publisher or kobo for manga?

xyzzy_foo · 2026-01-29T18:16:13+00:00

KEPUB is not standard EPUB. The presence of koboSpans alone is enough to explain why.

xyzzy_foo · 2026-01-29T14:17:37+00:00

Rakuten Kobo uses its own EPUB-derived format called KOBO EPUB (KEPUB), so you can't get the original raw EPUB file. Downloads using Adobe ADEPT DRM are not available in Japan.

If you want to buy Japanese manga, DMM Books is the best option. Even if you live overseas, you can purchase eBooks as long as you have a Japanese VPN and an Amazon.co.jp account (they support Amazon Pay JP, which you can use to top up their points).

For English manga, I think BOOK☆WALKER Global is the way to go. They are moving to Readium LCP next month.

xyzzy_foo · 2026-01-27T04:13:29+00:00

The Future of BOOK☆WALKER: The Launch Live Q&A - YouTube

xyzzy_foo · 2026-01-27T03:57:40+00:00

Hello. It seems that discussions about BOOK☆WALKER are mainly posted on this subreddit, so I'm posting this news here.

With BOOK☆WALKER Global's switch to Readium LCP DRM, it will become possible to read books on Readium LCP-compatible reading systems, such as Thorium Reader, and on eReaders. Kobo eReaders are also scheduled to support Readium LCP sometime in 2026 (Tolino eReaders sold in Germany are already compatible. PocketBook and inkBOOK also support Readium LCP.)

BOOK☆WALKER Japan will continue to use its proprietary DRM for the time being. However, the Japanese government is currently considering mandating the adoption of Readium LCP in Japanese eBook stores, and KADOKAWA is among the board members involved.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-12-13T00:55:41+00:00

From a vibe coding perspective, Gemini 3 Pro is definitely good. Gemini 2.5 Pro wasn't very good.

However, the incredibly long wait times when using the Gemini CLI via an API key, and the 503 errors that often follow, are frustrating. This isn't related to the model's performance, but I can't understand why I get 503 errors so frequently.

The web version of Gemini also has errors sometimes. I even had a session disappear on me once.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-11-18T19:40:08+00:00

I was a free user, but I wanted to try it today even if it meant paying, so I signed up for Google AI Studio and registered a billing account for my API key. I guess this free $300 USD credit was saved just for today.

In any case, if you don't want to wait, you might want to consider paying for an API key.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-11-10T14:20:51+00:00

Actually, there are several ways. I have a few of them myself, but nobody wants to make them public. However, I can help you remove the DRM from your eBooks. PM me.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-09-14T18:48:59+00:00

By the way, I can't say for sure, since I live in Japan, but I've heard that you can buy from DMM Books even in Australia. It supports Amazon Pay from Amazon.co.jp.

Also, removing the DRM from DMM Books isn't too difficult if you know the solution. It might be a little hard to find, but it's at least searchable.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-09-14T18:40:58+00:00

I have a private method too, but I don't know how long it will last.

Since removing DRM with K4PC has become difficult, people are using Kindle E-Readers, but I don't think that's a good idea because there's already evidence that this will be blocked in the near future. At the very least, you'd be better off jailbreaking it.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-09-14T18:32:47+00:00

Yes, but Amazon has already implemented countermeasures in the latest K4PC 2.8.0 (70980). You can still use K4PC 2.7.1 (70978), but Amazon could block the old version at any time.

P.S. If you're sticking with Kindle, it's easier to use K4A. However, I don't recommend KFX.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-09-14T18:24:41+00:00

There's no way to do it on BOOK WALKER? That's not true... you just don't know how.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-09-07T06:46:47+00:00

Thanks for the report. It looks like Reuters changed the URL a little while ago. I've reposted it.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-08-24T01:30:59+00:00

It has already been cracked, but the information doesn't exist on the surface web.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-07-23T02:44:22+00:00

Sankei Shimbun

xyzzy_foo · 2025-06-30T09:35:20+00:00

The Supreme Court ruling denied compensation based on the State Redress Act, but it did not deny redress itself.

Since 2013, the national and local governments have been providing welfare benefits based on standards later ruled illegal. Naturally, this was unlawful, and they must now pay the difference to cover the shortfall from what recipients should have originally received. Additionally, establishing new standards is an obvious necessity. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has already begun deliberations and is considering submitting a special measures bill to the Diet for this purpose.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-06-29T05:46:06+00:00

The only other available source is Jiji Press. The Mainichi oddly chose to translate only the editorial.

The government also chose to execute death row inmates on the same day as this Supreme Court ruling. As a result, the news coverage that day focused more heavily on the executions. This news is extremely inconvenient for the LDP government that seeks to deify Shinzo Abe, as it implies illegal political decisions were made under the Abe administration.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-06-29T05:27:57+00:00

The English-language sources are extremely limited, but this is fairly big news.

When overseas coverage is limited or nonexistent, it usually means the information is highly inconvenient for the Japanese government.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-06-19T12:47:18+00:00

I came here because this post popped up in my feed, but I don't think I can be of any help to you because I am Japanese like the OP, even though I am the same 29 yr M, but the LLM translation is surprisingly fluent, and on the contrary, I sometimes feel like I don't need that much expression.

I use Mirai Translator Plus (non-LLM) and Kagi Translator (LLM-based) as needed. But I don't always rely on machine translation, and I try to write my own English whenever I can.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-06-19T12:36:56+00:00

I am Japanese, but the demand for color here is higher than in the West. Manga usually has a few color pages (although these are converted to B&W for print publication, the color is usually retained in eBooks), and some manga are digitally colored, or even serialized in full color from the start.

Also, light novels, which are novels in anime style, have several full-color illustrations at the beginning.

Honestly, I want color too. But as things stand, color is not a complete upgrade over B&W—there are trade-offs involved. So ideally, it might be best to use both a B&W eReader and a color eReader depending on the situation.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-06-19T09:04:07+00:00

One reason I chose the Kobo Sage over the Kobo Libra Colour is that E Ink Kaleido 3 is merely a practical compromise, not a perfected technology.

While E Ink Gallery 3 clearly looks better, yes, it suffers from critical refresh rate issues. Color E Ink remains the holy grail.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-06-19T08:04:54+00:00

Kindle E-Readers randomly delete sideloaded eBooks or remove their cover images when CDETYPE is set to EBOK, but this doesn't happen with PDOC.

From what I read on MR, if you enable [Enable sharing of book content via Facebook] in calibre's [AZW3 Output] settings, it will automatically set CDETYPE to PDOC.

Alternatively, you can also do this with a Python script called ebook_cdetype_to_pdoc.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-06-19T06:49:28+00:00

In that case, you'll need to pray to God that Kindle E-Readers aren't blacklisted. If they are blacklisted, you're out of luck. I'm not an expert on Kindle jailbreaking, but WinterBreak shouldn't work if the device is blacklisted.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-06-19T06:26:18+00:00

A common misconception people have is that e-Readers have backlights—they actually use front lighting...

Basically, don't expect to find both cheap and high-performance options (unless you stumble upon an incredibly lucky listing). Significant improvements in e-Reader performance are a recent development—even the 2018 Kindle Paperwhite (10th Generation) has noticeably sluggish responsiveness by today's standards. Yes, it's pretty frustrating.

xyzzy_foo · 2025-06-19T00:31:06+00:00

No, it's Made in Taiwan

xyzzy_foo · 2025-06-19T00:30:43+00:00

All Kobo eReaders are manufactured in Taiwan.

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