Ask John: What’s John’s Opinion of LINDA Project Doujinshi?
Question:
What is your opinion of the Linda/Linda Project commercial [manga] and their Bleach/Naruto doujinshi?
Answer:
I don’t know if LINDA is a single artist or small team of artists. I also don’t know if LINDA is male or female. I am familiar with LINDA’s adult manga work as both a professional artist and as a doujinshi artist. LINDA routinely contributes short erotic stories to Comic Sigma magazine, and is also well known for erotic doujinshi based on popular franchises including Bleach, King of Fighters, and Naruto. Earlier this year, LINDA Project made formal requests to the international internet community to cease unauthorized distribution of artistic works created by LINDA.
As far as my personal taste goes, I respect LINDA’s artwork for its gorgeous, flowing draftsmanship and buxom women with fairly realistic body proportions (albeit especially generous breasts). However, in terms of thematic content, I find much of LINDA’s work either conventional and repetetive, or a bit too mysoginistic for my personal tastes. However, with major publishing contracts, numerous commerically published manga anthologies, multiple Flash animation CD-ROMs, and numerous doujinshi, LINDA is obviously successful and popular in the Japanese fan community.
I’ve encountered antagonistic criticism of LINDA’s broken English requests for the cessation of fan “scanlations” and online distribution of LINDA works. Clearly LINDA is not fluent in English, so the statements made to the English speaking internet community were composed with the assistance of a software program. In light of this obvious situation, criticism of LINDA’s use of English is a frivolous argument. Rather than dismiss LINDA’s request because it’s not composed in grammatically proper English, the fan community should respect the fact that this Japanese artist is concerned enough to attempt communication in an unfamiliar language.
The more serious criticism I’ve encountered in response to LINDA’s requests has been a dismissal based on the idea that LINDA Project itself is violating copyright laws by creating Naruto hentai doujinshi in the first place, so LINDA, therefore, has no moral ground upon which to criticize others for violating ethical standards. While the assertion that the existance of LINDA Project’s Naruto doujinshi do violate copyright protections is correct, one “wrong” doesn’t justify another. Furthermore, the fact that Japanese society typically indulges the existance of parody works practically negates the assertion LINDA Project violates the law by publishing Naruto doujinshi.
Regardless of the legal status of “aniparo” (anime parody) doujinshi, the fact remains that LINDA Project’s artwork is an original, private creation to which the artist has a moral, if not legal, ownership. Anime and manga fans, whether consciously or not, are fans of art, and by extension should be concerned with the rights of artists. I believe that it’s reasonable and honorable to respect the wishes of a singular artist when the artist has made a specific request regarding his or her artwork. I’m aware that consumers and fans may be eager to consume particular works, and may resort to unethical action to obtain access to particular works. While such behavior may be justified by personal desire, the egregious and antagonistic willfull contradiction of the wishes of an artist in the community that we, as fans, supposedly love and respect, has absolutely no possible justification at all.
I’m not trying to surreptitiously condone intellectual piracy. I’m just stating that intellectual piracy does inevitably occur. Whether LINDA Project’s aniparo doujinshi are legal is a matter which Japanese copyright owners and authorities should determine. It’s not a legitimate reason for international fans to maliciously jeapordize LINDA Project’s livelihood and artistic rights by contravening LINDA’s expressed desire for limited, authorized distribution of LINDA’s artwork.
I do hope that my response hasn’t strayed too far from the intent of the original question.
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Since doujinshi based on an existing work are sold in Japanese bookstores alongside the legitimate works that inspired them (as opposed to publishers and studios actively trying to stamp out or sue scanlators and fan subbers), this is what I believe to be the general sentiment regarding the legality of derivative doujinshi and how Japanese publishers feel about them:
1) Doujinshi ultimately aren’t worth the trouble of fussing over.
In the rest of the world, most fiction writers actively denounce and prohibit “derivative fiction” or “fan fiction” for legal reasons, due to several cases where fanfic writers actually sued the original author, claiming the author stole their idea (the case with Marion Zimmer Bradley comes to mind).
However, a doujinshi based on a previous work isn’t trying to claim ownership of the characters or story and doesn’t have any plot worth stealing because it’s meant purely for titillation or amusement.
2) Doujinshi act like free advertising.
Statistically, the more popular a series is, the more doujinshi will be made for it. The number of doujinshi sold alongside the original work in bookstores will, in theory, be directly proportional to how popular the series is, which may ultimately influence someone to purchase the original work by popularity alone. Any business worth their salt loves free advertising, be it word-of-mouth buzz or anything else.
3) Doujinshi fill a void in the market that publishers can’t (or won’t).
Let’s be honest: Sex sells, and most doujinshi based on an existing work will be rife with it. I think if Japanese publishers could get away with, say, publishing both a manga series aimed at preteens and a series featuring the same characters but in decidedly adult situations, they would, since the market for it clearly exists. But doing so would be like an elementary school running a brothel in the back room. Doujinshi ultimately fill this void in the market without the original publisher getting their hands dirty, so to speak, but although the publisher doesn’t see a dime from their sale, the doujinshi themselves being a testament to a series’s popularity is, again, free advertising.
4) Doujinshi are parodies, which are not illegal.
When it comes right down to it, most doujinshi are considered parodies of the original work. This is the same idea as a pornographic movie that uses the same plot (if any) and characters (or character concepts) as a popular blockbuster movie, even going so far as using a derivative, satiric title that lets people know exactly what the original work they are imitating is. The only real difference between movie parody and doujinshi is doujinshi are imitating an established art style, whereas a movie parody cannot make clones of the original actors to use in their film and thus have to use different ones.
Yet the fact remains that the artists producing derivative works are tapping into the market created by the original work and directly profiting off the popularity created by original works. Individually, doujinshi really aren’t worth the legal procedures, but overall they’re a problem because they had grown into a large “industry” that is now in direct competition for consumers’ attention and money. Some reports estimate it to 24% of the entire “otaku” market, and that kind of percentage can’t be just considered as building on top of the original product. It’s a market from which original creators on the whole lose more than benefit. However, while its existance is legally very fragile, I suspect original creators do not want to risk bad PR with threatening individual artists with legal action. After all, doujinshi has always been, albeit in lesser merit, a part of Japanese otaku culture.
P.S.: Most doujinshi aren’t porn. On Comic Market, it’s estimated that only ~30% of publications have sexually explicit content.
[quote]P.S.: Most doujinshi aren’t porn. On Comic Market, it’s estimated that only ~30% of publications have sexually explicit content.[/quote]
From what I understand, most non-porn doujinshi are not based on a pre-existing intellectual property and are simply mangaka trying to break into the manga market through nontraditional means with their own story and characters — kinda like indie comics here in the States. I’m sure that there are those non-porn doujinshi that do steal both characters and situations from another artist’s series, but from what I gather, these are the exception rather than the rule.
And as far as I’m concerned, if an otaku already has every single extant volume of a finished series, he can’t spend more money on that series — as made by the original author — because there isn’t any more. Thus he turns to doujinshi to fill that void, much like how since Star Wars is over people turn to the novels, comics, and fan films. Since the novels and comics aren’t written by George Lucas, they’re licensed, and can thus be sold, but doujinshi are basically unlicensed fan films that people pay for. I’m not saying it’s the artist/publisher’s fault for not trying to license doujinshi material, just that the market exists.
I’d be more fine with derivate non-porn doujinshi if the artists gave them away for free (or at the very least, sold them at the cost of materials and printing) or sought out the original artist/publisher (who probably isn’t interested in continuing a series that has already been laid to rest) to talk about some kind of licensing or royalty deal (i.e. you can sell our IP so long as you give us 5% of your sales).
Great points joechummer!
I agree fan fiction doesn’t take away from the original works. I personally don’t touch the stuff (well, non-H, anyway) because I prefer the art the original artist created, not so much the cover band version.