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NEWS: Spice and Wolf Novel's Original Cover Ships with Yen+


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Zilan



Joined: 20 Jan 2005
Posts: 167
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:39 pm Reply with quote
So, um where do I go to protest this? Do they plan on taking out the illustrations too and replacing them with more *WESTERN* theme pictures? Way to mock the fans, anime fans. You know the people that give you money? Unless it's changed you won't be getting my money!
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Nebs



Joined: 19 Jul 2003
Posts: 384
Location: University of Illinois
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:44 pm Reply with quote
Zilan wrote:
So, um where do I go to protest this? Do they plan on taking out the illustrations too and replacing them with more *WESTERN* theme pictures? Way to mock the fans, anime fans. You know the people that give you money? Unless it's changed you won't be getting my money!

Yes, heaven forbid they actually try to make a profit off of this title by making it more appealing to a larger audience, which then in turn might attract more readers to manga. & yeah, how dare they provide us anime fans with an alternative slip cover in Yen Plus. Just who the hell do they think they are?
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littlegreenwolf



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 4796
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:48 pm Reply with quote
Zilan wrote:
So, um where do I go to protest this? Do they plan on taking out the illustrations too and replacing them with more *WESTERN* theme pictures? Way to mock the fans, anime fans. You know the people that give you money? Unless it's changed you won't be getting my money!


You have nothing to protest. You've got the novel translated and you get an alternative cover. Quit criticizing a great marketing idea that'll only widen the reader base. They're working with hatchette to sell books and it's about time one of these novels got treated like a book instead of some odd niche thing shelved at an odd section of the bookstore where regular book readers will never find it. Anime/manga style covers are typically a turn off for people not into that sort of thing.

I only wish Tokyopop did the same for a number of their novels. Good Witch of the West had some nice, non-manga style covers in Japan instead of what they used here.
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einhorn303



Joined: 20 Nov 2006
Posts: 1180
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 12:03 am Reply with quote
It's basically

http://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/large/1104774873-00.jpg

All over again.

Seriously, this is a travesty. Replacing a piece of art which sets the mood and style for the series with some poorly shopped photo crap. Sure, we wouldn't want to have ANIME PICTURES on our ANIME BOOKS.

Seriously, think about all the people for whom Holo is their wife and also find 3D strongly and physically abhorrent. This is a low blow, it's insulting, and it's especially insulting coming from a company like Yen Press.

The slipcover is no solution, because the abomination would still lay lurking beneath it, like a horrifying monster under a child's bed.
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Koji98



Joined: 13 Jun 2008
Posts: 112
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 12:08 am Reply with quote
Zilan wrote:
So, um where do I go to protest this? Do they plan on taking out the illustrations too and replacing them with more *WESTERN* theme pictures? Way to mock the fans, anime fans. You know the people that give you money? Unless it's changed you won't be getting my money!


The insert pictures are gonna be the same as the original.
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hissatsu01



Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 963
Location: NYC
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 12:26 am Reply with quote
einhorn303 wrote:

Seriously, think about all the people for whom Holo is their wife and also find 3D strongly and physically abhorrent.


While on principle I'd much prefer the original covers to badly done photoshops (really, there are bigger versions of the cover online and it's not good work), quotes like this make me lose any sympathy I might have. If you think of a fictional character of any kind as your wife, you would probably be better served investing your time in therapy rather than indulging in more fiction.
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Zilan



Joined: 20 Jan 2005
Posts: 167
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 12:28 am Reply with quote
Quote:
how dare they provide us anime fans with an alternative slip cover in Yen Plus. Just who the hell do they think they are?


Because I wanna spend 10 dollars for a magazine that I will pretty much throw away JUST for a crappy slip cover. Anyways cool story bro.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 12:40 am Reply with quote
Should have just used the original to avoid any bs that either side can bring it. If the alternative version didn't exist, neither would any argument.
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Ashen Phoenix



Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Posts: 2904
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 12:50 am Reply with quote
Nebs wrote:
Zilan wrote:
So, um where do I go to protest this? Do they plan on taking out the illustrations too and replacing them with more *WESTERN* theme pictures? Way to mock the fans, anime fans. You know the people that give you money? Unless it's changed you won't be getting my money!

Yes, heaven forbid they actually try to make a profit off of this title by making it more appealing to a larger audience, which then in turn might attract more readers to manga. & yeah, how dare they provide us anime fans with an alternative slip cover in Yen Plus. Just who the hell do they think they are?

Thank you, Nebs. Anime catgrin

Sheesh. For a minute there I thought I was gonna hurl in disgust.

I mean, seriously, I'm excited by this announcement. Now, I've absolutely nothing against the original artwork (quite the contrary), all the same I think the new revision is a beautiful interpretation and will still manage to catch folks' eyes on the shelf.

Yen, as far as I'm concerned, you guys have done everything right since you came into this world. Keep on keepin' on! I love you guys!!
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Sheleigha



Joined: 09 May 2008
Posts: 1671
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 1:33 am Reply with quote
I think what's more disturbing... is that being a nude semi-silloette, that the chest looks rather... flat. So it you look at it, almost looks more like a partially nude guy on the cover 0_o
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Calli



Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 38
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 1:38 am Reply with quote
The one problem I can think of with this cover is that it looks like a subdued variant of a lot of fantasy novel covers, and could get lost in the shuffle. (All right, the tail looks wrong, but that's minor in comparison.)

Aside from that...this cover has far better odds of selling books in the mainstream than the original Japanese cover. And the mainstream has the potential to make much more money for this book than a niche of the (notoriously capricious) anime and manga fandom. And if a book doesn't make money, the hopes for further volumes in the series are slim.

Personally, I'm far more concerned about the text inside. I'm hoping it will be more polished than Haruhi (which wasn't bad, just felt a bit awkward here and there. Some of the sentences felt like non-native word order shoehorned into English, and "..." does not read naturally in English prose). But this post reminded me about Spice & Wolf's impending English publication, and it's definitely still on the purchase list -- I might see about picking up the Yen+ issue with the original cover, too. If it (the cover) wasn't available, though, I'd be fine. (And if I was that fanatical...I'd probably have already imported the books anyway, because I'm crazy like that.)

Side note: I took a look at Hachette's site to see when the next Haruhi novel was coming out, and the only entry they have is for the trade paperback edition. Amazon, Powell's, and Right Stuf all have listings for the hardcover, so I hope Hachette's site is in error. Otherwise, that's not a particularly good sign. (Random speculation: if Hachette's site is correct about the Haruhi listings, that may have been a factor in the Spice & Wolf design. Think about that.) Okay, from comments downstream, Hachette's site is incorrect. One crazy theory shot to pieces Wink


Last edited by Calli on Sat Sep 26, 2009 2:17 am; edited 1 time in total
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 1:46 am Reply with quote
Sheleigha wrote:
I think what's more disturbing... is that being a nude semi-silloette, that the chest looks rather... flat. So it you look at it, almost looks more like a partially nude guy on the cover 0_o


And you can't see it well in that thumbnail, but the top-left corner is TEETH OUTTA NOWHERE. It's just a very unflattering cover and looks very unprofessional. And this reaching a wider audience stuff? This book is going onto the same shelves where the manga are, not into the fantasy section. Same with the Haruhi novel. So yes, it makes more sense to have an anime cover.
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maaya



Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 976
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 1:47 am Reply with quote
I like the original cover, but it's not super awesome either. It's nice, but not more and it will just turn an average reader away from a great fantasy story, because they will think "ewww, manga".

Any real fan who wants everything "original" buys the japanese novels anyway Anime hyper

Quote:
Side note: I took a look at Hachette's site to see when the next Haruhi novel was coming out, and the only entry they have is for the trade paperback edition. Amazon, Powell's, and Right Stuf all have listings for the hardcover, so I hope Hachette's site is in error. Otherwise, that's not a particularly good sign.


Do you mean "The Sigh of"? It is out already in both versions.
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Sheleigha



Joined: 09 May 2008
Posts: 1671
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 2:01 am Reply with quote
walw6pK4Alo wrote:
Sheleigha wrote:
I think what's more disturbing... is that being a nude semi-silloette, that the chest looks rather... flat. So it you look at it, almost looks more like a partially nude guy on the cover 0_o


And you can't see it well in that thumbnail, but the top-left corner is TEETH OUTTA NOWHERE. It's just a very unflattering cover and looks very unprofessional. And this reaching a wider audience stuff? This book is going onto the same shelves where the manga are, not into the fantasy section. Same with the Haruhi novel. So yes, it makes more sense to have an anime cover.


0_o upon further inspection of a bigger image, still has a flat chest but those teeth.... SHE IS NOT A RABBIT DEITY Anime hyper
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Calli



Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 38
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 2:09 am Reply with quote
maaya wrote:

Do you mean "The Sigh of"? It is out already in both versions.


Oh, good. I could've sworn it had a release date in October, though. I'll have to order the hardcover through the local shop tomorrow.

Sheleigha wrote:
I think what's more disturbing... is that being a nude semi-silloette, that the chest looks rather... flat. So it you look at it, almost looks more like a partially nude guy on the cover 0_o


The entire image looks flat. I hadn't noticed the silhouette issue until you mentioned it, but I don't think it looks like a guy on the cover -- just an image flattened by digital alteration. The tail's the most immediately conspicious, though.
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