Hello!!

Ok, I read this journal: [link]

If you’re an anime/manga fan PLEASE PLEAE READ IT!

Now, the following is a rant that spawned from it. This is NOT meant to start a flame war. Nor is it meant for me to put down Taeliac in any way. If it sounds like that, I am REALLY sorry. It’s not meant to. As I completely respect her for writing that rant. I just want to add my two cents. And I didn’t want to make a HUGE post on her journal.

First, I do agree with her, completely. Something does in fact need to be done. But I have mixed feelings about things, as I am someone who downloads a lot. (Well, watches online a lot.) I rarely buy.

Why? The main reason, I’m always broke. Yeah yeah, lame excuse, I know. But, I’m on a fixed income… After bills, food, and necessities… I am damn lucky to sometimes clear $20. (Pitiful I know >.<.)

The other reason being, in the past, I have had limited space to keep things like that. So I learned how to ONLY buy what I REALLY REALLY REALLY like. That has carried over with me now.

I don’t buy anime unless I get the “have to have it/die without it” feeling. The last time I did, that was with Reign the Conquer. And I did get the box set for it. (For the curious- the last Anime movie I got was Grave of the Fireflies.) So, I’m sure everyone can see that yes, I do know the similar hardship that she is speaking of.

So what do I do for my anime fix? Three things- Adult swim *cringe* (I think it’s getting better… I hope.), AnimeNetwork on Demand, and Downloading.

Issues~

Adult Swim… Taste, Censorship (Yes, they *do* censor the anime. For “adults” yet still censored… hrm...), and shear Randomness. Yes, it’s cool that they do have things like Bleach, Naruto, and even Death Note now. But, that’s it…. and once a week. So hey, let’s only watch tv once a week. Get put down for actually being fans, get treated like idiots, Oh! And don’t you dare actually enjoy that show. Or *gasp* they will STOP right in the middle, replace it with another show, or call you a moron.

(Fyi, yes I do like Death Note. More than Bleach actually. And yes, I have BAUGHT things for Death Note. It was manga though. And for any newbies to the channel, I’m not making any of that up. -_-)

AnimeNetwork on Demand… Is this even a real station? Where I am, they don’t have the station. But, oddly enough, they do have it on demand. What’s that mean? I have to pay almost $9 a month for ONE channel. (For about the same price I could get several HBO channels, which I gave up just for this one.) They literally have 5 shows I’m currently watching/paying for. Two they update once a week with 1 episode, 1 with 2 eps, and the last one… Hrm.. it’s been at least 2 weeks since the last update. And since it’s on demand I have no clue what they are doing until I see it. (Does anyone understand Poo Boy…?)

Downloading… You get what you pay for. Meaning? Most is CRAP. Quality is bad. If the quality is good, then it takes FOREVER to be able to watch. Or they take forever to update.

So, out of all of these, which choice do I make the most? Downloading. Why? Yeah it’s free. But that’s not the main reason. The main reason is that I get to watch what I want/when I want and that there’s more of a selection.

I do know that this is VERY bad. And I feel like shit for it. Really. (I’m trying to draw manga. So yeah, I do understand.) But, really, what choice do I have? Pay for crap, or get crap for free?

Oh and let’s not forget that the people running cartoon network has shows for free too. (They even have shows that are online only.) So what’s the difference between it and youtube? I mean really. (Other than the fact that youtube doesn’t crash my browser...)

If some publisher or just supplier actually had a website up where you could… oh… say… PAY to view their stuff ONLINE. Like say a monthly subscription. Something like the AnimeNetwork on demand… with perhaps a choice of say a genre or something… I would be the FIRST in line to sign up.

Until a better choice is brought to my attention, I will continue what I’m doing. There’s no other real option.

(I will say this though- the only licensed anime I download is those that the license has expired on. Or I don’t know it’s licensed at the time. And no, I’m not just covering my bum. I just don’t go to sites that host licensed work.)

So, the point to my rant- instead of just complaining to fans for trying to get a hold of the good anime any way possible; why not make suggestions to both the fans and the publishing companies on HOW to make the situation better? And do that in a way that won’t alienate or place blame on either side? Because, let’s face it, there are problems with both sides, and little-to-no solutions being offered.

So…

Fans:

Bad translations? HELP them make better translations. Learn Japanese/Chinese/Korean and apply for a job.

Bad voice acting? Take voice acting lessons and apply for a job.

Bad something else? Think you could do it better? APPLY FOR A JOB.

Can’t do any of that? Support the publishers! Buy the stuff they are putting out. Yeah, might be bad now. But, will get better when they have more money to put into it.

Don’t have the money? Put out the word. Spread their names, info on their products, etc to people who DO. Don’t just sit there COMPLAINING do something about it.

Publishers:

Why not use the methods that the fans use? The net is open to everyone to use. So use it more then just online catalogs/forums that you never read.

Why not make the shows/materials that are there for more mature minds (No, I don't mean porn (Though I wouldn't complain about a good smex/romance that has more than hidden kiss.) But things that doesn't center around teenagers.) as available as the general shows? The harder it is to find, the harder it is to buy. How am I suppose to find the one story that doesn't have high schools kids, buried under the 300 that does?

While I'm on that subject. Most die-hard fans that I know are my age (23) or MUCH older (The oldest I know on a namely basis is in her 50s.) and a wide range in between. So, why not aim for more shows aimed to those age categories? I know they're exist.

You're finally starting to branch out with boys love. I AM NOT COMPLAINING ABOUT THAT AT ALL!! But, it seems to me that the licensed are just about smut these days. Smut is good, really good. but, even it get's boring. And a lot are teenagers too. So, again, it's hard to find the stuff surrounding adults. You do want us to buy this stuff, right? Why not realize that not all you're readers are teenagers. An estimated GUESS would be that only about 40% are actually teenagers. So, you're alienating your own customers.

Again, this is just my opinion. And it’s not meant as an attack on anyone it particular. It's just that I do love anime and manga. I don't want to see it go down. And I am going to spam links to both journal post around.

~DM