Manga men

Isn't reading the whole thing without buying it the same thing as shoplifting?

Japan's future leaders.

Japan's future leaders looking for Creative Ideas and reading Manga.

I think that is a cool pic.

I see only one mask here.

Must piss the staff off so much

The guy with the mask looks like he has a shopping bag hanging from his ear. That's one thing I love about book shops here, You can loiter all you want and you will only get nervous smiles in return. Need to put a sign up "Read it, you bought it!"

could we have some chairs and free coffee out here now please !!

That not as bad though as the girl who works at the family mart down the street from me. I see her there on her days off standing there reading all the magazines like these guys are.

Just like Borders =[

What a bunch of cheapskates. What is a manga, 300 yen tops?? I imagine I'd do the same thing if these shops carried the New Yorker.

Actually the shops dont mind people doing this. They usually put the manga racks in front of the windows so that there are always customers in sight, making the shop look busier than it may actually be. This is done for security reasons. Especially in 24hr conbinis.

Japan's future leaders.

more like future losers

The problem is that there is no one to tell these guys to GROW UP

What a very boring picture of very boring people.

I think that is a cool pic.

Oh come on. This photo could have been taken in ANY combini in ANY part of Japan. I cannot think of one occasion when I've walked into one of these stores where there wasn't at least one person standing and reading. At least in this pic no one was caught with their hand down their pants having 'a quick one' before going back home or catching the next train.

As for the Borders comparison, well, they DO provide seats and coffee shops. When shopping there I always avoid the too-well-thumbed-and-dirtied books and magazines.

Agreed, people need to grow up.

Now this is one subject which makes my blood boil. When I go to Tsutaya or 7-Eleven to buy my usual magazines, I have to negotiate a course around a bank of idiots using the magazine and book section as their local library. Why don't the convenience stores and bookstores do something about this ? Don't they realise that whilst they don't want to upset their 'customers' (even though these 'customers' never spend any money), it is bothering the paying customers who want to buy something ? In the UK convenience stores put signs up and will come and tell you not to read the magazines and books in no uncertain terms.

This is a country where instructions for tax forms can be found in Manga format.

The enormity of uniformity and conformity is a deformity.

Unlike the rest of you sourpusses, I think this is one of the really nice aspects of Japan--that a person can just take a breather from their busy day and stand around in public reading quietly. It's one of the few things that won't cost money, you can buy a manga if you wish, and yes, it does make the the conbini look and feel busier. It's social and it is nice. Just cause it is not your way does not make it wrong or childish. Sheesh.

stand around in public reading quietly

They can sit on the train just as quietly.

one of the few things that won't cost money

Pirating off the internet is free, but that doesn’t make it right.

It's social

I don’t see anyone socializing.

Mmmmh JT gives it's gaijin readers just the daily dose of stuff to complain about!

"Unlike the rest of you sourpusses, I think this is one of the really nice aspects of Japan--that a person can just take a breather from their busy day and stand around in public reading quietly. It's one of the few things that won't cost money, you can buy a manga if you wish, and yes, it does make the the conbini look and feel busier. It's social and it is nice. Just cause it is not your way does not make it wrong or childish. Sheesh."

For your information, convenience stores are never quiet. There are also customers there who want to actually buy stuff. If you want somewhere quiet and free then there are these places called libraries. It's not nice, it's just freeloaders taking advantage of the Japanese custom of not upsetting potential customers. And it pisses-off those of us who want to buy something.

I agree with northlondon, though for slightly different reasons. While I like the fact that you can loiter a little bit in a store without a rude employee asking what you're doing, I hate the fact that I cannot get to the back of the store thanks to the aisle being taken up by people who can't afford a 300 yen comic and have their massive school/hand bags taking up the space of a second or third person.

And besides that, last time I wanted to buy a magazine it was covered in greasy fingerprints and the back cover torn a few centimeters. They had no more copies, and would not give me a discount (I ended up not buying it, and assume they ended up tossing it, so complete loss if that's so).

Ranger_Miffy: "It's social and it is nice."

I've got a bit of news for you... a bunch of individuals crowded together reading manga is NOT 'social', or at least, not to anyone who's not a zombie.

smithinjapan, I think they return the damaged magazines together with the clean ones that were left over to the publisher. So there's no damage to the book store or convenience store. That's why they don't give discounts.

I hate people blocking my way as in the pic, so I say "Sumimasen" and make way to get my magazine.

Japan, the land of the self-centered zombies. Talk about a dumbing down of society.

TSRnow: I should have known that, thanks. But it still stinks when it's the only copy left.

As for saying 'sumimasen', it often works, but doesn't when they're crammed in there with bags hanging off their backs. Oh well.

manga = brain dead

It's not nice, it's just freeloaders taking advantage of the Japanese custom of not upsetting potential customers. And it pisses-off those of us who want to buy something.

Jeez, talking about mountains out of molehills. I've never been bothered by this practice at all.

Also, if you read them at the conbini, you don't have to throw them out later. Now as we well know foreigners don't care about how they throw out their trash, but Japanese do. So there!

I love combini !!! There is no combini here !!

Now this is one subject which makes my blood boil. When I go to Tsutaya or 7-Eleven to buy my usual magazines, I have to negotiate a course around a bank of idiots using the magazine and book section as their local library. Why don't the convenience stores and bookstores do something about this ?

Because even though it makes people like you "boil blood" for such minor things, you still continue to buy from Tsutaya or 7-Eleven. Stop whining.

A nephew of mine living in Germany loves manga and can draw beautiful/stunning manga. Like a professional manga artist. But, his looks? He looks a real idiot, punk. Like some young guys in Japan. The interesting part? is, he calls me "Manga Uncle," just because I am living in Japan! When I ride the trains in Japan, I am surprised to see Japanese men reading vulgar manga infront of women and children. These people are corrupting/destroying the society.

Manga Boys is more like it. I always imagine that these guys are just loner-geeks or bored & broke students with nothing better to do. A little sad actually. It doesn't really bother me but I don't understand why convenience stores put up with people loitering and reading comics they haven't bought yet. And I don't really understand why adults are attracted to 'reading' manga but each to his own, I suppose.

"I say "Sumimasen" and make way to get my magazine"

You don't have to say sumimasen, all you have to do is wriggle your way between the clods in your way, ha ha ha.

Aren't there many types of manga? For all ages? My teenage daughter loves manga and we also love borders. We do thumb through the books, but only so i can make sure they are age appropriate (no fan service-thank you)before i PURCHASE them. Manga fills the gap in the american comic book market when it comes to girls. Im sick of superheroes and archie comics!!!!

could be worse, they could be playing pachinko.... bunch of cheapskates, buy it or bugger off and stop blocking the paying customers from getting past or trying to get a magazine they actually want to buy themselves. Put all these mags in plastic wrap like the porno mags and eradicate this behaviour for good.

If it weren't for anime, like NOIR, Chobits and Sumurai Champloo, my exposure to Japanese would be relagated to old WWII films, or worse. Because manga is the source, long live manga.