My first exposure to the manga was the Tokyopop translation of the tankoban. This translation holds a lot of nostalgia for me and I'll always treasure my collection of those 18 volumes. However, it's still an objectively flawed release for a number of reasons: poor paper and print quality, terrible binding, flipped artwork (though some pages were not flipped for whatever reason), numerous typos, inconsistencies, and highly questionable translations (especially when it came to Naoko's various notes, which were all "translated" to make it seem like she was directly addressing American readers).
Now, like I said: I already own all 18 volumes of the Tokyopop translation and I have a bit of a soft spot for that release. However, I'd still really like to be able to enjoy an accurate translation of that edition. Now, do I really want to buy yet another set of the manga? Not really. (I already bought the shinshoban translation, then sold it to make way for the Eternal Editions, of which I've only bought the first volume because I'm 1) not super thrilled with the translation quality 2) waiting for prices to drop 3) still kind of holding out for a full color release to be announced.) But if the release were reasonably priced and the translation free of honorifics and circonflexes, I could be convinced to shell out the money.
I can definitely see Kodansha Japan putting out a 30th anniversary re-release of the tankoban in two years. By then, the international releases of the Eternal Editions should be mostly done, so it'll be time to move on to the next way of milking that cash cow. The question is whether or not Kodansha USA would invest in translating and releasing it. As far as I know, the shinshoban translation is still in print; would they really publish three versions of the manga simultaneously (four if you count the digital release of the EEs as a separate version)? That doesn't seem terribly likely, but maybe if there's sufficient fan interest?
What do you think? Anyone here want a re-release of the tankoban?
Now, like I said: I already own all 18 volumes of the Tokyopop translation and I have a bit of a soft spot for that release. However, I'd still really like to be able to enjoy an accurate translation of that edition. Now, do I really want to buy yet another set of the manga? Not really. (I already bought the shinshoban translation, then sold it to make way for the Eternal Editions, of which I've only bought the first volume because I'm 1) not super thrilled with the translation quality 2) waiting for prices to drop 3) still kind of holding out for a full color release to be announced.) But if the release were reasonably priced and the translation free of honorifics and circonflexes, I could be convinced to shell out the money.
I can definitely see Kodansha Japan putting out a 30th anniversary re-release of the tankoban in two years. By then, the international releases of the Eternal Editions should be mostly done, so it'll be time to move on to the next way of milking that cash cow. The question is whether or not Kodansha USA would invest in translating and releasing it. As far as I know, the shinshoban translation is still in print; would they really publish three versions of the manga simultaneously (four if you count the digital release of the EEs as a separate version)? That doesn't seem terribly likely, but maybe if there's sufficient fan interest?
What do you think? Anyone here want a re-release of the tankoban?
