ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Scanlation

Let's say you love reading comic books, but sometimes the ones you want to read aren't available in your language or in your country. This is where scanlation comes in.

Scanlation is when people scan (take pictures of) comic books or manga, and then translate them into a different language. So if the comic book was originally in Japanese, for example, people might scan it and then translate it into English, French or other languages.

So scanlation allows people all over the world to read comic books that they might not otherwise have access to. However, scanlation can be a bit controversial because it often infringes on copyright laws. This means that it may not be legal to scan, translate and distribute comic books without permission from the original creators or publishers. So while you get to enjoy reading your favorite comic books, it's important to remember that this might be illegal and not support the original creators.