Naruto Manga Chapter 349

This is what scanlation looks like on video like YouTube. Personally, I take the file downloads.

Viz to offer manga online?

Viz, the US distributor for manga like Death Note, Strawberry 100%, and Vagabond, appears to be looking at distributing manga online. They currently have a poll on their Web site asking people what they think about different types of manga. So does this mean that the more interest we show in reading manga online, the more likely we’ll see more manga online (at least via Viz? Ha ha, that’s funny via Viz / viz a vi. Anyway….) Or does it mean we’ll have to pay for more issues as fewer scanlators offer series as the licensed publisher offers them? (I know at least one Dolls fan who might not take this the right way.)

Mangavolume.com

Mangavolume.com lists tons of free manga for your viewing pleasure. It is not the slickest Web site in the world, but it’s got what you came for-tons of free manga (didn’t I just say that?).

The home page lists all the newest stuff. Click on the Manga Directory to see the list of series or there is a little blue search bar that’s kind of hard to see right about the list of series. Use that to find exactly what you want. When you click on a series, then click on an issue in that series, the manga opens up right in your browser–no downloading.

Two thumbs up: this is a very straightforward site with lots of manga (an echo in here you say?) that is easy to get to and read online. For more about reading manga online, check out www.read-manga-online.com.

The Simpsons in Manga

The Simpsonzu

Done by: http://spacecoyote.deviantart.com

I Want to Learn Japanese and Read Manga

Have you ever seen a cool manga book and say “Hey, I want to read that! Nope, it’s in Japanese.”

I know at least a few people who would like to learn Japanese, in a large part, due to reading manga. But, most people don’t try. Obviously, this is not an easy language for English speakers. Beginner students to Japanese may have a great deal of difficulty try to read manga–you need somewhat of a foundation of Japanese grammar, a course or two. But if you are dedicated, says my girl Inari who is learning Japanese now, you can quickly begin to break down written Japanese.

The Language
The largest character set in Japanese are actually characters derived or borrowed from Chinese characters. Known as “Kanji” these characters are mostly used to write down nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. Don’t get the wrong idea, Japanese is not “like” Chinese language. Kanji characters themselves were not enough to fully write out Japanese, so “Kana” was created to fill in the holes. There are two versions of the Kana: Hiragana and Katakana. Hiragana is used to write out word that are specific to Japan and there was no Kanji for. The Katakana set of characters is used mostly for writing out foreign words using Japanese syllabary.

In either version of Kana, there is a character for every syllable in Japanese, as opposed to English where individual letters are joined to make the syllables. In typical written Japanese texts, all 3 character sets are used together. But, it is possible to write Japanese without Kanji and just Kana. As you see, just by learning the Kana is a huge step to breaking down Japanese.

Still with me? There are many books, tapes and methods for learning on your own (Inari liked this one until she went to college and started taking formal classes). As with any language, the key is to practice consistently. It’s better to do even 15 or 20 minutes 6 days a week than an hour a couple times a week. And if you are learning on your own, find your self a forum like this the Japanese Page to help with translation and other questions.

You’ll be fine, you won’t be fined.

In light of all the news and problems with downloading free music, you may be asking, do I want to take the risk to read manga online if it illegal. After all, these fans are scanning and distributing work–for free–that someone else created.There are legal issues, but interestingly, the manga culture, business and fans, take a whole other view on scanlations and online manga than the record industry does on downloaded music.

Is It Legal?
Copyright is respected internationally, so by the letter of copyright law, scanlation is actually illegal.

However, it is almost never prosecuted, probably for three basic reasons.

Scanlation is mostly made for fans, by fans. It is viewed by many fans as an acceptable way to read manga which will probably not have any official translation published into another language. In other words, scanlation is made availablefor those who don’t speak the native language of the intended program, or who don’t live in the area it is broadcasted to at least have access to it.The large licensing companies use the response to various scanlations as a factor in deciding which manga to buy licenses to translate. Call if free market research. Scanlation is usually not sold for profit. Some sites do charge monthly fees or ask for donations to maintain the Web site or to provide premium users with more bandwidth (for more downloads).And most stop distributing scanlations for manga that have been licensed, advising fans of the manga in question to buy the official translation.So the call is yours to make. My take: you can support the industry by both:

1) encouraging the growth of manga by reading new manga online and

2) buying print copies of your favorites manga titles as well, especially when you do find something new and cool online.