Chatterbox - Anime & Manga

Sure, the costs are zero...

Unless you count translation costs.

And their servers.

And the art they sometimes commission to make the covers better reflect their selection of manga as opposed to Japan's...

Translation/art costs/and royalties would be shared with the print version. I was just talking about servers/distribution, which are really low for this sort of thing. Once they have the setup, it doesn't cost them much to do this if they are already doing the print version. Which is probably what allows them to survive but not charge much. Looks like a good model actually.

edited 2nd Aug '13 10:26:28 PM by kiukiuclk

They have to come up something similar to Steam. Build an online community revolving around SJ. (Make achievement levels or something.)

Or something similar to Good Reads. Even Crunchy Roll builds a community with forums.

And if they already did something like that, and they're still having troubles getting people to buy subscriptions, I've no other advice.

Crunchyroll already has a pretty good system in place—free users have ads and are a week behind—but that's just for subbed anime. They need to look into something like that for manga and dubs.

They used to have some of the Bandai-dubbed stuff on there — that's how I watched Eureka Seven. Some Sentai Filmworks dubs would be great though, given how TAN is quite fickle with Sentai's dubs if you're a free user (Princess Tutu, Saiyuki, Rah Xephon, Kinos Journey, and that's pretty much it).

edited 3rd Aug '13 8:49:02 AM by PikaHikariKT

@kiukiuclk: There is no physical English magazine, and not all series they run there get released in print.

@probablyinsane: It's not that they have problems getting subscribers, it's that people make ridiculous excuses right to their faces to justify piracy.

Yeah, we don't have the physical SJ comic anymore since they switched to digital (though the new comics released are given paperback form later). :(

edited 3rd Aug '13 3:55:16 PM by PikaHikariKT

To be honest, the physical English Jump magazine was stupid. So far behind that I never bothered to actually read it and just opened my issues to take the cards out of them.

The excuses were even thicker on the ground back then, which is part of why they decided to go digital.

And Viz did a much better job of it than Yen Press, which lost all of the series I actually liked when they went to the digital Yen Plus because they hadn't secured the internet rights.

Oh...

edited 3rd Aug '13 5:19:28 PM by probablyinsane

Finished chapter 9 of the original Getter Robo. The art style suddenly got a lot better. I like Ryoma's appearance here◊ compared to how he looked in earlier chapters.◊

edited 6th Aug '13 3:17:05 PM by SimplyWhatever

I'm sure that using caricatures of famous people is a trope by now. (latest chapter of Gamble Fish spoiler) Is there a specific trope for doing so with US presidents? Or, even more specifically, Obama? Mangaka seems to love having him randomly appear in the weirdest/most impossible places as some sort of Badass followed by a speech that talks about "change". I've seen him in Air Gear as a Big Damn Hero (and a victim of a Body Swap) and now is appears in what could be the final arc of Gamble Fish as a "special guest" gambler built up as someone who can take on the Big Bad. I'm sure I've seen him a couple other places as well.

I don't know. It sounds like a specific version of Historical Domain Character (if the name is retained) / No Celebrities Were Harmed (if not).

edited 8th Aug '13 4:50:17 AM by Pyrite

Sooo yeah..the update on the Trigun page has enticed me to re-watch the show.

Otakon roundup...

Aniplex: Kill la Kill (cheaters — they're a couple months away from even airing that!)

Viz: Ranma ½ anime and Monster manga renewals (the anime for the latter is officially out of print, ironically ).

Sentai: Sunrise had to announce this for them — Argento Soma, Betterman, S Cry Ed, Z-Mind, Zegapain, The Girl Who Leapt Through Space, Kurokami, Infinite Ryvius, Brain Powerd, Overman King Gainer, and The Big O rescues. Sacred Seven also finally has a proper home.

Funi: The latter half of Fairy Tail, and again, quite a few rescues from Sunrise — Code Geass (its spinoff Akito the Exiled has also been licensed), Tales of the Abyss, Witch Hunter Robin, the Crest Of The Stars series, the My Otome series, Escaflowne, Outlaw Star (and Angel Links), and last but DEFINITELY not least, Cowboy Bebop.

edited 11th Aug '13 4:40:33 PM by PikaHikariKT

I finished the original Getter Robo manga. The ending is very obviously a setup for Getter Robo G, but I'm more satisfied with that final chapter than the ending of New Getter Robo. Mostly since Ryoma didn't end up overshadowing the other two.

Also, Getter Robo Armageddon has a really confusing start. Is Prof. Saotome now Dr. Hell or something? And does this follow any continuity, or is it some sort of partial reboot?

edited 13th Aug '13 12:49:23 PM by SimplyWhatever

I just found out that Dog Days is getting third season. Colour me excited!

I just hope they give it some overarching plot unlike Dash.

I heard that not many people liked when the show caught Cerebus Syndrome in season 1.

Really? I though it gave the show more substance so to speak. Dash felt kind of unfocused.

The plot was the least of the first series' problems. On the other hand, Dash didn't really need one because it was a gag comedy

Yen Press has picked up the light novels for SAO and Accel World.

How are the Rozen Maiden animes, memes notwithstanding. I really enjoy reading the manga.

I only know the old show (not the manga or the currently airing reboot anime). It's decent, with more of a focus on atmosphere rather than plot or characterization. It's a bit bipolar, though, with some episodes much more dark and serious than others, and the ending is not terribly conclusive.

The current anime is pretty good. A bit slow, though

I really really want more Nausicaa but I'm scared with what Anno would do to it.