Portuguese Dragon Ball Tankoubon Edition *On Going* - Review

[Quebaz]

Envy me is envy I just went to my cousin's house and he gave 4 more volumes and I must say that these are actually pretty cool (loving the yellow on the covers) and these seem smaller than the ASA ones.

Yes, they are smaller than the ASA ones. Planeta DeAgostini's edition was based in this spanish editions:
Serie Amarilla (Yellow Series)
Serie Azul (Blue Series)
Serie Roja (Red Series)

Wow, seeing that the spanish editions had more volumes and cover images, we got the ones from the original tankoubon.

[Red Tiger]

Envy me is envy I just went to my cousin's house and he gave 4 more volumes and I must say that these are actually pretty cool (loving the yellow on the covers) and these seem smaller than the ASA ones.

Yes, they are smaller than the ASA ones. Planeta DeAgostini's edition was based in this spanish editions:
Serie Amarilla (Yellow Series)
Serie Azul (Blue Series)
Serie Roja (Red Series)

Wow, seeing that the spanish editions had more volumes and cover images, we got the ones from the original tankoubon.

Actually they were based in this one, that was released in Spain between 2000 and 2001. The portuguese one was released in 2001/2002.
Sorry about that, i made confusion with the other ones i referred before.

[alakazam^]

Did ASA publicize the manga? If not for word-of-mouth, I wouldn't have even known they were releasing Dragon Ball over here. I'm sure there were no TV commercials and I doubt there were publicity in magazines or such... how could they think they'd sell well if they don't invest in publicity?

I think Portugal can have a manga market but not without publicity. How can they expect to sell anything in decent amounts if no one knows they're available for sale? Manga isn't limited to "anime freaks", it can be enjoyed by everyone.

[Rukura]

Did ASA publicize the manga?

Only volume 1. It was sold with the newspaper "Público", if I'm not mistaken. Ironically, I only knew of the release through Daizenshuu (at the time) and only knew about that colaboration long after the fact.

After that, they also did the "buy 1 Dragon Ball and 1 Yu-Gi-Oh! volume, get a bag featuring the two series" at Fnac (which looked kinda cool) for a while....although, didn't seem to help either series.

It almost seems like they could've easily advertised it now with Kai....but also with SIC K's on-going broadcast of the 3 series...

ASA released the first 3 Astro Boy volumes, 7 Yu-Gi-Oh! volumes, and will now end Dragon Ball at 18. Is this it for portuguese manga already? Devir is doing a decent run of Death Note, even though it's going slow as Christmas...but that's it, right?

[rereboy]

For now, perhaps it is. The timing isn't good because of the financial crysis and the volumes are too expensive for the monetary capacity of the market.

In the future, perhaps it will come back.

Its a good idea to publicize it more and perhaps releasing the manga in omnibus editions wouldn't be a bad idea.
For example, if they released the Dragon Ball manga in omnibuses that included two original volumes for something like 13 or 14 euros, perhaps it would be more successful.
The cost of releasing one single omnibus that includes two original volumes is lower than releasing two single volumes by themselves, which allows the publisher to only charge 6,5 or 7 euros per volume, making it 13 or 14 euros per omnibus. And the entire manga of Dragon Ball could be released in just 21 books. Death Note could be released in its entirety in just 6 books. And so on.

The omnibuses should include the original covers and such so that all the original art of the original volumes is included, but that isn't a problem, its easy to do.

Personally, I like omnibus editions. They are great. The Dragon Ball Vizbigs for example, are much cheaper than the single volumes and I only needed 15 Vizbigs volumes to collect all of Dragon Ball manga (42 volumes) and 9 Vizbigs volumes to collect Rurouni Kenshin (28 original volumes). Even without the extra content that they have, those two advantages alone makes it worth it, as long as they have good quality, which they do.

In our market, that needs a lower price per volume without publishers having to support higher costs, and that desperately needs completed releases of long collections/manga to make people want to buy them and make them believe that the collection/manga that they are buying will be completed, I believe that a good omnibus edition right from the start instead of the traditional one-volume edition would be a smart move.

Just imagine... If the portuguese release of Dragon Ball had been done in this fashion (and the release schedule remained the same), right now we would have all of the first original 34 volumes published, and we would be 4 omnibus volumes away from completing the entire manga. And even if ASA had the same sale results, with only 4 to go, if they just finished it, the fact that the manga was complete, would draw in much more people to buy it because they would know that all of the manga is complete. And maybe then the sales would pick up and make ASA happy about releasing the whole thing.

[Rukura]

Dunno if going omnibus would be the best decision. The convinience of single volumes, be it japanese tankoubons or Viz graphic novels, is being able to take it on the go. I do that all the time, so I always go for those (I got the japanese volume 41 on my bag right now)...but you can't do that with something like a VizBig.

Yeah, 2-in-1s with this tankoubon size would be fine...but people wouldn't see 2 cheap volumes. They'd see a slightly more expensive book than it is now.

[rereboy]

It could be just like the existing releases with just double the thickness (two volumes inside). It wouldn't have to be like the Vizbigs, bigger and such. And if it was basically the same, there wouldn't any problems with transportation. It would still be light and easy to carry, since a single volume is pretty thin and light. In fact, a single Viz volume of Dragon Ball is significantly thicker than one volume of the portuguese edition due to the paper used, so an omnibus of two portuguese volumes wouldn't be that thick at all, or heavy.

And the omnibus should state in their cover something like "two volumes in one" or "two volumes for the price of one inside" (big enough to be noticeable but not big enough to be ugly).
13 or 14 euros is not much more than the price that we paid for the single volumes after all. They cost us 10 euros each and the later ones cost 11 euros. So, I think it would even out or even be beneficial. People would notice the price but they would also notice that its two volumes in one and quickly realize that its 6,5 or 7 euros per volume. They would compare to other manga volumes in english sold alongside the portuguese edition of dragon ball (because they are buying it in places like Fnac and other bookstores), and they would realize that the price per volume is actually cheaper than most of the english volumes of manga sold there.

And even people who know how much one volume of ordinary manga usually costs online would realize that it was a good price per volume.

So, I believe it would even out or be beneficial.

In short, I believe these type of edition would stand a better chance in our market. Even short mangas, like Death Note should take this route. Death Note has an omnibus edition (two-volumes in one) sold internationally. There is hardly any extra content, only a few color pages. It would be far better for our market if they sold an edition similar to that instead of the regular one on our market.
They would only have to sell 6 volumes. People would realize that the release had a good price per volume. The collection could be completed much faster, which means it would draw people to it more quickly, since the completion of the release would draw in more people. The costs per volume, if they didn't release a much different type of book than they would release with the regular collection, would also be inferior to releasing two regular volumes. Etc.

[Red Tiger]

Did ASA publicize the manga? If not for word-of-mouth, I wouldn't have even known they were releasing Dragon Ball over here. I'm sure there were no TV commercials and I doubt there were publicity in magazines or such... how could they think they'd sell well if they don't invest in publicity?

I think Portugal can have a manga market but not without publicity. How can they expect to sell anything in decent amounts if no one knows they're available for sale? Manga isn't limited to "anime freaks", it can be enjoyed by everyone.

No, ASA has not done any advertising. At the time i only knew through Daizenshuu EX website, if i remember correctly the few mangas that were released in Portugal, only the Planeta DeAgostini's Dragon Ball edition has had a tv commercial some weeks before the release of the first volume in 2001.
Publishers like ASA continue to work in an amateur way, they do not know nothing about the manga market, they don't invest in any kind of publicity, at least they could have done something in their own website, but they did not do a thing, no release dates, absolutely nothing.

[rereboy]

Did ASA publicize the manga? If not for word-of-mouth, I wouldn't have even known they were releasing Dragon Ball over here. I'm sure there were no TV commercials and I doubt there were publicity in magazines or such... how could they think they'd sell well if they don't invest in publicity?

I think Portugal can have a manga market but not without publicity. How can they expect to sell anything in decent amounts if no one knows they're available for sale? Manga isn't limited to "anime freaks", it can be enjoyed by everyone.

No, ASA has not done any advertising. At the time i only knew through Daizenshuu EX website, if i remember correctly the few mangas that were released in Portugal, only the Planeta DeAgostini's Dragon Ball edition has had a tv commercial some weeks before the release of the first volume in 2001.
Publishers like ASA continue to work in an amateur way, they do not know nothing about the manga market, they don't invest in any kind of publicity, at least they could have done something in their own website, but they did not do a thing, no release dates, absolutely nothing.

True.

[Rukura]

Well, this is it.

Volume 18 of this release is now up for pre-order and will start coming out on October 2nd, seemingly ending this release. Right before Nappa punches Tenshinhan's arm off.

[jrdemr]

Oh, well. It was good while it lasted.

[Pokewhiz7]

At the very least, you got through the original Dragon Ball "part."

[jrdemr]

True, but personally, it's not much of a consolation for me. I like my collections complete. To me, it's either get it done, or don't bother altogether. Not to mention that now I'm gonna have to make do with Viz's version of the manga, which has all the flaws we're more than familiar with.

[rereboy]

A shame, really.

[Cold Skin]

3 - Translation

I had heard that these new volumes would be based on the french translation. However, I believe this is incorrect. This portuguese volume clearly states that the translation rights were arranged by Viz.



Therefore, I`m sure the translation is based on Viz`s translation. This becomes even more obvious when we analyze and compare to Viz and read Herms` review on Viz`s translation (http://daizex.fanboyreview.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9759) (awesome read by the way).

That piece of info you can see printed on the books' credits has nothing to do with the translation itself.
For example, the French Kanzenban has that same kind of message (written as such, all in English):

"French translation rights in France, French-speaking Belgium, Luxembourg,
Monaco, Switzerland and Canada arranged by SHUEISHA Inc.
through VIZ Media, LLC, U.S.A."

And the French script is undoubtedly translated from the Japanese. Based on this message I think VIZ is actually only in charge of arranging the rights for all occidental countries, not caring about the way the translation itself is handled. With the expression "by SHUEISHA through VIZ", it is also possible that VIZ serve as the intermediary in communication too, after all it has been stated that the Japanese SHUEISHA was checking the works on the French Kanzenban and accepting or refusing the results presented to them (for example, they refused a change to the presentation of the flashy green page of contents). But they might let an occidental company deal with other occidental companies.
Anyway, this statement doesn't mean "translation based on ther version from VIZ Media"!

However, your further analysis seems legit to prove that the Portuguese translation is based on Viz's.

[rereboy]

However, your further analysis seems legit to prove that the Portuguese translation is based on Viz's.

Its sort of a mix between Viz's translation and a more direct translation from the japanese original, either done by the portuguese team or by Viz.

That is made clear by the existence of some things that aren't included in Viz's translation but are included in this translation and by other things that definitely come from Viz's translation and are included in this translation

[Rukura]

Well, finally got my volume 18 in yesterday and was able to fully read it today. Seems alright, despite some quirks. (that I was able to compare with the original, since I actually have 18 )

Names of people and things:
Kika and Kami-sama remain. More on the first one later.
Saiyan is the standard. There's no Saiyanjin here lol.
Rei Enma. (Rei being portuguese for King)
We have Kaioh and Kaioh-sama, which is great. There's also Kaioh-Ken and Genki Dama.
Last, but not least......Saibaiman.

There are a few...awkward lines here, though. When Gohan is up on the cliff peeing, Piccolo says "Faz chichi." ("He's peeing").....CHICHI. Why do we have Kika?... Since it is pronounced shee-shee in portuguese, I'd even be okay with "Tchi-Tchi" or something....oh, well.
Nappa reveals that Piccolo is a Namekian, thus, an alien. In this version, Kami says something to the effect of "I didn't think I was an alien...I always wondered about the antenna, though...". Seemed hilariously strange lol. Sure enough, in the original, instead of the antenna comment, it's about him being "a little different" from everyone else.
Here, during Yamcha's fight, Piccolo tells Gohan that everyone can feel out their energy but himself. Weird typo, since he obviously meant Gohan, who wasn't being able to do so.
When Kuririn (here, Krillin...) attacks after Yamcha's death, Tenshinhan tells Chaozu to get away. Here, he says "Chaoz, stand back! I might hurt you!"....which doesn't make sense.

And with Nappa's powering up ends the first decent quality Dragon Ball manga release in Portugal.

[jrdemr]

Guys, I might have good news.

Since I'm in a kind of limbo situation here at work (there's so little to do it's becoming unbearably boring), I decided to call Asa's Customer Service Hotline just to confirm if they indeed cancelled the manga's publishing - and the news were somewhat uplifting. When I asked if they indeed cancelled the manga, the Customer Service Representative answered - very categorically, I might add, as if I had just said something really absurd - that they just released a new volume and that she had no news of plans to cancel the manga. I even confronted her, saying that the publishing speed had really slowed down since volume 16 had come out, but she categorically reassured me, saying that although the publishing speed had gone down, she had absolutely no news of plans to cancel the manga.

Now, I don't want to get your hopes up too much. I tried asking her if they had a date for volume 19 and she was unable to give it to me, not to mention the Customer Service Representative that I called circa July told me that the manga had indeed been cancelled. It's possible that "having no news" just means that she doesn't know the manga's been cancelled yet. But it is also possible that the publishing speed has simply gone down and they're just licensing the volumes bit by bit. This last guess is actually entirely possible, since they publish new volumes for their other series (like Lucky Luke) at a rate of about two new books per year, so...

I'll try calling them again in the afternoon to see if some other CSR gives me the same answer or not. But if this were to be true, coming out at a reduced rate is always better than no rate at all.

Oh well, it seems like I have more work to do now. I'll post something here if I have more news.

EDIT: I called Customer Service again. This time, the CSR was a lot more thorough. She even put me on hold to confirm whether it had been cancelled or not. What she told me was that it definitely hasn't been cancelled yet, because that kind of information is always passed on to Customer Support so that they don't mislead customers. However, the CSR also didn't have any information whether it will continue or not, and she assumed that the board must still be deciding.

Better than nothing, I guess. Hope they do decide to continue (I'm not holding out much hope, though...)

[Rukura]

Those are pretty great news! Even more so since we were originally being told that it was canceled for realz.

[rereboy]

I think that whoever talked to you was just misinformed. From all I could gather, ASA bought the rights to publish the first 16 volumes and then got that rights extended to two extra volumes (17 and 18). No more rights were bought so far and from the sales results its more than likely that no more rights will be bought.