Worlds Within Worlds...

We're seeing quite a lot of threads lately on everything from people waiting for trades to the future of the market. This thread asks if Dirk's assertion of fans buying more variety can really work. This is one case where I partially disagree with Dirk, in that I don't think the blame can be put entirely on consumers (or more accurate to his essay, that they are the only possible salvation). Some interesting aspects get brought up (thought not much really new), and I can't help posting myself and ending with some optimism for the future...

It is interesting to see how introspective everyone is lately. I guess it is that time of the year, but we also seem to really be in a transitionary mode. People have been yelling about changes for years now, but they finally seem to be showing up in visible ways. I'm just glad to see discussion on these topics.

I remember bringing up manga like a year ago (or maybe more like 8 months ago) and people still going "Tokyowho? Can't be THAT big a deal since I haven't even heard of the company before". There is still a lot of arguing about particulars of manga success and what should or shouldn't be copied, but at least a lot less people have their heads totally in the sand and have some awareness now that stuff is going on...