know... Sorry, I'm not much of help in this area... And I have seem some VERY wonderfully scanned and cleaned manga done by shoujo groups but I don't remember their names...

2. Quality over quantity?
Definitely quality. I would rather read a release that is stunning and can genuinely capture the author's artistic intention over a quick chapter of just 'adding' in the translations and moderate levelling. I know I'm not being very fair to those groups as they have spent precious time providing readers with the content either way, but if i had to pick, I'm only saying I'd go for quality.

3. Is it okay to scan licensed titles?
LOL, this is difficult for me to answer as the series I read are weekly and already licensed in many countries. If the publishers or companies decide to drop the series, then I'd give the Manga Editors the go sign; like you said. As for the popular shonen, I'll never be able to see how it is alright to provide free viewing and reading but I can't see any other way to promote the author as effectively as this... People are anxious to read the latest chapters and it is too difficult to deny them of that right. Especially when it's a free service (hopefully) done by the Manga Editors for other people's benefits...

4. Have you ever supported a mangaka by buying a title yourself?
Of course! I always buy the official Japanese volume when it comes out And in the case that it is a manhwa, I buy the English version. Unless it is not licensed, then I'm screwed as I don't know how to ship from Korea... I truly recommend that all fans should purchase the original hard copy and support their beloved authors. However, I do understand that money comes across as a pretty big issue for some.

5. Other things you'd like to say?
Um, not much really, lol!
I guess I'd like to give my thanks to the people working in Edited Manga groups for their wonderful and selfless time and effort placed in providing us with our manga And Tessa's right: a simple "thank you" means a lot more than you think it does.

I hope this helps you in some way. If not, I'm sorry for wasting your time reading this... *cough*

Oh, one final comment after re-reading your introduction:
What I mostly expect from Manga Editors is neither their awesome quality or crazy quantity. I think dedication covers all that and it is evident on how much of it is present in a release just by reading it It might not make much sense, but the best for me are always the ones who know how to please their readers because it also makes them happy to know they're being appreciated for it.

 

[Kaiten]

1. Who are your favorite Manga Editors groups?

1. Mangascreener: Only semi-active the last few years but still release great manga from time to time. From their first release on they had great taste in manga, it's reasonable to assume that anything they scanlated are quality series. Did I mention they were one of the first groups to scanlate One Piece?
2. Kotonoha: Same as above, but more active. I'm reading almost all of their current projects. If I'm not, it's a short series and I'm waiting to read the whole thing at once.
3. Storm in Heaven: Great shojo/josei group. I'm not following any of their current series but they have a great catalog of shojo and josei titles ranging from fluffy romance to dark gekiga.
4. Hox: Quality isn't always the best if he's scanning from mag raws but he has such good taste, and has translated so many great series that may never get licensed. When he starts a new project I will almost always read it.

2. Quantity over quality?

Quality. I really prefer HQ scans. I would rather some happy medium. Waiting two months for a single, 15 page chapter is agony. But I'd rather see someone take a little time, replace the grays, fill the blacks, remove the dust, and fix lines than a rush release for the sake of download count.

3. Is it ok to scan licensed titles?

If I said no, I would be a hypocrite. I read plenty of licensed series online. I would rather see groups focus on series that are unlicensed and have no hope of being licensed. Nowadays it's just as common to see unscanlated series (Resteraunte Paradiso for example) licensed. Now that the speed scan era is over five groups working on one licensed series seems a thing of the past.

4. Have you ever supported a mangaka by buying a title yourself?

Yes, I buy manga. I don't buy series that are scanlated very often, with a few exceptions. As I said above there are so many series that are licensed but not online now that I concentrate on those

 

[M3J]

1. Who are your favourite Manga Editor groups?

MangaStream (even though I heard their translation isn't the most accurate anymore), Keishou, and JAC. However, this is biased list as they're mostly the only ones I can remember, especially since they scanlate my favorite mangas/mangas that I read.

2. Quality over quantity?

I prefer quality. It's annoying seeing Sleepyfans' medium quality, but if the translation was accurate to the dot, I'd suffer through it. They have the time to do it, especially since MangaStream usually beats them in releasing the chapters. While MangaStream's scans are high quality, the translations apparently aren't as much despite the speed. Apologies for rants. <_< I like MangaStream though.

Plus, quantity doesn't matter if I can't understand or see shit. Definitely quality.

3. Is it okay to scan licensed titles?

Depends, really. It should be made available only to those that don't get the recent chapters, so at the very least Japan shouldn't be able to read the manga. Plus, there's no problem Editing licensed titles in places where mangas are scarce. However, allowing countries like America to read, I think the Manga Editors/manga reader sites should remove the chapters where the volumes have released in a certain country... or ban them from reading it.

4. Have you ever supported a mangaka by buying a title yourself?

No, but I want to. I'm hoping to buy multi-volumed mangas, like Dragon Ball and One Piece. Easier to read and harder to lose. Plus, having cheap parents make me kinda wanna be cheap, mostly to avoid being bitched at. <_<

 

[Asarii]

1. Who are your favorite Manga Editors groups?
I don't know a lot of groups since I read whatever I can find. I do admire the effort I Eat Manga puts in their releases. I'm pleased with their translations, and the fact that they scanlate my favourite series. KHR must be a pain to clean because there's a lot of toning in the artwork, but IEM pulls it off!

2. Quantity over quality?
Quality. Although it doesn't really matter because the best way to read manga is by print. That's the best quality.

3. Is it ok to scan licensed titles?
Even though a series might be licensed, it doesn't necessary mean that it will be available at the local bookstore. Sometimes scans are the only way to read manga if it's not available anywhere else. Buying it online can also be really expensive once you add up the costs.

4. Have you ever supported a mangaka by buying a title yourself?
I read scans as a test run to see if I love the series enough to purchase it so yes, I buy them.

 

[Kaiten]

2. Quantity over quality?
Quality. Although it doesn't really matter because the best way to read manga is by print. That's the best quality.

That's why I buy manga. Not for moral reasons, because manga looks so much better in book form. Even HQ scans can't compare. Besides looking better, it's easier to read (and pick out the details) from a book than staring at a computer monitor.

4. Have you ever supported a mangaka by buying a title yourself?
I read scans as a test run to see if I love the series enough to purchase it so yes, I buy them.

I think of Edited Mangas as the international equivalent of buying the magazines; a cheap, low quality introduction to the series. For series I really love, I will buy the books. When I'm low on money I stick to series that aren't translated online but I do buy the books of my favorite volumes.

 

[Asarii]

I have terrible eyesight so staring at a (mostly) white screen won't do my vision good as well. XD

I understand the publisher's concerns, but they must be crazy if they think we'll buy a manga we'll never read again. A manga will receive profit from me if I feel it deserves it. Small font because it's semi-off topic: I find quite a number of similarities between Edited Mangas and digital music downloads.

Regardless of how good a Edited Manga group may be, every member takes a portion of their free time so we can read the series we love. I may not read the series they've worked on, but they all earn my respect.

 

[R4n]

^ i think Edited Manga is different from digital music downloads. Once people have the digital file, most of them won't buy the CDs. It is easy to burn the songs into a CD and it won't be much different than the real ones.
I will buy the cd if i really LOVE the artist or if there are bonuses that are included with the purchase.

*i am mean*

 

[Asarii]

Ah, you're right! (I don't think you're mean btw.) The CDs can be overpriced like the manga volumes and with the current state of the economy and my wallet, they can really cost a lot.

 

[Kaiten]

The difference is that at least most music is available locally, where as legitimate manga lags behind Japan by two years, or more. Or is simply never licensed. Edited Mangas fill a void in the market that music piracy is not needed for.

Something I'm curious about is what newer manga fans feel about the state of the online scene. Compared to a few years ago, I think the "professionalism" and quality of scan groups is much higher. The variety of series being translated is much higher too. The days of seven LQ Edited Mangas of the same Naruto/Bleach/One Piece chapter using the same translation is gone and I don't miss it. What I miss is the democratic feel of the speed scan era, when random people felt comfortable releasing a chapter. That resulted in a lot of crap Edited Mangas but it was a really fun, open environment.

 

[Asarii]

Maybe it's just my obscure music taste.

Hmm, I'm not sure if I can label myself as a new fan or not, but I did come across LQ scans while reading older works such as Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho and Shaman King. Personally I don't mind the unclean, yellowish pages. I'll have to bear it in the beginning, and the quality should get better eventually.

What matter the most when I'm reading a scan are translations. As long as the translation seems to stay true of the original text, the appearance is all right with me.

 

[Kaiten]

I forgot that record stores suck now. Good point.

The series you mentioned were mostly scanned along time ago, when Edited Mangas (at least as we knew it) were just beginning. Rather than trying to be the first out, many of the groups from that era were still learning. Many didn't even use photoshop yet, a big handicap. Raws were also much harder to come by. If raw quality was bad, there weren't other options. You had to use what was available. Most of these early groups emerged as high quality groups by 2007/2008.

I'm thinking more what things were like two or three years ago. Groups were so focused on being the first to release that quality suffered. They were unwilling to do things like redraws, fixing tone, denoising so that they got the most downloads. Variety suffered too. Groups, and individuals, focused on nothing but the big three.

 

[Asarii]

Ah, I must have misunderstood. Thankfully I haven't come those scans that you mentioned. It's good that the quality has been getting better with new technology and communicative methods available.

I find it unfortunate that there can be six different Edited Manga groups scanning a single seres whereas lesser known manga are paid less attention to. A reason for that may be accessibility.

 

[M3J]

Different Edited Manga groups scan manga they love that's popular mostly for the views and hits, I guess. Many that do like the manga they read scanlate it if they have to, as well.

Though, many Edited Manga groups that compete for most views/downloads should be aware that the better quality and translation they have, the more people will prefer them overall, especially if advertised/preferred in big manga sites like One Manga and Manga Fox. People would prefer to read a Edited Manga where they can easily see the panels and know that the translation's accurate rather than read a bad quality with shoddy translation. At least, ones that aren't such newbs.

 

[Asarii]

Though, many Edited Manga groups that compete for most views/downloads should be aware that the better quality and translation they have, the more people will prefer them overall, especially if advertised/preferred in big manga sites like One Manga and Manga Fox.

Definitely. Edited Manga groups aren't getting paid, but it's still a pretty good to be well-known around the community. Also the fact that readers are trusting you to deliver their favourite titles to them. In a way Edited Manga groups (who are Editing popular manga) should have better quality than its "competitors" in order to stand out.