Scanlation
| Synonyms: | |
| See also: | fansub, manga |
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A scanlation is a fan-translated and fan-edited version of a manga (either professional or doujinshi), manhwa, manhua, or other comic. Scanlations are usually shared digitally online as image files; if the original is not already digital then it is scanned, and the image is edited into the new language. Scanlations are mostly unauthorized by the people or companies who hold the rights to the source material, though some scanlators do get permission from foreign fans to scanlate their work.
Scanlating, sometimes spelled "scanslating", is the process undertaken to create a scanlation.
A scanlator is a fan who creates a scanlation.
Fans usually scanlate to share their favorite comic with other fans who cannot read it in its original language. Scanlation projects can be undertaken by individuals, but due to the amount of time and effort needed to produce clean, high-quality, and well-edited files, most scanlators work together with other fans in scanlation groups of varying sizes.
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The Scanlating Process
As its name implies, scanlating largely involves scanning printed manga/comics into digitized files, then translating them. Procedures for different scanlating groups can vary greatly, but a typical scenario for a group scanlating one chapter a week from a series running in a weekly manga magazine might look similar to the following:
- The raw provider obtains a copy of the printed magazine, carefully removes the relevant manga pages, and scans them at very high resolution. The resulting set of files, called the "raw" (i.e. the preprocessed chapter, still in Japanese), is bundled together in an archive file and sent to other members of the scanlation group.
- Cleaners begin to edit the scanned pages to improve picture quality, clarity, and readability on the digital screen. Most manga running in magazines are printed in monochrome, but usually on low-quality paper similar to newsprint, which may be greyish or pastel-colored; this is converted into true black and white. Cleaners also generally remove the Japanese text during this stage to prepare for the translation. Cleaning can be done by one person or multiple people, and each person may clean the pages individually or take part in cleaning all pages up to a certain extent to ensure uniformity. Cleaning methods vary widely and may include additional stages such as pre-cleaning, scripting, and touch-ups.
- Often simultaneously with the cleaners, the translator works on translating all dialogue and other text from Japanese into their target language. This is generally compiled into a text file and subsequently distributed to the typesetter. Translating is usually done by one person. In some groups a proof-reader will examine the draft translation and clean up translation mistakes or fix style problems. Additional rudimentary edits may be performed by the typesetter(s).
- The typesetter collects the translated script and the cleaned page scans and combines the two into a digitized manga chapter with translated dialogue. Typesetting can be done by one person or several, but usually just one to ensure uniformity.
- The resulting set of files, the finished scanlation, is distributed to various websites for readers to download. Some groups have a quality-check stage before this, to ensure the quality of the manga chapter and make changes before final release.
Depending on the size of a given scanlation team, duties may divided up between specific people, or they may be worked on simultaneously by several. Division of labor varies widely depending on group members' particular talents. Raw scanning, translating, and typesetting are generally handled by one person each, while cleaning is generally handled by multiple people, and one person may take part in multiple steps.
Distribution
Scanlators release in various ways depending on the preferences of the group. Some popular means of distribution include: direct download from a website (a hub site for manga scanlations, the scanlation group's own website, or elsewhere), using free upload sites such as MegaUpload and Sendspace, posting on forums or similar, distributing through IRC, BitTorrent, and so forth.
Like fansubbers, some scanlation groups allow their releases to be redistributed in different places/with different means than the scanlation group originally used, but others strongly frown on any redistribution of their releases. Reasons for this vary. The group may want users to obtain scanlations from them personally rather than from a general manga download site. Sometimes a series will be licensed (at which time the group may or may not decide to pull its releases from all public distribution), or widespread releases may be considered troubling for other reasons, so scanlators may want to limit public exposure.
Scanlation Ethics
Official Releases
Some scanlation groups take down and discourage distribution of those works which have been licensed in their respective country.[1]
One reason for this is given in the scanlation team Shi-Ran's mission statement:
- We hope that by our efforts readers will gain an increased appreciation of the work of so many talented women's comics writers and illustrators, and that ultimately our projects will encourage visitors to support the mangaka by buying their own copies of their works. [2]
However, the majority of scanlators continue working, but encourage people to buy the official release once it becomes available. The reason for this is that official translations are usually years and years behind the source country, especially for an ongoing series -- in the case of manga, domestically licensed versions are often not released until 2 - 3 years (or longer) after their original publication in Japan. On top of this, release schedules for domestic manga volumes are usually much slower than the release schedules of the originals, so official translated versions continue to fall further and further behind.
A good example is the popular series One Piece. Because English-language sales have been low, new volumes are released at a snail's pace, with fewer than twenty volumes currently available in the US.[3] In Japan, there are over fifty, with four new volumes each year. A fan could read the weekly chapters in scanlations a day or two after their release in Japan, but if they waited for the US release, it would take over a decade to catch up.
Doujinshi
Whether scanlating doujinshi should be different from scanlating manga has been the cause of some debate. General fandom view tends to be that scanlating and sharing doujinshi is more lax than scanlating and sharing manga. This may be because doujinshi is amateur-published, sold, and usually based on a pre-existing work, instead of an original piece published officially by a company.
Scanlating doujinshi is generally done without the permission or knowledge of the doujinka (doujinshi artist), which is similar to how manga is scanlated. However, some fans feel scanlating doujinshi should be given the same consideration as asking permission to use fanart for English-speaking fanartists, or as asking permission to translation English-language fanfic into another language. Other fans disagree since doujinshi is being sold; in online fandom pieces are shared freely, but the exchange of money changes the situation from the usual fandom dynamic.
While a few Japanese fans have given permission for their doujinshi to be translated as text files or scanlated, most have not given permission, and usually are not asked. Since scanlating is usually on forums or communities in other languages, many may not be fully aware of it when it happens with their work.
Scanlation Sites
Very troubling to many scanlators, some sites that host scanlations make a profit from incoming users, using the hosted scanlations as a means to obtain revenue through paid memberships, excessive donations, or advertisements. Since the great majority of scanlators work for free and distribute their scanlations for free, this can be considered offensive, an exploitation of the scanlation groups, and a violation of scanlating or fannish ethics in general. Because hosting and serving scanlations takes significant bandwidth resources, many scanlation download sites which may not have strictly unethical intentions do in fact ask for donations to cover server costs -- these activities walk a fine line between a necessary evil and creating any appearance of profit, which is widely viewed as unacceptable.
Links
Inside Scanlation documents the history of scanlation including overviews of important groups, interviews with scanlators, links to scanlation how-tos, and other information. Run by unknown parties.
References
- ↑ see, for example, Nakama's dropped projects page. Accessed 29 October 2008
- ↑ August 3rd 2003. Shi-Ran Mission Statement. Accessed 29 October 2008.
- ↑ Wikipedia, List of One Piece chapters, (Accessed 29 October 2008)
