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[Yukimura]

Mangatraders received a letter (by snail mail no less) requesting we remove all series written/ owned by mangaka Rumiko Takahashi (reportedly the wealthiest mangaka in Japan).  We have complied with this request and removed the following series from Mangatraders:

InuYasha
Maison Ikkoku
Mermaid Saga
One-Pound Gospel
Ranma 1/2
RIN-NE A.K.A Kyokai no Rinne
Rumic Theater A.KA.
Rumic World Trilogy
Urusei Yatsura

In other, slightly better news, after around 2 years and some 3000 new series all (well 99.7%) of the series on MT now have non zero MT ratings.  The reason this is only slightly good news is because I have decided that I hate statistics and don't want to work on them anymore so have implemented a different but still rather lame 'rating' system to replace the previous even more lame 'rating' system.  In case you didn't know the MT Ratings are really MT Rankings, since relative rankings between series and 'Top Ten' lists are all most people seem to care about anyway.  Personally I don't see how you would think stuff like Naruto and Haou Airen can be compared on the same scale in a meaningful way.  In any case, the rating system is confusing, shameful, and ultimately just boils down to a popularity contest.

I will let you in on one little secret though, most of the rankings are pretty much equal if you look closely enough.  To create the rankings each series was given an aggregate score on a 1-100 scale.  However only one series could possibly get 100 and to do that it would have to be the highest ranked across all the criteria measured.  Of course getting this is next to impossible so the way things worked out of the 4,879 active series at the time of calculation only 133 had values above the 20-30 range.  The difference between any two ranks below about 100 is significantly smaller than the differences between many of the series closer to the top.  Does this mean anything?  Frankly, I have no idea, as I said, I hate statistics and don't want to think about them anymore.

In other, even better news, there are some major (at least in terms of the amount of work I put in) upgrades and new features on the horizon.  Unfortunately every time I feel like I'm done working I or someone else comes up with a decent idea that could be rolled into the upgrade and I have to push the release date back to implement it.  Hopefully that'll calm down soon and I'll be able to actually get the upgrades up for public use within the next week or two, but I've been saying that to myself for at least 3 weeks now so yeah...

In closing, go buy Rumiko Takahashi's new manga Rin-ne (or read it online for free since there's apparently  a website where you can do that legit now).  With her being the richest mangaka in Japan she's probably been hit much harder by the global recession than any of us poor working folk and needs our support if she's going to continue to eek out an existence in the harsh and cruel world of millionaires.

[VeloO]

cmon ! not InuYasha

[Rhyu]

I like the finishing sarcasm there

[Kiryna]

Ok, I don't like Rumiko very much (mostly because of the lame ending of Ranma), but I don't believe that anyone has to work for free, no matter how much money they own. I also don't believe that the fact that I can't pay for something give me the automatic right of getting it for free (hypocritical as it must sound). That being said, it's a shame for those great manga to be removed from the page.

[rogerx8888]

Oh come on!!!! i really liked the anime, so i just started to read the manga. i really dont  mind buying a manga but i live in India and people here dont even know what is manga let alone selling one. i couldnt also read the manga online cauz with my miniscule pocket money i can only afford very slow internet connection and it takes 1 minute to load each page, just cant sit on one place that long . well at least i completed Ranma now have to give up on Inuyasha. Anyway, cauz of this site i can read really good mangas, thank u very much for those. manga fans in India(believe me there are not many) are very gratefull to u.

[Morghus]

Good riddance and thanks for all the fish Takahashi. You produce shit, epic shit, but shit nonetheless.

And I don't think Takahashi herself is all that mad about it, it's probably the publishers that have a hard-on for the removal. Anyways, no loss there.

And new rating system, thanks Yuki <3

[matthe88]

LOOOL.. Well.. I dont care.. I have all 38 Manga Volumes by Ranma 1/2 and all 57 by Inuyasha at home xD

[drakenblade]

can we read the letter?
not like we're really missing out on anything if takash*ts junk is gone, all her stories are replicated hundreds of times already and somehow they expect us to pay for 30+ vols when the plot can be summarized in one sentence?

[weronique]

oh god...I  can´t see the point here...I mean, seriously, why  do they want mangatraders to remove them? Yeah, it´s true that mangatraders is the best site I know when it comes to manga but do they think that it can stop ppl? I´ve already finished 38 volumes of Inuyasha and now this...blah...
And I´m from Slovakia, it´s one of those countries when if u ask them "do u read manga?" the reply is usually:"wha...? you mean...that fruit???" So imagine my chances of buying any manga....*sniff*..

[Foxgod]

sry guys -.- U got to be kidding me
started downloading the whole thing yesterday and am now stuck in the middle
guess have to go now and buy it anyways

[blackpooza]

nothing of value was lost. 

[halberdian]

yeah, as a seinen manga reader, I have to agree that 'nothing of value was lost'
(it's fortunate that this event happen now; if it happened some years ago, my my)

[chichiri13]

Yays for a new rating system that's at least not as "lame" as the last one, but on the side, it's a not too bad of a loss now as halberdian paraphrased: better now then before definitely seeing as i already have most of her works completed ^_^ Double win-win.

[freebird02]

1. I think it's a shame that Takahashi's Mangas got deleted - although I don't like it in particular, but maybe someone does...
however, there is so much you can read, you won't miss it


2. Wow... there are even people from India and Slowakia? Manga really unites the world^^
I'm from Germany, by the way

[Kiddygrade]

It's cool. I understand why they've requested that and what you must do. As for the scale it may have to be redone...but that maybe more work for your end. I feel sorry for other mangas that lose out to the big know ones in ranking due to popularity contest or a ranking. But I see the scale you have now as okay. Well just keep the people of the site updated on what's going to be done. Later