Robama Against Manga In This New DC Comics Funded Ad

[Hollow]

True!!! You can easily compress the manga in 20-22 story pages. Actual mangas are really empty. They do not have anymore content. And I have read mangas more than 25 years ago and I miss the "old" ones...

You clearly haven't read the works by Naoki Urusawa (Nijusseiki Shōnen), Mohiro Kitō (Naru Taru), Satoshi Fukushima (Shonen Shojo), Inio Asano (Solanin), Jirō Taniguchi (Haruka na machi e), Kenji Tsuruta (Forget-me-not), Naoki Yamamoto (Asatte dance), Hiroaki Endo (Eden! It's an endless world), Kiyohiko Azuma (Yotsubato!) or Seimu Yoshizaki (Kingyoya koshoten).

And even the "old ones" (Osamu Tezuka? Yoshihiro Tatsumi?) were not always that dense. Just look at "Shurayukihime" written by Kazuo Koike and pencilled by the late, great Kazuo Kamimura - it was light on text but visually it was nothing but a stunning work. Just like modern artists such as Hiroaki Samura (Mugen no junin) or Tsutomu Nihei (Blame!) create.

And yet I still can enjoy "stupid/empty" manga such as "Bleach", "Magister Negi Magi" or "Kaibutsu Ōjo".

[_OM_]

This ad is a load of nationalist crap.

...Yeah, but some of us *love* loads of nationalist crap. We know it's crap, but that doesn't mean we can't love it

[khuxford]

Because it's not just a joke; it's an actual promotional offer.
Saying "buy American" when the domestic product is a reasonable substitute for the imported one sort of makes sense. Someone who was thinking of buying a Japanese-made care to drive to work could instead buy a US-made car, and it would fill the same need. But Batman is not an interchangeable substitute for Naruto... not because one is "better" than the other, but because they're simply not the same kind of thing. Even aside from raising the specter of old anti-Jap racism, it's really just a ill-thought-out offer. If I buy manga (and I do), it's because I enjoy reading it. I'm not going to be guilted into not enjoying it just because it was produced overseas (before it was translated and republished by an American company). At best I won't be enticed by this offer, and at worst I'll be offended by it. Which I am.

I'm not offended by this or taking it too seriously, but is it really buying American if it is printed elsewhere? Or does DC have their product printed up in America? Because most comics are printed outside of the states.

[alekesam]

I thought this was a joke coming into the article. The fact that this is an actual advertisement is a joke. I've always hated the whole Us comics vs BD vs Manga thing because they're all comics done differently, done well and each of them have their lemons and gems. I love them all and I'll take them whichever way I can get them, variety being the spice of life an all.

[AcomicShop]

Because it's not just a joke; it's an actual promotional offer.
Saying "buy American" when the domestic product is a reasonable substitute for the imported one sort of makes sense. Someone who was thinking of buying a Japanese-made care to drive to work could instead buy a US-made car, and it would fill the same need. But Batman is not an interchangeable substitute for Naruto... not because one is "better" than the other, but because they're simply not the same kind of thing. Even aside from raising the specter of old anti-Jap racism, it's really just a ill-thought-out offer. If I buy manga (and I do), it's because I enjoy reading it. I'm not going to be guilted into not enjoying it just because it was produced overseas (before it was translated and republished by an American company). At best I won't be enticed by this offer, and at worst I'll be offended by it. Which I am.

Jason, hey I respect your opinions on here and what you add to the BC forums (I lurk). I just totally feel that something can both be a joke and a promotion. It can get noticed. I'm not at all anti-manga or a super patriot. I do know that plenty of manga/anime fans have been giving dc new 52 books a try. I've been having plenty of anime events at my shop, and I know plenty of them like to and try to trade in their used books.

With this I was planning to get some manga kids to try a DC #1 by just trading in something in their room. Then the plan was to have a big "try a used manga volume 1 sale" to make up my cost and get people to try some manga.

I feel most all my customers and most all genre pop culture fans are pretty post-racist and post-nationalist that this is just a funny play on the cover of the books.

As far as a nod I said "limit one per american citizen"...

[AcomicShop]

I don't have a lot of new 52 #1's, I've been reordering them! Plenty keep selling. I'm trying to push more to new people.

I really don't see how this is much different than the "trade a twilight for a 30 days of night" promotion other than a nationalist joke based on the cover image. I support manga and have tons of anime events here at my shop, even with this promotion, I was planning to have a used manga sell with would expose people to manga at $1 a piece.

As far as the math, a "used" manga isn't worth retail, a new DC #1 is. At that point it's just up to the fan to decide if they want something new for something old. Gamestop does asymmetrical trade ins all the time.

As for if I'm really pushing nationalism, that's silly to me, this stuff is printed in Canada anyways. I'm playing off the cover with the big flag and no ones is buying "american" anyway the are getting a book free.

[thekeith82]

I don't have a lot of new 52 #1's, I've been reordering them! Plenty keep selling. I'm trying to push more to new people.

I really don't see how this is much different than the "trade a twilight for a 30 days of night" promotion other than a nationalist joke based on the cover image. I support manga and have tons of anime events here at my shop, even with this promotion, I was planning to have a used manga sell with would expose people to manga at $1 a piece.

As far as the math, a "used" manga isn't worth retail, a new DC #1 is. At that point it's just up to the fan to decide if they want something new for something old. Gamestop does asymmetrical trade ins all the time.

As for if I'm really pushing nationalism, that's silly to me, this stuff is printed in Canada anyways. I'm playing off the cover with the big flag and no ones is buying "american" anyway the are getting a book free.

Well, that's any of the (admittedly minor) complaint that I had gone. You seem pretty well aware that you're spoofing something, and you're intending to flip any trade ins into a Manga promo. All very fair, and I hope it goes well for you, mate

[AcomicShop]

I thought this was a joke coming into the article. The fact that this is an actual advertisement is a joke. I've always hated the whole Us comics vs BD vs Manga thing because they're all comics done differently, done well and each of them have their lemons and gems. I love them all and I'll take them whichever way I can get them, variety being the spice of life an all.

Me too, I'm playing off that with a promotion. I don't like the DC vs Marvel mentality, but I'll use the fact there is that dynamic in a promotion.

Come to think of it a "trade in a children's book for a kids comic" sounds cool too! Then I could donate the children's books to a hospital...

[Justice and Rule]

... This is racist now? Maybe it's just because I'm from the Detroit area, but I don't see the racism in the term "Buy American". For us, it's meant as a call to show support for the things which built and support your area (i.e. American cars). Here, it's meant to satirize the idea (Cyborg being from Detroit now). Good satire or no, it's not some sort of ultra-jingoistic cry to burn all manga. It's just a harmless advertising ploy. Let's not freak out or write a ComicsAlliance article or anything just yet.

[AcomicShop]

What bothers me more is calling Cyborg "Robama". That seems more than a little racist. Do they call Voodoo "Voprah"?

I saw it in a comic and thought of it again when I saw Cyborg with the flag!

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And yes I do think all people covered by 98% metal look alike.