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Macross Manga... Maybe
Aug. 19th, 2011 06:21 pmAn awful lot of the initial reactions to the launch of the "official online manga distribution" site Jmanga seems unimpressed with paying prices comparable to buying actual printed volumes (and through a complicated subscription scheme, too) and only being able to read those purchases through the site so long as it's still around. That is sort of unfortunate, but I have to admit the promised catalogue is large enough to catch my attention through the inclusion of just one brand, one that also caught the attention of whoever was writing the blurb for the Anime News Network article.
As with a lot of other people, I suppose I'd grown to more or less conclude that all possibility of any new Macross projects being available for sale in North America (save model kits and the like imported by individual shops, of course) was locked up in a hopeless tangle that had something to do with an over-generous contract that Harmony Gold signed back in the 1980s before Robotech was launched. Unlike some people, I'm uncertain as to whether all the "blame" for that should be dumped on them alone, but I do remember one time before when Tokyopop, in its "throw lots of stuff out there and see what clicks" fashion, announced it was going to publish a Macross 7 spinoff manga via the official Robotech site, only for that news to vanish a few days later. It's easy enough to suspect Harmony Gold was in some way attempting an end run around the licensing tangle, only for it to not work out.
Now, though, some Macross Frontier titles have been listed on Jmanga, with the name of their Japanese publisher Kadokawa mentioned. I do have the suspicion "manga based on anime" are sold to the tightwads unwilling to buy expensive Blu-Rays, much less DVDs, and that you pretty much get what you pay for. Somehow, though, admidst all the uncertainty as to whether the listing or the site itself sticks around, the thought of "making a contribution to the franchise as a whole" comes to mind, as it did during my one-day visit to Japan earlier this year, where I happened to buy a little boxed Macross Frontier figure, which I haven't opened yet to see what I actually got (much less taken it out of the little taped-up bag the clerk wrapped it in for me...)
As with a lot of other people, I suppose I'd grown to more or less conclude that all possibility of any new Macross projects being available for sale in North America (save model kits and the like imported by individual shops, of course) was locked up in a hopeless tangle that had something to do with an over-generous contract that Harmony Gold signed back in the 1980s before Robotech was launched. Unlike some people, I'm uncertain as to whether all the "blame" for that should be dumped on them alone, but I do remember one time before when Tokyopop, in its "throw lots of stuff out there and see what clicks" fashion, announced it was going to publish a Macross 7 spinoff manga via the official Robotech site, only for that news to vanish a few days later. It's easy enough to suspect Harmony Gold was in some way attempting an end run around the licensing tangle, only for it to not work out.
Now, though, some Macross Frontier titles have been listed on Jmanga, with the name of their Japanese publisher Kadokawa mentioned. I do have the suspicion "manga based on anime" are sold to the tightwads unwilling to buy expensive Blu-Rays, much less DVDs, and that you pretty much get what you pay for. Somehow, though, admidst all the uncertainty as to whether the listing or the site itself sticks around, the thought of "making a contribution to the franchise as a whole" comes to mind, as it did during my one-day visit to Japan earlier this year, where I happened to buy a little boxed Macross Frontier figure, which I haven't opened yet to see what I actually got (much less taken it out of the little taped-up bag the clerk wrapped it in for me...)