Something devastating to the online manga reading world has happened. The largest, most popular online scanlation* website, www.onemanga.com, is closing down by the end of July.
(*scanlation, or scan, is the scanning, translation and editing of comics from a foreign language into a different language)
I cannot fully express how sad and upset I am about this.
Are you freaking kidding me?? For me, that is where it all started! Onemanga.com is where I read my first manga, and where I still go to almost every day(at least every week) to see if there are any new chapters in the manga's that I read, or if there is something new I would like. It has everything!!
It has the best scanlation, a dedicated management and a tip top website! It is the first site on the google page to pop up if you type in anything about reading manga. It is an international collection of some of the best manga, as well as putting out little known ones. And it has less pop ups than other sites! It is clean and well put together and simply wonderful! AND NOW ITS LEAVING!!! :'(
Apparently manga artists and publishers have never been fans of the online scanlation sites. ... Ok. I can see where that is a problem. It does bring into question copy right issues, art and story theft, all that crazy financial/political mumbo jumbo. But Onemanga.com always took off any scanlations that they were specifically asked by the publishers or manga artists/authors to take off. They are a very legitimate site and strove to keep it that way. And this site always, ALWAYS encouraged people to buy their favorite manga to support the artists. They never took unnecessary credit, and they always treated their fans with respect and were always trying to make improvements for a better online reading experience.
I started freaking BUYING One Piece because I read it on onemanga.com and realized that I wanted it in my hands! And there are several I would buy, but I cant because they are only in Japanese!!! This site brings together thousands of scanlating groups for the best quality translations and art, so that the readers can enjoy the cultural phenomenon of Japanese manga in English. At least on Onemanga.com, the translations are all in English.
The head honcho of the site wrote a sort of pop up letter whenever you sign into Onemanga, as of today since it wasn't there yesterday(since I was on there yesterday) explaining it all. It explains that since there has been so much uneasiness and uncertainty and down right dislike by manga artists/authors/publishers that he is going to respect their wishes *stab in my heart* and discontinue the manga scanlations and start removing all scanlations from the site.
You could tell it was a heartfelt and very difficult decision. Like I said, this site is always at the top of every list whenever you type in something about reading manga, any manga. It has grown from just scanlations of One Piece, Naruto and Bleach to having manga scanlations in the hundreds and even thousands. As of right now their total manga scans are 1,146.
I am having a hard time letting this sink it. It keeps hitting rock bottom and bouncing around in my brain making my stomach hurt. This is really a very monumental, devastatingly sad blow for all who read manga online. Maybe I cant speak for everyone. But I will certainly miss this site, which brought me into the world of manga and encouraged my writing, drawing, and manga/anime love.
This post may be cheesy to some, but:
R.I.P www.onemanga.com, as of July 2010. You will be sorely missed by many.
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