Written by Shiggins
Something for readers to digest.
So a friend asked me what the big difference between the two really is, and it started quite the discussion. What better reason did I need to write up an article about it, and ponder which of the two is preferable for long and short-term reading? Which is more helpful for us, the reader, and for the story itself? Does it even matter? (Yes, it actually does.)
Before we start, I should point out I'm using the term "monthly releases" flexibly here. Some magazines release new chapters every 3 weeks, and some take longer than a month, but we're counting them as monthly releases because it's not good to be too finicky with the wording.
Obviously, we all have our favourite series that are released at different times, with amazing translators and artists helping to give us the chapters to read A.S.A.P before we buy them in volume in the shops because we're good fans who support the arts and the artists. We read them, we review them, and we love them. But is there an advantage to each release worth talking about, or does it not matter in the slightest and we should just move on with our lives and start trying to enjoy football? *cue obnoxious laughter*
The most common weekly releases of manga are those from the famous Shonen Jump, such as One Piece, Black Clover, Shokugeki no Soma and The Promised Neverland. Hunter x Hunter would be on this list, but it's literally been on hiatus more than it's not, so we'll just have to sit back and cry into our body pillows until it finally finishes. Of course, there are others but those are the first ones that spring to mind for the majority.
As for monthly releases, they tend to come from other Japanese magazines and that gives a bit more of variety in style and presentation. UQ Holder, Black Butler and Fairy Tail 100 Years' Quest are all monthly releases, and all of them are vastly different from one another, although this is due to their magazines and not necessarily the release schedule.
What immediately stands out between weekly and monthly releases is that the latter tends to be longer, as it should be. Weekly manga have less time to work and less time to fill, so people don't need to wait too long for their next instalment. If readers get 14 pages, they don't have to be disappointed because they know they'll be getting another chapter in 7 days' time. Monthly on the other hand has the exact opposite, where they need to make sure people are getting a months' worth of content, or else the ensuing disappointment will be all the more visceral. In all honesty, this can be quite disastrous for a story.
I think a perfect example of the problem with monthly releases is Black Butler's cricket match, set during the Public School Arc. The arc itself lasts 4 volumes, 19 chapters, which isn't a problem if the content is constantly growing and more is happening. However, the cricket match is quite boring, even with the manga treatment of over-the-top characters and style. It lasts 7 chapters, which sounds fine for a weekly manga, but for a monthly manga is at least 7 months of cricket! 7 months?! I wouldn't be invested in a real cricket match for 7 minutes, let alone 7 months!
Stuff like this happens constantly, and it's fairly draining. Fights feel like forever, drama goes on for weeks, characters take forever to change. Natsu's fight with Mercuphobia felt like a massive drag by the end, which I'm convinced is because of how fast Fairy Tail fights used to be, even though the battle itself wasn't that much longer. If Dragon Ball had been a monthly manga, the fight between Goku and Frieza would have taken years. If you want a non-manga comparison, then think about Arrested Development's most recent season. Do you still give a shit about plots they started in season 4? I know I don't.
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| Side note: I effin' miss Bleach. |
Speaking of paper, it's time to address what is usually seen as the ultimate advantage of a monthly release; The art. Due to the extra time provided, monthly manga tends to resemble a far more completed project, rather than being one draft away from perfect like many weekly releases do. Continuity errors, forgotten details... and one can never forget the pitiful pages that Togashi has brought out in the past when he was extra-stressed or ill. For all we know, he could have been more successful with the extra time, like UQ Holder has.
Another advantage, although it could be seen as a disadvantage in some ways, is that the series is never too big when monthly. A monthly manga doesn't have time to waste on useless arcs, and can be far more appealing to those looking for a quick read in the long-term. If I tried to get a friend to read One Piece, I'd have to tell them it has reached nearly 1000 chapters, and that's a number that can scare away a lot of people before they even look at the pages. On the other hand, I can point to a monthly series of 150 chapter, and they won't be hating quite yet.
Personally, I'll always be a supporter of weekly over monthly, if I was forced to choose. Which I'm not, so I'll be going for both. In the long-term, reading a series that has already finished, monthly does tend to provide a bigger payoff, but in the present the weekly releases provide constant entertainment at a regular basis, while the gap between monthly chapters can be excruciating. Think of the worst cliffhangers out there. Waiting too long is just miserable! (Hello Sherlock!)
Which do you prefer? Which manga do you read? Comment below!
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| I'll review this eventually. Need to reread the colossal opening chapter a few more times before I start. |
Shiggins:[Admin]
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Born under the stars of the Dark Gods, Shiggins owns the power of the Great Eye and is utterly magnificent in his omniscience. If you dare to discover more about someone as great as him, then go ahead. And to all my friends and family members, YOU are wrong and I should be disappointed! Not the other way round!,. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/
Honestly, for me it depends on the series and what the author does with it.
ReplyDeleteA series like Fairy Tail with it's fast paced action is better off weekly.
FMA was also in the same genre but the focus wasn't on the action as much and a lot more complicated stuff going on in the background that would most likely have ended in an info dump in a weekly series. This way, it had much more time to breath.
Then there are series with self-contained stories and then it also depends on how you want to approach it.
Have a good pace to wrap up the whole thing in a monthly chapter like Natsume's Book of Friends? Go for it.
Want to write a mystery story and not give the solution away in the same chapter it was introduced like in Detective Conan? Ok, but you'll end up with at least one recap page.
Personally, I think the more you want to make your audience think about your work, the longer you should give them between chapters and a monthly release can keep your work from looking bloated or full of fillers (Looking at you, Conan)
That is a good point, the pacing being a major part of the release schedule, and the use of a good mystery. Of course, the downside for writers in terms of mystery is you have to hope that your readers are patient enough and that you're a good enough writer for them to wait as long as they do and still have a decent payoff. If I waited several months to find out it was my twin brother all along, I'd be a bit peeved off. (He's a useless brother that doesn't exist...).
DeleteSo I definitely agree with you, while also adding on that the writer themselves needs to be prepared to make it worth the wait. And if it is a monthly series, be prepared for people to forget a lot of details over that time.
Also, thanks for reading!
Nice article.
ReplyDeleteWill you make reviews about retro animes like Kinnikuman or Black Clover?
Thank you!
DeleteI've never sat down and watched Kinnikuman, but it is something I've always considered. Might be worth a watch and review.
As for Black Clover... I'll level with you. I read it recently and thought it was the most boring manga ever. I didn't get far, and I've been assured it gets better later on, but I was so bored... It felt so unoriginal and uninteresting to me. Again, I know it gets better later but I just didn't want to wait that long anymore.
hey is ther any limits for words?
ReplyDeletei mean how many word should a weekly manga have?
and what about monthly?
sry for bad en
I watched Jibaku Shonen Hanako Kun when it aired out as anime. Obsessed with it, decided to go see the manga, to see what happened later... I hate to be “up to date” with stories, so I left time pass so I could read more chapters.... it has been 2 years, today I realized it’s monthly and that means that I only got 24 CHAPTERS, what can I say? I need so many more, how do people wait a month? What do you do in between????
ReplyDelete