Someone asked why they didn't replace AMG with
Masakazu Katsura's DNA2 or I"s. Studio Proteus firmly
believes that fan translations and scans of manga on
the internet seriously compromises sales of the
"official" comic. So they won't publish either one of
those. Oddly enough, Viz doesn't feel the same way.
They are publishing Katsura's Video Girl Ai in
Animerica Extra despite the existance of the complete
story translations on the internet. They are also
continuing to publish Ranma 1/2 despite the fact that
all 38 volumes have been scanned and translated and
are all easily available on the internet. Viz also
doesn't force people to remove scans or translations
of their titles like Studio Proteus does. Studio
Proteus also claims that having two titles by the same
author in print at once hurts sales of hoth, citing
the time that OMG and YUA were both published as their
own comics and sales were slow for both.
Interestingly, Viz was publishing Rumiko Takahashi's
Urusei Yatsura: The Return of Lum, Ranma 1/2, Maison
Ikkoku and One Pound Gospel all at the same time. They
didn't seem to have problems with the sales of any of
those titles.

I know that Studio Proteus is a business and I
understand that they need to be. After all, if they go
out of business, then we might still get OMG but it
will be translated by someone who won't be nearly as
good. Studio Proteus is the best in the business,
despite our petty squabbles over minor translation
differences (Holy Bell, Blessed Bell, whatever). I
just think that they can be a little heavy handed with
how they deal with fans. I honestly believe that fan
translations and scans help sales of the official
translations. I have all of the Japanese tankoubans of
Video Girl Ai and all of the translations printed out
so I could read them. I buy every issue of Animerica
Extra and the Video Girl Ai graphic novels. I buy them
because I've read the fan translations. Don't bully
the people who are trying to help you. Quit forcing
fans to remove their translations and scans. Those
fans are helping sell your product. I'm hoping someone
will bring Ken Akamatsu's Love Hina to the US. It's a
great manga with a terrific story and art. I'll buy
every issue of the comic and the graphic novels. Why?
Because I've read the fan scans on the internet. Get
wise! Realize the fans of your titles are your best
sales tool!

(huff, huff, pant, pant) Sorry. This is just something
that has been bothering me for a while and I had to
get it off my chest.

Mike Dungan