Hello.
I deleted two comments that were left in the Broccoli Books production blog today because frankly, our staff doesn’t need any of this.
Though the nasty remarks were directed towards the company (or so I would like to believe), each one of our staff.. from the in-house editors & graphics artists; to freelance translators, re-writers, layout artists, coordinators; and marketing and sales staff.. have put a lot of individual and personal efforts into releasing each of the titles and volumes.
None of us, including the management, is deliberately sabotaging the release of any specific titles. We are not going “Ha! We’ll trick those idiots and release a few volumes, then make them suffer not knowing what happens to the rest of the story by stopping production on them! Muhahaha!”
We are all sad that certain titles weren’t finished by Broccoli Books. And we hope that the market & the US publishing industry are healthy enough to re-release the titles in North America in the near future.
We don’t have a say in who licenses the titles once the license is reverted back to the licensors. If you have specific titles you want to see re-released in the US, start a petition or a fan club or anything and let the licensors and US publishers know that there’s a viable market for the specific title in the US. A good milestone is gather 5,000 people who’ll pledge to BUY the book when released.
So once again, I ask that you play nice.
Entries (RSS)
December 10th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
yeah i said that to my friend we should do a petition!!.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
That’s incredibly awful. We had a couple of iffy comments when animeOnline died, but nothing really nasty– some people are just so incredibly incapable of thinking about anyone but themselves.
December 10th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I’m so sorry about those comments. I’m glad that you finally straighten out those awful people. You’re right, Broccoli isn’t trying to trick its readers but is closing for various reasons. That’s what I was trying to say in the last few posts. Glad you cleared that up. Anyways, I hope everyone at Broccoli is doing okay and will or have already found new, successful opportunities. You guys were great!:)
December 10th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
I really don’t know what to say. As a reader, an editor, a fan, I am appalled at the actions of some of the people who call themselves fans and can only chock it up to ignorance. I know the closing of Broccoli Books is in no way the fault of it’s staff–nobody would want to go through loosing their job just to cause a little mischief.
Though my interactions with the Broccoli company have been limited, those who I have had the pleasure of e-mailing/talking with have been incredibly helpful and kind. I know you’ll all be successful in your next stage and I wish each one of you the best of luck.
Broccoli Books will most definitely be missed. I know I, for one, will the rooting for it’s hopeful return.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Of course Broccoli doesn’t deserve any attacks for what is an unfortunate event. I am so sorry that the series I began won’t be finished, but I completely understand that this is a bad time for everyone.
The time I have spent editing for Broccoli has been some of the most fun and enjoyable I have ever had. I learned so much, and will always have that wherever life takes me. Everyone I have worked with was a true delight, and I will miss you all very much.
And if anyone ends up in a place that needs a re-writer/editor, please remember me!
December 12th, 2008 at 10:07 am
To answer your question, yes, those comments were directed at Broccoli Japan for failing to finish what they had started and cutting their USA branch off without much fanfare (or sympathy). Best of luck to all the staff finding new work (hopefully anywhere BUT Tokyopop, Wall Street or anything in Detroit).
That doesn’t mean, however, that Broccoli USA is completely without sin. The fact that I tried for years to get an answer regarding the remaining Digi-Charat volumes and never received one (pardon the pun) spoke volumes over the lack of customer service in that regard. Here’s hoping whoever was in charge of customer service learns how to answer questions directly and promptly rather than ignoring them in their next line of work.
By the way, Shizuki, weren’t you on Bandai Visual’s dot-anime blog? Not to be rude or anything, but if this happens to you again on another anime business blog, maybe it’s time to consider a new profession (or stocking up on a whole lot of lucky charms- cereal included).
December 12th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I’d buy Di Gi Charat, without question. Broccoli Books is the only publisher who’s remained true to the source material, without giving characters ridiculous regional accents or scrunching “nyo” into “meow”.
If another publisher is willing to pick up the series, you can put me down for subscriptions to Galaxy Angel Party, Leave it to Piyoko and Di Gi Charat Theater.
December 15th, 2008 at 11:25 am
I agree with Jonathan Drain (:
And insaneben, to some extent as well.
I can’t quite recall now, but I apologize if any of those out-of-hand comments were mine. I was just upset about the whole thing going down… it’s really disappointing. Curse economy! I do believe I said that, ultimately, all I care about is the safety and well-being of all the hard workers at Broccoli Books. I’ll live if I can’t read some manga. (: (It’ll be hard, but I’ll survive, hahaha!)
July 9th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
I was so sad and upset when I found out Broccoli Books was closing for America… *cries* You were my favorite publishing company… I would get every book published by you. I heard the terrible news when I was trying to get the 3 Disgaea 2 book… the cashier was also a fan of yours I assume for he is the one that told me the news. I almost started to cry.
Though I am a bit mad that some of my series will go unfinished, I do not think yelling at you will solve issues. People who curse you are just upset and want to put their rage on someone. You guys did your best… and I hope that someday, somehow… you will return. *hugs*