Category: Editorials

The Accidental Pirate

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A conversation during a dinner at AnimeNEXT alerted me to a possibility that I hadn’t considered before: ignorance of piracy. One of our fellows observed a girl buying Twin Spica vols. 7–8 but telling her mother and vendor that she didn’t need the others because she could read them online. When relaying this story, the teller felt the girl genuinely didn’t know that Twin Spica isn’t distributed online. Similarly, a co-worker recommend an anime to me, when I said I’d check it out she directed me to a site that was streaming it illegally. She literally had no idea the show was actually available for free on Funimation’s own site.

As a blogger and an intimate member of the anime community who has good access to people in the industry as well, I take for granted the notion of knowing when something is a fan-sub/scanlation or a pirated version of an already licensed English release. Actually, just knowing something is licensed or is streaming in the U.S. is even something I take for granted, even though I still miss announcements. I also like to think I know what sites are providing content for free, in English, and are legally doing so.

But many do not.

And as far as I can tell this stems directly from the advent of streaming content be it anime or manga. When you download something off bittorrent or seek something out via IRC, you know exactly what you are getting. But if one looks up “free anime” on Google you will find many a site that looks similar to Hulu or Crunchyroll or whathaveyou but isn’t legal; the same for looking up manga. However, how does one go about knowing that? Why just this morning, a site called Animulu started following me on Twitter saying they provide legal streaming anime, but I’d never heard of them. There isn’t some sign on these front pages saying “WE ARE SUPER ILLEGALLY GIVING YOU THESE ANIMES AND MAKING A PROFIT.”

How do you personally know the difference? How do we educate fans about it?

The Speakeasy #018: Ghostbuster, A Kekkaishi Introduction

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Anime 3000 presents The Speakeasy Podcast:
Drink #018: Ghostbuster,
A Kekkaishi Introduction

As impossible as it sounds there is actually a shonen fighting anime and manga that goes overlooked despite the fact that it is really good. That series is Kekkaishi. As a show with a protagonist with a power and personality that is outside the norm, a strong female lead with skills different but equal to the main character, and an actually developed romantic subplot that is constantly in the narrative but not overwhelming, it is sad to see it so overshadowed. With the manga ending, the anime finishing its run on Adult Swim, and the box set finally coming out in English it seems like the perfect time to do a little analysis on this series and what sets it apart from the pack. Stop complain about shonen fighting and support something that actually approaches the genre well!

(Listen)

And now your helpful bartenders at The Speakeasy present your drink:

Ghostbuster

Shake with ice and strain into a highball glass.

Chiharu Harukaze and the Straight Talk Express

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hisuiconI recently mentioned how much I have enjoyed the comedy in Hayate the Combat Butler but Kenjiro Hata occasionally decides to drop some hardcore truth on us as well. In chapter 319 we learn the truth about the doujinshi market. Only 5% of doujinshi sell over a thousand copies, about half sell less than 50 copies, and 70% lose money on their efforts. In one page it shatters the idea that people are casually making themselves famous or making a casual living through doujinshi. When you sit back and think about it the reality of the situation is quite obvious but sometimes you need it laid out in plain black and white. It is easy to see CLAMP and Type-Moon create a career out of their amateur work and assume this happens more often than not. You always hear stories about doujinshi artists who turn down professional work because of  the insane hours and might conjecture they are making a living doing their independent projects. I guess I always assumed the success rate was higher even if that was a very naive notion.

hisuiconOn the other hand I am curious how different this is from trying to make a living off of doing an independent or web comic. I am sure there are a great number of people who try their hands making a living off of their creative talents but only a select few that ever become anywhere near successful. I just wonder if a career via doujinshi has any higher or lower success rate versus other forms of independent comic art.