00:00Many anime and manga fans have noticed that products are significantly more expensive outside Japan.
00:06For example, a manga volume that costs around 390 yen to 500 yen, 3 euros to 4 euros,
00:14in Japan can cost 8 euros to 10 euros in Spain or the United States.
00:19Let's take a look at why this happens and what implications it has.
00:23In Japan, it is common to find manga at incredible prices.
00:27For example, at the secondhand chain book-off, there are giant volumes, as seen in the image,
00:33for only 105 yen each, about 70 cents.
00:36In addition, 24-hour convenience stores, Konbini, often offer manga to read for free, write image.
00:44These habits illustrate that manga is distributed in Japan at low cost.
00:49According to the blog Ungeek in Japan, a new volume usually sells for 390 yen.
00:55One user even calculates that buying the 65 volumes of Naruto would cost only about 180 euros in Japan,
01:03compared to almost 500 euros in Spain.
01:06Outside Japan, however, the same volumes cost much more.
01:10Why?
01:11There are several key factors.
01:13Foreign publishers must purchase the rights from a Japanese author and publisher,
01:18which raises the base cost.
01:20Adapting manga into another language makes the product more expensive.
01:24Translating and laying out a volume is no trivial task,
01:28which is why an English or Spanish version usually has a similar price to that in Spain,
01:34well above the original Japanese.
01:36In Japan, huge print runs are produced, for example.
01:40One Piece sells millions of copies, which lowers the unit cost.
01:44In small markets, Spain, USA, print runs are limited,
01:49which increases the price of each copy.
01:51As one comment points out,
01:53publishing a small number of copies for a market of 40 million people
01:56is much more expensive per unit.
01:59Cultural VAT, 10% in Spain, for example,
02:03and distributor and publisher margins also add to the final price.
02:07Each intermediary wants to make a profit,
02:10and a consumer, us, is made aware of this through higher prices.
02:15Comments from fans confirm that
02:16translating manga is no easy task,
02:20which is why it makes the product so expensive,
02:22and that factors such as copyright,
02:24limited print runs,
02:25and VAT mean that outside Japan,
02:28we are ripped off with much higher prices.
02:31In other words,
02:32you pay more and get less
02:34an expensive volume,
02:36late releases,
02:37fewer editions available.
02:38In Japan,
02:39the local success of a manga
02:41or anime largely determines its fate.
02:44For example,
02:45in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine,
02:47readers send in weekly surveys
02:49by mail,
02:51indicating their three favorite series.
02:53The results of these surveys
02:55determine the order of the series in the magazine.
02:58The most voted go at the beginning
02:59and the least voted go at the end.
03:01As one fan guide explains,
03:04manga are arranged according to their popularity.
03:07Thanks to these surveys,
03:08the most popular ones appear at the front
03:10and the least popular ones at the back.
03:12If a series spends a long time
03:14in the lower positions,
03:15the dreaded bottom five,
03:17it runs the risk
03:18of being cancelled prematurely.
03:20It is even said
03:21that publishers consider this popularity
03:23when deciding whether a manga
03:25will be adapted into an anime.
03:27In fact,
03:28one editor comments that
03:29in addition to ordering the magazine,
03:31they also take the votes into account
03:33when deciding
03:34whether to keep or cancel a series
03:36and even for the possibility
03:38of making an anime.
03:40In other words,
03:40in Japan,
03:41Japanese readers themselves
03:43vote indirectly
03:44with their purchases and polls
03:46and that guides
03:47the creative decisions
03:48of the industry.
03:50Outside Japan,
03:51however,
03:52there is no equivalent
03:53official mechanism.
03:55It is true
03:55that there are international polls,
03:57for example,
03:58Crunchyrolls anime awards
03:59or social media voting,
04:01but these do not influence
04:02Japanese committees.
04:04As another fan comments,
04:05English-speaking readers
04:06can participate in Twitter polls.
04:08The Shonen Jump News
04:10unofficial account
04:11or the Josunurseka poll
04:12on Reddit.
04:13But there is no official system
04:15that studios take into account.
04:17In short,
04:18the Japanese industry
04:19focuses on popularity data
04:21from within its own country
04:22and the voices of foreign fans
04:24tend to be merely anecdotal.
04:26By not relying on global preferences,
04:29creators maintain the integrity
04:30of their work
04:31according to the local market.
04:33They don't have to give in
04:34to external fads
04:36or sensibilities
04:37that could dilute
04:38the original content.
04:40This can prevent
04:40cultural censorship
04:41intended for other countries
04:43from being imposed.
04:45For global fans,
04:46this can feel unfair.
04:48We pay for more expensive licenses,
04:50complain about local changes
04:52or censorship,
04:53and in the end,
04:54we see that our voice
04:55does not move
04:57the creative needle.
04:58Furthermore,
04:59series that are successful
05:00outside of Japan
05:01are not always exploited
05:03or a license late
05:05because they do not count
05:06in the initial decisions.
05:08There is even discussion
05:09in the community
05:10about a specific case.
05:12It is rumored
05:12that the manga
05:13Ayuno Musum
05:14to shite
05:15Amrekwada Ayua
05:16Fututabi,
05:17the hero's daughter,
05:19was canceled in part
05:20due to its poor performance
05:21in the U.S.
05:22English-speaking readers
05:23did not support the polls.
05:25Although there is
05:26no official confirmation,
05:28it would be an example
05:28of how international influence
05:31can be perceived
05:32in the fate of a work.
05:34The summer Hikaru died,
05:35Netflix,
05:362024,
05:37the official Spanish dubbing
05:39was heavily criticized
05:40for diluting
05:41the implied homosexual romance.
05:44Original phrases
05:44such as,
05:45I can't stop loving you
05:47were translated
05:48as I like you.
05:49This change,
05:50which did not occur
05:51in the English
05:52or Catalan versions,
05:54sparked a debate
05:54about how localization
05:56can change the meaning
05:57of the story.
05:58Gakiakura,
05:59Crunchyroll,
06:002025,
06:01this successful
06:02shounen anime
06:03directed by Crunchyroll
06:05underwent a controversial edit.
06:07In the original manga,
06:08the protagonist
06:09raises his middle finger
06:10at the villains,
06:11but in the anime,
06:12it was changed
06:13to a thumbs down
06:14to avoid family broadcast issues.
06:17It airs during
06:17children's viewing hours.
06:19Many fans feel
06:20that this censored
06:21the character's rebelliousness
06:22and reduced
06:23the power of the scene.
06:24Texas Law SB20,
06:262025,
06:28this is not a series,
06:29but it is a legal example
06:30of censorship
06:31that concerns otakus.
06:34This U.S. law criminalizes
06:36obscene visual material
06:38involving minors,
06:39including cartoons
06:40or AI-generated images.
06:43In theory,
06:44many anime illustrations
06:45depicting youthful-looking characters
06:47could be interpreted
06:48as illegal in Texas.
06:50The emergence of such laws
06:51outside Japan
06:52underscores
06:53how foreign sensibilities
06:54can indirectly affect anime
06:56if works have to adapt
06:58to these regulations,
07:00although today,
07:00the Japanese industry
07:01does not even
07:02take them into account.
07:04Ultimately,
07:05the experience of being
07:06an otaku outside Japan
07:08has contradictory aspects.
07:10On the one hand,
07:11the logic of the Japanese market,
07:13large-scale,
07:14local voting,
07:16fewer intermediaries,
07:17keeps prices low
07:18and preserves
07:19the authentic touch
07:20of the works.
07:21On the other hand,
07:23international fans
07:23sometimes feel excluded.
07:26We pay more
07:26for the same products,
07:28suffer delays
07:28and local censorship,
07:30and our surveys
07:31change nothing.
07:32This is frustrating,
07:34but is also the reality
07:35of the global manga
07:36and anime market.
07:38Is it bad that foreign voices
07:39don't decide
07:40what gets licensed
07:41or adapted?
07:43It's an open question.
07:44In an ideal world,
07:45there would be a balance
07:46between the two.
07:47Global success
07:48would count
07:49to avoid surprises
07:50such as the cancellation
07:52of titles popular
07:53with international fans,
07:54and at the same time,
07:56the author's original vision
07:57would be respected.
07:58For now,
07:59the balance is tipped
08:00towards Japan.
08:02Japanese studios
08:03and publishers
08:03continue to be guided
08:04by their own audience
08:06and their own criteria.
08:07This may prevent
08:08unwanted external interference,
08:11but it also means
08:12that otaku outside Japan
08:13continue to pay more
08:15and get less in return.
08:16The final answer
08:17is up to each fan
08:18to decide.
08:19Weighing whether
08:20this model protects
08:21the original art
08:22or simply leaves
08:23global fans behind.
08:24This model protects
08:26the original art
08:26or simply leaves
08:27global fans behind.
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