[Haggis]

I've got mixed views on scanlations.

Why I won't read them: The translations are often really poor, also reading from a book is far better than reading from a computer screen. And yes I want to support the publishers. Companies like Vertical Inc, released more Tezuka manga based on the sales of Buddha which was good. So I actually am very against scanlations. However...

Why I will read them: Because good manga can get cancelled, such as shadow star (Narutaro). The thing that annoys me is that Dark Horse went to great efforts to stop people reading scanlations of a series that they want you to buy, yet have no intention of ever completing. (I spent a lot of money on the anime and manga, which make no sense unless you manage to get hold of the scanlations)

So you are right in saying that downloading scanlations is wrong, illegal etc. but let's say I buy 10 volumes of 20th Century Boys at £100, and then they cancel it. It's a hell of a lot of money to spend on half a story. So I'm only buying it because there is a scanlation. Without it, the only sensible thing to do is start buying a manga once they've released every volume, but then they'll cancel it because nobody is buying it. (Obviously this argument only applies to certain manga, many series can still be enjoyed if not completed)