i understand that, on the production side, viz’s monopoly on bnha EN translation is not ideal. as many have pointed out it’s pretty americanized and sometimes erases nuance. losing multiple translation sources also reduces access to multiple interpretations of the same JP text. personally, i also have doubts about how much direct royalties the mangaka themselves will get from viz profits, given how large and hierarchical viz & sj appear as organizations.
on the consumer side though, im always a bit wary of readers who’re upset about having to pay for manga, manhua & manhwa. as people in online spaces might well know, art is too often undervalued & under-priced, and people expect to get it for cheap, if not for free. i sense this expectation when fans feel entitled to free EN manga. this is probably compounded by the global undervaluing of asian labour - we want the products of asian labour fast, without having to pay much for it.
im finding it a bit difficult to reconcile my 1) distrust towards how much of viz’s profits will go to the people actually working on the manga, and 2) outrage towards the widespread entitlement to fast & cheap asian labour & art. while i dont have enough knowledge on sociology & economics to judge whether viz & sj’s business models are sustainable and ethical in the long run (i.e. offers adequate incentives & benefits to their mangaka that is equal to the value of their work), for now we are stuck in a reality where these structures are in place, and it’s not easy for a mangaka’s career to survive outside a major publishing house. other than protesting for better worker’s rights in the manga industry (an act that would be of questionable feasibility and severely limited in impact by our positionality as an international EN audience), the next best course of action to support the mangaka seems to be supporting the official release.
