Japanese firms rush to push phone manga

Chief Petty Officer Klerk · Mon Aug 22, 2005 8:56 pm

Thought you might be interested in this articial.

Sydney Morning Herald wrote: Japanese firms rush to push phone comics
August 22, 2005 - 10:44PM

Sony Pictures Entertainment will almost triple the number of comic books it formats for viewing on mobile phones, making it the No. 1 provider of 'manga' for Japanese turning to their handsets for entertainment.

The move means Sony will offer 300 titles, compared to less than half that figure combined by top rivals NTT Solmare and Toppan Publishing.

The marriage between mobile-phone technology and 'manga' - comic books wildly popular across all ages in Japan - is a natural progression in a nation where people already download music, games and even novels onto their mobiles.

"Manga are a Japanese institution, but viewing comics on mobile phones is an entirely different experience altogether," said Hidekazu Tanaka, a Sony spokesman.

Mobile phone comics use a technology called Comic Surfing, developed by Tokyo-based venture firm Celsys, which takes viewers through manga stories at a carefully calculated speed and sequence.

The manga frames are specially formatted to fit on tiny mobile phone screens. Pop-up frames and vibration during action scenes add to the drama. Mobile-phone comics with pre-programmed sound effects are also coming soon, said Toppan Publishing spokesman Katsunori Onishi.
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Tanaka said Sony Pictures Entertainment has signed exclusive contracts with 10 popular manga artists, including Shigeru Mizuki, creator of Gegege no Kitaro - a 1970s classic featuring a young ghoul boy who fights monsters.

"We want to rein in middle-aged mobile phone users, as well as teenagers," he said.

Tapping into the manga fan market would also be lucrative for mobile content developers. Japan's Nomura Research Institute estimates that manga maniacs spent an estimated Y100 billion ($A1.2 billion) on comics in 2004.

Viewers pay Y315 ($A3.80) to download five manga titles a month by an artist of their choice. Sony Pictures Entertainment plans to introduce some 300 titles over the next year, while NTT Solmare and Toppan also plan to boost their libraries.

link to articial

Dark-oneechan · Post by **Dark-oneechan** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 3:10 am

Awwwwww fudgie. I'm still not updating my phone. Screw all this 3G stuff, I'd rather spend it on my PC.

P.S. First vote.

Post by **Taurec** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 7:00 am

I voted yes, not because of the manga
but they will have to do some upgrades of the gsm networks. and that's a advantage

Heh we already have UMTS coverage .. so we could be watching anime on a phone <g>

Anysia · Post by **Anysia** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:25 am

Oh, hell no. I have literally been late to class because I was busy checking my e-mail or playing Snood on my phone. Access to manga would be positively disastrous.

KiLlEr · Post by **KiLlEr** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 1:37 pm

I vote yes. For the same reason as Tau.

Our wireless comm systems suck.

Post by **Taurec** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 6:31 pm

Just read the local news and it seems that having a mobile phone is actually a healthy thing.

Apparently Japanese kids have very high phone bills so they can't afford cigarets.

KiLlEr · Post by **KiLlEr** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:48 pm

yeap, but thier health is in as much risk.

They'll get:

1) early arthritis due to RMI (repeat motion injury)
2) ear/brain tumors from CPHFRF (close proximity hi-freq rf).
3) hearing loss
4) tennitis
5) not to mention AFE (acute flat ear).

Dark-oneechan · Post by **Dark-oneechan** » Wed Aug 24, 2005 6:06 am

The only good feature of the mobile phones is the vibrate feature.

Bring back the analog network. It actually did what they said it would.

KanaChan · Post by **KanaChan** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:03 am

Anysia wrote:Oh, hell no. I have literally been late to class because I was busy checking my e-mail or playing Snood on my phone. Access to manga would be positively disastrous.

That's why you very discretely put your phone undre your desk and do your stuff that way! Always helped when I was texting in class ~.^

Anysia · Post by **Anysia** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:17 am

KanaChan wrote:That's why you very discretely put your phone undre your desk and do your stuff that way! Always helped when I was texting in class ~.^

Oh, my professors would kill me. One of them actually threw a kid out of class when his cellphone went off.

Chief Petty Officer Klerk · Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:02 pm

Anysia and KanaChan know each other?

KanaChan · Post by **KanaChan** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 3:09 am

Chief Petty Officer Klerk wrote:Anysia and KanaChan know each other?

Lol, nope. I made this name ages ago and never posted =D but I do recognize Anysia from her LJ and her wonderful color bars and icons!!! Lol but I know she doesn't know me n.n;

Oh, my professors would kill me. One of them actually threw a kid out of class when his cellphone went off.

Lol I had one professor take a kid's phone when it rang and pretended to step on it XD. lol I mean the bigger lecture halls and with the phone on vibrate, of course ~.^

HELLFIRE · Post by **HELLFIRE** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 5:26 am

...i think enough crap comes over the airwaves... not to say manga is rap,
but still...

what they won't do for a quick buck

Regards

Circle · Post by **Circle** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 6:19 am

I don't have a cell phone. Trying to see how many more years can I go on without ever having a cell. Gota fight off peer pressure, plan for inconveniences and such. It's a like a battle.

HELLFIRE · Post by **HELLFIRE** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 5:12 am

....resist as long as you can comrade Circle

Regards

FullMetal*Panic!

Japanese firms rush to push phone manga

Should it be brought to phone over here?

Japanese firms rush to push phone manga