Time to Start thinking about Best of 2013 Lists

We're heading toward the end of the year, so it's about time to start the end of the year summaries.  I honestly don't have much time to read manga outside of what we translate for Crimson Flower and Omari's Sister, so I look to the readers for advice about what was good from 2013. So please take a little time to list in the comments section your favorite new manga series and oneshots from 2013.

My two favorite new series are "Kanojo ni Naru Hi" and "Baraou no Souretsu". Nothing stands out on the tip of my mind with respect to oneshots.  Most of them were very good, so it's hard to choose. I'll have to give it some more thought.

Anyhow... I'm eager to see what the readers recommend and to have the discussion about 2013. Personally, I think it was a very good year for shoujo and josei.

Dear Fans, Before you Criticize a Scanlation Group...

I need to get this off my chest because I cannot believe the level of entitlement some fans exhibit. So if you are a "fan" and you are angry that your favorite series isn't being released at your beckon call, keep these three points in mind.

• You are getting translated manga for free.  For Omari's Sister, the average single chapter of a series or oneshot requires 40 man-hours of work. 40 HOURS! This is not something that gets done in an afternoon. And the people who do this work are highly skilled artists and translators that could be using these skills to get paid rather than spreading manga love.
• If you ARE NOT a volunteer in the scanlation group and actually helping to get the releases done, YOU ARE A LEECH.  You are getting something for nothing. There is no reason for any of us who actually do the work to listen to you. You aren't a paying customer, you aren't an investor, you aren't a patron, and you aren't a "shareholder." You have no stake in the work a scanlation group does. You have no right to say a thing to a scanlation group about what they aren't getting done. (If you have time and want releases to get out sooner, you no longer have the excuse that you don't have Photoshop. Photoshop CS2 is now free from Adobe. There are plenty of tutorials out there and I offer training. So if you really want releases sooner, go download Photoshop CS2 and start helping to complete your favorite series.)
• Your whining doesn't help. In fact it's discouraging and causes the translator to hate the series. And when the translator hates the series, it doesn't get translated.

That said, I want to say a few things about the shortcomings of the scanlation community in general.

• Fans and shoujo/josei scanlation groups need to stop getting angry about duplication. None of us are doing authorized translations, so the idea of "exclusivity" makes no sense.  As a fan, you can let duplications happen and choose your favorite group to read from. As for scanlation groups, do what you like. Your fans are your fans and they will read your work. Also, you should be working for yourself in the first place. Do a job you're proud of and don't worry about what other groups are doing. Of course, it would suck if multiple groups jumped on the same projects, but I think groups need to decide for themselves whether their duplicate effort is adding something new to the project. That is what Omari's Sister does. We try to avoid duplication, but if we feel we have something very different to offer in terms of translation and image editing, we will release our own version. I personally don't care if you don't read what we've because you've already read it from another group. Good on you. Go read something else. We've got plenty of other series and oneshots to offer.
• If a project has not been updated for six months to a year and it's not due to the series being on hiatus on the mangaka side or due to the tankoubon release schedule, by default that group has abandoned the project. To this end, if a group recognizes that they can't keep up with a series, they should try their best to broker a transfer. If there isn't a group to transfer the project to, then they should officially drop the project so it's clear to everyone that you no longer take responsibility for updating the series. Of course if you find time or more resources, you can pick the series back up.
• I know new shiny manga and oneshots are tempting.  I face new temptations everyday. But scanlation group leaders, should be good project managers and scope the work to the number of active volunteers they have available. Being behind schedule and having a bunch of unfinished series is very discouraging. It becomes a horrible burden that eventually sucks all the air out of the group as the work builds up and the angry comments and emails from fans come in.  This is something we at Omari's Sister are addressing now. It's tough, but groups owe it to themselves to finish what they've started and save themselves the stress of fan outrage.

We at Omari's Sister are not perfect. We acknowledge that we have series that we've effectively abandoned. We're trying to do something about it and I truly appreciate all the support the readers have given us so far as we clean up my mess. I ask that you similarly support other groups and I encourage other groups to clean up their messes before starting new projects.  To be honest, we were going to start a new project soon because there's a series I really want Omari's Sister to do. But after writing a diatribe like this, I should stick to my words and continue to lead my group to clean up the mess I created.  Yes, this is my mess since I'm the one who keeps adding new projects and making the schedule.

Trying New Comment System -- Disqus

We are trying a new threaded comment system called Disqus.  This comment system is run using Javascript, so if you have Javascript turned off or are running No Script, you will have to enable the Disqus script to see the comments and comment.  Please give me feed back on the system. 

Comments Inquiring About Release Dates will be Rejected

From now on, all comments with inquiries about release dates will be rejected.  There is a detailed release schedule page on this blog to look at if you want to know when releases will occur.  The link is here or near the top of the first column of the right side panel on this blog.

Note: The release dates at the end of manga are the dates the manga comes out in Japanese and not English.

(comment for this posting are closed)

New Comment Policy

Re-posted as a reminder to everyone so you understand why your comment was rejected.

If you want a manga raw, then buy the magazine or the tankoubon!  There is no magical raw manga website.

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I understand that many of you are frustrated with changes at One Manga and the other manga aggregation websites.  There is a problem in the manga industry that needs to be worked out and the transition from paper to digital manga is in the works.  Please understand that I support the measures being taken against the manga aggregation websites.  I believe they need share any profits they make with the contributors, both the mangakas and the scanlators. I also believe aggregation websites should not post licensed series in their entirety.  As such, I will not upload or allow uploads of work from this group to the manga aggregation websites.  In light of this, here is a list of comments I will no longer publish on this blog:

• Questions about where manga is posted online at manga aggregation sites or questions about where to download raws.  All manga available on this blog is and will continue to be obvious and I buy all the materials that this group works on. (There is no super-secret raw manga website.)
• Requests to post or re-post licensed manga series
• Any comments disparaging mangaka for wanting to get paid for their labor

I don't like making rules like these, but I've just received one too many comments of this nature.  If you are really in a bind, please send an e-mail instead so I can address your matter one-to-one.

Again, I want to stress that I understand your frustration.  I am frustrated too.  I think we all need to be patient and productive and understand on a fundamental level that "free" is not a viable business model.  If you really feel passionate about matters, write the publishers and let them know your thoughts and give them some productive suggestions.  Let's all work towards a solution in which everyone can get the manga they want in an affordable manner that adequately compensates all involved in the creative process.

Comments to My Blog

I appreciate all comments to my blog, however, I will only publish comments that are constructive. I did receive a comment about the anime series "Kiba" which I liked up to the point in which the commenter criticized me personally. I am entitled to my own opinion as is each and every person. Because I felt this person gave valuable feedback and a valid review of his or her own, I will publish their comment below sans the inappropriate off-topic and non-productive personal criticism. I, also, would invite that commenter to continue the conversation with me, but to please remember to keep his or her criticism to the anime or manga and not of me personally. I would encourage this commentor to be similarly courteous with writing comments in other people's blogs and on forums.


The comment:
Hmmm... i dont think that is a fair review, i thaught it was a decent anime and is way better than a lot of crap out there. One thing i liked about this series is, unlike a LOT of animes, the main character is not a complete happy-go-lucky pussy and really does not like to take a lot of shit. I think the ending was particularly good also. Animation and Music were mainly the weak points for me but the art work was very solid throughout and i found the characters to be quite realistic and well thaught out. I would give Kiba a 3.5/5

My response back to anonymous:

Yes, I agree with you that Zed is a very likeable anti-hero and his character was the reason this anime was barely watchable :).

About your personal, comment -- I don't get paid to write a blog, so this isn't my job. I do this for fun and to communicate with fellow anime lovers like yourself :).