Is INKR a legit service?
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I happen to discover the INKR app/service but never heard of them before. Are they a legit site that licenses manga/webtoons and pays royalties or are they an aggregator site that just asks for a subscription? I'm always looking for cheaper ways to enjoy the content but am pretty loathed to accidentally support piracy. Anyone here familiar with the service that has an opinion?
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It is a legit service (now, before they went legit they were known for a manga aggregator MangaRock).
That said, most of the things I've heard about them aren't that good (stuff like low tl wages and poor quality) -
@db0ssman said in Is INKR a legit service?:
Are they a legit site that licenses manga/webtoons and pays royalties or are they an aggregator site that just asks for a subscription? I'm always looking for cheaper ways to enjoy the content but am pretty loathed to accidentally support piracy
Caveat: I'm more familiar with LN and Anime sites than I am with comics/Manga- and I'm in the USA- things might be different in other parts of the world
@Wellwisher - I thought INKR went legit and are selling subscriptions to access licensed content (not TL'ing themselves anymore?)
I'd be interested to know if there is such a thing as "cheaper" ways to enjoy [legit/legal] content. From what I understand, legit translation publishers (like JNC) get some degree of exclusivity to the content they translate/sell, and sites (Amazon, INKR, Kobo, whatever) can resell those officially licensed translations. From what I've seen there isn't a large difference in cost between sites that sell volume per volume. - If a site is selling downloads of manga/LN's for significantly less than anyone else - I'd want to look deeply into it -like you said, to avoid supporting pirates
from what I know (which isn't much)- to avoid feeding pirates:
- buy from a licensed site (BN/comixology/Kobo etc) or
- buy direct from a publisher via their app/site (Viz/ Shonen Jump/ JNC)
- subscribe to a service that has a manga library (Crunchyroll, INKR etc.)
- leverage a public library collection/app (Libby/ Overdrive)
- something I didn't think of I'm open to suggestions
I found a decent (article) on line that has a decent summary, bottom line: if it seems like "too" good of a deal, it's likely piracy, there isn't any such thing as a free lunch.
I read banned books
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@jon-mitchell said in Is INKR a legit service?:
I thought INKR went legit and are selling subscriptions to access licensed content (not TL'ing themselves anymore?)
Yes, and since they went legit, they actually need to either translate manga themselves or sublicense already translated works instead of just, well, aggregating. They do both.
Few ANN articles on the matter:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2020-04-23/manga-rock-site-shuts-down-with-launch-of-inkr-comics/.158852
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2021-02-02/comics-publisher-inkr-issues-statement-on-translation-rates/.169035 -
@jon-mitchell So, for example, Shonen Jump offers a service where you can read pretty much their whole Manga library for $3 a month. JNC gives you a way to read a lot of LN for $6 a month. Toomics gives you some webcomics for $5 a month. Humble Bundle lets you purchase bundles of books and manga for a set price. That kind of stuff. Not like when you go to Amazon or Kobo and have to spend $7-10 per volume for something you are going to read once.
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@db0ssman said in Is INKR a legit service?:
@jon-mitchell So, for example, Shonen Jump offers a service where you can read pretty much their whole Manga library for $3 a month. JNC gives you a way to read a lot of LN for $6 a month. Toomics gives you some webcomics for $5 a month. Humble Bundle lets you purchase bundles of books and manga for a set price. That kind of stuff. Not like when you go to Amazon or Kobo and have to spend $7-10 per volume for something you are going to read once.
subscribe to a service that has a manga library (Crunchyroll, INKR etc.)
got it - I'm assuming that the issue with the Shonn Jump site, or Toomics (or Crunchyroll) is that the library is lacking in titles you want, or doesn't have most recent issues or...? Does one need to subscribe to multiple providers, or is the content similar across providers??
I read banned books
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@jon-mitchell Generally I read/watch something I'm particularly interested in and don't go too deep into any particular service's library. That's why I often jump in and out of services if there is something I want. There is still plenty to read on shonen jump. CR's manga selection is pretty trash, and toomics isn't great and fairly adult-oriented, so I don't really read there that often. I'd probably only get INKR for a month or two for the stand-out series that caught my eye.
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@jon-mitchell said in Is INKR a legit service?:
is the content similar across providers??
I've never honestly seen the content overlap between providers, so much like how the world of streaming video has segmented off into individual corporate providers much how like cable TV did, legit manga sites basically offer you titles that each company owns and you'd need to subscribe to multiple sites to get everything being offered.
If you're interested in the SJ titles Viz does though, you only need an account to stay current. I believe the first 3 chapters and the most recent 3 chapters are available with free accounts, you only need a paid subscription if you want to access chapters outside of that.
