Famous manga author pleads with fans to buy their comics new and at full price
Creator of Gantz sounds off about the difficulties posed by Japan’s used manga market.
On the release day of most general audience manga, you can walk into just about any bookstore in Japan and pick up a brand-new copy. But while that’s the most direct way for fans to consume content, it’s far from the only one. (...)
For consumers, having so many different avenues by which to read manga helps them strike the balances they want between price, speed of availability, and ownership. But in a recent tweet, Hiroya Oku, writer and artist of manga including Gantz and Hen, asserts that the wealth of options can severely hurt manga creators’ bottom line.
“This might shatter some kids’ illusions, but no manga creators can keep producing comics if people are just going to read through them at the store without buying them, or buy them from Yahoo! Auctions or used book stores. Creators just can’t do it. But there are so many adults who get their manga that way, even though they know the situation. If you want to support a manga creator, please buy your manga new, at list price, as often as you can.”
So, what's your stance on the matter?
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