Comments on: MangaGamer: “Not Censoring our Games Was Unrelated to Free Speech”

By: Cataclysm

Cataclysm — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:08:07 +0000

It’s sad, ridiculous, and frustrating that for MangaGamer to officially support their fans and employees rights to freedom would lead to, in all likelihood, a rabid horde of moralist groups finding ways to file legal claims against them. This is, correct me if I’m wrong, likely the reason why they can not officially support Yes to Freedom; it would result in bad publicity and financial suicide for a small business. It is also, in my opinion (I have many, it gives me something to discuss), disgusting that even on a personal level expressing an opinion contrary to what “moralists” spout as “normal” ostracizes you from society. It is sad to see that people in countries like Egypt and Libya fighting, protesting, and even dieing for their freedom, while groups like Equality Now can take ours away simply by shouting loud enough and long enough at governments, companies, and individuals. All I can say is you have my support, in whatever freedom you are fighting for.

By: Well...

Well... — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:24:50 +0000

Well seeing as how most of the comments on here seem to be hate mail, I’d like to be the first to say thank you all for fighting against censorship. As a personal fan of all things anime, the mere thought of censoring it makes me sick to my stomach. Please continue to fight the good fight.

By: the_pragmatist

the_pragmatist — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:12:39 +0000

@LOLtbh: that has to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. If you’re looking for places to say stupid things that don’t even qualify as valid statements, please look elsewhere. Thanks.

By: Azarius

Azarius — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:25:15 +0000

…no? I see little that might have led you to believe so, but all events reported in our Timeline are real, and so are our existence and mission. I would advise you to actually verify the facts before making some poor attempts at discrediting legitimate attempts at activism, and if you truly see ways to make our website less “troll-ish”, you would be more than welcome to share them with us.
Also, disregard this comment if you were trolling…

By: LOLtbh

LOLtbh — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 04:06:59 +0000

This entire website is just some really elaborate troll right?

By: the_pragmatist

the_pragmatist — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:17:19 +0000

Editorial liberties taken; update applied. If further clarification is required, let us know.

By: Azarius

Azarius — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:24:25 +0000

@ Yamato,

Read the comments above. I believe that it will address to much, if not all your concerns.

By: Yamato

Yamato — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:14:16 +0000

Seriously, where do you guys get “refuse to support” out of that e-mail?

The first paragraph is probably just a brief introduction to go in tune with the lengthy one you sent them. So to me it reads like an exchange of business cards between two companies. I know I’ve received some replies from MangaGamer before, and they do take the time to read the mails, cuz I’ve never had the opening paragraph state the same thing. If anything, they probably just don’t have the spare time to compose long passages like you guys did.

And yeah, I’m sure their decision to decensor the games WAS influenced by the fans, but is that a bad thing? They listened. MangaGamer is still a small company who hasn’t even been around for two years yet. Hell, at Otakon 2009 they mentioned that they were still trying to break even with their releases.

They make it a point to thank you and encourage your support several times so I don’t see how you would think they didn’t want to work with you. The “cannot afford” is probably exactly what it says: They probably don’t have the time, money or other resources to support your group on the political field. If anything, I’d bet they’re trying to lay low and avoid being noticed by groups that would try to overturn their decision. Unlike JAST USA MangaGamer probably doesn’t have the established community or funds to fight a legal battle.

Unlike Yes to Freedom, they run the risk of suffering severe losses if their support attracts attention to them.

I’m sure most of the employees DO support Yes for Freedom on a personal level, but as that e-mail says, I bet they “cannot afford” to support you as a company giving their current status and the current political climate.

By: Star

Star — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:52:58 +0000

It seems to me that you read MangaGamer’s response in almost the exact opposite way it was intended. As an outsider, it looked pretty clear to me that they do agree with your ideals (they even mention it themselves), but it’s not a matter of refusing to lend support—it’s that they CAN’T. MangaGamer is a relatively small company, and some matters of legality can carry a much heavier weight.

By: Sacchinftw

Sacchinftw — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:36:01 +0000

As one of the people who helped draft the MG response, let me first point out that there’s a very big difference between “cannot” and “refuses to support.” Secondly, I am slightly insulted that you think there’s some sort of a form letter response in there, I spent a whole five minutes on that first paragraph making it seem “official” looking.

tl;dr
The entire point of that email was to say that there was no political motivation in making the decision. The people who didn’t want to censor are quite avid supporters of your cause but as a company, at best, all that can be done is to watch from the sidelines.

There can be no engagements between Manga Gamer and those that may seek to do bad things to you. Manga Gamer is an international organization and although the products might be legal in one country, it’s illegal in another. In the end, all of this comes back to the Japanese managers and shareholders, if any substantial negative press comes back to Manga Gamer…well, you saw just how eagerly the Japanese companies were willing to fold over Rapelay…

As someone who helped draft that response, but isn’t a Manga Gamer employee, over this medium I can openly say that there are more people in Manga Gamer that support your cause than that email leaves you to believe.