Does JNC have too much on their plate?
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Probably a good thing they didn’t get any new licenses. While it’s always nice to have new stuff j novel seems to be barely coping with what they have at the moment.
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@catstorm said in Acquisitions Speculation - General [AX is over]:
seems to be barely coping with what they have at the moment.
Expound?
Whoever said nothing's impossible never tried slamming a revolving door.
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@myskaros if this subject is going to go on, it would probably deserve a separate topic, but to expound a bit...
While I wouldn't have used the descriptor "barely", I do think there are measurable signs of more lag/delay in the pipeline. Things like the recent batch of next volumes not having started or not starting as quickly (arifureta, dendrogram, bakarina, unwanted undead... probably others, I'm not really trying to track it); rokujouma releases getting delayed (or at least dropping a previously regular pattern); Siskan; the recently ended hiatus for Orphen.
I wouldn't consider most of these delays outside the norm for LN publishers, but compared to the abnormally quick turnaround from JNC early on, it's a more stark contrast.
Edit: And I will note that despite my belief that increased lag can be attributed in part to an increase in volume, I personally would like to see more licenses. Just to note the distinction from the earlier opinion.
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@hatguy12 said in Acquisitions Speculation - General [AX is over]:
@myskaros if this subject is going to go on, it would probably deserve a separate topic, but to expound a bit...
But as a quick note, while I wouldn't have used the descriptor "barely", I do think there are measurable signs of more lag/delay in the pipeline. Things like the recent batch of next volumes not having started or not starting as quickly (arifureta, dendrogram, bakarina, unwanted undead... probably others, I'm not really trying to track it); rokujouma releases getting delayed (or at least dropping a previously regular pattern); Siskan; the recently ended hiatus for Orphen.
I wouldn't consider most of these delays outside the norm for LN publishers, but compared to the abnormally quick turnaround from JNC early on, it's a more stark contrast.
- Rokujouma was delayed? Since when?
- Steiner specifically put Orphen on hiatus in order to catch up to Japan on Smartphone. Now that he caught up, it's back on the schedule.
- Sam has stated publicly that he cannot license new volumes until they come out in Japan, after which we can't launch anything until all the paperwork is done and we get all the materials, even if the translation is ready.
- For anything else, all I'll say is there are complications preventing us from starting those volumes that have nothing to do with our capacity to handle series.
To give a quick overview, we have 37 ongoing series right now. 28 are being streamed as normal, 5 are between volumes, and 4 are held up by the previously-mentioned complications.
"Barely coping" aside, I don't think this is anywhere even close to a cause for concern.
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Rokujouma missed some number of months out of its monthly "schedule" without announcement, more concentrated around the end of its catchup. Monthly may have been a target rather than an official schedule, but still noticeable. (I will try to look it up and edit in. Edit: Dec 18, Jan 19, April 19, June 19)
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Yes, for Orphen, it has been stated as such. I consider this a JNC volume/pipeline related reason.
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Not saying there aren't valid reasons. However, while I obviously can't see the internals, I would make the hypothetical bet that the lag would be at least a few weeks shorter if JNC had a quarter of its catalog and Sam still lived in Japan.
I agree that none of these things are cause for concern. But to say there is no increase in lag would be a falsehood; and while hypotheticals can only be speculated, I think it's reasonable to attribute some of the lag to increased total pipeline volume. It's just part of becoming a larger company.
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@hatguy12 I wasn't thinking of the Rokujouma catchup and am not involved in that, so you might be right. For everything else, I flat-out disagree and will leave it at that.
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@hatguy12 I would like to point out that @Steiner translates both Smartphone and Orphan while @Warnis translates Rokujouma and Magicmaster. Both of them deserve freaking medals for what they've done, considering two of those are the biggest titles JNC has and they've managed to catch them up to Japan. Also, Sam moved from Japan back to America, which probably adds several days to contract processing. I haven't seen anything that seems unreasonable.
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@paul-nebeling Steiner also translates Infinite Dendrogram, both the lns and the manga.
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Hatguy articulated my thoughts fairly well on the issue, so all I’ll say is there has been a noticeable drop in the overall efficiency of j novel club.
As an outsider when I see constant delays in the release of volumes constant delays in the release of individual parts what am I supposed to think beyond “well it’s seems that they have to much on there plate at the moment”.
I’m sure their are other contributing factors that lead to this beyond just catalogue size, but surely it’s obvious that if even more series were picked up it could only exasperate the current efficiency issues. -
@paul-nebeling said in Acquisitions Speculation - General [AX is over]:
Also, Sam moved from Japan back to America, which probably adds several days to contract processing. I haven't seen anything that seems unreasonable.
I'd love to know how what country one lives in contributes to how quickly someone replies to their e-mails.
@catstorm said in Acquisitions Speculation - General [AX is over]:
surely it’s obvious that if even more series were picked up it could only exasperate the current efficiency issues.
JNC is not the only party involved in releasing parts and volumes.
Whoever said nothing's impossible never tried slamming a revolving door.
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@myskaros My ancient ass assumed that there were physical contracts involved. Electronic transmission/digital signing would be considerably faster.
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@paul-nebeling It's true; the reason there are so many delays is because it always rained on the day of the signing ceremonies, so the contracts just could never get inked. It's also expensive paying for the 21-gun salutes, that's why there weren't any license announcements at Otakuthon :(
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@sniper_samurai Steiner's a machine.
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@paul-nebeling I agree that both those translators (and many others) are working on multiple series. As far as the point of increased throughput at JNC has added some amount of lag in the pipeline, I would consider that fact part of the cause and effect.
I am not saying that Steiner and Warnis are translating slowly or missing deadlines, or are otherwise deficient as translators (the same for the editors). I consider it very reasonable for translators to work on multiple series, and for there to sometimes be small delays (lag) caused by balancing efforts between multiple series.
I also appreciate the increased total throughput, and do not mind the lag that (as I see it) has been added a result. Myskaros prompted for expanding on a viewpoint that hinges on the fact JNC has slowed with increasing total volume; and I commented on that as a matter of correlation and speculative cause, even though I didn't share the same reaction to it as the comment triggering myskaros' prompt.
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@catstorm said in Does JNC have too much on their plate?:
Probably a good thing they didn’t get any new licenses. While it’s always nice to have new stuff j novel seems to be barely coping with what they have at the moment.
I haven't gotten that sense at all, but then none of $my_favorite_series have been delayed beyond the necessary lag of waiting for the Japanese release, negotiations, getting materials.
I'd be fine with a small amount of extra lag if more titles I want are added, especially if it keeps them out of the hands of Yen or ::shudder:: Slow Press. (Will we ever see 80K volume 2?)
Also, JNC needs to keep adding new titles to make up for older titles like Little Apocalypse reaching their (merciful) end of life.
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I find that Yen Press is fine, they're already catching up on some of the series that are/still is being fan translated.
Sword Art Online, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, The Devil is a Part Timer, The Asterisk War, No Game No Life, and Log Horizon had all either surpassed the fan translation, or are on the verge of surpassing them within a year.
Sol Press on the other hand... I can't defend them.
And they'll add more series to replace the ones that are either finished or on the verge of finishing. The translators will be free to take up new projects.
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@harmlessdave said in Does JNC have too much on their plate?:
I'd be fine with a small amount of extra lag if more titles I want are added, especially if it keeps them out of the hands of Yen or ::shudder:: Slow Press. (Will we ever see 80K volume 2?)
Ofc we will. As soon as Kaoru makes a potion that forces Slo Press to hand over 80k gold license to JNC. Or alternatively that Mitsuha hops over, purchases Slo Press and forces them to properly handle her biography.
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@village-idiot said in Does JNC have too much on their plate?:
find that Yen Press is fine, they're already catching up on some of the series that are/still is being fan translated.
Sword Art Online, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, The Devil is a Part Timer, The Asterisk War, No Game No Life, and Log Horizon had all either surpassed the fan translation, or are on the verge of surpassing them within a year.True, they usually manage a new volume every four months. That's not JNC speed but it's worlds better than Slow Press.
I was just thinking it would be silly to worry about JNC slipping a little once in a while when compared to an extra month+ wait per volume, every volume for titles published by Yen.
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Delays happen, its just an unfortunate reality any publisher will eventually have to deal with. Honestly the delays here have been minor at best compared to some publishers. Take Shield Hero for example where on the day volume 14 was set to be published it was announced that it was being pushed back from March to October. Compared to that any delay on here has been minor. Though I still wish Altina would get posted soon though since they never actually gave us a date for that I guess it can't really be late.
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