Doujinshi and scanlations, more on PW’s top 10 list, CBLDF continues to fight the good fight

Found at MangaBlog is this article on doujinshi by Telophase at the Tokyopop borg blog, which gives a thorough rundown of what defines doujinshi, and also promises another article that will touch upon the legalities of doujinshi. 

(But I can give you my short answer right now!)

In some ways, doujinshi occupies the same mental space in Japan that fansubs and scanlation occupy in the states, despite the two being vastly different hobbies.  Both are illegal, but both are considered fan activity, and anime and manga companies on either shore don’t want to alienate fans through litigation.

The other similarity the two have are that they are not well understood outside of their place of origin.  Few American companies can contemplate allowing their characters to be perverted in porn doujinshi, and Japanese companies have a hard time understanding why pirating of their work over the internet is allowed to thrive here.  This will present a big problem for scanlators and fansubbers down the road… now that the market has grown and Japanese companies themselves have taken a hands-on approach to the Western market, we may see more clashes between producers and fans such as the recent GitS mini-commotion.  Personally though, if that means companies will start to take a more lenient look at doujinshi, that’s a good trade-off in my eyes.

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At Journalista is a possible explanation of PW’s methodology for compiling its top 10 graphic novels list… the dark magic of statistical algorithms.  In other words, they take sales data directly from a few, what they deem as representative stores and then extrapolate their sample data using a complex series of mysterious, arcane symbols like *, / ,+, and %.  This might sound highly suspect, but it’s pretty much how many other top seller lists are created, as well as Nielson ratings and those polls you always see on cable news shows.

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According to CBLDF’s press release, the Gordon Lee case is heading back to court today.  This item has been picked up on many other blogs, but I’m linking to Newsarama for all the… colorful commentary.

Of note is that the CBLDF has spent $70,000 to date to defend Gordon Lee.  And the comic in question isn’t even porn.  For some reason, I’m totally offended by that.

Seriously folks, google up on this case if you haven’t read about it before, and visit CBLDF’s donation page if you can.  This kind of malicious prosecution shouldn’t happen in any sane country that values justice and fairness, and whatever you may feel about the CBLDF’s cause or their questionable success rate, you should be glad there’s someone willing to stand up for the little guy.