Oh, boy! Hello again, friends, and welcome back to This Week in Anime. There are definitely some stories worth talking about this week, some that are just overall interesting. With that being said, let’s get into it.

Mangaka Takashi Yoshida Criticizes Publishing Industries Response To Piracy

Scanlation sites that post manga chapters online have become a huge issue for traditional Japanese Publishing companies that generally make their money through the sale of volumes. A declining sales rate of physical manga over the past few years has lead many to believe that these scanlation sites are to blame. Independent Mangaka Takashi Yoshida, however, has a problem with the way that many established publishers are blaming these sites for their declining sales. “I think they shouldn’t crush pirated versions, but as businesses, they should compete to win. Taking legal measures and shutting them down is completely meaningless and counterproductive,” said Yoshida, in an interview with Huffington Post Japan.

Yoshida argues, like others before him, that the way to increase sales is to embrace the modern market. He suggested publishers create more of an online presence and that physical volumes should not be sealed inside plastic wrap, so shoppers can see what they like, and then potentially buy it.

By in large, Yoshida is in the right place, and his criticisms speak to a problem with many Japanese companies: lack of innovation. Japanese businesses have, for the most part, stagnated, and are no longer the economic world players that they once were. Business in the 21st century is going to require 21st-century strategies, including having more of a presence online, where most people already are, as well as a more flexible business model.

Btooom Manga Set to have Two Different Endings

It was reported earlier this week that the popular manga “Btooom” centered around a group captured and forced to fight using grenades on an otherwise deserted island will actually have to different canon endings. Two versions of the latest volume of the manga will ship out soon, one with the “light ending” which will take the story down the friendship arc, and one with the “dark ending” which will culminate into the truth arc. The idea likely came from mangaka Junya Inoue’s background in video game direction.

Having a story outside of video games with multiple endings is actually a really cool idea. It gives the reader the ability to explore more of the potential canon of a story and allows them to basically choose what part of the story they like more. And it is an interesting enough gimmick that it will probably make Inoue some more money.

Square Enix Releases Updates On Kingdom Hearts 3 Progress

Many have been waiting for a proper update on the status of Kingdom Hearts 3 since the release of the trailers detailing the Toy Story world back in July of 2017, and now Square Enix has finally released a few more updates. There are quite a few so you can read them all here for yourself.

I know this isn’t particularly anime related, but I’ve had a bad week and Kingdom Hearts is kind of pissing me off. The thing is, I’m going to play Kingdom Hearts three, no matter what. I know many are tired of the franchises continually stalling and making the canon of the universe much more complicated, and I certainly don’t blame you for giving up on the series if you have, but, for me, I just enjoy them way too much, and It would be really nice if I could just have a definite release date. Until that happens, it is a lot easier to just keep it out of my mind.

What do you guys think about these stories? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and bye for now, Friendos! Also, if like what your reading and want to support more then consider supporting The Aniwriter on Patreon. It would be a huge help.