@Bugs said in Volume 106 Predictions/Discussion:
As are Kin'emon, Denjiro, Kunoichi, Raizo, Kiku, Kappaman, Kaido's son, Princess Genocide, a lot of characters. Cutting out two others would not be a bad thing and give Carrot a better reason to take over Zou rather than the fact that those two just wanted an extended vacation.
I understand your concern, and I hope it's addressed as it should.
Post-TS One Piece has caused me to have such a visceral reaction to seeing the colour pink on female designs that I think Atlas and Lilith's colours make their design worse. Pink has just been so overused and I would be fine if just one of them had it, but both? Each of the other Punks has a different core colour so having pink twice is lame (although I think Lilith's jacket is purple which is probably meant to be her colour, but it's not really in focus here).
@redon This has to be one of if not the coolest promos ever done for a manga volume!
I'm in the camp of mild scepticism about the colours. There's a roughness here, a less-detailed quality than the final digital colouring. If you compare even just the colours here with the volume cover you'll see little discrepancies. Some of the details and highlights on Zoro's jacket are white on the cover and orange in the promo. The top of the main Labophase structure is blue on the cover (barely visible above Luffy's fist) and red in the promo. Look also at the chinstrap of Chopper's helmet and the number on Brook's coat.
I think this gives us a nice ballpark to start forming our mental images of the characters in colour. Most of them are probably close to what their final form will be, but we've seen big changes from the promo material before. The Where's Wally collab had wrong colours for serveral Numbers and a couple of the Tobi Roppo beast forms. Even the Vivre Card's coloured panels got Luffy's Beasts Pirates disguise and the style of Onigashima's interior wrong. Take it all with a grain of salt until something more certain arrives.
That said, I like most of the choices here. Pythagoras looks great, and if you replaced the darker pink in her hair with more of a violet you'd have almost exactly what I was picturing for Atlas from the start.
Huh.
It's a neat promo but I can't be the only one annoyed how they put Lilith and Atlas both in pink, in addition to the already-pink Bonney, right? Girls can wear other colors and pink feels like a weird choice for Lilith in particular.
Some corrections, via https://onepiece-log.com/blog-entry-2731.html
Vegapunk's "quasar" quirk added to a line that was missing it.
Inking on Lilith's gun and details on her bodysuit
The tongue.
"Former" qualifier added to Rocks Pirates.
Tweak to Shaka's dialogue, seems like something like a tense change.
Blood.
They unblued Shanks' berries!
@Captain-M said in Volume 106 Predictions/Discussion:
They unblued Shanks' berries!
That what they're calling it now?
@Cyan-D-Funk said in Volume 106 Predictions/Discussion:
@Captain-M said in Volume 106 Predictions/Discussion:
They unblued Shanks' berries!
That what they're calling it now?
The blue-me berries.
I am very sorry, they are certainly not calling them that but I saw damn stupid pun and I had to go for it.
Again, I am very sorry.
@access-timeco said in Volume 106 Predictions/Discussion:
@Captain-M said in Volume 106 Predictions/Discussion:
The tongue.
Why am I finding this so funny?
Because he is bleiping.
A scantily-clad Pandaman under the dust jacket (via twitter)
@Captain-M Pandawoman? Is this the first ever appearance?
@All-Fiction I think a Pandawoman was made for the Amazon Lily crowd scenes. Not sure if she's been seen since though.
No pics of the SBS pages yet?
@puffing-cinema EtenBoby posted some a couple days ago https://imgur.com/a/ybmA75a
Missing human Mogura and Law sword:
Aww, that is a cute mole.
Thanks! It seems there's a bit o trivia yet to be translated? I don't recall any info regarding the cat with a pencil and paper anywhere.
@puffing-cinema said in Volume 106 Predictions/Discussion:
Thanks! It seems there's a bit o trivia yet to be translated? I don't recall any info regarding the cat with a pencil and paper anywhere.
That's Josh, Edison's lab assistant.
The poster hasn't been released yet?
HQ digital cover
Poster Volume 106
English cover reveal - we've got an Egghead title banner!
Gonna be dumb if they don't apply this thing to vol 105 as well, but product images still haven't updated with it, so I'm losing hope.
Hold on, compare Viz's cover with the Japanese one. The background square is gone! You can see the map overlap all the way through the middle. What possible purpose could erasing that serve?
@Captain-M
Not only that, the background seems to have more detail, too.
It looks like a map to me, but who knows. I like the changes tbh.
What purpose, I don't know.
SW-3170-8630-8341
@The-Light-of-Shandora There's always been a map over the background, slightly different designs for the English and Japanese ones, but they've both had it. (the Japanese digital releases have plain colour backgrounds without the map). We just don't usually see this much of it because the central square blocks it out.
The original source of the Japanese background map has actually been located here. It's just a very old real world map, nothing exciting to reveal about One Piece's world.
Maybe it was a mistake erasing the background square? I also see no purpose, especially as that's part of Oda's original artwork. They do somewhat frequently zoom in or zoom out the image compared to the Japanese volumes, but I can't remember other instances of them simply erasing details from the Japanese cover.
I honestly wish Viz had never undertaken the whole 'arc name' business. Sometimes they change the background color if it clashes too much with the font color selected for a given arc (volumes 107, 92, 50). And even when the don't, it often just doesn't look very good. Like, the purple / pink color for the Egghead title / logo isn't gonna look very good with the orange & yellow of volume 107 for example. It's really a shame that those early Shonen Jump imprint titles were all given the same big ugly numbering format in the first place. Series which began publication from around 2010 forward simply mimic the style of their Japanese counterparts.
Alternatively, I think they should've just stuck with 'New World' for everything post-time skip. The gold / dark blue they chose was pretty neutral, which is ideal considering Oda's love for using a wide range of vivid color backgrounds. Not to mention, Oda chooses title colors for each volume which compliment his illustration and has even occasionally added details like the flaming jolly roger skull on the cover of volume 50. The English volumes just look worse for no reason other than 'consistency'. And it's like, I do get it. But at the same time, they were willing to republish the first 23 volumes with arc names and new logo colors. Why couldn't they have just dropped the big ugly numbers when they did the speed up in 2010 and republished the first 23 volumes with new covers that looked better rather than worse?
It's not like these issues and inconsistencies popped up suddenly after they caught up. There were volumes during the speed up itself that were adversely impacted - like volume 32 being labeled 'Water Seven' or volume 50 being labeled 'Sabaody'. Not for anything, but those arc titles are actually spoilers for volume only readers, not that it likely comprises a big part of their market. But the name 'Water Seven' shows up on a volume cover before they even leave Skypiea. In fact, something like 80% of that volume is set on Skypeia.
I think returning to individual arc name designations with Wano after 30 volumes of 'New World' was just shortsighted. Immediately, with volume 92, they were forced to alter the background color to better fit the new logo colors.
I've said before that I like the idea behind the arc name titles, just not the execution. One Piece is a big series, so breaking it down to give clear entry and exit points to chunk down the experience is undoubtedly helpful for new fans, returning readers who don't remember the exact length of every arc, and people trying to transition from the anime.
But they made stupid choices. From some titles outright starting at the wrong volume - vol 32 should be Skypiea, vol 50 should be Thriller Bark, vol 105 should be Egghead - to being unable to decide between arc and saga pre-timeskip - vols 51 to 60 should all be Paramount War - to whatever the hell went wrong with all of post-timeskip being "New World." I can't imagine the people signing off on those being actual, up-to-date fans of the series. They defeat everything the choice to add them in the first place had going for them.
I've linked it a couple of times before, but years ago I tried editing a "corrected" version of the Viz titles, at least to what I saw the ideal version to be:
I'd have to do some more edits if I wanted to bring it up to date now. VIz stole my Dressrosa colours for Egghead! I would maybe have gone with a chrome silver for the main colour, and either a matrix neon green or electric blue for the secondary colour for that techy feel.
The reason Sabaody, Impel Down and Paramount have their own titles is that this is where the story was at when they began this practice (the first half of 2010, during late Marineford). They had no hindsight yet to designate an title yet to the collective arcs.
I think that's a fundamental issue with the whole arc naming system. Unless they keep the publication well behind the Japanese release, they're really limited in their ability to consistently title the arcs or sagas on the volume cover. I think that's why I didn't mind the catch all 'New World' for everything post-time skip.
While I do agree that Captain M's designations are certainly more accurate, I also still personally just don't love the idea of a consistent color scheme on the volume cover for an entire story arc. It's virtually impossible to choose a set of colors that will work with every volume in a given arc. I could see it working on the spines, but on the cover itself, I really wish they stuck with Oda's title colors and did away with the big obnoxious numbers which often obscure part of the artwork in the bottom left corner.
Plus, I wish they printed the pandaman covers inside the volume. Not sure why they don't do that.
For me, the perfect printed edition of One Piece would be the size / format of the VIZ Sig volumes like 20th Century Boys, with the folded flaps on the cover. Print Oda's author notes where they would be on the dust jacket of the Japanese volumes. Pandaman covers inside on an internal page.
The VIZ sig have a slightly larger page size and are much more flexible to open & read - much less gutter loss. Plus, much higher paper quality than the tankoban size volumes, which is way more resistant to yellowing. Like, night and day difference. So much so that it's almost inexplicable the price differential isn't greater. The Viz sig volumes are not only larger and have better covers, but the paper they're printed on is way higher quality than the standard size volumes.
And then, ideally, like some of said Viz Sig editions, we'd have internal color pages.
Volume covers would closely match the style of the Japanese counterparts, with modest numbering that doesn't obscure Oda's art. Title and background colors completely consistent with the Japanese equivalents.
Honestly, I would've preferred this to a big omnibus re-release because single volumes are easier to hold and read.
@Kaiolino I get that, it's one of those things like how the pacing for the anime is dictated by the release model laid out for it two and a half decades ago. You understand why it's there, but that doesn't make it not suck.
@StrawHatJedi Going against the grain and what publishers would realistically do, I want big, hefty omnibuses, deluxe editions like Berserk and Vinland Saga are getting, and a full colour release with a revised translation. I don't care about portability, I've got a big couch where I can sit and read with it open on my lap. Price and marketability mean it's never actually gonna happen, but it would still be nice.
@Captain-M I'd also be very happy with a Berserk style deluxe edition. Those are surprisingly light for their size and very easy to read. I'd like a Berserk style deluxe edition for the original black & white manga.
For the full color manga, I guess something like the Marvel / DC type omnibuses could be cool.
I really like the curved spines of the Berserk deluxe editions. It's very comfortable to hold, especially compared to the 3 in 1 Viz Big. For those editions, the size & weight aren't so much the issue as the shape of the spine. At least, that's been my experience. They're not easy to hold and open at the same time.
I'd be very happy if Viz ever does anything like the Berserk deluxe editions for One Piece, though it's probably very unlikely for the reasons you said. I'm honestly very surprised there hasn't been any sort of deluxe re-release for their biggest sellers like Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Bleach, all of which are finished at this point.
Generally it seems Viz copies deluxe formats from Japan. They don't typically create new editions as Darkhorse did with the deluxe Berserk volumes.
Viz did release deluxe hardcovers for Fullmetal Alchemist based on the Japanese fullmetal editions.
JoJo's Bizarre adventure has also been treated pretty well - and interestingly, as far as I understand, the Jojonium releases in Japan stopped at Part 3 in Japan, but Viz made new editions for Diamond is Unbreakable and beyond.
Maybe some hope they could do something similar with other series? I guess the big difference is that there was no existing print run of JJBA in English and it would've been too big of a downgrade to suddenly switch to the tankoban volumes for Part 4 after the Jojonium editions.
Viz also recently seems to have dropped publication of Dragon Quest: Dai's Adventure, which was a bit surprising. They really hadn't dropped any major releases in recent years since the Dragon Ball full color editions stopped. Before that, I think Gintama and Reborn are the only other series I remember them dropping completely.
I bring it up mostly in relation to the full color editions. Shueisha did print physical editions of the entire series of Dragon Ball full color in Japanese. Viz started with the saiyan arc instead of the first volume and stopped at Freeza. I can only assume that they were disappointed by the sales of those 8 volumes and chose not to move forward with Cell and Buu.
It's really unfortunate, but if even Dragon Ball couldn't sell, I'm not confident we'll ever see them try a print run for any other series.
As far as I know, there haven't been any physical print editions of the other digitally colored editions in Japan, despite them existing for One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, etc.
They printed Part I of Naruto digitally colored in Italian, but actually split each volume in 2, with each at about 100 pages, more like a marvel / DC trade paperback format.
I'd love any printed edition of the digitally colored OP volumes. The only thing that gives me even a little hope is the fact that Viz is now beginning to print some extra material for One Piece - with Shokugeki no Sanji, the two Ace volumes, and Wanted all coming this year alone. I can only assume this has something to do with the success of the live action series.
I really, really hope the next season does even better and keeps this momentum going. And then, if 'The One Piece' can bring in a new audience, we might really see Viz start to go all out. If a wider, mainstream audience starts to get into the series, it really would be the ideal time to begin printing a new edition.
Particularly, now it seems like there's real incentive for Viz to drop 'Zolo'. Mainstream audiences brought into the One Piece fold through Netflix will all know him as Zoro. Ironically, they were forced to change the name for 4kids way back in 2004 and now, 20 years later, mainstream audiences will wonder why Viz's translation doesn't match the most popular, mainstream version of the story accessible to wide audiences. Time for that updated translation.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jimbei, Carrot, Vivi, Smoker
"ONE PIECE, IT EXISTS" - The Great Pirate Edward Newgate
@StrawHatJedi Yeah, the only way Viz does their own big editions aside from copying kanzenbans is just omnibusses that mash a number of regular editions together. Even the post-Jojonium Jojo hardcovers are just 2-in-1s. I'd like to see more editions designed with starting and finishing on the same chapters arcs do in mind. More flexibility to end where it makes sense to end rather than being constrained to the old batches of ten.
I say this every time it comes up, but Viz trying to pilot colour editions with Dragon Ball was an awful choice. By the time those were coming out, there were already individual volumes, box sets, Vizbigs and a new 3-in-1 omnibus set starting. If you wanted Dragon Ball, you had Dragon Ball. No one was putting cash down for a set of more expensive single volumes that would take years to come out if they had continued. Every other option was better. If people are going to invest in those things, they need to be omnibus format, and probably have some other selling point like an updated translation.
Splitting volumes in half like that Italian edition sounds like the only way a release could have been handled worse than Dragon Ball haha.
But you're right, Viz's investments are reassuring. The next thing I'm holding my breath for after the current announcements would be some of the old databooks, but any hope of the old translations being refreshed is appreciated.
Data books would definitely be cool. I wonder if they would consider binding the Vivre Cards together into a book since they have some of the most up to date information?
I'd guess maybe that's something that could only happen once the Vivre Cards are complete though. Which won't happen until after the series ends most likely.
In the meantime, the older data books would be cool though. I just hope they wouldn't consider them too outdated to publish. Data Book Green in particular had a lot of unique info and concept sketches.
You also make good points about the full color Dragon Ball volumes.
I wonder how print editions of full color Naruto & Bleach would fare now that those series have concluded. I think too the Dragon Ball digitally colored editions were poorly marketed. I didn't even know about them until I happened to see a copy at Barnes & Noble and I'm usually following Viz's release schedule pretty closely. Not to mention, the covers really didn't do those volumes any favors. They didn't stand out at all and from what I remember, at least at my bookstore, because of the size / format, they were always mixed in with the American comics in the display stand rather than on the manga shelves.
It's purely speculation, but even from that standpoint, many manga readers may not have even found those volumes easily.
By comparison, I think One Piece readers are way more aware of the digitally colored editions. It's just a different time in anime / manga fandom now. The digitally colored panels are used in all sorts of promotions, youtube videos, etc.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jimbei, Carrot, Vivi, Smoker
"ONE PIECE, IT EXISTS" - The Great Pirate Edward Newgate
@StrawHatJedi A Vivre Card compilation would be awesome, especially with all that colour art. They'd have to do it in volumes anyway, the number of cards already out would be a pretty hefty book on its own.
And yeah, it's hard to gauge the current relevance of the old databooks. All the stuff I know from them comes from paraphrased summaries and bits transcribed to wikis, without a previous full translation there's no way to say how well they've held up.
I guess Naruto and Bleach would run into the same problem of convincing people who already have the set to double dip, especially considering their length. As far as I know (though I'm not in the fan communities for either of those) their official translations aren't as polarising as One Piece's, so a fix-up job wouldn't be as much of a sell.
But anything they could do would be better than the Attack on Titan colour volumes I've seen floating around. A "best of" with half a dozen chapters out of context, out of order, and not even looking particularly good in the format. Yuck. I hope no one's taking that as an example.
@Captain-M Yeah, I guess I was thinking the only reason they would need to wait on the Vivre Cards is because they're numbered. With the Japanese edition, you can swap the order as you see fit, but if they were bound together in a book, they'd need to be ordered in a way that makes more sense. As far as I'm aware, Oda has left gaps in the numbering, so it's not as easy to just bind them together as it would be otherwise. But my understanding could aslo be skewed in that I have bought the Vivre Cards, but can't read them.
All the color art, plus all the original concept sketches would be great to have printed in a readable format though.
I'd still love to have all the old data books translated regardless of whether the information is outdated. I'd hope there's a market. Maybe it's just a matter of how they're labeled? Like 'East Blue Reader Guide' or something. I dunno. I feel like there's a way they could make it work.
It's clear that they're finally interested in putting out more ancillary content with multiple side releases coming out this year alone. My guess is that the Law and One Piece Heroines novels will be next. Easiest thing for them to translate. There are also some of the spinoff manga they could release. I've seen that done for other series like Demon Slayer, Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, and Naruto.
I guess the older data books (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Deep Blue are the five I know about) would precede Vivre Card compilations. They could always save a Vivre Card book for sometime after the end of the series, though I'd hate to wait that long as I personally think we've still got a long way to go (I'm not upset at that part; The longer OP goes, the better. I don't want to say goodbye).
Good points regarding Naruto and Bleach. I liked both series for the most part, but haven't been engaged with either fanbase in a very long time. Not since the MSN forum days when there was a more heated rivalry between Naruto & One Piece fandoms in particular. I guess I was using them more as a benchmark because they were so successful in the US market.
I'm a bit torn because I want both a deluxe edition of the original black & white manga as well as a print edition of the digitally colored volumes. Even one of the two seems rather unlikely, but both seems downright impossible.
It's interesting to me that the budget omnibus editions run so close to the tankoban format volumes. They're only 5 or 6 volumes behind. They're much cheaper, but don't seem to adversely impact sales of the standard volumes. There is a pretty stark difference in quality, but I guess it demonstrates that different editions can run simultaneously. I mostly say this because I wonder if a deluxe edition would actually cut into sales, especially considering they'd be starting 100 volumes behind. If two different anime adaptations of One Piece can air simultaneously, along with a live action Netflix adaptation, it seems like it could work.
I'd also say that interest in the East Blue and Baroque Works sagas are going to be at an all time high over the next few years between the Netflix series and 'The One Piece'. Just makes me think this would be the best time to begin a re-release, rather than wait until the manga concludes. By that point in time, the Netflix series and the new anime could be well past the East Blue / Baroque Works. Less synergy so to speak.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jimbei, Carrot, Vivi, Smoker
"ONE PIECE, IT EXISTS" - The Great Pirate Edward Newgate
@StrawHatJedi I feel like for a compiled Vivre Card book, they could potentially just cut the numbers. I know they're a big feature of the original set, but they're secondary to the info and art. Even without that, I'm pretty sure at least the East Blue and Alabasta characters are fully released, which speaks to your point about the live action putting those arcs in the spotlight.
And Viz are willing to skip over databook volumes they don't think are relevant. The recent Hero Academia one they put out is the second Japanese databook, but you wouldn't know it aside from a throwaway reference to the previous book in an author comment.
As an alternative, the One Piece magazine volumes are a lot more recent and could be a fun addition to the collection.
I agree that the Law and Heroines novels are the most likely next stop though. Which is fine, each new release fills in the OP bookshelf a little more and they're basically all things that would have been a pipe dream a dozen years ago when I first started collecting and OP sat in the shadow of Naruto and Bleach in the English-speaking world.
I'm a bit torn because I want both a deluxe edition of the original black & white manga as well as a print edition of the digitally colored volumes. Even one of the two seems rather unlikely, but both seems downright impossible.
I feel the same way. I'd invest in either or both if they actually happened. Hell I'd probably face the shipping costs for a Japanese printed colour edition if it was happening.
It's definitely hard to say at what point alternate formats start to cannibalise each other, The budget omnis might only be five or six volumes behind, but even that's over a year and a half's worth of releases on the current schedule, so they're not quite nipping on the regular release's heels.
We'd probably need an insider to chime in to know for sure how the numbers line up and how safe Viz has been playing it.
