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NEWS: J-Novel Club: Amazon Delists Some Light Novels, Manga on Kindle


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Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3426
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:49 am Reply with quote
jenthehen wrote:
Rightstuf and other options are well and good for physical copies, but the Kindle / kindle app is super convenient and where I've been reading most light novels

If you have a PC and Calibre, you can convert any other format ebook on your PC to a kindle friendly one(don't forget to strip the drm as well). After that, connect the kindle to PC by usb and either send them directly from Calibre to your device, or simply drag & drop there(into the Documents folder).

If you're using Mac, not sure what the equivalent would be though?...
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Ryujin99



Joined: 21 Jul 2010
Posts: 185
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 12:49 pm Reply with quote
Makes me glad that I buy the vast majority of my physical media from other vendors. Guess it's long past time that I ditch Kindle for other digital media options (Bookwalker seems like a solid choice to me).

This may actually be enough to convince me to finish watching the handful of series only available on Amazon and just drop Prime altogether. Only issue then is figuring out where to buy the other things I've grown reliant on Amazon for.
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jenthehen



Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 835
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:26 pm Reply with quote
Blanchimont wrote:
jenthehen wrote:
Rightstuf and other options are well and good for physical copies, but the Kindle / kindle app is super convenient and where I've been reading most light novels

If you have a PC and Calibre, you can convert any other format ebook on your PC to a kindle friendly one(don't forget to strip the drm as well). After that, connect the kindle to PC by usb and either send them directly from Calibre to your device, or simply drag & drop there(into the Documents folder).

If you're using Mac, not sure what the equivalent would be though?...


That sure sounds like a lot more work than 1-click ordering Laughing

I'm sure I'll just switch formats if I need to but siiiiiiigh
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lilitu93
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Joined: 05 Jan 2018
Posts: 21
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 5:58 pm Reply with quote
Blanchimont wrote:

If you have a PC and Calibre, you can convert any other format ebook on your PC to a kindle friendly one(don't forget to strip the drm as well). After that, connect the kindle to PC by usb and either send them directly from Calibre to your device, or simply drag & drop there(into the Documents folder).

If you're using Mac, not sure what the equivalent would be though?...


Calibre works on the Mac too. You do need to install plug ins to strip DRM, which I haven’t done as the books I’m converting most of the time are ones from J-Novel Club or other sources that don’t have DRM, but I may need to look into it if Amazon removes too many non-J-Novel Club light novels.

You can also use Calibre to email the converted files to your Kindle library, which means you can use them on multiple devices. I have a Kindle and also have the app on my iPad and iPhone, and sending them by emails to be part of your personal documents library allows Kindle to sync where you are across all devices. Only time I’ve had troubles was with one book that was over 50MB (Bakarina 5 I think), but in general it’s fine. For light novels I recommend setting up a free GMX email account as it can handle larger files as attachments than Gmail, and light novels can get larger due to the illustrations.
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Spike Terra
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Joined: 21 Mar 2016
Posts: 358
Location: Maryland
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 6:49 pm Reply with quote
Crunchyroll did an article that contained some additional information: Crunchy article. I never did complain to amazon but I really hate how amazon conducted themselves in this matter. I wish I didn't invest so much in my kindle fire. Best case scenario, they will relist the items if enough people take issue Very Happy. The problem is that Amazon is such a big company that complaints won't matter to them Sad .
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Adv193



Joined: 20 Nov 2010
Posts: 187
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 7:26 pm Reply with quote
Well the issues of availability with the Funimation anime is the reason I am glad I have ITunes as a backup, as Apple is helpful with some of the anime that I am interested in.
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Kougeru



Joined: 13 May 2008
Posts: 5521
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:22 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Despite sending multiple inquiries over the course of weeks, Pinansky stated that he received no detailed reason from Amazon regarding the delistings, with Amazon only saying that it reserved the right to determine what was considered appropriate on its platform.


sounds like teh whole Steam VN thing all over again. Perfectly legal and often innocent content being removed by some "moderator" or whatever that just hates anime
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-SP-





PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:39 pm Reply with quote
Yet another reason to stop using Amazon. I always try to find stuff on other websites before using Amazon as a last resort.
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Sheleigha



Joined: 09 May 2008
Posts: 1671
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:49 pm Reply with quote
Kougeru wrote:
Quote:
Despite sending multiple inquiries over the course of weeks, Pinansky stated that he received no detailed reason from Amazon regarding the delistings, with Amazon only saying that it reserved the right to determine what was considered appropriate on its platform.


sounds like teh whole Steam VN thing all over again. Perfectly legal and often innocent content being removed by some "moderator" or whatever that just hates anime


I don't think it's a "hate anime" but many of these outlets have largely been focused on the character's age, like with Sony. However, the real problem at hand is ACTUAL GUIDELINES: something that neither Steam, Sony, nor Amazon has done. Just a "we think this is bad, but we won't tell you why" is highly unprofessional. If it DOES have to do with say, child/teen characters looking suggestive, then why don't they say so? Or would saying so admit that they were fine with it before? That's the only thing I can think of. But this causes a problem for publishers, who don't know what is "bad" content that the platform will not allow. Can be a waste of money on them if they get things pulled later on, rather than not bothering in the first place.
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pikkuhukka



Joined: 18 Apr 2016
Posts: 72
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:55 pm Reply with quote
this list to me is more like: good shit to pay attention to
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5821
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 11:38 pm Reply with quote
This is even worse than I thought.

- Arifureta - From Commonplace to World's Strongest (light novel)
- How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord (light novel)
- Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension (light novel)
- There Was No Secret Evil-Fighting Organization (srsly?!), So I Made One MYSELF! (light novel)
- Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash (light novel)
- Lazy Dungeon Master (light novel)
- The Greatest Magicmaster's Retirement Plan (light novel)
- I Shall Survive Using Potions! (light novel)
- I Shall Survive Using Potions! (manga)
- No Game, No Life (light novel)

These are just the ones that I purchase. Yesterday, I only knew of two, now we have a whole list. This is a bleeding purge, a bloodbath.

Guess Amazon really doesn't give a damn about their manga and light novel customers. I have been using the Amazon Kindle for several years now, because of the ease of purchasing and especially the availability of manga titles on their service. There have been warning signs though over the last couple of years, with a manga title or two being quietly delisted over time. But this is outright warfare.

I really don't want to go back to the days of western publishers editing and censoring Japanese manga (and now light novels) for western audiences. But with Amazon's massive hammer attack, western publishers are going to have to starkly ask that question. Will it be profitable for them if their licensed titles are not on Amazon, and if they censor them to get them on Amazon, will fans still buy them. Personally, I am not going to buy censored or edited for content manga and light novels. I am sure some will, knowingly and unknowingly.

This is really going to suck as a Amazon Kindle customer, because now I will have to use other services for the titles that Amazon is banning. So instead of a book reading tablet, I am going to have to use it as a file reading tablet.

If that is the case, I might as well get a real tablet.


Last edited by TarsTarkas on Wed Jul 15, 2020 11:42 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Utsuro no Hako



Joined: 18 May 2012
Posts: 1032
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 11:40 pm Reply with quote
Kougeru wrote:
sounds like teh whole Steam VN thing all over again. Perfectly legal and often innocent content being removed by some "moderator" or whatever that just hates anime


Except in this case anime-style works aren't being singled out. Amazon pulls this crap all the time. You've just never noticed before because it hasn't affected the stuff you read.

Based upon the books that have been singled out, it's obvious that Amazon is cracking down on nude illustrations in books. This has always been against their guidelines, but they normally only enforce it against self-published erotica. (This is why I think Sam's wrong about this being auto-moderation. A computer wouldn't recognize a nude drawing. Somebody's been told to inspect all the LNs on Amazon and flag any that feature naked girls.)
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Kalessin



Joined: 15 Aug 2007
Posts: 931
PostPosted: Thu Jul 16, 2020 12:54 am Reply with quote
Unfortunately, Amazon has a large enough piece of the e-book market that this sort of thing could have a huge impact. Fortunately, for those customers who are willing to look elsewhere, there are a variety of competitors, including Kobo, Nook, and Google Play Books. Bookwalker is another popular one (and since it's focused on LNs and manga, this sort of thing would never happen there), but unlike the other services, its DRM hasn't been cracked, so any books you buy from Bookwalker are locked into that service.

Of course, in the case of j-novel.club, you can always just buy the books DRM-free from the publisher directly (though unfortunately, that does require paying for a subscription for their pre-pub service). That's not an option with Yen Press though.
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Marzan



Joined: 29 Mar 2009
Posts: 514
PostPosted: Thu Jul 16, 2020 1:49 am Reply with quote
And this is why, if at all possible, I always have a physical copy or digital backup of the stuff I really like. Who’s to know if tomorrow it isn’t Crunchyroll or Funimation that slash half their of their catalogue due to “insert reason here”
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NegativeZero



Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Posts: 94
Location: Melbourne, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Jul 16, 2020 2:08 am Reply with quote
Utsuro no Hako wrote:
Kougeru wrote:
sounds like teh whole Steam VN thing all over again. Perfectly legal and often innocent content being removed by some "moderator" or whatever that just hates anime


Except in this case anime-style works aren't being singled out. Amazon pulls this crap all the time. You've just never noticed before because it hasn't affected the stuff you read.

Based upon the books that have been singled out, it's obvious that Amazon is cracking down on nude illustrations in books. This has always been against their guidelines, but they normally only enforce it against self-published erotica. (This is why I think Sam's wrong about this being auto-moderation. A computer wouldn't recognize a nude drawing. Somebody's been told to inspect all the LNs on Amazon and flag any that feature naked girls.)


If it was just kindle books being removed you would probably be correct, but they've purged physical copies of a few of these too. Like, they're not even visible on the site any more level of purged, not just having the Kindle edition marked as unavailable.
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