Japanese publishing giant Kadokawa to release comics for free, online, in three languages
25 replies, posted
[url]http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Consumers/Kadokawa-to-launch-a-free-manga-web-service-in-3-languages[/url]
[quote]TOKYO -- Kadokawa is launching a service that the Japanese publishing house hopes will become a pillar of its digital business -- ComicWalker, a free, online, worldwide manga comic distribution service available in Japanese, Chinese and English.
The service will start on March 22 by offering 200 titles of manga totaling 5,000 pages. It will be accessible on smartphones, tablets as well as personal computers. The Japanese lines can be switched to English or Chinese with a single command. The latest chapters will be available for free until the next chapter is published. After that, the older chapters will be available for purchase.
Kadokawa -- created last October through the reorganization of Kadokawa Group Holdings and its consolidation with nine subsidiaries -- plans to provide through the new service manga from up to 23 of the group's printed and web-based magazines. The publisher aims to have ComicWalker by the end of this year become one of Japan's biggest comic sites, with 1 million monthly-based users and 100 million page views.
Free, if you can wait[/quote]
Finally a way to read manga online legally.
I'm okay with this tho I'd like to know what's gonna be offered.
Nothing beats having the actual thing though.
I've bought some Nichijyou comics while I'm over here and they are fun just to have sitting on a bookshelf.
[QUOTE=warneccruid;44189148][url]http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Consumers/Kadokawa-to-launch-a-free-manga-web-service-in-3-languages[/url]
Finally a way to read manga online legally.[/QUOTE]
IIRC shonen jump online has a really cheap subscription and releases on time with the jap version.
If you're into that mag and are from the US that is.
Is it region locked, though?
It's always annoying when they pull the "we do not accept foreign credit cards" and other such bullshit for comics because I've been trying to look for a reliable non-overpriced source of them forever
what about my porno mags
Well I didn't see this one coming. I'm surprised.
[QUOTE=fishyfish777;44189739]Is it region locked, though?
It's always annoying when they pull the "we do not accept foreign credit cards" and other such bullshit for comics because I've been trying to look for a reliable non-overpriced source of them forever[/QUOTE]
considering it will have english as an option, who knows, i'm not optimistic through.
japan is being forced to expand to foreign markets, since their home one is getting smaller and smaller, hopefully this end such dumb practices.
I wonder if, when you get a latest chapter, it stays in your library or just gets archived and gets a price slapped on it.
[QUOTE=GentlemanLexi;44190910]what about my porno mags[/QUOTE]
Most of them are done by amateur authors not affliated with any publishing service, so tough luck.
[QUOTE=GentlemanLexi;44190910]what about my porno mags[/QUOTE]
Isn't that the same thing as most manga
Until the companies that publish said works can provide the same quality as good fansubs, I don't see the reason for using their service. I've rarely seen a publisher that actually provided non-terrible subs for either manga or anime.
They also almost never have things like translators notes to explain in-jokes or other situations that may otherwise be really confusing to people outside of Japan.
I'll still buy boxed sets of stuff that I like to support them, but I rarely watch them over fan subs of the same series due to the much better quality.
[QUOTE=GiGaBiTe;44191263]Until the companies that publish said works can provide the same quality as good fansubs, I don't see the reason for using their service. I've rarely seen a publisher that actually provided non-terrible subs for either manga or anime.
They also almost never have things like translators notes to explain in-jokes or other situations that may otherwise be really confusing to people outside of Japan.
I'll still buy boxed sets of stuff that I like to support them, but I rarely watch them over fan subs of the same series due to the much better quality.[/QUOTE]
Crunchyroll says hi.
[QUOTE=Marik Bentusi;44189334]IIRC shonen jump online has a really cheap subscription and releases on time with the jap version.
If you're into that mag and are from the US that is.[/QUOTE]
The only stuff worth reading in Shounen Jump is Gintama and Assassination Classroom though
If the subs are good, then that is pretty cool.
kadokawa show-ten toe grand sponsor tokyo day oh christmas
[QUOTE=maxumym;44191416]Crunchyroll says hi.[/QUOTE]
Uh, no. They have generic subtitles that are often wrong. I know enough Japanese to know they're translating some stuff incorrectly, and they never go the extra mile about the other stuff I was talking about.
Then there's the artificial nerfing of the video quality to nail you for "premium" HD content. Sorry but I'm not going to pay for gimped video quality with substandard subtitles.
[QUOTE=GiGaBiTe;44194913]Uh, no. They have generic subtitles that are often wrong. I know enough Japanese to know they're translating some stuff incorrectly, and they never go the extra mile about the other stuff I was talking about.
Then there's the artificial nerfing of the video quality to nail you for "premium" HD content. Sorry but I'm not going to pay for gimped video quality with substandard subtitles.[/QUOTE]
you could also subscribe to crunchy roll and take your pick of one of the many fansubs available soon after airing。。。
[QUOTE=GentlemanLexi;44190910]what about my porno mags[/QUOTE]
Just get a sadpanda account like the rest of us
[QUOTE=madnath619;44191675]The only stuff worth reading in Shounen Jump is Gintama and Assassination Classroom though[/QUOTE]
What about Jojo?
[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;44194963]you could also subscribe to crunchy roll and take your pick of one of the many fansubs available soon after airing。。。[/QUOTE]
Or I could get the exact same fansub from [url=http://www.realitylapse.com]many[/url] [url=http://www.animeseason.com/]other[/url] [url=http://onepieceofbleach.com/]websites[/url] at almost the same time for free, and only buy the series I like later. And I don't have to deal with crunchyroll gimping already HD content to 480p, or worse, destroying old anime by trying to crop 4:3 anime to 16:9.
Cropping old shows to avoid vertical letterboxing seems to be increasing with alarming frequency, and fuck supporting that.
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("warez" - Orkel))[/highlight]
[QUOTE=GiGaBiTe;44196028]Or I could get the exact same fansub from [url=http://www.realitylapse.com]many[/url] [url=http://www.animeseason.com/]other[/url] [url=http://onepieceofbleach.com/]websites[/url] at almost the same time for free, and only buy the series I like later. And I don't have to deal with crunchyroll gimping already HD content to 480p, or worse, destroying old anime by trying to crop 4:3 anime to 16:9.
Cropping old shows to avoid vertical letterboxing seems to be increasing with alarming frequency, and fuck supporting that.
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("warez" - Orkel))[/highlight][/QUOTE]
k, so you won't support anime, not just Crunchyroll but the whole industry, in one of the best ways possible while still getting your stuff from somewhere else. Whatev.
[B]E:[/B] Oh, he got banned.
Conveniently, with all the companies Kadokawa has absorbed, this could possibly result in nearly every manga I've borrowed or owned, sans Pokemon Adventures, and 90% of the manga I wish to read becoming available for me to do so and show to friends. :v:
I just hope that most of Full Metal Panic is included, I would like to read the Nichijou comics as well.
For those that don't know, Kadokawa has published many popular titles from Cowboy Bebop-to-Neon Genesis Evangelion-to-Code Geass-to-Haruhi Suzumiya-to-Lucky Star, with several of their subsidaries previously publishing also notable titles like Full Metal Panic.
the problem with mangos and annie may is that dudes up in japan make virtually no money from the west.
like, if you live in america or another english speaking country and you're caught up with all the big new animes like kill la kill and attack on titan and all that bullshit, chances are you're streaming that shit for free or torrenting it. then these non-paying fans of these animes and mangos complain about their content and petition for better shit, but their opinion doesn't really matter because they're not doing anything to support the industry.
but on the flip side, if you wanna buy your chinese cartoons you gotta shell out a fuckton. like, flcl is only 6 episodes but a disc with 2-3 of them costs like, 60 bucks. they're charging a fuckton because they don't make enough money to sell 'em cheap, and they're not making enough money because they're so damn expensive.
it's a horrible cycle, but websites like crunchyroll are great because you can support the creators without having to take out a second mortgage to get your moe fix.
[editline]10th March 2014[/editline]
that's why i've been using crunchyroll recently. it sucks that i can't download my new episodes of whatever anime i'm watching in 1080p for free the instant they come out but, hey, i'm supporting the cool dudes that are making this
[QUOTE=milkandcooki;44198661]the problem with mangos and annie may is that dudes up in japan make virtually no money from the west.
like, if you live in america or another english speaking country and you're caught up with all the big new animes like kill la kill and attack on titan and all that bullshit, chances are you're streaming that shit for free or torrenting it. then these non-paying fans of these animes and mangos complain about their content and petition for better shit, but their opinion doesn't really matter because they're not doing anything to support the industry.
but on the flip side, if you wanna buy your chinese cartoons you gotta shell out a fuckton. like, flcl is only 6 episodes but a disc with 2-3 of them costs like, 60 bucks. they're charging a fuckton because they don't make enough money to sell 'em cheap, and they're not making enough money because they're so damn expensive.
it's a horrible cycle, but websites like crunchyroll are great because you can support the creators without having to take out a second mortgage to get your moe fix.
[editline]10th March 2014[/editline]
that's why i've been using crunchyroll recently. it sucks that i can't download my new episodes of whatever anime i'm watching in 1080p for free the instant they come out but, hey, i'm supporting the cool dudes that are making this[/QUOTE]
anime has for better or worse become somewhat trapped in the fucking crazy otaku market
What anime really needs is it's own Steam. A global distribution platform that can rival fan sites in convenience and quality.
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