Read This Way: MangaSpace

I think I was just as surprised as most people when I went to TOKYOPOP.com a couple weeks ago and saw that it sported an entirely new look – one that resembled a cross between MySpace and Deviant Art.

My first reaction was confusion. I had heard that they were redesigning their site, but this was like sensory overload! I just wanted to see when the next volume of Tramps Like Us was coming out and found myself lost in the new layout. Clicking on “Manga” didn’t bring me to, well, TOKYOPOP’s manga, but to an entirely different section filled with fan comics. Okay, so I think it’s super cool that kids can put their own comics into a manga player and share their work… but I just wanted some basic information about my favorite series!

I know a lot of people have been quick to criticize the new website and I could certainly understand their disdain. But I didn’t want to judge the site until I had a chance to really get a feel for it. So I’ve spent the last couple weeks poking around and forming an opinion.

And to be honest? I don’t think it’s terrible. It seems like a lot of kids are really getting into it and making the most of all the different arenas – art, photos, blogs… (although, lets not get into the fact that about 70% of the blogs are filled with people saying “ummm… I don’t know what to say, lol!”).

You know, if I were still 13, I would totally be loving the site and showing off my work and making digital friends. I think the sense of community TOKYOPOP is trying to achieve is a good one and it will become even stronger down the road. But I’m also starting to feel old at 26. Like, as if the new website is only truly navigable by those who grew up with the internet and who are fluent in leet speak.

I’m also leery of the amount of art-stealing that is going on and it makes me bristle to see someone literally taking art from someone else on Deviant Art, reposting it as their own creation with their own title and everything. I know TOKYOPOP has a detailed set of rules and regulations, but I think the rules could be made even more obvious. For instance, before a user actually submits a piece of art, a warning should pop up reminding them of the terms and that art-stealing is a definite no-no.

Policing all the material that is submitted must be quite a task given how many fans are posting work, but I also feel it’s important and I, for one, won’t be submitting any of my own work on the site until I feel secure in doing so. I guess the site also weirds me out a bit for the same reason MySpace does. Kids posting photos of themselves online always makes me fear for them slightly. I can’t help but feel anxious about those unsavory characters who might be prowling the web, particularly unsavory characters who also happen to like anime and fan service. But then again, that could just be me being an old worrywart.

That said, I think there are a lot of good things about the new site as well. One being the abundance of new columns and articles which keep things fresh and interesting each time I visit the site. And, as I mentioned, I also enjoy the reader-submitted manga section quite a bit and I look forward to seeing if any of the artists put new comics up consistently.

I guess I just wish that the whole fan element was kept slightly separate from the corporate side of the website. I’d like to go to the TOKYOPOP website for clear information about upcoming releases, press releases, appearances, etc. and then visit a separate area for all the fan art, blogs and message boards.

But there is no denying that TOKYOPOP is being quite bold in taking the site in this direction and that they aren’t interested in remaining in the mold of what a publisher’s site “should” be. By putting their fans first, they are going to create a lasting relationship that will surely benefit the company in the end. In my last column, I wrote about how Western mangaka are much move open and interactive than their Japanese counterparts. It appears that this is extending to Western manga publishers as well.

I wonder if any of the other big publishers will follow suit and invite fans to interact more within their sites, or if fans will even be willing to create multiple profiles on different sites or stay loyal to just one.

Well, in any case, I think I’ll sit back and let the kids have their fun while I stick to looking for the release dates of my favorite titles. Like Tramps Like Us. Which, incidentally, doesn’t come out till October, *sniffle*.