It has some very Apple-inspired aethestics.

I’ve written about the idea of digital distribution of comics before, but had only considered a web-based platform because that was what most companies seemed to be experimenting with at the time. And really, I think one of the other reasons I hadn’t considered the iTunes model before is because I couldn’t really see the comics (or manga) industry ever agreeing on a universal solution, especially considering how haphazard and all over the place everyone’s digital model is for anime and television streams and downloads. And yet, how convenient and elegant it would be if they could agree? If you could find all your comics in one place for the super cheap price of $0.99/issue? It’s just about perfect.

With all the comics inflation that’s been happening recently, the price point of the Longbox might be the most attractive feature for both consumers and companies. Marvel has raised its most popular titles from $2.99/issue to $3.99/issue. For me, the three bucks I’d save buying a digital version is well worth sacrificing the novelty of a hard copy, especially when those three bucks add up every Wednesday. I could use that extra money to buy more comics! For graphic novels, if we go by prices set by various current web-models, they might go for anywhere between $2.50 and $4.50 a volume — at least half the price of Viz’s new $9.99 standard and TOKYOPOP’s $10.99. And for companies, since there would be zero printing costs, and since the Longbox supports formats already being used, it isn’t unlikely that they’d see an even bigger profit margin from digital sales.

A lot of people already read comics digitally, whether legally or illegally, so I really don’t think that transition will be much of an issue here. With money tight in everyone’s pocket’s these days, it’s hard to argue tradition with cost, and the publishing industry in general has been declining for a while. When Amazon’s Kindle 2 released in February, my feed reader was bombarded with Slashdot and New York Times articles comparing its surging popularity with that of Apple’s iPod with further comparisons with the music industry in general. And indeed, there do seem to be a lot of similarities, including telltale mistakes. The Longbox does seek to interface with the Kindle, as well as the score of other experimental eReaders like the iPhone, WiiWare, DS, and Xbox Live. The graphic format of comics might make it more challenging to adapt than text, but at this point, I see its acceptance as inevitable, at the very least on computer screens.

The last thing is, of course, content. A few studios are already on board, but no one major yet (ie, no Marvel or DC or Dark Horse, no Viz or TOKYOPOP). I am hoping that this will change soon as news of the Longbox makes its way around. Really, I don’t see any reason for it to fail once the major players sign on — iTunes is a proven success, and I don’t think comics or comics consumers are all that different from music and music consumers. Such a dramatic shift to digital comics will be hard on a lot of people and there will be casualties in the process (comic stores that don’t host D&D games will be the first to go), but as Ron Richards over at iFanboy dramatically puts it, “Digital comics are inevitable.  Change or Die.”

Opinion Prone: Hey, Eric! So how goes the quest for original comics at VIZ Media?

Eric Searleman:  We made the announcement at Comic-Con last summer about our intention to publish original comics. And since that time I’ve talked to hundreds of creators and perused a mountainous pile of submissions. The talent and enthusiasm is heartening.

OP: You were working on VIZ Media’s original comics with Marc Weidenbaum, who left the company in February. How much has this unexpected departure affected your work?

Eric:  His departure definitely had an affect on our plans. How could it not? But I’m happy to say that VIZ Media remains committed to publishing original comics. With Marc gone, the venture now falls within the orbit of VP Alvin Lu. I’m confident that along with Alvin, and Editorial Director Masumi Washington, I can get the job done. And I’m confident that our comics will be terrific.

OP: You mentioned at Editor’s Day that VIZ Media would be willing to consider any good story idea, regardless of the attached art style. That’s pretty awesome. All the same, do you think people with a less manga-influenced style would be less likely to pitch ideas to VIZ because of its brand?

Eric:  I’m hoping to publish a wide range of artistic styles. Comics are comics. Why put limits on it? I’d like to encourage anyone with a smart and fun idea to contact me. I don’t care if you draw like Masashi Kishimoto or Gabriel Ba.

OP: The graphic novel/tankobon format has pretty much been the exclusive format for manga-influenced original comics in the United States. Has VIZ Media considered publishing comics in single issues (that may be collected into trades later), as most American comics are traditionally?

Eric:  The format will suit the material. There’s no reason our original comics have to follow the same 5 x 7, b/w format as our manga graphic novels. And if one of our titles works best in serialized form, I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to serialize it.

OP: Has VIZ Media considered publishing original comics online via something like IKKI, which was announced in the wake of Shojo Beat‘s cancellation?

Eric:  Believe me, we’ve considered everything. There are so many options available to us. I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I feel strongly that we’ll disseminate our comics in the best way possible that suits the material.

OP:  Over at TOKYOPOP, their submissions guidelines for original comics include a section for marketing. Do you think marketability will play a big role in determining what kinds of titles VIZ will pick up for its original comics?

Eric:  I’m not comfortable comparing VIZ Media with another company. But here’s the bottom line for us: the quality of the comic takes precedent over everything else. Period. If I get a submission that knocks my socks off, I’m going to sit down with Alvin and Masumi and I’m going to champion it. And believe me, I can be a very persuasive guy.

OP: Last summer, VIZ set up an office in Hollywood focused on turning its properties into movies. Do you think it will be viable to turn original comic properties into movies?

Eric:  Yes, most definitely. If we hit the jackpot with one of our original books, I’d be tickled to see it turned into a movie. And I’m sure the creator would be thrilled too. As an editor, however, my priority is on producing good comics. All that Hollywood stuff will come later.

OP: Original comics will, presumably, have smaller established fanbases than properties from Japan—how much of an influence do you think fan support has on the success of a movie adaptation of a comic?

Eric:  A solid fanbase proves that a comic book is connecting with its audience. That’s a fact. But adapting one medium into another is always a tricky business. How many times have we seen a great book turned into a lousy movie?  I wish there was a proven formula for success.

OP: Once you do manage to get VIZ Media’s original comics line off the ground, assuming VIZ Media will end up going with the graphic novel-only format, how many new series do you think you’ll be aiming to launch annually?

Eric:  At this point, that’s an impossible question to answer. But I can tell you this: I can’t wait until the day I see VIZ Media Original Comics on our production schedule.

OP: Even though VIZ Media isn’t accepting pitches for original projects just yet, you told several artists at Editor’s Day that VIZ Media was interested in hiring artists for specific roles, such as penciler, inker, and toner, for in-house projects. What kinds of projects are these?

Eric:  There are numerous ideas floating around the VIZ Media bullpen. Depending on what project gets the green light, we may need to hire a team of artists to get the job done. You never know. My goal in Savannah was to make contacts and see what type of talent level was available. After meeting the students and faculty at SCAD, I came back to San Francisco pumped up to make great comics.

OP: Can you share any examples of what those ideas might be, or is it all hush-hush?

Eric: I wouldn’t exactly say it’s “hush-hush.” I just think it would be inappropriate to reveal projects that are, at this time, still in development.

OP: I think that’s all I have to ask you! Is there anything else about Viz, original comics, life, the universe, or everything, that you’d like to add?

Eric: I’d like to thank everyone for their interest in our plans to publish original comics. Hopefully you’ll enjoy our original stuff as much as you enjoy the manga we bring over.

–

And that’s it! Thanks a ton to Eric for offering to do the interview in the first place and to Evelyn Dubocq, VIZ’s awesome PR director, for making it happen. I hope this interview has been informative to someone other than myself, and I wonder what, if anything, VIZ might be announcing at Comic-Con in a few weeks?

But Viz showed up after all, represented by Eric Searleman, the senior editor that was working with Marc Weidenbaum (the aforementioned VP) on the original publishing line. So it seems that the venture hasn’t quite died yet. It’s worth noting though, that while Viz’s website declares that they aren’t accepting unsolicited submissions, they don’t say that the original comics program is dead or on any kind of hiatus. It’s also worth noting that several days after the announcement that Weidenbaum had left Viz, there was a post on Viz’s official blog directed towards original creators, suggesting that they still had plans to accept submissions eventually, even if things might be significantly delayed with Weidenbaum’s departure.

The panel discussion covered some pretty general topics, mostly aimed towards artists and writers trying to break into the industry. Mr. Searleman was relatively quiet compared to the rest of the lot, but seemed much more optimistic on subjects like the economy and pitching projects to companies. Some worthy tidbits include his mentioning that any project pitched to Viz should expect to go through heavy editorial input and that women seemed to represent a majority of those attracted to manga. The entire panel was supposedly recorded and should be featured on Monday’s scheduled podcast at SEQALAB, if anyone’s interested.

What interested me the most about the entire panel though was, and the belatedly-introduced, actual topic of this post is, a question someone asked at the end of the panel, in conjunction with something else Mr. Searleman said earlier. Is Viz specifically looking for projects in the “manga style”? Like some, I would would prefer “manga” to be a word synonymous with “comics,” but the general population does not treat it as such, so it isn’t so. But both the person who asked the question and Mr. Searleman seemed to agree that it doesn’t really matter what style something is in as long as it can tell a good story, and Viz is out to “publish good stories.” Presumably, this translates to, “No, Viz is not only specifically looking for manga-styled pitches,” but I have to wonder if that’s a good or bad thing, marketing-wise.

I have always disagreed with those who have labeled American artists drawing in a perceived anime/manga style to be wannabes or rip-offs. The only weakness comes when artists take no interest in studying reality and base all of their stylistic choices off of pre-existing ones. But that isn’t an exclusively American (or otherwise non-Japanese) weakness. Young Japanese artists who surround themselves with manga undoubtedly go through the same steps — they mimic what’s around them. American artists who surround themselves with the same manga are really no different. Similarly, artists of whatever origin who surround themselves with Western comics will mimic the styles that they see and read and admire. If you label one set of them wannabes or rip-offs, you’ll have to label all of them wannabes and rip-offs, but without them, there would never be a new generation of artists.

Nevertheless, most non-Japanese fans of manga still end up drawing quite a bit differently from Japanese natives, probably because it’s impossible to ignore all of the other cultural influences around them, no matter how much they delve into the foreign media. So their styles don’t get be to called straight up “manga,” only “manga-styled” or “manga-influenced.” I have mixed feelings about that since I don’t consider “manga-styled” to be a very specific term. Astro Boy and Akira are both “manga-styled,” but you’d never mistake one for the other. I guess the most significant thing though, is that you’d never mistake either for a non-Japanese-related comic. Everyone expects something when they hear “manga” or “manga-styled” or “OEL.”

Or “Viz.”

Viz publishes manga. If Viz is to finally venture into original comics, everyone will expect that they end up publishing “manga-styled” original comics.

Mr. Searleman said so himself, but as previously stated, he also mentioned being interested in any good story. I wonder what would happen if Viz actually published an original comic that was vastly, vastly different from what people would expect from “manga”? What if Viz published something that looked really American indie? Or even American superhero? It’s easy to say that people will want to read anything that has a good story, but it’s hard to deny that for comics — art is a huge factor and always serves as the first impression. I would like to think that most people are drawn to manga for the stories more than the art, but it is always interesting to see just how big the divide sometimes is between manga fans and Western comic fans. If the stories are equally good, why the hate? Each side stereotypes the other. The stories on the other side aren’t better, they say. The former only see the repetitive and continuously retconned superheros and the latter only see the androgynous gay boys and lolicon. Or something.

Viz is a powerful brand within the community; would people be confused or put off to see a Jack Kirby or even Adam Hughes-esque cover on something with Viz’s label on the spine? Would they be shocked and appalled if Viz published a superhero story? A good superhero story, perhaps, but a superhero story all the same? Breaking down the barrier! Bridging and crossing the divide! Say it ain’t so! Then again, Dark Horse publishes a good amount of both already, and almost all Western comic book publishers at this point have tapped into the “manga-style” in some way. Those announcements all seem to be met with derision and scorn, but I don’t know a damn thing about the sales on say, the shounen Wolverine or freaky shoujo X-Men manga. Do these things actually work? Are people actually buying these titles because the art drew them to it? Or are all these companies’ various marketing departments retarded?

If these adaptations are actually selling, would the reverse work? Would seeing an Western-style comic published by a manga publisher attract fans from the other side? Or would such a venture attract the same kind of derision and scorn?

Or is it all a moot point because no one that draws in such a Western style would approach Viz in the first place? Students had to sign up beforehand to meet with their editor of choice on Friday. Reading over the list, every name that I recognized was someone that had a decidedly “manga” style, myself included. Professors seem to like to say that the top reason project pitches are rejected is because the style of the pitch does not match the style of the company it’s being pitched to. They tell us that Marvel would not look to hire someone with an indie style and that DC would not look to hire someone with a manga style. Those mantras may or may not be true (was all the X-Men manga pitched by an outside newbie?), but it might be enough to keep students away from companies that don’t traditionally publish things in their style. The barriers have been breaking down, but it might not really matter when you’re just breaking in.

I’ve updated my MAL review for DOGS to include some commentary about Viz’s release, but I’m going to do an in-depth semi-review here because I feel like it.

PACKAGING & APPEARANCE — Since I don’t buy a lot of manga, this is actually the first Viz release that I’ve picked up since my old, old Gundam Wing manga — all my others have been TOKYOPOP releases — though I still plan to eventually pick up all of Death Note. The volume was actually shrink-wrapped and marked with explicit content, which surprised me until I opened it. The fold-out poster is this illustration on one side and this picture of Naoto on the other side. I forgot about all the nudity that’s in this manga, apparently, probably because none of it ever feels gratitious. The manga itself feels very slick — the DOGS logos and titles on the front and back covers, as well as the spine, are all shiny silver, and the graphic design on all sides is very clean and nice looking. The exception is the text that reads “Stray dogs howling through the dark” on the back; the font used is ill-fitting and kind of ugly, but that’s pretty minor.

The print size is a bit larger than most tankoban, and I noticed the paper quality is a little lesser. The pages aren’t as heavy and sturdy as I’m used to, and the volume itself is very flexible. I don’t mind the larger format at all, but I’m confused as to why the paper quality changed. It can’t be just a Viz thing since I’ve at least flipped through other Viz releases and never noticed a quality difference. I’m hesitant to call it a cost issue since this volume of DOGS is already quite a bit more expensive ($12.99) than other Viz releases ($7.99), so it isn’t like they couldn’t have offset printing costs on the larger size. It’s not that big a deal really, but it was a noticable thing.

EDITNG & TRANSLATION — As someone who doesn’t speak the language, I can really only judge a translation by how natural it feels and much it makes sense. Having read scanlations is a decent basis for meaning, especially since the scanlator always made a point to make notes on the portions she wasn’t sure of, but in the end, it’s really just about whether the story comes across in a way that isn’t confusing or choppy. I was, for the most part, really happy and impressed by Viz’s translation. There were a lot of things that were actually made much clearer through this translation. The slang and dialogue localization was less extreme than what TOKYOPOP usually does (though story setting may have something to do with this), so the inevitable shift in character tones wasn’t too jarring.

I was kind of confused about some of their choices in diction. For example, Badou once referred to cigarettes as “fags.” It’s all well and good meaning-wise, but fag in that usage is British slang, not American slang, and I don’t imagine that too many people even know that. There was also a part where Badou declares “U. B. DESTROYED!” which was kind of awkward since I think “you be” would have fit in the bubble just fine? Badou also says “Oh shi–” at some point, but that’s just awesome.

All of the sound effects in this release are edited and translated, which surprised me since I thought that sort of editing went out when everyone decided perserving the right-to-left reading format was the way to go. Still, compared to Viz’s older works, the translated sound effects are much improved. They’ve gotten more creative with the onomatopoeias (“twip” and “zsh” in addition to your standard “bang” and “whap”), and most of the sound effects actually seem to make sense. The chosen fonts are kind of plain and uninspired at times, but they fit in okay, and I think I’m just biased because I find katakana to be infinitely more interesting to look at even though the “sound” effect part will be lost to me until I sit my ass down and memorize that alphabet.

The font and copy choices for the normal dalogue were pretty standard, though the font size changed a lot to accomodate the bubbles — this always annoys me, but what can ya do. I always enjoy the out-of-bubble dialogue though (all those tiny comments made by chibi and background characters), and the translations for those were especially fun.

Last note here: Heine’s name is offically Heine because that’s a real German name. Some fans have been whining about this, and I understand that the change seems trivially annoying because the scanlations use “Haine,” but seriously, come on. The romaji has always been transliterated to “Haine” because that’s how it’d be pronounced in Japanese. For the transliteration to be “Heine,” the katakana would need to be ヘイネ, which the Japanese would pronounce “Hay-nay” or “Heh-ee-nay” instead.

FINAL THOUGHTS – I’m really happy with Viz’s treatment of DOGS for the most part and really look forward to the release of Bullets&Carnage vol. 1 in August (and vol. 2 in December!) It’s great to finally be able to hold one of Miwa’s works in my hands, though I’ve come to notice a lot more anatomical mistakes in his art because of it, lol. (Check out Heine’s left leg on the cover, serious!)

I really don’t have time to elaborate right now (lol, class in three hours, what?), but I just wanted to say that:

Viz, I’m so proud of you!

BELIEVE IT!

As Japanator says, this isn’t the first time it’s happened, but there’s never been anything of Naruto proportions, and now we’re going to have Naruto himself! I haven’t watched Naruto since around episode 114, so this doesn’t actually affect anything I do, but it’s still great news all around. I was already surprised that they got Code Geass R2 dubbed and ready to air just a month or so after it finished airing in Japan, but now I’m going to be counting the days until we get official subs a week or less aftering airing in Japan for new series. Sure, they’re new episodes of Naruto Shippudan, but Shippudan has been airing for a while now and they’ve got catch-up work to do. I want official subs for new season series’ episodes! I just almost feel it happening. I can imagine the press releases!

This is exciting.

But anyway, the news of the day is that in South Korea, Internet video has eclipsed the DVD. This is really far from surprising though; there’s been such a rise in the number of companies doing the digital distribution model that I skip out on mentioning most of it here because there’s news about it pretty much every day and who likes to be redundant? The fact that Internet models have officially outpaced DVDs is something noteworthy though, and another indication that Korea is ahead of the game. I imagine that Japan will be quick to follow, then Europe, and finally the States because we’re kind of slow about everything.

One thing in the article I found particular interesting though, was the fact that it’s easier to create illegal copies of DVDs than it is to create illegal copies of digital downloads. I suppose it makes sense that it’d be harder to crack a digital copy-projection mechanism just because it hasn’t been around as long, but I wonder if less people are inclined to bother because it’s already in a digital format. If HD quality movies only cost two bucks to download, then who really cares? It’s almost free already. I wonder how long it’ll take for the anime folk to follow suit and stop charging two bucks a normal quality episode?

Hulu.com’s been getting a lot of spotlight recently, what with FUNimation, Viz, and a ton of other companies adding tons of free, full episode content to it (omg, they have Firefly!). It’s beating out YouTube as the venue of choice for online streaming episodes, and there’s definitely a lot more that’s legal about it. Seems like this revolution’s well on its way to becoming the norm. I wonder if Blu-ray will even be relevant at this point? If DVD is getting beat out by the Internet and the digital model already, I can’t see that Blu-ray will fare much better, especially since the HD format is already available for cheaper online. I don’t think the new generation will be as attached to the physical item as the previous because they’ll always have had the digital option. Soon DVDs and Blu-ray will be 100% obsolete, like VHS… it’s an interesting time.

But there actually seem arguments in favor of the idea now that I think about it. After all, people never thought e-books would ever catch on, but they’re now rather widespread with many people carrying digital books with them everywhere on the Amazon’s Kindle, iPhones, other smart phones, and even their iPods. Manga for cellphones has been available in Japan for years, though of course, their cellphone technology and usage is quite a step up from the US. Besides, plenty of manga fans read their weekly dose of new, scanlated chapters on the computer, and quite a few of them will read through the entirety of some series online, including titles that have already been released domestically. “Strain on the eyes” is no match for the free and convenient. Manga sales have been declining, if all the TOKYOPOP restructuring hubbub was any indication.

I’m not sure if scanlations have as much an impact on manga sales as fansubs do on DVD sales though. Various experiments conducted by both fiction and nonfiction authors suggest that the availability of an e-book actually boosts real book sales. None of them were manga so I guess their target audiences are very different, but they’re interesting studies all the same. Still, even if scanlations aren’t robbing distributors of real book sales, there are plenty of incentives for putting manga online legally. For one, it’s a new avenue of business that has tried potential, so why leave it unexplored? Any new customers they might gain from the venture would help, especially considering it wouldn’t take much investment. Marvel has already experimented with the digital comic subscription, and as far as I know, it’s doing pretty well.

The pricing model Digital Manga is using is kind of interesting. It’s cheaper than buying the physical thing by more than 50%. The experiment I mentioned above had the people release their e-books free, which spurred their real book sales. TOKYOPOP already hosts chapters online for some of their manga, and some other companies like Broccoli are starting to do it as well. But if they’re going to charge for digital manga, it seems unlikely that that will translate into any increase in book sales since customers would have to pay for it twice. But for the digital copy to be worth the money, it will likely need to step up on quality. Testimonials here describe various bugs and things needed for improvement — I wonder if they’ll follow up on those? If I won’t have the manga in my hands and I’m paying for it, then I want sharp digital images, an easy way to adjust size, the option to view pages one at a time or two at a time, etc. Mimic the oldschool reading experience as much as possible.

I wonder if anyone will try to release digital manga by chapter shortly after release in Japan though. For long-running shounen series like Bleach and Naruto, it seems like it would be much easier than any attempt to release anime concurrently (though Crunchyroll and partners seem to be doing reasonably well). Viz already has the license. It doesn’t take nearly as long to translate a chapter. It would be gold. Just figure out how to price a chapter. A dollar? Fifty cents? Seems like a good model to me. Four chapters a month. Two to four dollars a month per customer. Multiply by the number of rampant Narutards. Gold! I think the main reason scanlations have little effect on manga sales is because those that read scanlations are often those that keep up with current manga in Japan, which is often volumes ahead of the current domestic releases, especially for series like Naruto. If you could get even a percentage of those people to buy something, wouldn’t that be great? Think of the revenue!

The only issue would be that a chapter of manga is much easier to find online than an episode of anime, or at least, they’re easier to access. No having to deal with torrents. You don’t even have to download anything! Just pop over to Mangashare or Onemanga and you’re set. Then again, if Viz did create a legal way for readers to have timely access to Japan’s newest manga, I feel that many scanlators would hang up their work hats in good faith.

(PS – meanwhile, anime movies on the Japanese DS. Think we’ll see any of that Stateside?)
(PPS – Whoa. Now this is groundbreaking!)

To be fair, I don’t think it’s actually all that popular in Japan, but it has a decent-sized overseas cult following online. The fact that Miwa Shirow decided to take four years off between the first volume and the second volume probably hurt also, and the fact that the second volume’s chapters still release rather irregularly is a really annoying factor. But his art is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, and while the story isn’t really all that original (it’s about people that’ve been experimented with and genetically enhanced in a post-apocalyptic-type world), it’s intriguing all the same. (Okay, so it gets extra points with me for having lycanthropy parallels too.) The characters are excellent and I think there’s someone for everyone to take to — the first volume details the basic stories of four main protagonists. They don’t really seem to have anything to do with each other at first, but their paths gradually converge at the end of the volume. I love stuff like that.

The second volume is where they really start interacting though, so I really hope Viz will also pick that up whenever Shirow finishes… But yeah, I’m really glad to finally hear that DOGS will be coming Stateside. And I’m kind of amused that Viz is the one getting it, though I shouldn’t be surprised. Viz has come to completely dominate the manga scene, just like FUNimation seems to be owning up the anime side. I mean, TOKYOPOP was their biggest rival, and they’re not even at SDCC! That’s an even worse signal of defeat than ADV’s pathetic presence at AX, and they’re not even pawning off their titles yet. Oh, well. Despite TOKYOPOP’s quick downward spiral, the rest of the manga industry seems to be doing okay. Del Ray and Broccoli are still upbeat, in any case.

Damn summer conventions are way too close together, and I don’t have time to talk about everything that gets announced. But anyway, tonight, I just wanted to shout the joy about DOGS finally getting noticed. I can’t wait to pick up my copy in April. :3 (Oh, hey… I just realized I haven’t reviewed this. I think I’ll have to go reread it soon and spit out a review!)

FUNimation has a YouTube channel that it’s using to post previews and promos, but they’ve also said that they’re going to have full episodes on there, probably three episodes or less for some series. Now they have a deal with Sony to release titles exclusive to the PS3 online store, not to mention the exclusive release of the new BONES title. I’m assuming these titles will all be subbed. Elsewhere, iTunes has added a good bit of Viz’s dubbed Naruto and Bleach, as well as all of Death Note. And let’s not forget various deals and ideas Crunchyroll has made with and is pitching to Japanese companies. Am I the only one overwhelmed by the scatteredness of all these options?

Of course, it’s good business for companies to sign exclusive contracts with distributors; it builds up a partnership and the exclusivity can act as a boost for business as customers lack other options. This is just another reason to get a PS3 and just another reason to get an iPod Video. But if anyone’s trying to compile episodes and titles owned by various companies, it’s going to be a pain in the ass accessing anime from all these different sources. As I neither use iTunes nor own a PS3, I don’t know whether or not you can transfer downloaded files to other places, but I’m banking on a no, or at the very least, not without annoying, evasive, and legally questionable measures. So then, if you want all your files in the same place, you’re pretty much screwed?

If they’re going to go crazy with the multiplatform releases, I don’t really think there’s a point in trying too hard to keep the files exclusive to whatever they were downloaded to. After all, it isn’t like finding the fansub alternative is hard or anything. That’s what you’re trying to combat, the ease of fansubs, so why make things so complicated? But everyone is still experimenting with the digital release thing right now, trying to see if there’s a viable market for digital dub release, and how many people are really willing to go for digital sub release, so this chaos is understandable, I suppose. Nevertheless, I would love to eventually see some universal platform that all companies can release on so customers have a place to congregate their purchases. Or, at the very least, decide on a universal transferable format that all downloads can be converted to so people’s digital collections can be consistent.

I don’t even like it that my sub collection is half .avi and half .mkv with the occasional .flav or whathaveyou. And it is a little annoying scurrying around on episode air dates looking for the subgroup that releases first… wouldn’t it be great if companies actually did what I proposed with subs and then released on a single jointly-operated site with email alerts and RSS feeds so you know when a new episode for your series is out? Oh, what a day that would be…

Addendum — it seems like Amazon’s about to start a new Video on Demand service. No word on anime yet, but I won’t be surprised if someone signs on with it soon. I think of all the other downloading venues currently available, Amazon might be the most attractive to me because it’s 1) big and already well known, 2) allows for both streaming and downloading, 3) it saves your purchased library so you can stream from any computer anywhere as long as you’re logged in. …That’s pretty much just what I want. It means I don’t have to worry about lugging my external everywhere. Good deal, good deal.