Forum - View topicNEWS: Megatokyo to Publish in Japan via Kodansha
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drakonslair
Posts: 74 Location: Ireland |
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Id like to say congrats to Fred as well. Too many nay-sayers.
About the whole manga-ka thing. I believe you just referred to the Scott Pilgrim as a graphic novel. Why didn't you call it a comic? If a Japanese person created an american style comic would you call it manga? Manga is more than just the style but an element of manga is the style and I think that like the term otaku it has been "westernized". You are making the assumption that there is an english term with identical meaning as the japanese one. I dont think either comic book artist or graphic novelist cover what manga is. Might consider some amount of flexibility and and say that an american manga-ka differs culturally from a japanese one but the medium through which they convey their work is the same. |
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Axle911
Posts: 21 |
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Well I guess if Manga means comics, I'm going back to reading the Marvel Civil War Manga.............
This crap getting picked up in Japan just means every fanboy(or girl) that wants to be Japanese, will now be able to say "look at Mega Tokyo! Wow now my super funny manga will be picked up." screw OEL, make your own style, don't try to rip off the style you like. |
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Rose Kitsune
 Posts: 41 Location: New England |
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You may not like Megatokyo, but you should respect the fact that other people in this thread do. I'm not saying you have to hide your opinion about the series, but there are more tactful ways to say that you dislike something. And in any case, for the people who dislike Megatokyo but like other OEL manga, you should at the very least be seeing this as Megatokyo opening a path for other OEL manga to make its way into Japan. I think, from an author's standpoint, it's probably fun to hear that your series is getting published in ANY other language. The fact that MT emulates (not copies) the Japanese styel and is now being published in said country makes it all the more interesting. |
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Tempest
 I Run this place.ANN Publisher  Posts: 10427 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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Fred Gallagher has made a point of never calling Megatokyo "manga," so how can he be among the worst when it comes to misuse of the term ? -t |
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Tempest
I Run this place. ANN Publisher Posts: 10427 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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"Manga," when used in English, is a loan-word and it's definition in English need not be identical to its Japanese definition. The definition of "anime" and "manga" was long understood to refer to Japanese animation and comics. While a Japanese person might call Superman "manga," you and I would not. The popularity of creating comics that emulate one or more of the common styles found in Japanese manga has lead to a lot of people using the term "manga" to refer to anything that looks similar to Japanese comics. However I agree with Xenos when he says that manga isn't a single style (and some Japanese manga look like american comics), so the word shouldn't be used based on visual style. What's more, "looks like" is quite subjective. It might look like a Japanese comic to one person, while it might look like an american imitation of a Japanese comic to another. To date, I have never mistaken a worldmanga or OEL for a Japanese creation. However I disagree with Xenos in his dislike of the terms "OEL" and (I assume) "worldmanga." Comics like Megatokyo, Dramacon, Peach Fuzz, etc... do have something that sets them apart from other non-Japanese comics, and there's no reason there shouldn't be a term used to refer to them. That term can be "OEL", "global manga", "worldmanga", "amerimanga", whatever... At ANN we officially use the term "worldmanga" or "OEL." (problem with OEL is that it doesn't work for titles that aren't originally released in English). -t |
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BorgmanJayce
 Posts: 298 Location: Hades via UK |
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It's probably just either jealousy or sour grapes from Gatsu about why MT's getting a Japanese translation and why Kodansha approached him with a view to having it translated...
In any case, I've been a big fan of the series and certain other OEL manga including Dramacon [of which I can't find a bloody copy of Volume 2 for love nor money in the UK on import in any specialist comic shops!] and I love it because it's funny and different... It's not meant to be a manga rip-off but manga inspired so Gatsu shouldn't get his pants in a twist at the end of the day... I used to know Fred Gallagher in the days when he was running a website dedicated to Manami Kasuga from Kimagure Orange Road and we emailed each other quite a few times plus he helped me out as well with my own Manami site [which sadly is no more although I may resurrect it one day when I have the time...] and I always found him to be a pretty cool guy in my own opinion... Look at it this way... At least he's making something of himself with a title that he created originally as a webcomic and I think it's pitifully sad that a bunch of naysayers are jealous enough to want to knock his success at the end of the day... |
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KyuuA4
 Posts: 1361 Location: America, where anime and manga can be made |
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I must say. This is one of the best pieces of news all week.
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Ashen Phoenix
 Posts: 2914 |
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Well, to be fair, Gallagher's art-style has indisputably improved over the 7 or so years since Megatokyo's inception. So it's not that big a surprise that his earlier work seems so... 'unprofessional' per se? Plus, the "recycled" feel, I believe, is due in part to the different direction the comics were headed for in the beginning; they were originally made out to be 4-panel stand-alone-complex type jokes, just as many other webcomics are. But since then it's drastically changed into something more akin to an actual comic book. And after all, if you take a look at some popular manga-kas' earlier works, you'll most likely see how they've "matured" in their styles in this same respect (Tsubasa o Motsu Mono or ZombiePowder just to name a few). 
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KyuuA4
Posts: 1361 Location: America, where anime and manga can be made |
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http://www.megatokyo.com/ Oh wow. And add a child to boot.  Fred's been extra busy.
And what's that? That the "maturing" phases of this group in particular is considerably different than Japanese counterparts -- which can stem from local reception, choice of media outlet, etc. Yet, the principles are the same, which includes the self-evolutionary process of improvement in personal styles, etc. |
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Turkishproverb
Posts: 43 Location: Pergatorio. |
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Funny. Manga-ka is just japanese for cartoonist.
My aren't we making assumptions. How do you know they're not japanese? I know of several american artists whom were legitimate apprentices in japan. Paul Pope comes to mind. Does his japanese work count as manga? What about japanese nationals living abroad? What about Citizens of Japan whom have caucasian ancestry. (they do exist you know.)
Funny, you seem to be placing alot of emphisis on your own redefinition of terms. And Its not like Fred's ever even claimed his work was manga by your definition, he's called it manga inspired, but thats not the same.
Actually, if a japanese person read your parady webcomic, it would've been called manga. By him, most likely. And as to your friends not callign their work manga, well, they can call it whatever they want, either term would be technically correct.
Sigh. IF they were trying to hawk their product as japanese, they wouldn't make mention of it being OEL. Use some logic. Fred has, as I've said, not once claimed his work was japanese,and only refers to it as manga-style or manga-inspired. And your certainly not acting glad he's being published in the country where comics are called manga by lingual purpose.
Yea, funny thing is, you make a bit of a flip there, almost admitting cartoonist and mangaka are the same thing.
Manga isn't a style or a publishing format, and it is an american corruption of the term to say it is comics from japan. Its a word used to denote sequential art in japan. It us used to describe american, european and japanese comics/manga/sequential art alike. And I'm afraid, again, yoru the one redifining the term, despite your best attempts to argue otherwise. It is clear, from a lingual perspective, that you are the one whom has missed the meaning of manga to begin with. |
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KyuuA4
Posts: 1361 Location: America, where anime and manga can be made |
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Interesting point -- and it's strange I didn't think of it. Good job. 
All this "definition" of "anime" and "manga". The definitions most people hold happen to be American definition. Early on, it was a sound definition for the sake of marketing "anime" and "manga" into the US market. It provided a "different" flaver to the ""animation" and "comics" that used to dominate the US market. Now, that the "anime" and "manga" market has grown large enough to hold on its own. With thanks to the Internet, marketing, conventions, etc. -- we can find "anime" and "manga" practically everywhere. Maybe, it is time to drop the obsolete American definitions and finally wake up to smell the coffee. |
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jgreen
 Posts: 1325 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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I really have no interest in kicking up the whole "what is manga?" argument, considering there's a 20-some page argument somewhere on the Manga forum already, and no one on either side is going to convince the other guys they're wrong, so what's the point? So I'll just say "I agree with tempest" and leave it at that.
What's big here is that a manga-style American comic is being published in Japan, which could potentially open the door to more foreign artists getting published there. This is a much bigger deal than what word we want to use to describe it.
Sometimes, GATSU, when you get a bug up your ass, you can be the biggest prick on these forums, seriously. That whole "he blew the right people" is a horribly unnecessary and trollish comment. I'm not even a fan of the book (I've barely read it), but even I recognize the hard work Gallagher has put into it. The guy's been drawing the comic, week-in and week-out, for seven years now, and built up an enormous fanbase using grassroots internet interactions and constant promotion. And the book has hardly been "kicked around"....its initial run at Studio Ironcat sold out and the publisher was completely unable to keep up with demand, and Gallagher keeps switching publishers not because the books are unpopular but because Dark Horse and then CMX each successively threw more money at him. |
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KyuuA4
Posts: 1361 Location: America, where anime and manga can be made |
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Correct. And, we do have Mr. Fred Gallager leading the way into that kind of profession. So, as far as this is concerned, plenty of positives are in store.
Aye. It gets to the point of annoying. My main reason for engaging in such discussion included my view of nay-sayers as "discouraging" -- to the big picture viewed by both Tokyopop and Kodansha. The talent pool for manga extends beyond Japan. It's common sense. With the matter of time, the best from that pool will be found.
Um. That IS hard-work. Going around -- trying to get the recognition for the work -- enough such that he could make a decent living out of it. By the looks of things, it's paying off more. On top of all that, maintaining his regular schedule producing his work. Self-Marketing is by far one of the most difficult things to do. === EDIT: I just thought of something funny. What if the Kodansha version gets re-translated back into English?
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pluvia33
 Posts: 194 Location: Dayton, OH, USA |
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Yes, I know this. I wasn't trying to imply that what he said was wrong. Nearly all modern cultures adapt foreign words and adjust their meanings, especially Americans and the Japanese. The point I was trying to get at was that I felt it odd for him speak out against a redefinition of a word while the meaning he defends and holds in his mind as correct is in essence a redefinition to begin with, however you want to look at it. Even being a "loan-word" it is still technically a redefinition of sorts. Maybe I should have explained that better. Sorry. And I personally don't separate the terms "anime and manga" from their English counterparts. My manga collection is sorted by the creators name and my Jhonen Vasquez books are between Mushishi and Alice 19th. My anime is alphabatized by title with The Nightmare Before Christmas stuck between NieA_7 and Ninja Scroll. To me it's all anime and manga, animation and comics. That's just how I see it, anyway. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15357 |
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jgreen:
How about succeeding with a comic which doesn't automatically have a built-in fanbase?
That's more likely due to Ironcat being awful at printing enough runs to actually make money back on their titles.
They threw money at him, because they don't know a damn thing about the bookstore market, not because he was really that big. When you can still pay off your bandwidth through dvd sales of your work like the Broken Saints crew, then you're big. Kyuu:
Hard work is being able to write up consistently clever jokes with a sprained wrist while having to deal with people who plagiarize your material and PayPal extorting you. Using connections to cash in on a trend is just lazy. |
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Or sooner. Or later. 
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