“Why Manga Doesn’t Sell Overseas”
- Categories: Manga, News
- Date: Oct 11, 2009 02:17 JST
- Tags: Business, Events, Interviews, Marketing, Naruto, Square Enix, Translation, USA
The head of Square Enix’s anime and manga publishing arm, 田口浩司 / Kouji Taguchi, responsible for producing such anime as Saki and Full Metal Alchemist, has given what he sees as the reasons why manga sales in the US are still dwarfed by Japanese sales.
Speaking in an interview given at the recent “CoFesta” (Japan International Contents Festival), he had this to say:
The best sellers in the US were Full Metal Alchemist and Naruto, but these only sold a tenth to a twentieth of what they sold in Japan.
I think the main reasons are as follows:
1. Fewer copies are printed and those that are get sold at a much higher price, from $8.99 to $12.99.
2. Children don’t get as much money, their allowances are just smaller.
3. The other reason is location. If you live in Tokyo there will be 3 bookshops nearby, which you can easily cycle to. In the US there aren’t any, they can only buy on a weekly trip to the mall. Even if anime is highly popular, they just don’t visit the stores to buy manga often.
It is interesting that he would (quite sensibly) cite pricing and distribution as the key factors holding down sales, rather than focus on the supposed tastes of Japanese audiences versus international ones.
The success of franchises such as Pokémon in the US seems to demonstrate mass market acceptance is more a question of marketing than of content issues, and presumably the same generalisations hold true of the other major markets.
He mentions digital distribution may be the way forward:
Publishers such as Shueisha, Kodansha, Shogakukan and Kadokawa are setting up a digital platform on the PSP for distributing manga.
In Japan the prices are cheap and there are many stores, so I don’t think it will catch on.
But in the US, the prices will be reasonable and there are no stores, so I think maybe customers will like it.
Similar schemes exist for the iPhone/iPod, but Apple’s notoriously restrictive content censorship and the lack of involvement from Japanese publishers probably make this platform less appealing.
He also mentions that overseas phones simply do not yet have the features to properly handle manga; in Japan this form of distribution has been growing rapidly.
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What a disgusting picture. Regardless, the points are true. If I had more spending money, and I could reach a store that sells them without having to drive for 10 minutes, or walk for 40, I'd be buying more.
What a great picture, go back to your loli with no tits.
With pleasure.
faggot
Homophobe.
Resides being a faggot you are also a WHINER....
Homophobe? Where you got that word? Go back to Castro Street to keep pee sitting and sticking a Wiimote deep into your ass.
Besides, not "resides". Excuse me FAGGOT.
^ kill yourself please
Are these anons all just the same person arguing with himself?
loli's and big breast's are heaven.
bipolar eh...
loli > tits.
disgusting
DFC beats monster tits any day
Any beautiful girl between 15 to 35 is FTW!!
C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-COOMMBOOOO BREAKKERR!!!
slash it open and let the silicon fall out
XD Loli FTW
its OVER 10000:P
DFC AND REASONABLE SIZED TITS WITH OUT THAT BLUE VEIN VISIBLE BECAUSE THAT IS SLIGHTLY DISTURBING FTW
Surgically remove the silicone implants from a woman and there... you have some DFC.
Next!
Who needs lolis when you have big boobs?
If they are willing to confine the ban to lolis ONLY, I am actually behind the ban. WAIT TILL THEY ARE 18, DAMNIT!
age doesn't matter to loli
loli > age
Icy-nee-san, why don't like the blue vein? I think it is interesting to see pale tits from time to time.
15 to 35?
too old.
do not want.
9-14 ftw!
just asking but, how did this get into an argument between weather Lolis are attractive or not?
in all honesty I'd prefer to see you guys continue fighting because it entertains me but, i REALLY need to know why your fighting
Because the pic is digusting......
Oversized tits are an eyesore and need to be reduced.
Acceptable ones which are vaguely proportional are great..
Proportional Tits = Sure why not..
Sandbag Tits = GTFO
Lolis = Mmmm..... Nom Nom.
I love flat chested women.
With Dicks!
Will you people just SHUT THE HELL UP!!! Nobody cares about your sexual preferences, and arguing about it just makes you seem like internet introverts with no life. Keep your ideas about breasts to yourself. The rest of use would like to remain sane.
Anon fags are fags xD Everyone let's go feed the trolls xD
I agree, those breasts are huge, and disgusting... they're too big.
Everything over C is overkill. Down with bakunyuu, moar tsurupettan.
Fuck that. Go back to your little boys' chests.
No need to fight over boobs, it's all up to personal taste.
I like little boys' chests.
everything over B is cowtits.
anything between A and D is worthless.
Any beautiful girl between 15 to 35 is FTW~!!
Its all about C's
C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-COOMMBOOO BREAKKKERR!!!!
Is it okay to like both?
no, faggot
^Yes, faggot.
gigity gigity goo!!!
^ Family Guy sucks.
Watch something that's funny.
Each breast is about 1.5 the size of their heads, if not larger! While I won't say 'disgusting', I certainly wouldn't call someone who is turned off by it a flat out Loli lover (though, it's totally possible, perhaps, even probable on here) because the size of the breasts are grotesque.
I don't totally understand the obsession with breasts (I know I for one would love to have smaller breasts, the fucking things are heavy!) but to me, if they're so large your hand just kinda sinks in and gets lost, what's the point? Breasts are pretty much bags of fat that produce milk. More than a hand full strikes me as a waste.
Big breasts = paizuri, which is quite a nice experience for a guy.
Then there's an issue that for a certain segment of women, their larger breasts are also more sensitive. Greater skin surface equating to more sensory nodes that can be stimulated by a proficient partner. Thus leading to greater arousal levels.
Which subsequently make it easier to go for the big O.
its fat building up under the skin and stretching it further out.(I really didn't intend for that to sound bad.) Because only the fat increases there should still be the same number of nodes which makes for less sensitive breasts. Don't get me wrong, I think breast must be flat or huge, never inbetween.
"More than a hand full strikes me as a waste."
I dunno, I think Rachmaninoff might appreciate those massive mammaries.
Agree with Anon 07:04: don't know why but women with smaller breast seems to enjoy sex less than women with larger breast. I don't know the science behind that but it has happened with all the women I had intercourse (like 20, so far).
Not really... Since their breasts are fake they prefer faking everything else to, joy and orgasmn at sex included.
BIG O! SHOW TIME!
Oh Ayu you are so wrong. How can you "fake" vaginal contractions? Don't be such a bitch. Or are you one of those flat chested has who can't enjoy intercourse? You seem bitter, maybe is because of that...
You don't know much about the female body, don't you? Guess what you can use the muscles down there for... Besides that, there are billion guides existing that are about how to fake certain things at sex.
I like the picture too!
That picture is horrible Cleavage breast tumors horrible that's the reason that I can't stand Linda's blue Naruto art it has nothing to do with loli's.
At least for me it doesn't...
I'll tell you why it doesn't sell the reason is the price but more so Americans are use to comics with colors. The increased price over a comic would suggest this however they are the same price but comics are usually in color. So it doesn't seem to be worth the price.
I think the picture is hot. and loli's moe too.
Yeah that's rignt, I swing both ways... mwahahahaha
Meet a girl basement dweller...
Why, you faggot? Go worship your feminazis and leave me alone =D
You're gay!
And?
A sodomite!
What else?
so we anonymous are...?
i LOL'ed
* Accessibility
* Selection
* Price
In the U.S. city where I live, there is a Borders, and a major bookstore within walking distance of central downtown. I'm frequently in central downtown, so it's no big deal to walk to those stores.
But, the selection is quite small.
There's a Japanese mini-bookstore about a 15-minute drive from home which has a somewhat larger selection.
There's a small comic store downtown with virtually no manga.
There are somewhat larger comic stores spread across the metropolitan area, and a HUGE comic store somewhere I've forgotten, but these stores all carry American "graphic novels", and no manga.
Pricewise... I can get an English-language version of Yotsubato! for US$10.99 at Borders. This book was printed and bound in Canada, and shipped down to the US.
At the Japanese bookstore, I can get a Japanese-language version of Yotsubato! for US$9.60. That book was printed and bound in Japan, and shipped halfway 'round the world to the US. And, it's *still* cheaper than the relatively locally-produced version. Is the price of goods and labor cheaper in Japan than in Canada? I don't think so.
That same Japanese-language version of Yotsubato! is priced at 600 Yen in Japan.
Do remember that things like licensing must be paid to the originating company.
There's also the age old balance of "how far can we press the price while still maximizing sales?"
I bet a lot of those mangas are printed in china, which should cost like 1$ at most include shipping + distribution to japan.
Licensing isn't per unit, it's per product, the licensing of manga can't be that expensive that it adds $4 or $5 to the final price of every unit, they're just being greedy.
Also the costs of translating this kind of material is as low as it comes... Translators fall over themselves to get this kind of work, so it is cheap.
I am saying this as an American, no matter how cheap it is to go through the additional processes for the product you must increase the price of said produce.
A company charges for providing the service even if it was free to them. it only cost a couple of cents to make and distribute a bottle of soda but they multiply that price by more than 20 when they sell it.
american companies are looking at maximizing profit rather than pumping up sales figures. most likely they researched and figured that decreasing price per unit will not increase overall profit. those that are willing to pay for manga are already buying them at that price, those that aren't are downloading for free and will continue to do so regardless.
1. Licensing advance is per product. But we pay royalties for each copy sold on top of that.
2. Japanese manga enjoy economy of scale. The more units that are printed, the cheaper each unit becomes.
3. Aside from the smaller *paying* manga reader base in American, US tax laws regarding inventory is extremely unfriendly to small to medium-sized book publishers. Print runs are set at what the publisher expects to sell with a span of 6 months, not lifetime sales, reducing economy of scale further.
4. Printing in Asia, then shipping the books by freight across the Pacific Ocean, is indeed *CHEAPER* than just printing in the United States or Canada. Higher quality, too.
Oops, forgot this one...
5. Japanese publishers can expect wholesale price of 50~60% or cover price. In America, the typical wholesale price is 30~40% of cover price.
You need to consider licensing, and money paid to your publishers to hire staff to translate the works. Especially when it comes to English translation. Its quite tough.
In my country, manga can be bought in three languages. English, Mandarin and Japanese.
Usually, the Mandarin versions are the cheapest, especially the locally produced version. Japanese (import) can be twice the cost while a locally produced English version can cost about three times the cost for a locally produced Mandarin version.
Well the many benefits of living in a congested closed in country I guess. The only preventing me from getting more manga in Singapore is the bookshops are not 24hrs :/
Lol, I'm surprised it's that bad in the US. I thought I'd be much easier to get ahold of manga there than here in Europe. Here in Norway(keep in mind that Norway is a small country by your standards) there's a store called Outland in every big Norwegian City in the south half of the country, and 2 in the capital, Oslo. They have a decent selection of manga, with prices roughly from 7.99-10.99 $(I think. I might be wrong about my currency calculation).
I was way off on the prices, sorry. Shonen Jump and Shonen Jump Advanced, TokyoPop, and Del-Rey constitute the majority of published manga works here, and they usually go for 70kr, 99kr, and 110kr, respectfully, which in dollars would be 12.4$, 17.6$, and 19.5$ respectfully. Atleast we have a decent selection though,and it's not hard to get to the shops if you live in any of the bigger cities. Trondheim, Bergen, Stavanger, Kristiansand or Olso.
I would buy more manga, but it costs so bloody much. I mean for christs sake, I saw Gantz in a bookstore, saw the price and almost dropped the book. 15 dollars canadian for the godamn thing. As opposed to another one (I don't remember which) being 8.99, AND being a larger volume. My other problem is the bookstore I live by has rearranged the shelves, no less then 4 times. Each time, the manga section gets smaller. There were 3 sections to start, then 2, and now one. The kicker, is that the way the manga was sorted, had a childrens, a younger teen, and an older teen/adult section. The only problem was, stuff like Girls Bravo was being sorted into the kids section. Whoops. I would order what I want online but that is so incredibly annoying.
Mass production is one reason. Most manga in Japan are printed in numbers 100 to 1000+ times the entire US sales, leading to greatly reduced printing costs. And the publishers also have very efficient distribution systems due to the sheer mass of product they move. Unsold manga are returned to the publisher for future sales, not trashed as in the American system. The cost of producing the original material is amortized in the magazine sales, too.
And you can stand to have a much narrower profit margin when you're printing 100,000 copies than when you're printing 5,000.
As far as ease of purchase goes, maybe it has an effect, but when Amazon Prime costs $75 a year and gives you unlimited free 2-day shipping on all purchases, it seems a weak argument.
that's why publishers shouldn't calculate their projected sales volumes based on maximum roi, but by considering the development of the market.
what taguchi said applies to almost any product. if you market it right, people will buy your brand, even if the quality is inferior. look at the iphone: it has had many drawbacks compared to other phones, but people buy it no matter what. simply because it says "apple" on the package and because apple played their marketing game right. even microsoft has learned their lesson. windows vista was a disaster, because of the many shortcomings and annoyances to the average user. 7 will be a huge success, even though it's not such a big step up from vista.
the main difference to the japanese market is that it has developed well since the 60ies, while manga was virtually unknown in the western markets. which is understandable, since the western countries have their own kind of comics. as a publisher, i'd have put my focus on supporting the local production instead of depending on import, too.
american comics have made it to the european market, some european comic artists are known well on the japanese market, but the synergies are quite one-sided. to balance out, publishers must think more about marketing two-way instead of purely focusing on one type of comic. the buyers will not come by themselves, except for the hardcore fans.
Here in Japan, Amazon Prime costs less than $40 a year and gives you unlimited same-day shipping on all purchases, for most of the four islands.
the main reason should be onemanga.com
I like to buy my manga and support US sales so we actually get nice things. Then I talk to my friends and they all say they just read it online, and complain when the next chapter isn't updated. Every one wants everything for free, then bitch and complain when can't have it now. I'm in despair! This self centered world has left me in despair!
I love the picture tag. "Holy Manga Trinity"
I recognize the bitch from One Piece, the bitch from Naruto (who happens to actually have bit tities) but I don't know who is the last bitch on the right...
thats the bitch of bleach
naw that aint her the bitch from bleach got the black thing on the right side of her face not the left
Ever consider that the artist might've made a mistake?
Because facially that does appear to be Rangiku on the right, Tsunade in the middle and Nami on the left.
Hmmm.. The Maiden, the Mother and the Crone?
Considering that as a Shinigami, Rangiku is even older than Tsunade is, and she's already in her 50s.
None of them are lolies!
Agree, those tits are just, too big, like Eiken big.
As for manga, I just buy $200 dollars worth of used manga when I do my yearly trip to Japan. $2 each and a much wider selection then book stores which only sell manga from the last decade.
Your all a bunch of psychos
and you are emo... and gay.
...and furry
Thanks for disproving me
I couldn't agree more, Unellmay. Why don't you people do something with yourselves besides being pedophiles and masturbating at your PC?
If you go to either borders or barnes and noble you always see a horde of kids reading the manga because it's not plastic wrapped and the price I think really do prohibits a lot of people from buying.
If say a regular paper back novel is 6 or 7 US. the story for a arc or so is usually only one or sometime longer ones are 4 or 5 book max..
but manga sells for 9.99 and in order to see the whole story it's probably at least 100 or so for most series and their speed which it gets published is pretty slow so there isn't a lot of people buying it. When they can see it online too.
It gets published faster in the US than in Japan at first, then at exactly the same speed once the series catches up, so that argument doesn't fly.
Your key point is about reading it online. Translated: "Why pay when you can get it for free?" And that's the real problem for the US publishers.
Well, there's that, but also the looks I get from parents and the sales clerks when I wander into the "teens" section of the bookstore to pick out loli manga.
Have you tried riding a bike?
Disgusting??? I must agree, not that I don't like big breast but I at least have some standard.
A 10 minute drive is nothing really, the only small manga shop I know around the area is 40 minutes by car and doesn't stock all that much variety.
I think these issues brought forward are pretty much the key.
One thing he forgets though is the time it seems to take to translate and publish a new volume.
Are you really that lazy?
The head of Square Enix is 100% right. In my country manga cost 20$ a book, and that is way it is not well recieved. There are so many genres to manga that I find it stupid to hear someone saying "in the US people think differently".
There is one store in my city that sells Manga.
And I live in a capitol city in Australia!
I only buy it at the local Anime Convention, when their selling it dirt cheap.
Yeah, but ACT isn't as large as Sydney or Melbourne. There are five manga stores (I know of) in Melbourne alone. They are pretty much dedicated to Manga/Anime/books. Some of the major bookstores (Borders, etc.) have started stocking Manga, but it is rather expensive. The majority of Manga I do buy comes from cons, like Manifest.
also understand the fact that manga is sold in every corner of japan, from your local convenience store (which you might have 3 in the vacinity of a 10min walk depending on geography) to the small stands everywhere next to a train station
and the price, ranges from 400yen~1000yen depending on what you look for, and weekly magazines, 300yen? cant remember, but dirt cheap compared to what western countries will try and make you pay
other eastern countries are fairly much dirt cheap also, licensed and translated,so the western licencers are just greedy fucks
I know someone who works for an American manga publisher and he says the profit margins are razor thin. As he logically points out, "We don't make any money by canceling a book."
Well, I can say from my own observations that Barnes & Noble, which carries manga in my area has what I would consider to be prices which aren't TOO bad (Rosario + Vampire sells at about $9.99 + tax). Of course, given that this is being sold as a niche-market commodity, that's to be expected I think.
Flomg, i didn't know so many Canberrans were on Sankaku. There's at least 3 places i can think of that sell manga.
There's more than one store that stocks manga man.
Check Dees Comics for some bargains, Impact Comics was alright but most of their manga is overpriced, and of course Borders.
But I'd say get those coupons as most of the time the manga is again overpriced but you do get a bargain every-once so often.
oppai shit . . .
Brother, there needs to be balance between dfc and oppai, or else the world will end.
You know, there is a good oppai and this one.
I happen to own few manga, but took a break from purchasing to tighten my belt. If you're a collector of the 50+ volume Naruto(currently ongoing), sold at 8$ bucks a pop, you must really have a lot of money to burn. If only manga here was as cheap as it is in Japan, then not only will more hardcore fans buy manga but maybe also "regular" people.
Hardcore fans buy directly from Japan. Why would they want the localised crap that gets put out overseas when they can get the original literature AND get it cheaper.
Because they can't read moonrunes? (Are they still using that? I don't stay in the Anonymous culture that much.)
that's.. just too much boobs
Never say "too much" and "boobs" in the same sentence.
too much boobs too much boobs too much boobs too much boobs too much boobs too much boobs too much boobs too much boobs too much boobs ;)
this chair this chair this chair this chair this chair this chair this chair this chair this chair this chair this chair this chair this chair this chair this chair this chair...
you guys this isnt 4 chan...if your going to post, then post something meaningful. If not then "go play in traffic kid"
"go play in traffic kid"? Thanks I loved that sentence ;)
true true... manga only sells in japan...
I live in France and here Manga is seeling very well... Actually France is the second manga market in the world after Japan (that's what I heard).
In Germany, you can find mangas nearly everywhere (where books are sold), they are not dirt cheap like in japan, but affordable.
Yeah my latest visit to France I noticed a huge range of manga at Auchan and Carefour.
I only collection of manga I own is lovehina and it was 10$ a book 2003ish now its 13$ a book rather get a 12$ dvd instead
Beautiful picture, oppai fest <3.
Major bobbage!
I'm sinking. Need to learn how to swim.
Eh my comments never show up
In Finland manga prices vary from 5 euro to 10 euros, the most expensive I've seen is around 12 €, and they're sold in normal convinience stores. English publications are pretty easy get, too. That's why they've got hugely popular in last five years (from like 5% of youth reading manga up to 20~30%). So just lower the prices, even by a dollar or two.
Just buy the japanese version manga. Basically $3 in hawaii because there is so many japanese living here. Kind of funny how pearl harbor was bombed by japanese yet there is alot of japanese living here. Then again they lived here way before pearl harbor.
Could you (currently) peruse manga on a kindle, or is it text only? It makes a certain amount of sense to use existing distribution methods.
I think that releasing manga to a PDA format would be a disservice to the media, even IF a small number of eagleeyed otaku would buy it.
Seven Seas is going to be releasing a few of their series on the Kindle/iPhone, though they're the "US-manga" types (don't remember the marketing buzzword), not translated Japanese manga, most likely due to licensing issues (they don't have to renegotiate the license terms for digital distribution; same situation as the anime companies' problem when switching to DVD, or getting online streaming rights).
Regardless, it certainly seems technically doable. Just a matter of actually doing it.
Very very true.
1) manga usually sells for around $5US/book in Japan, totally reasonable
2) because of population density, you can walk to bookstores and they are stocked everywhere, even in mom&pop stores. here it's like a freakin 10min drive or 30min bus to Chapters, which is the only place stocking a measy selection of manga
this precludes anyone who's like, under 16 cause you can't freakin' drive. And we all know shounen manga is major seller but here in NA the targe audience can't reach the store or have the money to buy manga.
uhh, is that picture really from bleach-naruto-one-piece (look at the file name)
middle is naruto, right is onepiece but I think left is one piece too. Doesn't look like anyone from bleach to me.
Left is Nami (One Piece)
Middle is Tsunade (Naruto)
Right is Rangiku (Bleach)
The More You Know!(tm)
Thanks I knew the bitch of the left was from One Piece, also knew that the bitch on the middle was Tsunade, who happens to have real big tits in the manga, but I got no idea who was the bitch on the right.
If this was done in the 90's maybe the bitches would be Bulma from Dragon Ball, Ranma, from Ranma 1/2 and Rei from Evangelion.
And if you go to the used book store, they're like 100-200 yen each. Fuck, you can find so much more awesome stuff at used book stores in Japan than in other countries.
the reason why i dont think manga sell is because children hate reading in the US and that there barely any manga other than crappy tokyopop and jump
manga
something about reading manga in English just makes it... weird for me.
I prefer Japanese or Chinese.
something about reading manga on a computer just makes it... better for me.
I prefer quality translations VS westernized translations.
Something about reading literature not in it's original form makes it...
...
...
...
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
yeah. i have to use 3 month worth of allowance to buy 12 volumes. and they only sell them at big malls in the cities. you have to go through a lot to get them.
id buy anime if id didnt fucking cost $60 for 12 - 25min ep...
At least you don't have to pay $60 for 2 - 25min episodes like the japanese do.
At least you don't have to pay $0 for the entire series on TV like the Japanese do.
And then $60 for the unedited versions on DVD.
Availability of manga in the US region is quite a problem. Only really large retailers such as Barnes & Noble and specialty shops carry manga in the US. In Japan, manga is more widely available.
Of course, manga isn't as profitable in the US as it is in Japan. The core demographic for manga isn't as widespread in the US as it is in Japan.
Also, manga does compete with domestically produced comic books in the US (which on average, sell for much, much cheaper and are more widely available). I'm not sure if such international competition issues exist in Japan.
In the end, there are many, many factors which limit the popularity of manga abroad: Price, Availability, Competition and Culture are among them.
The problem with comic books is while they might be cheaper, they are not cheaper per page. $4 for color 22 pages? Fuck no. Especially if you're aiming to buy a number of series, that's an even bigger fuck no. Japan's numerous manga magazines like the varied Jumps and whatnot give you an infinitely better value with their multiple stories per issue but outside in other countries you are limited to just a monthly Shounen Jump, Yen Plus, and Shoujo Beat.
Barnes & Noble has really just mainstream manga, the Lucky Star manga vol.2 came out about two months ago and they still don't have it.
There's no problem with stores in my country, but the price there is 59kr. Something around 7 Euro or $10, I dunno.
Not REALLY much, but it's still a price.
Most mangas in my country have been canceled due to it's unpopularity. And we abrely got around 10 titles translated. :V
59kr? You Norwegian? Awesome! Me too! ;D No wonder your avatar is so awesome! ^^ But you're really off on those numbers dude. Outland sells 100's of translated manga series in Norway.
Also, prices on manga are usually 79kr on Shonen Jump and Shonen Jump Advanced translated works, 99kr on those from TokyoPop, and 110kr on those from Del-Ray(these 3 make the majority of the published releases over here).
I'm just embarrassed to let my "normal" friends see me carrying around manga.
For me, distribution isn't a problem. I know of 2 book stores within walking distance. But at $8-10 each, I'll rarely buy a manga when I can just read it online for free.
illegally too, no less
After dropping more than $1000 in translated manga books from retail bookstores, I have become disgusted with the outrageous cost and now only read scanlations or other online manga. I still buy nice artbooks of the manga series or manga-ka I like, but never again will I buy every volume.
I once got a good deal from BJ's wholesale club where they had 3 volume packs of some various titles for $10. I grabbed those quickly, but I have never seen a deal like that except at Anime conventions.
Another thing is that the translated manga here is always, always 1-2 years behind what's current in Japan.
The scanlated stuff is always pretty current and I never feel left out. So I think Koji Taguchi is correct about the digital distribution thing. I read manga on my CFW PSP so I would pay for the ability to download current manga titles that have been scanned and translated by the publishers as long as they didn't cost a fortune. I am never again going to pay $10 for a volume. $3 maybe...
Why reward the creators when you can reward some Chinese pirates instead?
Thank you for saying that.
I have no problem doing that if I could buy a translated manga volume 1 week (or less) after it was released in Japan _and_ for the cost of $3.00 US.
Because that's what it's worth. If they can't provide it in a timely fashion at a reasonable cost, then the pirates will always win since they have it scanned, translated, and available for download for $0.00 a week after it's published.
I'm not saying it's right, but it's damn convenient.
I only have a used bookstore nearby. The selection is eh. I tend to buy more books than manga. I'd probably buy more new manga if it were cheaper. I blow through manga volumes way faster than books so I liked to buy in bulk and with the prices I just can't do that.
Heh...in my country I can buy manga once a year on a book fare that lasts for 5 days and it's only in our capital so...you get the picture.
I can read manga for free online duh! what a waste of money for something you most likely gonna read once.
other reason is american nerd only like comic with thw word "man" on it lol i hate comic they r so outdated and ugly but hey diffrent culture i guess
Reading manga online is meh... The true experience and joy of manga lies in reading off a tankoubon or a freshly published magazine. It just feels so much better and more satisfying that way.
It feels like I'm holding something in my hands instead of clicking the mouse or mashing the arrows keys. That's about it.
It feels nice to have it and display it in your room.
That's what I hate about digital distributing with manga & games, you won't be able to do this anymore.
To me, there are certain types where it's more appropriate to view online. Ecchi and hentai for example. Hard to fap and hold the thing open at the same time. Otherwise, though, I agree. For the more normal manga, it's a lot better of an experience with the real thing.
Reading manga online is meh indeed...
Afterall, the true experience and joy of manga: strained neck muscles, bad posture and impaired eyesight.
Someone doesn't hold their reading material properly.
I don't buy manga because I can download it for free. Some people would prefer a hard copy (lol, hard) but I just want reading orgasms.
My Barnes and Noble sells them, but they're so fucking expensive to what they are in Japan. Seriously 11-14 dollars for one manga is to much.
Good to see someone reasonable trying to articulate the differences between sales and not immediately resorting to the "JAPANESE SPIRIT" argument or any of the differences about group mentality that have been hashed over a hundred thousand times.
Content wise,as long as it has oppai in it,it speaks to the world.If I could get my manga for $5 in the US I'd buy more for sure.
I concur, manga prices are just too expensive. A book that costs $11.99 USD is sold for $15.99 CAD. The conversion doesn't match. Thus i hardly visit bookstores to buy manga and just purchase online instead.
I usually get the Taiwan ver, at around 7SGD (good quality)
Jap ver are more expensive at 10+SGD
US ver are the most expensive, 15-20SGD (thats 3 taiwan ver.)
Location wise, not a problem, Singapore is small with 3 Kinokuniya bookstores.
I suggest those who can read chinese to get the taiwan version, its way cheaper.
Kouji Taguchi hits the jackpop
Hmn, I think the biggest problem outside of Japan is still the lack of stores that sell mangas and those who do are overpriced but the price part seems to be mainly a issue in the US, in europe they are only 5€ each, some even 2€.
5€ is still some money. Surprising that Europe has so many manga traslated besides they have few kids and young people.
Not really. In austria and germany you can't even get lunch for 5€, even a bubblegum is 1€+.
Yeah I know in France there are 8€ sandwiches; and that's a rip off. Better die starving that pay so much. You can almost buy the fuking cow in my country with the price of a restaurant dinner in Europe, and is still the same cow. Don't understand so mucha abut that, but as far I know cattle isn't feed with gold in Europe.
My good, first concentration camps, and now 1€ bubblegum. what's wrong with Germany?
McD --> 2 cheeseburgers and a medium Sprite for €3.80 = $5.60
Enough for a whole day in my case.
i would buy them if i could buy the ones i want ... and if it would be easier to buy them in stores i dont want to order everything online
aye its the same here in N.ireland, theres only reli one shop in belfast that sells any decent manga, and it aint exactly cheap...
i think that's because anything that is drawn, the people look to this like it s for little childrens (5-9), so many people hasn't interest in manga and animes, beacause they think that all are childish
And the other half calls it child porn because of pantsu flash and other fanservice things.
There are few thing more beautiful than a woman's cammeltoe; let the pantsu flashes be!
And the other half thinks of it as child p0rn because of the fanservice...
Yeah lolis!
people in u.s dont read books...
Yeah, that's why Amazon.com went out of business years ago.
Indeed, 12 dls for a black and white manga is something expensive
The closest bookstore that has manga is like 45 minutes drive away from me.
OPPAI!
I would call the international differences.
Seriously, almost 100% of people I come across in the US are xenophobic as hell.
If it's weird to them, it is somehow illogical and needs not to be reckoned with.
Ever tried amazon.com and/or eBay?
He's too naive. The reason they don't sell as well here is because americans are cheap. They have the money but would rather read scanlations than buy the manga. And borders or barnes & noble or any book store carries plenty of manga nowadays. Even if people go to the mall every week, they still won't buy the manga.
Agreed for the most part.
And Digital Distribution is not the way. I dont want to read manga on a fucking PSP or any other Digital Form.
I want it in my hands in paper.
Agreed
I hate how all this digital distributing is starting to be taking over the hard copies.
for price, in france is 6euro (8,8 dollars)
france is the top 2 in the world for manga sale
I'm surprised he didn't mention either the scanslation crowd or the browsing acceptance in US bookstores. Why would I buy Naruto when I can just read it at Borders or elsewhere?
Because the reality is, they wouldn't buy it either way. Thus the effect is in essence, null.
It doesn't sell well outside of Japan because countries like to hate on things that come from other countries.
Of course, that's true for Japan as well. Foreign = easy target, and they're just as guilty of it.
But then, there's also a fair share of cultural dichotomy. The passively wimpy lead harem manga/anime character is liked highly in Japan (which must be why it appears so frequently), but in the west it's generally considered an overused and obnoxious archetype hated beyond measure. Different strokes for different folks.
ah it's so hard to buy manga in my country but i do know where to buy em.
Luckily we have an anime forum for our country.
But they don't have that many manga,but i could always order them and wait for 1 or 2 months to get them -_-.
By now i never really bought manga.Even anime isn't sold properly in my country.
For me its purely a question of price and format, but mostly price.
I like reading manga but at $10.00+ per volume for something I can read in under 30 minutes, and will likely never open again, it doesn't make much sense to buy. A paperback book delivers a longer and more pleasurable reading experience for roughly the same amount.
The US manga are too small and make it difficult to appreciate the drawings. Plus some things are censored which is annoying.
I stopped buying manga because the intrinsic value of the experience is not proportional to the price.
As for anime DVDs, forget it. That's just purely ridiculous.
How are the US manga small? For instance, I bought some in Singapore, which keep the sizing, jackets, etc. the same like the original, and they're smaller than ones here.
yeah censored mangas are really bad. i remember when my fav manga hit the US. it went from a 18+ rating in japan to 14+ here, unbelievable censorship, they wouldnt even show the middle finger.
pretty much made me not buy it.
Well in my country the only place you can buy from Japanese to English (not even my home language) is Deviant Art is like an hour away with bus is in the capital has one heck of a price ($15-20) which is quite a lot here and not to mention it's the only place in the whole country where they sell manga. Well we do have Shogun but it's from the French and it's not even made by japanese nor in japan. It's just purely french (not that I mind since it's better than nothing) the price is OK I guess I mean $4 for a 4 chapter book with 4 different stories in it is quite all right. The best part of it is that it's sold on every bus stop that has a ticket seller since they also sell newspapers and they also sell it and even with all those things that I've mentioned about Shogun, it's still quite hard to get since a lot of people don't even make a order for it, don't even know what it is and there's simply not enough anime and manga fans in my country which sucks since if there were more it will sell more and yet there are even idiots who speak of it as if it's for children from 5-10. Bunch of idiots!
I just wonder where are u from? I always thought that here in Russia it`s hard to be an otaku but the situation here isn`t too bad actually. Here you can buy manga in game shops or in special anime stores but still price is to much and selection is really poor
Not only is hard to be an Otaku in Russia.. it's hard to be a living being of ANY kind in Russia. Unless, of course, you are Vladimir Putin :P
You ain`t right actually =) ofcourse it`s not an US or Europe but still it`s not an North Korea. All I can say Russia is strange really strange )
Ok, my apologies. But eeeeh... your country looks like a hard scary place. Preffer my third world tropical paradise :P
I'm from Bulgaria. We're quite close actually xD
I personally believe the issue rests solely on content and tastes right now. Bleach, Naruto, and Pokémon even still, amount to kiddie or teen fodder, which is how most anime is still percieved. There are no recent shows or manga titles that I can see heading to the west that have anywhere near the marketing potential that the above mentioned have, the closest is Soul Eater and it is nowhere near the length that any of those have in terms of episodes. Personally, I find $9 to be reasonable considering Vertigo and other western comic titles of similar length cost more (Due to color and print quality more than anything.) I just personally find buying anime and manga an exercise in embarrasment and that where the true problem lies. No one wants to buy it because the audience it is aiming for is immature at best, unless you want to buy generic shonen or various BL titles, the publishers of interesting titles are few and far between, resting on the shoulders Del Rey, Yen Press and the like. The same applies for anime, especially now since what most of America wants is not what Japan currently has. Imagine K-ON on Cartoon Network or even on TV. You can't? I can't either, and most of America would have a fit with this and most other shows, since a good portion of what was popular online is pretty moéblob (Of course exceptions exist.) and would have to be marketed towards young girls if they wanted to have an audience (And not have Faux News drumming it up as shows for pedophiles.) And even if they had a magical audience pop up and love a show, that show was only twleve or twenty-six episodes in all likelyhood, so what then. The only way I could see that working would be if a foriegn company co-sponsors a show. The US is not going to be like South America where it's rather popular and exists side-by-side with other entertainment, or I don't see anything happening soon that changes it from passing fad to sizable subculture.
But exposure is also an issue and what the guy says is right, but it gonna take a sea change in expansion, marketing, and for Americans, a change in preferences to get more popular.
Personally, I just hope Anime in America dies. I would feel a whole lot better, and my Strike Witches box set would feel a whole lot safer.
their is more then this,
yes I would put cost as #1, but maybe with out the disposable income comment.
availability is only a part of it. the commute is a very very big part of manga sales. Wether it traveling to or from school work etc. an 30 min to hour train ride is the norm all across japan, their a very few stations that dont have a book store inside or just down the street from them. The US transportation and even market is not even remotely similar. if the could get the tokebon, or even monthly prices down and get distribution into all public transportation outlets you would see a surge in sales. that is if you can get past the public stima. You would also have to create revent stories as many manga are too Japanese for the US market ...
Singapore here. One volume of manga from Del Rey costs 15.75USD while a local translated one(same quality from what I know) costs 5.70 USD. Hell thats 10 fucking bucks.
Some mangas are fucking expensive here in Canada, for example 20th Century Boys is 16-17$CA which is like around 15$US. And you know what? I have all the collection, what a dick I am. Vagabond and City Hunter are really expensive too.
The allowonce part might be a streach, but otherwise I think he is right on everything else.
In my contry manga in english is sold for about $20. Other languages are a bit cheaper. But still i find it as a rip off. :(
The cost for manga is Japan is way lower. I think it is still around 500 yen (around $5.50USD). Slightly influenced by the print run.
it is only 1.5$ -2.0$ in my country, and you could easily find it in some newspaper stand or some minimart in big city
Oh the guys comments are true I only know 4 book shops and they're pretty far away either in a mall or in locations that I might be able to get to either in a two week basis. Also the amount of money my job gives me makes me hold back on deciding weather I should buy a book or not.
it also depends on the title, i can see that a lot of persons buys shonen jump. . . hell i have a lot of Shaman King mangas in my room.
But i wouldnt even ask for the price of a manga like Love Hina, Sailor Moon or something clearly ecchi or hentai. . . that would be really embarrasing! and i know a lot of people that think like that!
Glad to see that
A) They are blaming reasonable factors instead of just say "Wah! Americans don't like Japanese stuff!"
B) You used an Apostle pic. I like his work, even if so many people here hate anything with breasts.
Doesn't anyone think that because American book stores allow readers just to hang out at malls all day reading manga have anything to do with it? Ive seen people who do nothing but just go to a book store and sit there for hours on end reading every manga they have.
Let the cheapos be! They are too lazy to get a job!
You ignore the fact that reading while standing in a bookstore happens everywhere, including Japan.
Yeah, but in Japan they'll actually give you shit for tachiyomi.
Tachiyomi: read standing.
Unfortunately I don't buy manga because I can read them online or download the chapters. But every once in a while I would gladly spend money on manga that appeals to me.
The picture needs more Senjougahara.
What doesn't?
it doesn't sell well,cause people are gay for muscular man wearing spandex and cape!with sparkling teeth!
and chuck norris!
nuff said!
....wut
they should also note of how badly stuff is translated "officially" compared to its fanbased translations.
I've noted the exact opposite, actually.
I figured it would have been because parents in the US are such cockbags that they think their children will be scarred by seeing a nipple in a manga.
I mostly agree with one exception. I don't think a digital book or comic, that runs on a device with a PSP-size screen will ever catch on...
We have Marvel and D.C. already.
Except Marvel and D.C. only know how to recycle decades old characters similar to Nintendo with Mario and the Zelda games.
Prices in the states and otherwise are really out of control. They seem to be increasing the prices every time a new season comes out.
Maybe if the US politicians would quit their 40-year record of screwing the value of the dollar up the ass we'd see it inflate a little less.
9 to 13$ ? it's 5 to 8€ in france, cheaper, but not a lot at the current rate change
but i don't think we got better allowance ^^
and there japanime shops on the center, so it's not hard to buy some... and i see sometime naruto and other at the supermarket...
perhaps a reason of why we are the first foreign country buying mangas...
(i was surprised when i heard that some month ago, as i thank it was the US...)
Europe is actually a very good market for manga, as just the pair of France and Germany together tend to gross more money from it than the US/Canada combi. Maybe it's because Europe has been digesting mangas regularly since the 70's?
Though after reading many of these comments, the price discrepancy may be having something to do with it.
I do wonder how the market in Australia is, though.
He hit the nail on the head. Manga is WAY too expensive. Keeping up with a series like Bleach or Inu Yasha will set you back several hundreds of dollars. Hell, you could buy every next gen system instead. Add to that, you must make specialty runs to the mall or a book store to find only a fraction of the available manga, and buying manga becomes a chor. Plus, there are wonderful web sites like manga hut, where you can read pretty much any manga, as it is released in Japan, for FREE!!! So, why would I bleed myself dry? I use to spend like a fiend on manga, anime, and movies. Now, I do it all online for free, or close to it.
Glad to know you get a thrill by fucking over the creators who make the anime and manga you enjoy.
I'd be happy if publishers picked up more mature themed manga like Monster or other such more adult themed manga.
The shelves are caked with shonen/shoujo, but there's so much more out there...
I used to work for Viz, and I can't believe no one on this thread has pointed out the #1 reason manga cost more in America than they do it Japan.
In Japan, publishers get 60% of the cover price of each copy sold.
In America, publishers get only 40% of the cover price of each copy sold.
Faced with that brutal difference, costs of printing, shipping, production all play a much bigger role in making a profit and necessarily require a comparatively higher cover price.
I thought you were full of shit but i looked on google and its true. Its amazing they can publish them in amaerica at all. They get more money in asia.
Manga does well in Japan because it's cheap and because they love the serial format. Comics are also a big deal in Japan as they make up a huge portion of the publishing industry. In the US, it's expensive and it can't compete even with the American comic industry in America, which, except for crappy movies, has become completely irrelevant in it's own country. I don't really see American success as a priority for the manga world or even an admirable goal. The last thing we need is for the words "comic book code" ever to be uttered in Japan. Want the real manga experience? Learn Japanese.
Want to keep manga all for your greedy little self? Don't want anyone else playing in your own personal pond because you won't feel special anymore? How appallingly self-centered and selfish. My 10 year-old niece is supposed to learn Japanese so she can read Saint Seiya? Think of somebody other than yourself for a change.
And the idea of a comic book code being enacted in Japan because of foreign sales is hysterically funny.
Well, the "loliban" movement us pretty much the first step towards a "comic book code" in Japan.
good thing that they did not touch the piracy problem
Why do Western comics sell? They're available in the news agent... Do that dammit!
And the content of one volume of manga is heaps more then one issue of comic.
Simple, Americans don't read.
Which is why Amazon.com failed shortly after it was started.
Oh, wait....
MASS MARKETING PLEASE!! so that japan will finally look around Southeast asia and notice that there are still people they could sell their stuff to =_=
He forgot one more important point:
4) Americans are fucktards
That must be why we're richer and more powerful than you (regardless of where you're from). Suck it, loser.
I sometimes wonder if these so called loli lovers are actually fan of petanko more so then loli.
Just so you know.. you guys *DO* actually understand the difference, no?
Manga doesn't sell because all the tightarse asians stand in the aisle and READ THE WHOLE FUCKING THING instead of buying it. CHEAPASS CUNTS BUY THE FUCKING BOOK.
True, dat. Cheapass anybody, really.
Not to mention we can just simply watch or read it online
I get my manga for free online.So I don't need that.The fans will always find a way to give anime/manga for free.
Currency conversion is such a bitch :\
more like naruto doesn't have guns.
and fma doesn't have nascar.
and bleach doesn't have jesus.
and one piece doesn't have ninjas.
Bleach indeed haves an other world without Jesus. What a heresy!
Jessus...you mean..aizen isn't...?
oh crap! o_o
Online distribution sounds like a good idea,I almost never get the chance to buy manga and anime since the nearest shop that sells it is an hour away. :(
Last time I checked, most anime/manga fans don't buy much manga in America because most manga doesn't get released in English. Plus I've noticed a lot of people don't bother reading a manga if there is an anime counterpart, regardless of whether the anime stays true to the manga or even finishes the story.
Also IMO the scanlators do a better (an usually faster) job then the official companies.
Like hell I'm supporting Squeenix after learning of their tendencies to putting their IP "safety" first before their fans(Hint: the incident starts with a Crimson and ends with Echoes). And then they have the gall to tell their fans "Do you want more Chrono Trigger? Then buy more copies you ungrateful whiners", while releasing mediocre to god-awful JRPG's instead.
I'd like to tell you I'll be happy with buying your games used, thank you very much!
Location is the problem for me!
I've been to quite a few conventions in Hong Kong and I would like to attend a local AnimeBoston convention next year (already, Kouji has made point 1 valid, as admission costs $30, or, if the Japanese are interested, ¥2700). In Hong Kong, admission is HK$20 (a measly 2 or so dollars in the U.S., probably even cheaper than entrance to an anime convention in Japan). Point 2 is partially true, especially in this economic climate. I've seen some people flashing their cash at school, they definitely have the money. However, they probably don't spend their money on manga. Point 3 is ESPECIALLY true, I don't even have to go into detail about it.
In HongKong you can find manga in any news stand (except 7-11)
Price range from HKD 30-45(24 at some place),original Japan ver can cost around 65-75,Shonen jump cost 38 and bought Halo3 ODST(HK ver) for 275(that around 35 USD at max), talk about cheap
You don't have enough money lol
Poor whites lol
Stay away from Japanese culture, fucking criminals.
he forgot the main reason - internet why buy when you can read it for free.
Tits bigger than you Face = Gross
Reading manga on the computer isn't the same thing as reading it in print, so when a series I download gets released I do make an effort to pick up the real copy. If I start in on a series and like it I'll go buy the real copy if it's available. Anymore when I download I tend to focus on stuff that will probably never get released in the US, like say Franken Fran.
I think I am going to get myself a sony E-Book reader anway, if they to start with DD, I'd be the happiest Otaku ever.
Futinari!!! FTW!
Please this is totally unrealistic.
1 - We have a lot of discrimination against comics and manga, that are just for children, only geeks read and a lot of stuffs.
2 - Culture: Americans don't read
34% of literate americans read newspapers against 85% of the japanese.
61% of literate americans read books for entertainment agains 100% of the japanese literate.
buy.com is a really good place to get manga for cheap prices
americans dont read comics later on in there lives.
There's a really important reason they've missed: a lot of people in Western countries seem to think comics and cartoons are for little kids.
Eurofag here. The price definitly is my main gripe with manga sold around here. €6.50-€10.00 for one volume is just too damn expensive. Add in the fact that releases are extremely slow, while the quality is not even much better than that of a good fan translation, and you can see why few people buy manga here.