idk man when a Shojo Beat editor says this in response to someone talking about YONA OF THE DAWN, I think shoujo fans have a right to complain about the double standards in this industry
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
I mean, if I remember correctly, Tokyopop kinda didn't have that kinda bias bc they're reasoning for high demand is based on voting and fan letters, which is why Fruits Basket became a bestseller (idk I think their marketing used to be shoujo-eccentric or something like that)
Tokyopop was an early publisher that saw a lot of potential in the shoujo market and one of the big reasons why we even have shoujo now in the first place (other than Rachel Thorn who worked really hard to introduce it with Four Shojo Stories and more)
Didn't they learn anything from the Kagurabachi phenomenon? It was a one-time event but they could've learned a lot from that and taken in an overall view of the publisher
Sometimes I think Viz & Kodansha are allergic to earning more money easily and Kodansha lately is being way better than Viz
Even the portuguese market that is literally an "ant" compared to the "Golias" english market and is lacking heavily in variety for every genre is actually more open to release more shoujo/josei than Viz
I'll give it to Viz for jumping on Magical Girl Dandelion as early as they did, but I feel like it was more due to magical girl fans being so huge and not necessarily shoujo fans
I also think it’s wild to ask “why don’t fans trust digital” when even in Japan mobile app readers are often women and the licensers have ignored or actively alienated women fans for at least 15 years now.
Generally I think Deb does good work but it’s wild to me to parrot nonsense about the companies not knowing what fans want. They do. We’ve told them. Even on that thread, the answer are all “shoujo and BL; stuff for women”. They just don’t like that answer.
My issue is that often industry people whether I like them or not are just completely separated from shoujo fans as most are not tapped into the current fanbase or even wants popular or currently ongoing in Japan OR America. And then they always complain about us without knowing.
And that sentiment isn't towards one or any person in particular. This is just what I've noticed across the board from any person i see on Twitter or here.
"reading scans online = stealing" only if its a highly requested shoujo series but if it's a shonen/seinen its "the most highly fan requested title" and gets a license for monthly releases
there were some gripes I talk about in this video that have been resolves but there are still many ways in which Viz drops the ball for its Shojo line that are still blatantly misogynistic because capitalism thrives off that https://youtu.be/_Qit2bzs_9g
Plus I gotta add that EVERY TIME a shoujo fan complains about this is when all these people (who almost never talk about shoujo otherwise mind you) come out of the woodwork to call us "entitled, overdramatic, selfish, cry babies" so hmmmm I wonder what gendered aspect might be going on there HMMMMMM
And meanwhile I've seen little criticism going on over the kingdom fans yelling about the not even out translations yet because they went with Chinese names which imo is more entitled and dumb than people who are upset about misogynistic business practices
this take on scanlations is just plain stupid.
oh look: I just bought multiple new releases (not by viz) that I read as scanlations before... what a coincidence.
I REMEMBER THIS! Originally Yona fans were asking for the manga when the anime was airing, or not long after. Shojo Beat was basically saying they wouldn’t license it because it was too popular on scanlation sites. But when they did eventually license it? It fucking sold, and still does!
Comments
Sometimes I think Viz & Kodansha are allergic to earning more money easily and Kodansha lately is being way better than Viz
https://youtu.be/_Qit2bzs_9g
oh look: I just bought multiple new releases (not by viz) that I read as scanlations before... what a coincidence.