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Digital Manga Guild to Translate Light Novels, Dōjinshi (Update 2)
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
The North American publisher Digital Manga Inc. (DMI) announced at its Digital Manga Guild panel at Fanime Con on Friday that the Digital Manga Guild (DMG) program will translate light novels and dōjinshi titles. For the light novel translations, localization groups will receive 15% of the revenue, which is similar to the current manga program. The groups will also receive US$50 minimum upfront due to the work required for translating light novels.
DMI also announced that it is partnering with Aksys Games and DLsite to localize dōjinshi titles offered in Japanese on DLsite. The collaboration will launch with the following five dōjinshi titles by Nao Yazawa (Wedding Peach, Moon & Blood):
- Itadaki! Panther
- Obakeyashiki e Irrashai
- Panic! Jin Jin
- Shinkū Chitai
- Vampire ni Goyōjin
The company also announced that the Digital Manga Guild will be localizing Mayumi Azuma's Erementar Gerade: Flag of Blue (Erementar Gerad: Aozora no Senki) spinoff manga series. The manga is currently running in the Monthly Comic Blade Avarus (Monthly Comic Avarus) magazine. DMI announced in February that it licensed Azuma's 18-volume Erementar Gerad series.
In June 2010, DMI revealed its plans for the Guild, which allows fans to translate, edit, and letter works legally with the permission of the original Japanese owners. Under the program, the guild members are credited and paid royalties from online purchases, and the works may be published in print if they prove to be popular.
DMI had announced in May 2011 that it acquired the first 487 manga licenses for the program, and the program launched later in 2011 with 23 titles.
Update: The Erementar Gerade: Flag of Blue spinoff manga series will be a digital-only release.
Update 2: Digital Manga reported on the sales of Digital Manga Guild's top five titles during the September-December 2011 quarter, DMG's first full quarter:
| Attacked on a Tiger's Whim by Mi3 | 485 copies |
| Tired of Waiting for Love by Kawaii Neko | 472 |
| The Rule of Standing on Tiptoe | 276 |
| Rainy Day Love | 229 |
| Healing Music | 191 |
Monthly revenues approached US$12,000 in January, with almost US$9,000 coming from Kindle. DMG is also receiving revenues from Barnes & Noble's Nook platform and Digital Manga's own emanga service. (The sales numbers from the iOS platform were not ready, so the preliminary January revenue numbers do not include iOS sales yet.)
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history