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Blog: Software An Alternative Use For iPhone: Reading Manga
Stephen Kamizuru (Blog) - October 22, 2007 3:30 AM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 13 comment(s) - last by EarthsDM.. on Oct 23 at 3:41 AM
Read Japanese comics on your iPhone

Earlier in the year, Japanese software firm Voice Bank announced a deal with the Digital Manga Association Japan (DMAJ) to provide manga for the U.S. market via iPhone. Software developed by Voice Bank will shrink manga pages created for viewing on the PC to iPhone size.

What is manga? Manga are Japanese comic books that cover a very large variety of genres. Dragonball would be a good example of manga that is well known even in North America. In Japan I can see manga is enjoyed by all demographics, men, women, and kids. There are manga compilations such as Shonen Jump – recently brought over for the North American market – that release the latest chapter of a variety of manga on a weekly basis. Currently Shonen Jump includes popular manga such as Naruto, Bleach and One Piece.

Out of curiousity I picked up q manga compilations targeted to older Japanese “salary men” (the prototypical male Japanese office worker), instead of manga about tennis, basketball, or ninjas that you would find in Shonen Jump you would see manga about golf.

 If the iPhone were to become a hit here in Japan when it is released (which would also mean adapted to Japan’s mobile standards), the ability to view manga in a digital format would be a very positive feature. Currently manga compilations such as Shonen Jump are bought on a weekly basis and are the size of a textbook. They are also thrown away a week later due to the space constraints in this country.

Another positive would be the fact that everybody in Japan has a cell phone as it is hands down the most important electronic device ahead of iPods, Sony PSPs, and Nintendo DSs. Commutes are long in Japan, especially in Tokyo, and it is very common to see people text messaging or playing games on their cell to pass the time. By choosing an iPhone, a Japanese consumer would have digital manga viewer by default.

Outside of Japan, where the iPhone is already a success, the ability to view manga may be a popular feature. Voice Bank has established an office in the United States to help make this happen. Japanese manga is popular worldwide and there are underground communities that take the latest chapter of a popular manga, such as Naruto, translate all the Japanese into English and re-release the manga in a digital format all within a day of release.

I know from experience the screen on my fifth generation video iPod is not large enough to view these digital releases. The Sony PSP screen may be large enough but its lack of built-in memory will be a barrier for the common consumer. If the software developed by Voice Bank is a success it may be one more reason for any fan of manga to purchase an iPhone or iPod Touch.

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How?
By Hypernova on 10/22/2007 5:12:14 AM , Rating: 1
Unless they are going to stick with 4 panel strips reading is going to bee too restrictive for the tiny screen. And such format is rarly used for manga. of the near hundreds of manga I know only 4 use strips (Azumanga, lucky star etc.)




RE: How?
By mdogs444 on 10/22/2007 6:35:08 AM , Rating: 2
wow....I have absolutely no idea what you just said.


RE: How?
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 10/22/2007 7:05:19 AM , Rating: 3
I do, but I had to do some translation....

By Hypernova
quote:
Unless they are going to stick with 4 panel strips, reading is going to be too restrictive for the tiny screen. The 4 panel strip such format is rarely used for manga. Of the hundreds of manga I have read or seen only four of them use the 4 panel strips (Azumanga, lucky star etc.)


Something of that nature. I don't expect everyone to spell perfectly, but this one was pretty bad, I can only guess English is not his native language as his sentence structure is poor. In which case, oh well, he just needs to work on it.


RE: How?
By mdogs444 on 10/22/2007 7:11:18 AM , Rating: 2
Ok that makes a bit more sense. I guess I'm a bit confused as to how the iPhone wouldn't be able to display the comic text. If you can read a web page, or any other text, how would it differ? Perhaps I'm being naive, but I have no experience with an iPhone or manga.


RE: How?
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 10/22/2007 7:20:23 AM , Rating: 2
I think he is making the assumption that you need to fit it all into one screen, the reality is that they will likely make you scroll around the screen. Manga is like comic book style format, where as "comics" here in the states like in the newspaper, are simple strips.


RE: How?
By Hypernova on 10/22/2007 7:44:56 AM , Rating: 2
Of my English - yeah it's not my native, I'm a Taiwanese in New Zealand. This is the first time in 10 years someone complained about it though.

@Master Kenobi
Personally I think if you read it like that it kind of breaks the flow of reading. Imagine reading Superman that way. Often when reading comic/manga your eyes jump between the current frame and the previous to get a sense of time/flow/action. Try cut out a iPhone sized window on a sheet of paper and lay it over your standard paperback comic and read it. It just won't feel right.


RE: How?
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 10/22/2007 8:06:39 AM , Rating: 2
I agree, however they are trying to compromise to make it work on the iPhone without modifying the comic itself too much. Not everything is idealy suited to the platform, they are going to do the best they can.


RE: How?
By Screwballl on 10/22/2007 11:14:38 AM , Rating: 2
Thats where the iPhone could really shine though as well. With its touch screen you can read a single pane, touch to scroll to next frame, read, touch to scroll to next frame.. etc... Trying to "squoosh" the entire 4 panel on these small devices would be entirely too anti-productive.
Also as it can play videos such as those from YouTube, the video type mangas should play nicely although i am not sure how the reduced framerate would look.


RE: How?
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 10/22/2007 11:26:55 AM , Rating: 2
Frankly I find the iPhone relatively useless. Blackberry is enough when I'm on the run (Email and phone) if I need something more I can use a computer.


RE: How?
By someguy123 on 10/22/2007 4:13:56 PM , Rating: 2
agreed. this is probably one of the few benefits it has thanks to it's pure touchscreen tech. I'm not sure it'll do well in america, though, as reading of any kind (even comics/manga) is very uncommon :)

I'm actually not sure if this will do well in japan, though, because I believe japan's initial response to the iphone was that it was too bulky and ugly.


RE: How?
By DASQ on 10/22/2007 10:50:14 PM , Rating: 2
For 4koma strips (short for "yonkoma", meaning four panel comic) would work perfectly fine with a iPhone (as they are often display as a 2x2 box, or a 4x1 strip). But when you're looking at some manga that have odd pages that takes up two pages, it's going to be a bit underwhelming to have to zoom in to individual parts of the comic itself.

Interesting idea though, you could even bundle music with the manga, and it would automatically change the track listing based on the pages you were on. Battery life is going to be the concern for most potential users though.


I already use my iPhone for Comics
By cheetah2k on 10/22/2007 10:42:54 PM , Rating: 2
I have a whole digital compilation of around +1000 Dilbert single strip 3 frame comics which scanned in and converted to *.jpg format, and i view on the iphone quite easily. It's also great to be able to just slide (in landscape format) from right to left in the picture viewer.

Nothing new really, and the iPhone is just a great device for all of this kind of media.




By EarthsDM on 10/23/2007 3:41:32 AM , Rating: 2
Thanks for the example. If I had an iPhone, that's definitely one of the things I would use it for. I can't believe there are people talking about the 'possibility' of comics on the iPhone, like it wasn't designed to scale, scroll and flip through pictures. If I could flip through issues (or pages) that would be really cool. However, it wouldn't be a 'possibility' because it's already been done . Look at the way it scrolls through album art for CDs. It even senses changes in orientation to switch from landscape to portrait viewing and back.

Some complain that the screen is too small, but that's a matter of preference. The iPhone is 2.4 by 4.5 inches (320 by 480 pixels) while Bleach (for example) is printed in booklets that measure 5.1 by 7.5 inches. You're not necessarily missing out on a masterpiece of art, it's in black and white. Using the iPhone would probably be good enough for me.


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