Import Manga Makes its Way to US Shelves?

[Hoshika]

AnimeHeretic is a mole for Kinokuniya! I know it! Don't deny it!
No, seriously do they have a website or something? There is a JP bookstore a little distance from me but I get a bad vibe (for lack of better word) from the stores in that area....

[Debitt]

Kinokuniya does have an online store (google..^^; I don't remember the address off the top of my head) but I don't think they have online ordering. However, you can get a catalog from them and mail-order. =3

[Arnobius]

AnimeHeretic is a mole for Kinokuniya! I know it! Don't deny it!
No, seriously do they have a website or something? There is a JP bookstore a little distance from me but I get a bad vibe (for lack of better word) from the stores in that area....

I guess I do mention them a lot.
http://www.kinokuniya.com is their website. You do need to know some Japanese to order Japanese books though.

Price differences seem to be a $5 markup when bought at Waldenbooks or Borders as opposed to Kinokuniya (which is also marked up from the Japanese price)

[Alice]

I saw some untranslated manga in Borders, but I thought it was a waste of money.

I didn't even bother to look through them. I mean, if I can't read them...!

Unless I'm wrong. Did they have translations somewhere, printed in the back or something??

[Arnobius]

I saw some untranslated manga in Borders, but I thought it was a waste of money.

I didn't even bother to look through them. I mean, if I can't read them...!

Unless I'm wrong. Did they have translations somewhere, printed in the back or something??

No. But some of us like to get the Japanese versions for whatever reason. For example, I have the JP versions of Love Hina, Negima and Love Hina on account of translation issues

[Debitt]

*raises hand* I usually prefer to get the Japanese manga because 1) ADV translates Tactics terribly 2) I'm impatient 3) they usually don't have the cool color foldouts in the US translations. =O

[Arnobius]

*raises hand* I usually prefer to get the Japanese manga because 1) ADV translates Tactics terribly 2) I'm impatient 3) they usually don't have the cool color foldouts in the US translations. =O

ADV translates *manga* terribly. Azu Daioh was terrible, turning English text into French and German and Spanish, rewriting jokes completely...

[Alice]

But some of us can't read Japanese....

I once saw a phone book sized anthology on multi-colored paper, on sale for $10 (what I usually have to pay for regular manga).

I was tempted to get it, even if I couldn't read it. Then I looked through it....

[Debitt]

I believe that bookstores here in the US are banking off the idea of the hardcore otaku - the ones who buy the books even though they can't read Japanese. I know plenty of people are out there - in fact, you could probably count me among those people as well, since I'm far from fluent and usually blunder my way through a manga volume over a period of three days and still end up skipping some pages.

But anyways - I doubt language barriers really stop a lot of hardcore people. Or maybe they're just frustrated with the shoddy ADV translations....SUGINO, WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU?! *crumbles to the ground and bursts into tears*

[Alice]

Oh, I read them really quickly, too.

I used to read them in the store in an hour or less.

Now I take longer. It takes me a day.

[Debitt]

Are you referring to the English or the Japanese manga? o.O English manga, I assume, since you previously said you don't know Japanese.

Me..I read the English manga very quickly. Japanese manga, however, takes about 3 days of reading, writing dialogue down, and looking things up in a dictionary.

[Alice]

Wow! Three days!

No, I don't read a word of Japanese. Sounds hard!

I guess I should say "or Korean either." Lately I've ended up reading ones that were written and drawn in Korea (although when I read them, you can bet they're translated!).

[Hoshika]

No. But some of us like to get the Japanese versions for whatever reason. For example, I have the JP versions of Love Hina, Negima and Love Hina on account of translation issues

Thanks AH!
My skills are lacking but I know enought to sweat drop at some of the joke changes when they are translated into English for U.S. readers. :p Why can't they leave well enough alone?