Parody Dōjinshi and Self-Expression

Doujinshi, written as ‘dōjinshi’ throughout the following essay, is something that is close to the hearts of many Otaku, especially myself (take that however you may). And because of this, I decided to write a research paper on the subject for this past semester. Yes. You heard me. A paper on doujinshi for a university class. I love my major.

Translation Notes, Honorifics and US Manga

Something that I rarely do is buy Manga. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not because I pirate Manga, which I don’t, it’s just that I am not really a Manga reading person. If you ask me, given the choice between Anime and Manga, I’d choose Anime. Why? Because it’s a more immersive and engaging experience. You have movement, voice, audio, color, the works. However, I do understand that usually, due to budget and run-time issues, the Anime version ends up being a less-than-faithful adaptation of the much-better original Manga. Yet, knowing this, another reason I avoid reading Manga is because I fear that I would spoil myself if they were to ever make an Anime adaptation of it.

Yet, sometimes, I do buy the Manga to give it a read after I’ve finished, and loved, the Anime series.

Here’s the thing. Having not bought any US Official English Translated Manga before, I was extremely hesitant to. I have seen my fair share of liberal official US Anime subtitles and being a staunch supporter of literal-translations, I could not fathom the horrors that awaited me. But, I went ahead and bought three different volumes of Manga, Railgun, Cardcaptor Sakura and Lucky Star.

…was I in for a surprise.