It’s been a long time coming for thousands of manga fans. After being ghosted by Digital Manga, Inc. (in fact, at times, it was probably easier to contact a real ghost) and then an apology, the publisher has announced they’re moving forward with their Kickstarters.
Banzai!
First up, Kimagure Orange Road, which is their oldest outstanding crowdfunding project. Shipments were slated to begin last week (mid-June). This would be about a year and a half behind their original goal. But hey, considering many people were calling this a complete loss, it’s better late than never, right? Plus, all the outstanding campaigns have been getting updates. While fans were often waiting months for any type of contact, some updates are coming in a matter of days.
That’s right. Days! And answer backers’ questions! Huzzah!
Even with shipments starting to be sent out, though, there are still other problems. First, the lower tiers are being sent out first, a slap in the face to people who laid out large sums of cash. Those top backers are also still waiting for a firm or better resolution since rewards will no longer be signed. There’s also reason to be concerned this “slow process” will be exactly that. After all, Under the Air took at least six months for everything to be shipped out, and plus additional time for replacement shipments. Although shipping took place while DMI was still financially struggling, that campaign still has 200 fewer backers and 1/3 the value of rewards.
“Okay, okay, we get it!” some of you are saying. I’ve discussed DMI’s situation twice already a couple of months ago. But as backers of Kimagure Orange Road and the other campaigns began discussing this news, someone came up with an idea: what if people put in another $20, $30 or so to help speed up the process?
In response, a representative from DMI replied the company takes full blame for not being able to fulfill rewards and do not want to take in more money from backers. In fact, getting additional funding wouldn’t go too far anyway.
This would hardly be the first time a company was trying to solicit more funds. This infamous campaign raked in $13 million and got their item on Amazon — a success in most cases — but asked for nearly $100 more from each backer to get their reward. Of course, a good number of Kickstarters collect additional monies after the fundraising period ends, but that usually is for shipping or additional items — and this is almost always stated in the original description. On the other hand, this would almost be like upgrading an item to express shipping. It’s tempting to ensure you don’t lose out on your item, but it shouldn’t be required in the first place.
Since DMI isn’t soliciting additional funds, though, this is a moot point.
Still, though, some people still feel like their money is being used to fulfill Kimagure Orange Road, even though they are waiting on a different manga. Wonder 3 backers have already been put on notice that as since they’re behind Kimagure Orange Road and Kodomo no Jikan, they’re going to be waiting for quite a while, and Psyche Delico is currently not slated until this December.
So while it’s wonderful that Kimagure Orange Road may finally be on the horizon, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here. DMI likely thought that Kickstarter would give them some sorely-needed cash, but they’re paying the price now. As prices rise, printing and shipping is only going to get more and more expensive, and they have four campaigns with over 500 backers each to please. They may not be taking responsibility by not asking for additional money to cover expenses, but backers shouldn’t breathe a sigh of relief until the day they get a package in the mail.
Which, hopefully, is only weeks away, not months or — gulp — even years.