ICv2.com: Viz on Altering Manga

The comics business news and analysis site ICv2.com has a short story up where Viz is asked to explain recent alterations to the manga series Full Metal Alchemist, smartly linking it to a 2005 story about the alteration of the manga series I''s. The answers are kind of bizarre. First, they come from an anonymous source, which leave ICv2.com quoting "Viz" some of the time, which if you read it early enough in the morning can make you think there's some dude out there named "Viz." Second, the answers don't really explain anything. For instance, there are vague allusions to "criteria" that suit American audiences, when 1) the real issue is how these criteria are developed and 2) it's obvious there's at least enough boiled-down, stick-to-the-pot hatred of such changes that make you think there's a very different set of criteria brought to the table by many manga fans part of that audience.

The other slightly disappointing answer comes in the form of an assertion that majority of feedback Viz receives comes from people saying that the changes are no big deal. This strains believability a bit partly because people aren't as likely to offer feedback just to say "no big deal." If feedback was sought, there's no reason the parameters of that search couldn't be described.

All that said, I don't think this is a huge issue in and of itself. Viz isn't a newer imprint still looking to build a relationship with readers like CMX was during a related controversy last year. But it's worth noting this general clash between authenticity and publishing standards, which I think has enough heat to fuel more of these kinds of objections, and maybe, perhaps, to inform future general publishing directions within that part of the comics field.
 
posted 10:10 pm PST | Permalink
 

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