CMX/ Flex online manga

[Shadoblak]

In addition to CMX staff, the panel also featured two representatives of Flex Comix, a newly-established Japanese manga publisher that DC Comics recently invested in. Unlike more traditional publishers, Flex will focus on publishing manga for the online and mobile format, with an initial lineup of over 40 individual titles. Many of these will be aimed at a young male audience, but offerings will soon expand to also appeal to shoujo audiences. Flex is currently developing a proprietary manga reader application that will be available for download onto personal computers and cellphones. It also hopes to provide manga to users of the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. As Flex puts manga online in Japanese, CMX plans to translate them into English, make them available online as well, and eventually offer the same titles in traditional book format. The first two titles that CMX hopes to make available for an American audience will be Zombie Fairy and Leader's High!. Chadwick states that one of the major reasons for this kind of project is to respond to the emerging issue of manga scanlations. He wondered why anyone would be interested in searching for a low-quality translation when professionally-adapted digitized versions of manga are freely available online.

From http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2007/comic-con-international/cmx-manga
I just happened upon this today and I'm probably very late but it seems that CMX Manga, the manga division of DC comics, is looking to license and translate manga online along with Flex Comix, a newly established manga publisher. Aside from what this may mean for dedicated scanlators, they seem to have referred to scanlations as "low quality translations" and say they will offer "Professional" translation. This no doubt brings to mind the VIZ translators who sometimes are a bit unknowledgeable of what they are translating, or other manga companies who flip the images so the manga reads left to right. So, opinions on this entire situation welcome, so chat it up !

[Rain]

So this guy is insulting scanlations, and yet he seems to be missing the main reason why there are scanlations.


Scanlations are usually more acurate (at least better:D)
and
They come out faster, not waiting months and months inbetween :yell

Did you like the bold, I think it adds a sense of awesome:D:cool:

[Shadoblak]

So this guy is insulting scanlations, and yet he seems to be missing the main reason why there are scanlations.


Scanlations are usually more acurate (at least better:D)
and
They come out faster, not waiting months and months inbetween :yell

Did you like the bold, I think it adds a sense of awesome:D:cool:

I completely agree, not only to scanlators provide desirable manga in convenient timetables, but with the benefit of research instead of just translation (Knowing that Hozukimaru refers to the mythological ogre lamp and not the damned flower :p)
And yes, the bold absolutely adds to the awesome :D

[Rain]

Whats funny is that the "more professional translators" try to make each line make sense for the audienece (like using approiate dialects and localizing the jokes), but this just makes the translation worse. The best translators are the ones who change as little as possible and allow the reader to make sense of it all.

[Shadoblak]

You know what I also realized??
CMX are the ones who edited the american releases of Tenjo Tenge!
Thats a reason to go for scans right there!

[Rain]

Holy crap:eek: you're right shado. CMX took a great manga and edited the crap out of it, and they're saying scans are crap, who do they think they are:yell

That was a fun little rant:rofl

[Shannon]

LOL. I have one of their mangas. Land of the Blindfolded or something. :p

This no doubt brings to mind the VIZ translators who sometimes are a bit unknowledgeable of what they are translating, or other manga companies who flip the images so the manga reads left to right.

Yes, that's so true. :eek: I mean, some times, those 'professional' manga translators translate it without having full knowledge, and sometimes the way they translate things are a bit different than what it's supposed to be.

[Beee]

I can't believe that guy's insulting scanlations either O__O;;

Scanlations are better because they're made by fans for fans >__>; while "professionals" aren't always fans of the series they translate (they probably have to translate several different mangas so I can't really blame them). Besides there are many scanlation groups which can help aganst translation mistakes while there is only one pro group by language, which forces you to pray and hope that their translation is completely accurate and that they didn't butcher anything...

"pros", in the other hand, aim to sell the manga to pretty much everyone and not just fans, which sometimes causes them to overtranslate and/or to even take liberties on the storyline... because they assume it's better this way and because they want to appeal to the greatest number of people possible (it's business after all)

[mori]

How is anyone surprised he'd be "insulting" scanlations, they are trying to run a business publishing these releases and scanlations whilst opening up some series to new viewers tend to detract from sales of more well known publications.

Its always much nicer to read something in a book format, though I do agree translation/editing problems can lessen the experience.

...I do wonder what kind of readership the series they have licenses on will actually have though...