Comments on: The Truth Is Out There…

By: Apple

Apple — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:11:36 +0000

@Brian: And that’s your prerogative. My statement isn’t a blanket application to every reviewer that could possibly exist, rather, an idea for why people do the things they do. There will always be incentives for actions, and yours and mine are completely different. But I do believe my idea about reviewer integrity is quite true for a lot of bloggers/magazine reviewers. I’ve known three in person, and such was the case for them.

By: Brian Henderson

Brian Henderson — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:25:34 +0000

@Apple – That’s ridiculous of course, lots of reviewers download scanalations for manga that is not available any other way. There’s a ton of them on every computer around here, simply because there’s no way to get the manga otherwise. It has nothing to do with integrity, I’m open and honest about what I do and I couldn’t care less who likes it or not.

Personally, I don’t censor myself at all. I’m extremely open about my opinions and if someone doesn’t like it, screw ‘em. I won’t censor my freedom of speech because some whiny crybaby might take offense at it.

By: Apple

Apple — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:41:33 +0000

@Lori: Thanks for the clarification!

@Erica: I wish I had your fans! XD Read my note on reviewer integrity below, as I think it clarifies my statements beyond my original post.

@Brian: I never said that reviewers got to pick and choose titles. Reviewers do, however, have to maintain integrity, otherwise they are no longer credible. If a reviewer admits to downloading scanlations, it damages their integrity. If you have a reviewer with little integrity, then they are less likely to have good relations with a publisher, whether that be free review copies, press passes at events, or even online interaction.

Also, I have a big mouth, and a lot of opinions. But since I started blogging about a month or two ago, I’ve found myself censoring myself in order to -not- get on anybody’s bad side. There is just no sense in that.

By: Brian Henderson

Brian Henderson — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:37:08 +0000

@Apple, that’s just not how it works. Most manga reviewers who get free review copies don’t get to choose what they get. It isn’t like they put in a request with the publisher and never have to buy manga again, usually they get a big package once a month or so with a pile of stuff, usually stuff they don’t want to read in the first place, and they can choose to review it, sell it, throw it away, etc. There is no obligation to review it at all, good or bad, and publishers certainly don’t keep track of what the reviewers they send to do with it all.

It’s not the reviewers who have to keep the manga publishers happy, it’s the other way around. The manga is going to keep coming out regardless of what the reviewer says, but a lot of really scathing reviews by notable reviewers can seriously cut into the manga’s penetration and sales.

By: Erica Friedman

Erica Friedman — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:31:13 +0000

@Apple For the record, I never ask for review copies – I spend my money on what i review, or my fans buy it for me. Every once in a while a company or artist offers me a review copy and I’ll accept it if it’s relevant. But for the most part, it’s *my* money that dictates what I review.

Every blog I read who that reviews manga is written by a critical thinker about the content and how it’s presented, and is as likely to note negatives as they are positives.

By: Lori Henderson

Lori Henderson — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:18:47 +0000

@Erica – keep up the good work sempai, and put in a good word for me with the Masters.

@Brian – Anytime.

@gia – Could I have Dazzler way in the background? And if we could convince our kids that INWO is awesome, we’d play more too!

@Apple – If all we bloggers thought about were trying to stay on publishers good sides, we’d never write a bad review. This debate hasn’t been about what publishers what, but what people feel and believe. The problem is that both side feel strongly about their beliefs leaving little room for compromise, and sometimes, extremist behavior as what prompted this post.

By: Apple

Apple — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:18:24 +0000

I’m not a conspiracy theorist, and I don’t think that there even is a “conspiracy,” because it’s just common sense that people that want to stay in good relations with each other (bloggers/reviewers, to publishers) would want to protect each other’s interests. Why bite the hand that feeds you? It wouldn’t make any sense.

Which is not to say that publishers are going around paying bloggers to speak out against piracy. That’s a load of horse crap. But if you are trying to stay on a publisher’s good side, you probably don’t want to say anything that’s going to piss them off.

By: gia

gia — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:20:27 +0000

Ha, just came across this a few minutes after I posted my own piece about it– sorry I couldn’t include you in the conspiracy team snapshot

Illuminati is an awesome game, by the way, and we still play it in my house!

By: Brian Henderson

Brian Henderson — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:10:37 +0000

We ought to play again, we only have about 6000 INWO cards laying around.

FNORD!

By: Erica Friedman

Erica Friedman — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:52:57 +0000

The incredibly ironic irony here is that I, a card-carrying Discordian (with photocopied original certificate signed by the founders because I really am older than all of you) am now part of the *second* conspiracy theory in my life. Woot! I once was part of a star-chamber cabal that sought to bring peaceful conversation to USEnet and now I am a tool of my own industry, forcing the Greyface order of supporting manga with money so people get paid on the carefree open-source Discordian individuals that just want to share their favorite work for free because no one in manga needs the money!

What bastards we are.