My Farewell to Red Hawk, Manga, and our Readers

[Ichibukai]

Those of you who have been following us for a long time might recall that I retired once before only to return after several months—this time I believe the departure will be more permanent. My retirement has been planned for a long time and in fact was supposed to happen earlier. After my return, I stayed out of the spotlight and operated mostly behind the scenes to avoid undue attention. The establishment of Red Hawk NEO was my last major contribution to the group as a leader. I have drifted in and out of activity since then in order to see the group through the recent upheavals in scanlation, but now that things are calmer I am finally ready to make my exit.

The World God Only Knows was and remains today my greatest attraction to this medium, and the reason I have fought tirelessly for this group for about two years now. As the manager of the series, I have poured my heart and soul into every chapter I worked on, and I would like to acknowledge all the translators who have been my partners; Kurokami, Ernest8192, Finestela, abcd9146, Runte, HontouRakuda, AmazingBuffalo, and Triplicate. You are all amazing people and tireless workers. The special OVA omake and Volume 15 omake are my parting gifts to my fellow fans. I may continue to quietly contribute to the series in small ways, but it will never again be in a leadership role.

As second in command of Red Hawk, I have seen great things in scanlation—examples of the most noble and admirable spirits one could ever hope to meet. I have also seen ugly things, things that made me depressed about the future of this hobby and medium. My experiences here could fill a book, and perhaps someday they will, if I find the time and the motivation.

Before I go, I would like to address some of the recent rumors that have been spread by admitted trolls in the wake of the Mangastream closure. Since its inception, Red Hawk has always stood for certain values which we have never compromised: We do not seek profit. We are committed to quality. We do not watermark our pages. We maximized convenience with our download options. We want as many people as possible to be able to read these series.

Red Hawk receives a considerable amount of traffic, but the cost of maintaining our own reader has actually put us in the red. When donations and ad revenue cannot cover our expenses, we pay out of our own pockets to make up the difference. All of us, from the newest recruit to Takadanama himself, are volunteers who offer their time for nothing more than the simple pleasure of doing justice to our favorite series.

The fact is, if we really wanted to profit, there were many things we could have done to totally monetize our operation. We could have forced readers to use referral links to download our stuff. We could have watermarked our pages to net more traffic. We could have targeted the real moneymakers, One Piece, Bleach, and Naruto, after Mangastream dropped them. As things stand right now, many of our chapters on Batoto don’t even have ads. We simply do not care about money so long as we are able to pay the bills and keep doing what we do in peace.

So let me make this clear: The passion and care we put into our work cannot be bought. The loyalty and dedication our staff cannot be accounted for by a bribe. We are here because we love manga.

The sad fact is that Red Hawk is now an endangered species, one of the last big groups of its kind. I have been one of its most steadfast guardians, and with my departure I must admit that I am uncertain about the future of the group. We are under pressure from all sides, but ironically most of it is now coming from the community we want to serve, and from peers we would prefer to coexist with. But whether Red Hawk will go on to soar to new heights or sink into oblivion, its destiny is no longer in my hands.

I’d like to close this by reiterating that our philosophy demands only that we present our beloved series in the best light possible for our fellow readers. We place no restrictions and make no demands in return for what we do. The ones who would actually have the most to gain from our demise would be the real profiteers. So if ever the day comes when Red Hawk falls, when our series are carved up for money, watermarked and speed scanned in low quality, milked like assets rather than treated as art—perhaps then the readers will understand, without any doubt, exactly what we stood for and why we fought so hard to exist.

They say you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

Farewell,

Ichibukai
Retired Administrator
Red Hawk Scanlations

[Muddy Biddy]

Where is the good in "goodbye?"

[Turion]

Not only the most recognizable, but one of the most important pillar of Red Hawk Scanlations is lost now. As I've seen, you've sort of been the "face" of RHS for a long time and you did it well. Not to mention the numerous things you accomplished - only to be backed up by great work.
The scanlation scene will definitely miss you and you'll leave a hole not easily filled. (if possible at all)
Well, all in all: Thank you very much and good luck in life!

[the p-man 2]

Ya know, I've never really talked to you Ichibukai....(Other than that time you make a "coup" during April fools)
But I'm sure you will be missed by many many members around here.
Good luck !

[Sasura]

Farewell.

[twgodok]

Thank you for evrything;stay healthy ok （＇３＇）

[skywalker]

Thank you for all of your hard work and effort spent on this group, Ichi.

[Allorenta Kyoko Flortrida]

we will miss you

[sweetiie]

Thank you for the hard work this years, good luck with everything you do.

[Itahara]

Sayounara... There will always be a next Generation in all good things, Do not worry.

[Z-ComiX]

[Haru Soto]

i have been in the RED HAWK community and i saw your departure when it happened. Honestly i felt sad at that time, but i fell even more sad know that i know your passion and hard work over the series you have worked so hard on. I am no body to jugde anybody, and so on i will like to give you my best regards on your departure. The Red Hawks (and especially you) introduce me into many good mangas, even if my time is full of work everywere i still can read peacefully my favorite mangas here.

You are right, altough i (still) can do nothing to benefit the community like you did, i will stay loyal to the RHS. Even if i turn a little poetic a few lines back (but just a bit...) i want to thank you for all the hard work.

THE WORLD GOD ONLY KNOWS HAS REMAIN MY FAVORITE MANGA TO THIS DATE, AND THAT IS PRETTY MUCH THANKS YO YOU.

TAKE CARE Ichibukai. LONG LIVE THE RED HAWKS!!!!!

[Runte]

Aye, it was pleasure working with you. Have a happy life~~

[scrimshaw]

I have never posted before and I do not know if you will read this. It may be a bit over elaborate but bear with me.

Ichibukai,
Thank you for your leadership, thank you for the patience you have shown, thank you for the service you have done for this group, upholding its philosophies and what it stands for, this website and all its readers, thank you for all the projects you have worked on for ensuring, their quality, accuracy in translation, and overall excellence. Last but not least my biggest thank you. Thank you for The World God Only Knows. If it were not for you and this group I, and several other, would never have read it. While you do not know me, and I do not know you, you have my never ending gratitude for leading this wonderful project, this also extends to all those who have worked on The World God Only Knows, I owe you a lot. I wish you the best in anything and everything you do in life and my respect, which is pretty rare mind, and should you ever choose to return I look forward to that day and the return of your brilliant services. Once again, thank you.

Sincerely,

Scrimshaw.

P.S
This may ruin the whole thing but I forgot about half the things I wanted to thank you for so I hope this slightly cut down version will suffice for expressing my gratitude.

[CharlieAL]

Thank you for the dedication you put up with this project, God bless you and I wish you the best!
Really thanks for your hard work!!!

[Minase_Nayuki]

He's... leaaaaving~~
...on a jet-plane~~
He doesn't know if he'll be back a-gain~~

Believe me, I know the pain.
I've seen people typeset from a laptop, at night, in a maternity ward (though I suppose in that particular case the distraction was as good as any).
All things come to an end, but it only tastes bitter if we let it NOT to become the beginning of something new, even more inspiring.

[Hiro]

Ichibukai, thank you so much for your contribution to Red Hawk and also for bringing up what this group really stands for!!!
I wish you the best in life! =)

[KappaMummy]

ghjhjfj fy

[King Antonius]

So long, and thanks for all the fish! XD

Oh, and the best of luck with whatever the future holds for you.

[chrismclee]

Didn't log on for ages, and couldn't find my old account.
Nevertheless I have been here for a while now and I'd like to thank you for all your hard work. You have brought much joy to many people. :)
Good luck in life and thank you for your past contributions!