Debate Scanlations?

"Scanlation" is the term for a scanned manga or doujinshi that has been translated by a fan. These are available on many websites for free - and although the series usually isn't one which has been liscensed outside of Japan, there's a good deal of controversy in the fan community on whether or not scanlations are acceptible (much like the controversy surrounding fansubs).

On one hand, supporters of scanlations tend to argue that the series may never be liscensed, and scanlating is a way of allowing individuals who cannot read Japanese to enjoy them. Since they're free, no one is making a profit off another person's work - and if the series ever is liscensed, most scanlators will take the scans down and instead encourage people to buy the translated versions. In the case of doujinshi, the scanlating community likes to argue that it would be almost impossible to ever have official translated releases; doujinshi are produced in extremely limited print runs and at only a small profit most of the time.

On the other hand, scanlation opposers feel that providing free fan-translated scans is stealing, plain and simple. They argue that if you can get free scanlations, there's no reason to buy an official release - just as many anime fans won't buy a series that they've seen fansubbed - and this creates a smaller market and less incentive for companies to release new titles.

Some websites release translated "scripts" of unreleased manga, urging fans to buy the raw Japanese copies and read the scripts to understand what's going on. This is seen as an acceptible compromise by many, but it's a bit of a hassle. Often, the scripts fall into the hands of scanlators anyway.

So... how do you feel about scanlations?

 

While I don't know much about them (actually everything I'd know about them would come from your post), I'd have to say I support them overall.

As you said, lesser known titles may NEVER be released to America, and without these scanlations, we'd never get to enjoy them. Sure the creators aren't making any money off of it, but if it's never released then they probably aren't going to be making any American money off of it anyway. And since the majority of Americans can't read Japanese....it's a perfect substitute.

I do, however, think that it shouldn't be permittable for the scanlations to remain online once the manga is released. Sure maybe a couple for previews, but other then that I think we should have to buy our own. It's only fair to the creators.

Also, I disagree that people who read the scanlations may be less influenced to buy the manga. The scanlations may have been poorly translated, not to mention less pleasing to read on the internet. By letting people see them BEFORE they're released, you're creating a fanbase for the particular manga. That way, when it's released, people will already know and appreciate it, and therefore be more likely to buy a much more official version of it then what's shown on the scanlation.

 

That's certainly true. There are several manga series which I've read scanlated, and I'd jump at the chance to own physical copies of them if they were ever liscensed. Likewise, with fansubs, I always prefer the official releases of my favorite series.

With doujinshi, I tend to feel that scanlating is justified because they're often so scarce. Telling someone to "go out and buy your own" just isn't feasible - doujinshi are generally only available at cons or online stores, and usually are quite pricey because they're collector's items. It's also difficult to hunt down a specific doujinshi. Since most are already out of print, the creators are no longer making money off them anyway - they're being resold by fans.

There are also a lot of "controversial" manga and doujinshi which will almost certainly never make it to the US. I'm sure we're all well aware of the more "adult" aspect of anime and manga - and given the age laws in Japan, what's appropriate there may not be appropriate here. Personally, I enjoy a well-crafted romance with or without graphic content, and I don't like to think I'll be forever denied translated yaoi manga just because the characters are under US age-of-consent laws by a year. (Yes, I know, I'm a perv. But I'm just using this as an example - cultural differences could very well prevent certain extraordinary series from debuting in the US and elsewhere.)

 

*yawns* If I download a scanlation and enjoy it, I buy the real thing if its released here. Just like fansubs. Simple as that.