Ask John: Should Fans Distribute Uncut Manga to Protest Edited Releases?

Question:
It seems that there’s been a fansubbing issue lately, but what about another related form the scanlation? To me, both are bad, detracting profits from the anime/manga industry with the sole gain of producing interest. But what if this principle was used as a weapon of protest? More specifically, I’m talking about Tenjho Tenge. There have been various methods of protest, but none have caught the attention of CMX. In this unique situation, should fans distribute the old scanlations of the series to cut into sales and have people read it in its proper, unedited form?

Answer:
Fan translations of manga haven’t drawn the same attention that fansubs have because “scanlations” don’t seem to be as prolific as anime fansubs, nor do they have a financial impact as significant as fansubs do. Professionally published manga are inexpensive enough that scanlations aren’t a tempting alternative for the majority of consumers. It’s more tempting for fansubs to serve as an alternative to legally purchasing anime DVDs because of the higher cost of official DVDs. So I don’t think scanlations are as high profile as fansubs because they’re not quite as dispursed as fansubs, and they’re not as big of a threat to the financial stability of the anime and manga industry as fansubs are. (They are a threat, just one with less impact than fansubbing.)

On the surface, it may seem justifiable to encourage the underground distribution of uncensored fan translations in response to unsatisfactory official releases. But all things considered, there’s really no justification for that action because there are alternative options available. Fans that are unhappy with the censored American version of the Tenjho Tenge manga can send complaint to DC Comics, post messages online, and refuse to purchase the censored American graphic novels. All of those options are legal, ethical avenues to encourage an uncensored release. Posting messages online or sharing just the censored pages for educational purposes can be just as effective at spreading the word and creating demand for an uncensored release as violating copyright laws by sharing the actual entire manga online. In fact, an organized effort to widely distribute an unauthorized, alternate version of the Tenjho Tenge manga is more likely to have an opposite of intended effect. Unauthorized distribution in moderation can generate interest, but a conscious effort to undermine the domestic release of any particular manga or anime contradicts the principles and purpose of fan translation. Rather than creating increased demand for an official, uncensored release, widely distributing an unlicensed alternative is likely to just eliminate all significant demand for any officially licensed commercial release. The distinction is narrow but vital. Educatining consumers can encourare or even force a publisher to re-release an uncensored version of a manga. Excessive, malicious unlicensed distribution decreases demand and the likelihood of an official release.