Otoyomegatari - Vol. 12 Ch. 84 - A Letter

[ElBichoRaro]

Darn shame that you're not going to continue, but your reasons are completely valid. Thank you for all of your hard work, Duralumin.

 

[Flaviohideki]

Thanks for the hard work, @Duralumin, if it weren't for you, I would never have known this masterpiece.

 

[sssr]

@lividus

A mangaka gets 10-15% royalty per tank sold by the original publisher in Japan, in this case Kadokawa. However, licensing deals are different in that they are usually based on a guaranteed licensing fee based on number of physical copies to be printed by the licensee (in this case Yen Press) + 7-8% bonus for every book sold beyond the original deal. An author gets a cut of 1-3% of each "bonus" book because that's guaranteed under international licensing norms, but if the original work was created under a for-hire contract (which almost all mangaka are bound into) then the cut from the guaranteed licensing fee is unclear. Now, traditionally digital copies of a book are counted under the "beyond original deal" numbers because, well, they're not physical. However, for Yen Press whose main business is digital I'm not sure they would structure their deal this way.

If the deal was structured the traditional way Mori-sensei would get 1-3% of the USD 10.48 minus tax selling price of each Otoyomegatari digital volume, but only about 10-15% of the guaranteed licensing fee for physical books. If Yen Press includes their digital copies in the base licensing fee, and assuming the fee is based on the 7-8% rate as well, then Mori-sensei would be getting 10-15% of the 7-8% licensing fee for each copy, physical and digital, sold by Yen Press.

This is basically why mangaka don't usually make a fuss about scanlations. They don't really get anything from foreign licensing of their work.

Edit: Wait, this post doesn't sound right. Where the mangaka benefits from the official foreign publication of their work is in their level of favorability in the eyes of the original Japanese publisher. Foreign licensing deals are very lucrative to the publisher even if not directly to the mangaka, so good foreign sales tells the Japanese publisher that the mangaka has special value beyond the Japanese market. This gives the mangaka better favor when negotiating terms with the publisher and can even get them special treatment. Mori-sensei gets free "research" trips abroad and even a special deal to publish promotion manga from a marketing association for the 'stans. So even if the direct financial benefits are minimal, good sales of the official English version of the manga helps the mangaka greatly. Go swarm Bookwalker now guys! It's KADOKAWA's own digital bookstore, so good sales of Otoyomegatari there gets reported back directly to Mori-sensei's corporate overlords.

 

[nogenem]

Well, +1 to the pile of series that i will never read again... Oh Life... - im not from us btw-

 

[esega]

@Duralumin
Well, a wise decision. Thank you for your hard work. As long as the series has English translation & available in digital format, I'll buy it.

 

[sssr]

@nogenem

Bookwalker sells internationally. It's also Kadokawa's own digital bookstore, so you'll be directly helping the mangaka.

 

[MagisterMeretricum]

Yo can anyone translate the letter for us non-cursive readers?

 

[Makino]

Thanks!

 

[Madcat6204]

@IMACOP and @MagisterMeretricum

How can anyone not read cursive? What are they teaching kids in schools these days?

It reads:

My Dear Mrs. Smith,

Please forgive the delay in my reply. As per my previous missive, your son has returned to his travels. I can only offer my sincerest regrets that I was unable to secure his return as proffered. Henry's dedication to his research has proven to be unshakable by any means at my command.

There has been no indication he has met with any misfortune on his way. Please take this to understand he is, in all likelihood, proceeding apace. I have sent to accompany him a most trustworthy man in my employ. He will ensure your son does not wander astray on strange roads. I trust he will conclude his errand without delay, and be bound for home in short order.

Would that I could lay your fears to rest, but I pray you keep courage fast. I have faith that no harm will come to your son. Should any further news reach me, I shall of course dispatch word forthwith.

 

[Romanaire]

Thanks @Duralumin for introducing us to this masterpiece and supporting the mangaka! I'm definitely going to buy it to keep on reading

 

[dmala13]

A Damn Shame considering the release schedule of this series is inconsistent at best, taking forever for volume release. That said i think its definitely a respectable decision, doesn't mean i have to agree with it but i understand the perspective. Example Vinland Saga i assume the majority of English people pirate the series, for me i read first 3 volumes i think online. Then i purchased all of them (every omnibus} available only catch up manga stream where they are no official sources to read. Once it comes out then I just buy it, as reading monthly helps me catch up onto speed easier than volume by volume basis its hard to remember. But good thing is that once u buy it u kinda reading it in a fresh smooth perspective, as they no waiting months between chapters but an instant.

Anyways thank you for exposing me to an incredible series

 

[raddcuban]

@Duralumin thanks for your hard work all this time, and maybe I'll catch one of your other series.

Now that usual politeness is out of the way, don't be so full of yourself to think that this free version of the work could possibly noticeably negatively impact sales, you arrogant fool. Pirate versions of literature have never been shown to significantly negatively affect sales of full novels/compilations of serial works, and while I couldn't find any actual research on the topic, various experiments, such as ones conducted by Neil Gaiman have shown a notable positive effect. So so long, thanks for all the free shit, and catch you on the flipside of your guilty conscience.

 

[Panino]

DURALUMIN, NOOOOOOOOO!!
Think about all the international readers!

 

[rogeriorgcs]

F

 

[IrskUlvehund]

Thanks for everything up till now! I got to know about this series thanks to you.

 

[Rockdrop]

Whether I buy the digital copies of the untranslated chapters or not, without scanlation or piracy, this manga is dead on the internet, without anyone ever talking about it ever again like every manga out there that got has scanlation stopped because "official translations exists".

RIP, if only you were as popular as shounen mangas, you could have survived longer.

 

[Limaluciola]

Thank you for your hard work, Duralumin. I respect your decision. Anyway, it's such a shame since the volumes took forever to be released but the hardcover edition is worth the wait.

 

[Tyrn]

@Duralumin Thank you so much for all the work you've done over these past few years. I've been following your releases for Otoyomegatari since the beginning and its sad to see them go but I respect your reasons.

 

[xyzzy]

That’s a completely sensible decision. Thanks for all you’ve done for us!

 

[Apero]

I'd never be able to read or buy any manga if not for the translations. Let alone in the amounts I read it. People who can purchase volumes, and actually support the creators are doing that either way. Piracy is a way to reach those who cannot afford to buy stuff or simply have no access to it in any other way, which is the absolute majority of the fanbase of any piece of art, or popular media in general. The whole point of art is to connect with as many people as you can. So you were actually helping the creator reach a wider audience. Outdated thinking that piracy damages the creator has no basis in reality. It's the opposite. Uploading manga makes it known internationally, as translators in all different languages pick it up. The whole reason why most manga is even known outside of Japan is thanks to online uploads.