manga rental service similar 2 netflix/greencine

[Mangaroo]

Anybody here think having something like a netflix or greencine service for manga would be a great idea?

I love manga more than anime. The only options I have for reading manga is either buying them, borrow from friends, or checkout from the library.

Buying cost too much if you want to read a lot and then you get stuck with a big inventory you can either keep or sell back.
The folks I know are only into anime, so no source for borrowing :(
Library doesn't have everything and you have to wait in a request queue.

Would be nice if I could use a manga book rental service for reading X many books at a time for X dollars a month. Then I can read all I want and not pay as much or deal with having a big inventory/collection. Wouldn't you agree.

I don't think one exist does it. Be nice to start one, if there was enough supporters (like me) for such a service.

[Tuplica]

I think it's a pretty nice idea, given I'm one of those people who fly through manga and don't feel like spending 10-14 bucks on a book I'll only read once in about half an hour or less.  Still, manga aren't like DVDs or other discs- even if discs get scratched, they can be buffed and repaired, and otherwise stay in great condition.  But if ten people handle a manga before you, one can only imagine the condition wouldn't be so great.  Even if people took care (which many people just plain don't, to be honest) with the manga, the pages would get folded, the paper might get grungy, the binding might get weak from being flipped through too often.  You might have to restock fairly often.

But if you could come up with a way to solve these possibilities... sounds great.

[Tenba]

Manga could probably benefit more from an iTunes model or an eBook form in which people paid a certain amount of money to read chapters online.  A volume of manga is probably a lot more expensive to print than DVD of anime, it's a lot heavier and more cumbersome to ship, and it tolerates far less handling.  It probably also doesn't zip through a machine as well for processing.  And, we can probably save a lot of trees if companies published eManga.  eManga would also have small filesizes, so downloading would go quickly.  There are just so many benefits to eManga that I'm surprised that more companies haven't done it yet.  However, Tokyopop has a bit of a testbed; see their Takuhai Online: http://www.tokyopop.com/takuhaionline/current_issue.php

That said, I think someone really needs to make an eManga/eBook display device (an iPod equivalent) for it to take off.  I just don't enjoy reading manga on current computers.

[Tuplica]

That said, I think someone really needs to make an eManga/eBook display device (an iPod equivalent) for it to take off.  I just don't enjoy reading manga on current computers.

Agreed.  I think the idea of e-manga isn't pretty good, especially for those you just want to check out but aren't extremely fond of, but there aren't even any current programs that work well on computers (that I am aware of) to view manga pages/scanalations effectively.  Of course, the idea of applying it to 'renting' a manga would be more like buying, unless companies went through the trouble to apply experations on the files, which would probably just annoy people and eventually be bypassed by hackers.  And more probably than not the renting/buying services would be initiated by the producers of the manga, or at least a company they hired themselves...

[Tenba]

Of course, the idea of applying it to 'renting' a manga would be more like buying, unless companies went through the trouble to apply experations on the files, which would probably just annoy people and eventually be bypassed by hackers.  And more probably than not the renting/buying services would be initiated by the producers of the manga, or at least a company they hired themselves...

Not necessarily.  iTunes and the modern Napster aren't publishers or producers.  Someone can still start up an iTunes-like service for iManga and iComics and establish contracts with all the publishers.  And yes, it'd probably be a buying model, not a renting model.

[frumpy]

Manga is now available at some local libraries. Oakland libraries have them, but I'm not sure about San Francisco or San Jose...

[Nyxyin]

I'm not sure about...San Jose...

Yes, there's manga in the San Jose library system, but the selection is still rather limited (although it's expanding).  Worse, somebody keeps ripping pages out of the manga from Santa Teresa library (the library where No Name Anime used to be).  It's not very fun trying to read Battle Angel Alita with several random pages missing, and it was downright frustrating that the climatic conclusion was ripped out of the final volume.  Also, the librarian was saying that the manga tends to fall apart very quickly and needs to be replaced at a very high frequency.  So, I don't have much faith in a large scale physical check-out system of manga working very well.  DVDs are very light and durable compared to graphical novels.

[Mangaroo]

I'm not sure about...San Jose...

Yes, there's manga in the San Jose library system, but the selection is still rather limited (although it's expanding).  Worse, somebody keeps ripping pages out of the manga from Santa Teresa library (the library where No Name Anime used to be).  It's not very fun trying to read Battle Angel Alita with several random pages missing, and it was downright frustrating that the climatic conclusion was ripped out of the final volume.  Also, the librarian was saying that the manga tends to fall apart very quickly and needs to be replaced at a very high frequency.  So, I don't have much faith in a large scale physical check-out system of manga working very well.  DVDs are very light and durable compared to graphical novels.

I've experienced the same problems with Alita and other mangas. I wonder who rips out all the pages? I always get a picture of idiot little kids or horny guys who don't know any better or can't fork out a few cents to make a photocopy.

[Nyxyin]

It's not very fun trying to read Battle Angel Alita with several random pages missing, and it was downright frustrating that the climatic conclusion was ripped out of the final volume.

I've experienced the same problems with Alita and other mangas. I wonder who rips out all the pages?

I don't know.  I make it a point to make sure that the librarians know about it.  They said they're willing to try to note it and if they collect enough notes, maybe they can track down who it is.  I'm not holding my breath, but I have my fingers crossed, and I keep looking at the newer volumes to see if any pages are missing so I can report them -- newer volumes would have a shorter history and it might narrow down the number suspects.

I always get a picture of idiot little kids or horny guys who don't know any better or can't fork out a few cents to make a photocopy.

Eww!  It didn't cross my mind to think that guys could be that horny.  I wonder if the problem is spreading.  I initially thought that it was a misguided parent trying to "protect" children from all that evil sex in the manga or something.  Then, I came across a bunch of pages missing from shoujo manga that made it seem like a little girl is ripping out all the especially pretty pages.  I wish the library would plaster signs on the ripped manga warning people that someone has ripped pages out of them so that everybody knows that people are noticing when the manga gets ripped.  Maybe some people keep doing it because they thought nobody notices.  Maybe they'd stop if they know that other people read the manga too.  I report manga with missing pages, but they show right back up on the shelves with no visible notes on them.  I'm almost tempted to write a list of missing pages and the date I discovered the problem into the manga...  I mean, it's ripped anyways, so the note can only be helpful, right?  Maybe it'll even scare the people who are ripping out pages if they know that information is being recorded so that we can eventually track them down.  I don't know if I can ever bring myself to do it, though -- I think part of me subconsciously believes that lightning would strike me down if I tried to write in a library book.  Too bad the person or people who are ripping out the pages are immune to lightning.