Comments on: The Demise Of Quality Scanlations Approaching?

By: Cleaner

Cleaner — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:49:12 +0000

“English is NOT America’s property, it’s the international language.”

The international language popularized by Americans. Please do not complain that an article is American centric when it is on an American site.

Oh, and as a speed scanner I reject my scans being called LQ. Me and my group put a lot of work into redrawing, accurate typesetting (no typos), and preserving the grays. Our scans are easily MQ, sometimes even high MQ depending on the raw. Also the author assumes that any mag raw can be turned into HQ and that simply isn’t true. One of our projects has just had it’s tanks released, and it is night and day between our scans of the mag raws. Even if we had done the grays (which would take forever), it would look NOTHING like the genuine tank raws. True HQ is tank scans, and everything else is just an imitation of what the cleaner THINKS it will look like when the tanks are released.

By: damien

damien — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:30:13 +0000

This is a very interesting article that enlightened me on the impacts of the LQ scanlation scene but theres something in it that infuriates me : its damn US-centered point of view !
Expressions like “supporting the industry” are in total contradiction with “bringing japanese manga to the world”. As already written, it’s not “supporting the industry” but “supporting the *US* industry”. But then let me ask : why would anybody in the world give a frack about american edition industry (except americans)? Just because Viz, or Dark Horse, or whatever started translating a manga, all english scanlations should be stopped ? What about russian, brazilian, french, polish… readers ? English is NOT America’s property, it’s the international language.

By: hika

hika — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:04:25 +0000

I agree with you, now most of the scanlations are in LQ or MQ. Only a few groups that are still doing their regular HQ. As for myself, since I don’t read Naruto anymore (I stopped at chapter 200 or something). I don’t really care about how many groups that working on it.

Most of the fans (including some of my friends) prefer to download the LQ release just because they’re itching to read more, some other fans downloaded the LQ to read or use online viewer (since most of LQ-MQ are on those online viewer sites) and then when the HQ release is out. They download it again as archive (I admit I used to do that a lot, but then I handle my curiosity pretty well and wait for the HQ releases only).

Overall, unless the boom of certain title is done (or at least dying), I don’t think any HQ scanlation group will pick up that title and release the HQ version.

ps: someone…. have the raws of Leviathan? I really want to finish it >_< It’s just 2 volumes left!!

By: Kard

Kard — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:34:31 +0000

True az060693 but if there aren’t enough volumes you’ll be lucky if you don’t get spammed with “It really been a long time since you released … so when is the next one coming out?”

Sometimes though the volume scans look worse than the jump releases.

By: az060693

az060693 — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:08:48 +0000

I prefer releasing from volume scans, much easier and higher quality.

By: az060693

az060693 — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:05:55 +0000

Binktopia’s releases are better quality than that of the old Jump releases. But if you look back, Binktopia used to go for quality more than speed. But now that they’ve merged with Mangashare and become massive… the quality’s gone down.

By: gin

gin — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:50:29 +0000

“[...]Sometimes they use their releases to force people to register and then bolster their community in the short run.”

–Well, I never found any speed scanlation group which force me to register to get their release, including Mangashare and Franky House. However, I do register, since I want to say my thanks. Those who usually use this methods are shoujo HQ scanlation group. We have to make a certain post numbers before the release topic is opened.

“I really do hope that the newly founded groups find their place in the scanlation world and maybe even develop into HQ-groups, so we can get some more quality releases of not-so popular manga [...]”

–I agree on this. There are lots great unpopular manga. We don’t need ten versions of Naruto.

Personally, I don’t mind LQ scanlation since I simply want to know what’s happening in the story. If the manga has not been released in my country, then I may want to get the HQ release.
Mangashare and Franky House’s quality is quite good, though. However, special for ES21, I always wait for ryColaa’s.

By: ara

ara — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:10:37 +0000

That could have been much shorter, but well written none the less. Well, anyways, having followed the scene up close for a decade or so, I feel that your article sums the situation well. Speed translation groups have been stirring the scene quite a bit in past few years. Personally I think it’s for the best as it forces the scene to evolve.

As for the group dissolutions. The biggest reason I feel the groups disband is that they are, after all, just a bunch of likeminds that have met over internet. Even the well established groups are loose in a sense that not many of the members have ever seen eachothers faces or know real names or even nationalites. When trouble rises in a group like that, it’s easy to give up. The trouble could be anything, even that feeling that the group has lost it’s point if some speed scanlator releases faster than them. These groups are bound to rise and fall over time, for example I don’t think any of the groups that I worked with as an editor some 8 years ago are around anymore.

By: Zael

Zael — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:02:05 +0000

Indeed, right you are yal; volume 10 is not the ending of said series. Well well, so now there’s something else to look forward to. =)

Apologies for my overall reclusiveness, but to cite your editor:
“(ed note: But let’s not argue about validity of scanlations here, ok-nyan?)”
..and this post is about the effects of speed scanlation on the scene, of which you, and the following comments have made an adequate case that gives a good overall picture of it. Thanks for that.

By: yal

yal — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:11:23 +0000

“I read it all, but found most of the core arguments (from which the conclusions for the discussion at hand were drawn) to be against my personal opinions and beliefs. I shall not engage in an argument here [..]“
- Where else then? I’d like to know about dif. opinions on that matter, but it seems nobody cares to share them… sad! :(

“[...], just posting to note that Omanga (with Band of the Hawks) to my knowledge completed scanlations for Leviathan.”
Nah, Leviathan has 12 volumes and they scanlated v1-10, but not 11&12 at least according to lurk, manga updates and omanga’s website.