Now, don't go running to Bemmu.com too fast. They're not giving away manga to anyone; however, in a press release sent out on the 18th, the company has announced that it will be giving free copies of imported manga titles to well-established scanslation groups. Yeah, I know. This sort of movein America would allow the communists to win, and will never see the equal, but I have to ponder the issues that might arise. With scanslators have a stable reliable RETAILER through which to acquire their manga, I could see Japanese manga companies start to sit up and take notice a bit more, as it could lead to a larger amount of both scanslators and people who download, rather that buy manga. I would offer that American companies better their product, but free is free, you know? Hopefully it turns out for the better!

Full press release after the cut.

Tampere, Finland, February 18, 2006

In an effort to give something back to the manga community, Bemmu.com, a web store specializing in the import of Japanese language manga and Japanese music to Scandinavia and worldwide, will be considering applications to provide free copies of new manga to established scanlators.

Bemmu.com does not and will not assist in scanlation efforts in any way. The received books may be used in any way the receivers see fit. The applicant may name one or multiple series for which they wish to receive newly released books.

How to apply

Please send a free-form application by e-mail to manga@bemmu.com. The application should mention

- Name or alias of applicant
- Name of the scanlation group
- Position of the applicant in the scanlation group
- URL to group home page or to a list of previous releases
- ISBN of the first book in the series for which the applicant wishes to receive new releases for
- Full address where the new releases are to be sent
English-language site for bemmu.com can be reached at bemmu.com/e.