The Re-birth of Manga Scanlation? - News Story

The Re-birth of Manga Scanlation?

Groups advocating localization

of manga begin to restart

wholehearted operations.

    An update!? Fans everywhere are flipping tables in excitement for new installments of Japanese comics that have been delayed for more than a year; some have been left for three years. Scanlation, the process of changing these comics into English, and providing them to an audience has been a dying effort, until now.

    Scanlation groups have slowly been declining the past years as less attention has been put on the manga industry. The vast majority of groups receive only donations, and a drop in funds to that produced less witty manga, felled a mighty blow to the hearts of those that work on them.

    Yet the fire is now rekindling. One group, Nekyou, an empire of 40 active members, is banding together to bring the entertainment to the masses of fans. “As the internet grows, the fan base of the otaku culture grows as well, there are tons of series being produced every month and there are not many scanlation groups to work on all of them. It's one of our prides that we bring those series to its fan and contribute to the growth of this culture.” Said Jean Rojas, the group’s overseer.

    Although, there have been controversies over the righteousness of such groups. One of Nekyou’s most active translators commented on this necessity: “We’re controversial. I know there’s no way to convince the producers what we do is beneficial, but I’ll give my say anyways. 90% of the manga we localize are masterpieces that no one would have ever heard about otherwise, and with 0% chance of getting officially translated. I can’t speak for all of us, but many groups have the dignity to stop their progress and take down their work if fans can also support the mangakas.” (Manga creators)

    “We’re patrons too, we buy the author’s manga, and we always encourage fans to support them.” He said. Aside from the legitimacy of the operations, the translator also commented that it’s a lot easier to take charge of these masterpieces in the absence of other groups, and that he hopes the new massive releases will inspire more to take up scanlation or learning Japanese, and keep the ball rolling.

    A Nekyou admin said that they’re creating sub-groups where there’s little to no variation on who works on the projects inside them. “When we know about each other’s schedules, quality, and personality, it’s a lot easier to work with them, and coerce them to help.” And Rojas said, “Across genres and across nations, we unite on one word.”

    “We have great people, and the quality of their work reflects it. We’ve gotten appreciation from all over. Canada, Australia, California, Texas, and Pennsylvania to name a few, with an abundance of teenage and adult audiences.”

    Quite a few are following in Nekyou’s footsteps, and their effort can be seen on Bato.to, the lead marketer and promoter of scanlation groups.

    “Every week or so, we take in members of collapsed groups, and only grow our ability range. I would be surprised if we didn’t revive the industry.” The admin finished.