MangaHelpers.com
| Website | |
|---|---|
| Name: | MangaHelpers, MH |
| Owner/Maintainer: | |
| Dates: | |
| Type: | Manga scanlation resource and release site |
| Fandom: | multifandom, focused on Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, D.Gray-man, Eyeshield 21 |
| URL: | http://www.mangahelpers.com |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
MangaHelpers.com is a resource center and release forum for manga scanlation teams. It was founded by NJT and received its first big popularity boost when Shannaro began releasing Naruto scanlations there.
2009 Business Plan Leak
On September 23 2009, FoolRulez.org broke the story on MangaHelpers' plans to propose a business deal with VIZ Media, a North American company which licenses anime and manga. The news post included the leaked documentation of a letter to VIZ and a business proposal. This is the first public information available on the situation, though rumors that something was going on were spreading on IRC before then.
The information was allegedly leaked shortly after the top admin of MH let lower admin in on the proposal. A number of admin were upset about the proposal, and this and subsequent events led to several resignations. It is unknown which staff member leaked the information.
The information roused many fans, particularly scanlators, to anger. The business proposal implied that scanlators would be working for free for the profit of MH and VIZ. Scanlating is generally understood to be illegal, and proposing a business deal to an official company would bring unwanted attention to the scanlators releasing on the site and possibly subject them to legal consequences. If VIZ took up a business deal with MH then it could adversely effect scanlating culture, phase out multiple groups working on the same projects on the site, among other things.
MangaHelpers posted a response to the leak later that day in an attempt to explain the situation and justify their decision. Fans continued to respond angrily, saying that this wasn't "for the fans" as MH was claiming and that this was instead for personal profit. MH doesn't release scanlations itself, so any profit made would be off of the work of other scanlators. Three days later, on the 26th, MH admin posted another response in the form of an FAQ. Fans responded angrily to that as well.
MangaHelpers has officially and repeatedly emphasized that the twenty-nine page business proposal was a rough draft and not all aspects had been thoroughly thought out. Some fans have responded that this doesn't matter, because making profit off of scanlators is ethically wrong either way and so the initial plan itself is problematic. It was implied in their FAQ that MH would continue to pursue a business deal with VIZ, despite the ongoing angry response from fans.
The situation has been likened to NarutoFan.com's business of making profit off of the free work of scanlation and fansub teams. In MH's FAQ on the situation, they included the question "Is MH going the way of Tazmo and other sites, planning to sell our free scanlations without our consent?" However, even though they included the question in their own FAQ they avoided giving a direct answer to it, and instead compared their motives and the legality of the situation which were both irrelevant. It seems from the business deal that they do intend to make money off of scanlation teams' free releases.
Related Links
- MangaHelpers to Viz: are they selling scangroups? - The FoolRulesz.org news post which broke the story
- Explanation on current events - MangaHelpers' first news post on the business proposal
- Recent Frequently Asked Questions - MangaHelpers' second news post on the business proposal
Responses:
- Nerieru-scans posted on their MangaHelpers group page September 25 2009 that their releases on MH are on hold; they point out the hypocracy of forbidding MegaUpload links because scanlators could potentially make money off of their own scanlations, and then sending Viz a business proposal to make money off of others' scanlations.
- Post in the NarutoFan.com forums.
- Post in the OneManga.com forums.
- MangaUpdates.com reported the news here in response to the initial leak and here in follow-up to the FAQ. There is also a forum discussion.
- Scanlation community makes overture to Viz? - Post by IcarusComics.com
- Scanlation Site to VIZ: Let's Be Pals - News post by AnimeVice.com
- “Manga Helpers”: Selling Out Themselves, or the Manga Community? - Post by AtlanticAnime.com
- MH: The New Disaster Zone - LJ response by Kylara
Other sites which have, or have tried to, make a profit off of fan's free work include: NarutoFan.com, Fandom, Inc., Fanlib...
Resources
MangaHelpers history article on InsideScanlation.com; note that this article seems to have been at least partially drafted by MH owner NJT himself (see the site Credits)