I’m sure you all knew this post was coming. First off, let us apologise for taking so long to respond to questions regarding Kohske’s now rather viral comments on Twitter on the subject the overseas piracy of her works. Kiel and I live the world apart (I’m Down Under and he’s in the US) and we both have mounting personal obligations that don’t allow us as much time to post these days. This is a very important matter, though, and we absolutely have opinions on the issue -- especially with the backlash Kohske has been receiving. Please read on.
Kohske has frequently stated in the past (in both Japanese and, to the best of her ability, in English) that she doesn’t want her work shared illegally through scans or scanlations because of the impact it has on her earnings. This time her plea, in English (above), went viral and has been met with some considerable nastiness. Comments telling her she’s only complaining because her work is bad and doesn’t sell (it’s consistently a best seller for Shinchosha and has been for years), that she took a huge hiatus and therefore doesn’t care about her series anyway (she suffers from a chronic autoimmune disorder and has been very open about how it continues to affect the status of the series and her life in general), right through to the suggestion that it is only her responsibility to ensure international publishers do the right thing by her title (if you’ve had experience in the publishing field, particularly when dealing with foreign releases, you’ll know how incredibly difficult it is to exercise any manner of control over your work when two publishing houses have all the power in the matter -- Kohske has touched on this in the past as well). And, of course, the usual “if you don’t like it, then don’t be a mangaka”, and so on. Most of these comments seem to have come not from fans of the series or of Kohske, but from people who followed links to the tweets seeking an argument on the topic.
But even if one doesn’t agree with Kohske’s personal stance on scanlations, the abusive messages she has received are vile. No artist should be bombarded with harassment or lectured like a child for simply expressing the desire that their work be consumed legally.
Others noted on the massive gap between the legal release of GANGSTA. in English (and some other languages) and the legal Japanese release of the title. The most recent volume won’t be available in English from Viz until next year, and the main story is now several chapters ahead. Fans looking to enjoy these most recent chapters in English have no legal options to turn to yet. Such a gap is fairly common and by no means limited to GANGSTA., however, in this day and age where titles in, for instance, powerhouse publications like Jump come out the same day in multiple languages, fans are struggling with releases for series that don’t “keep up.”
If fans genuinely want to read legally available chapters of GANGSTA. in English without having to wait for a volume release, we need to let the companies involved know. Viz Media is unlikely to pursue something as time-consuming and expensive as fast digital releases for a series like GANGSTA. (which is from a smaller publisher and not with the same audience or sales league as, once again, much larger publications) unless people are vocal about wanting it. Companies are willing to investigate ways of getting you to pay for titles if they know they’re viable -- so they need to know it’s viable. Tell them you want digital releases of GANGSTA., be it in an email, a tweet, a hashtag, a letter, whatever works for you. (Our master licensing post is always available if you’re unsure who publishes GANGSTA. in your country.)
Does that mean they’ll start doing it? No, there’s no guarantee they’ll listen, but the best way to get what we want as consumers is to be vocal and consistent about the content we love and want to purchase. It was the “pre-built fanbase” that GANGSTA. had at the time of its licensing that helped Viz market it initially -- we’re all still here and we still love the series, so why not let them know?
As for whether or not it’s moral to consume scanlations when an artist has explicitly asked you not to do so, well, at the end of the day that really is down to each of us as readers. All Kiel and I can say is that we respect and support Kohske’s wishes on this issue and hope those reading this will do the same. Please purchase legal copies of her work when possible and let Kohske know that her appeals to manga fans (especially this one) are not in vain. - FYG
PS: For those newer to this community, please note that we have a list of trustworthy stores that supply Viz’s English volume releases, and our Monthly Comic Bunch posts generally include shopping links.
