Rocket Bomber - publishing

Re: my recent post on Kodansha

There’s what you said:

“but don’t claim authority and anonymity”

People who have the important information are not allowed to just share it. Deep Throat was anonymous, too. Get over it, guy. The details were wrong, but Kodansha is coming.

Comment by A. Nony Mouse — 8 October 2008, 08:47

And my reply:

In the original post, Cthulhu couched his commentary as being important not for what it is (and Kodansha publishing manga in the states IS BIG NEWS! and good news) but worthy of being leaked in advance so as to succor the (at the time) recently laid off Tokyopop employees. — the leak was in comments on a Tokyopop news item.

Needless to say, Kodansha wasn’t (and isn’t) hiring, or no more than a handful. I don’t know, I can’t make it over to their Lexington Ave office to see if they have a flyer up.

— and Mr. Anonymous, you’ll note that when I have something to say about Kodansha, or publishing, or retail, or even when I speculate widely on the future of the industry: I post it to my own damn blog under my own damn name.

And Deep Throat didn’t drop a letter in a mailbox — he got in touch personally with an investigative reporter who was in a position to follow up on it. …And Deep Throat didn’t win the Pulitzer: Woodward and Bernstein did, after months of interviews, leg work, and investigation. And if memory serves, Deep Throat didn’t even name names, he just said ‘follow the money’

I find your allusion to “Deep Throat” in this instance to be a bit off.

In the case of Kodansha — The actual press release followed just a week after the anonymous tip. And the information was handy, good to know, and good news, but hardly IMPORTANT. It could have waited a week.

I stand by every thing I’ve said, including all the insults. Of course, since I don’t know your name, or Cthulhu’s, or perhaps you’re the same person — there is no need for you to take it personally because you’re safe behind your wall of anonymity. I can’t insult you by name, Your job & reputation are intact — No one knows that I’ve insulted you. No one but you. If that still makes you feel bad then I guess you need to think about why.

##

I apologize to everyone if it seemed like I was slighting Kodansha (or their fine Guide to Akihabara forthcoming in November — but then again, $20 for 96 pages? Maybe some slight was intended)

Let’s dial the wayback machine to 4 June and my very first comment on the Kondansa Kerfluffle:

Kodansha Intl. is and has been an English language publisher for quite some time; notable recent releases include “A Geisha’s Journey: My Life as a Kyoto Apprentice” by Kodomo (a nome de plume) and “Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook” — along with a slate of Japanese Language titles (as in, learning the language), a number of drool-worthy coffee-table-grade art books, and the “Draw Your Own Manga” series of art how-to books (which may be the source of the error and rumor; though the first volume is 4 years old… nothing new here)

http://www.kodansha-intl.com/

The deal between Kodansha and Del Rey/Random House is a strategic alliance, and also a two-way street if my hazy memory of old press releases can be taken at face value — I don’t know which RH titles have been translated into Japanese, but if they’re out there at all then Kodansha is publishing them.

Whatever the deal with Del Rey, Kodansha seems to have kept noted educational and cultural titles off the table, and reserved them for their own imprint. Gacha Gacha, though, is Del Rey’s for as long as they can stomach to publish it.

Kodansha Intl. titles are distributed in the US by Oxford University Press

If they can apply even a fraction of that effort to manga, well… to use the local vernacular, I’ll be as happy as a pig in shit.

Forgive me for dredging this one up after most thought it buried and forgotten, but I’ve a personal stake in the story — or at least, in how it was reported:

It’s been 13 weeks since the ‘leak,’ (via comments on the Beat and Comics212) after everyone’s favorite Haunter of the Dark deigned to blight internet forums with his presence and drop a bomb on manga-ish websites with the initial blurb, and three whole months since confirmation came via machine-translated posts to Japanese business news websites.

Oh yeah. Really enjoying the new Kodansha-direct manga that was going to be here in September. [*smirk*]. I mean, it’s not like someone who follows US manga publishing in any kind of obsessive way expressed any reservations at all over the reports that Kodansha would be stocking manga in stores in (the month now passed) September. That would require a knowledge of publishing and retail realities — actual conditions on the ground, as it were — and not just a casual acquaintance with ‘someone’ in the ‘business’ who ‘knows’.

Posting to the internet is fine, but don’t claim *authority* and *anonymity* at the same time. Still not reading any of that lovely, promised Kodansha manga, Cthulhu…
And after I went out of my way to apologize and all…

Oh, wait. No I didn’t. I tried to apologize, but always prefaced it by saying “If Cthulhu had used his/her real name, then I could apologize.”

You’re a tool and a fop and a fob, and there is a big, big difference between “Kodansha Manga invades the US” and The Manga Guide To Akihabara shipping two months late and via a 3rd party bit player in publishing, not even their established book distribution partner.

Rumors and leaks are great and all, and fuel large portions of the blogosphere, but to me it’s not real until I can get it into the store and physically read something — and preferably, sell it. And $20 for a 96pg, extremely niche-fan-focused book? Not the best start for Kodansha USA.

Oh, I’ll read it, given the opportunity. I might even buy it — but only with the understanding that I’m buying it to review on the blog; I don’t really need this kind of thing. (I’m kinda-sorta hoping that Jim Killen in NY will be bluffed by Kodansha and a copy will show up at my store so I can flip through it without having to special order one.)

Kodansha apparently wants to start a brand-new Viz-type vertically integrated manga publishing operation — but if this is extent of what they’re attempting… well, we’re just not seeing it yet.

correction 7 October: the book *is* being distributed by Oxford; I find involvement of the Japan Publications Trading Co. in what was presented to be a Kodansha title confusing, but no doubt reflects how the book was published in Japan. — and the book appears to be just another Kodansha non-fiction title, originally scheduled for a November release and unrelated to the Mysterious Manga Initiative.

I’m using my manga charts to look at the output of select publishers —

covered previously:
ADV Manga, Aurora Publishing, Broccoli Books, CMX, Dark Horse, Del Rey, DMP/DMP June/801,

Today the spotlight is on

Graphic-Sha & Japanime’s Manga University

Let’s change gears a bit and consider one interesting aspect of my manga charts: There is some stuff here that isn’t manga.

I’ll typically include any book that is “co-branded” (for lack of a better term) with a popular manga series: the art books, character guides, source books (“How to Read Death Note” anyone?), novels (which I discussed two weeks ago) — and a stack of stuff that is even more questionable, like ani-manga & cine-manga, calendars, sticker books, and Pokemon.

Past the tie-in stuff, there are some academic & scholarly works I’m tracking as well: obviously I’m going to include Thompson’s Guide to Manga; Scott McCloud will always have a place on my charts, and I’m also making room for Abel & Madden as well as at least one or two guides to Anime. —

By far the largest group of non-manga manga titles in my database, though, are the How-To books, and of these the vast majority are Graphic-Sha’s How to Draw Manga series. And that’s not a bad thing. Graphic-Sha, a Japanese publisher, commissioned Japanese artists and authors to produce a series of how-to books in Japan, for the Japanese market. (Do you see the trend there?) Quite a few of these books (around 65, give or take) have been translated and made available to the English market, via co-productions with two companies: Japan Publications Trading Co., who also publish the Japanese in Mangaland series of language texts, and Japanime, a company most American readers will know as Manga University

I don’t know which company worked on which books, though one could look at the titles are being offered on the two sites — but on at least one level (my level: the books on the shelf at retail) it doesn’t matter, as the entire series has a unified look-and-feel and if there are any differences, these are transparent to the consumer.

Graphic-Sha’s How to Draw Manga is a venerable series (in manga terms; the first book was published in the U.S. back in 1999) and well known to most folks who’ve browsed the art how-to section at their local big box. I’ll list the titles I have in my database (at the end of this post, and an aside: it’s so good to see that the anatomy volume is the top ranked, gives me some hope for the aspiring artists) but I think the more interesting story is hidden behind and around and beside the How-to-Draw series:

Let’s take a campus tour over at Manga University.

They’ve got some fun stuff there: free online tutorials, t-shirts, art supplies, a webcomic, complete online classes, a publisher’s blog…

that’s… nice. Just icing, though. The cake is the books.

And The Meat is MU’s selection of language titles.

I’ve been trying to teach myself Japanese for about a year. Unfortunately I can only do it on a very, very part time basis so I’m still stuck trying to memorize the kana. Hey, what do you know, they have a book for that: Kana de Manga. It’s cute — each page is illustrated (by Chihiro Hattori) — but also clear and accessible: the blurbs on each page include a sample word (often a familiar japanese term—like kimono—for the hirgana, and english loan words for the katakana) starting with the kana in question, and an illustation of the stroke order so you know how to properly write each one. It’s not a guarantee or an instant fix; one still needs to study, but this is a definite improvement over dry, boring college texts.

After you learn the kana, you can move on the Kanji de Manga, of which there are 5 volumes, and the special editions on Sound Effects drawn in most manga, and yojijukugo (4 kanji japanese idioms).

And the reason I kept using food metaphors is because they also publish a cookbook: not just any cookbook, though, a Manga Cookbook. The Manga Cookbook is also cute (Hattori does these characters, too) and is aimed, perhaps, at a slightly younger audience. While the introductory chapters on selected Japanese ingredients was certainly helpful, particularly in noting which should be available in the States and noting a few substitutions that can be made, on the whole it stuck me as Japanese Cooking for Kids. I personally would rather sink my teeth into The Japanese Pub Cookbook, and home chefs might be better served by one or both of Harumi’s books. Paired with a bento set, though, the Manga Cookbook would be a fine present for the tween manga fan, particularly if he or she is a fan of cooking manga like Kitchen Princess.

(If she’s a fan of Iron Wok Jan, you could always get her an iron wok — I own one of these Lodge Cast Iron Woks and it is super-sweet, a very close second-favorite right behind my 12’ heirloom cast iron skillet.)

Manga University also has a number of little gift books, each about 100 pages and 5 inches square — of these I own Manga Moods and 50 Things We Love About Japan and have been pleased with each; to actually recommend one of these is going to depend a lot on context and gift recipient, though, as they aren’t ‘manga’ enough for some fans (who’d likely rather just get more manga) and might be a bit too manga for the general public. Atsuhisa Okura’s art in 50 Things is awfully pretty though.

Manga University’s ranking titles:

113. ↑7 (120) : Manga Cookbook – Japanime’s Manga University, Aug 2007 [253.2] ::
405. ↓-12 (393) : Kanji de Manga 1 – Japanime’s Manga University, Jan 2005 [83.9] ::
499. ↓-142 (357) : Kanji de Manga vols 1-3 box set – Japanime’s Manga University, Nov 2006 [57.8] ::
845. ↑476 (1321) : Manga Moods – Japanime’s Manga University, Mar 2006 [10.5] ::
1769. ↑new (last ranked 27 Jul 08) : Kanji de Manga Kana de Manga Special Edition: Japanese Sound FX – Japanime’s Manga University, Apr 2007 [0.1] ::

previously ranked:

. (last ranked 17 Aug 08) : Kanji de Manga 3 – Japanime’s Manga University, Nov 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 22 Jun 08) : Kanji de Manga Special Edition: Yoji-Jukugo – Japanime’s Manga University, Apr 2008 [0] ::
. (last ranked 10 Aug 08) : Kanji de Manga Kana de Manga – Japanime’s Manga University, Jan 2005 [0] ::
. (last ranked 22 Jun 08) : Kanji de Manga 5 – Japanime’s Manga University, Aug 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 25 May 08) : Manga Cookbook Bento Box Gift Set – Japanime’s Manga University, Sep 2008 [0] ::

##

Graphic Sha’s How To Draw Manga
(ranking titles; if you were looking for a complete, numbered list then check wikipedia)

304. ↓-31 (273) : How to Draw Manga Bodies & Anatomy – Graphic Sha, Aug 2002 [115.2] ::
382. ↓-18 (364) : How to Draw Manga Sketching Manga Style 1 – Graphic Sha, May 2007 [89.8] ::
584. ↑169 (753) : How to Draw Manga Compiling Characters – Graphic Sha, Jul 1999 [39.3] ::
901. ↓-155 (746) : How to Draw Manga Sketching Manga Style 2 – Graphic Sha, May 2007 [8.2] ::
927. ↓-269 (658) : How to Draw Manga Couples – Graphic Sha, Oct 2002 [7.4] ::
1065. ↑115 (1180) : How to Draw Manga Costume Encyclopedia 4 – Graphic Sha, Mar 2007 [4.5] ::
1068. ↓-316 (752) : How to Draw Manga Techniques for Drawing Female Manga Characters – Graphic Sha, Aug 2002 [4.4] ::
1102. ↓-27 (1075) : How to Draw Manga Putting Things in Perspective – Graphic Sha, Sep 2002 [3.7] ::
1146. ↓-25 (1121) : How to Draw Manga Occult & Horror – Graphic Sha, Aug 2002 [3] ::
1281. ↓-59 (1222) : How to Draw Manga Drawing Yaoi – Graphic Sha, Aug 2007 [0.9] ::
1407. ↓-557 (850) : How to Draw Manga Animals – Graphic Sha, May 2005 [0.2] ::
1421. ↓-248 (1173) : How to Draw Manga Action Scene Collection Samurai & Ninja – Graphic Sha, Apr 2007 [0.2] ::
1424. ↓-227 (1197) : How to Draw Manga Pen & Tone Techniques – Graphic Sha, Dec 2002 [0.2] ::
1425. ↓-220 (1205) : How to Draw Manga Mech Drawing – Graphic Sha, May 2003 [0.2] ::
1466. ↓-36 (1430) : How to Draw Manga Costume Encyclopedia 1 – Graphic Sha, Feb 2003 [0.2] ::
1578. ↓-368 (1210) : How to Draw Manga Girls’ Life Illustration File – Graphic Sha, Apr 2003 [0.1] ::
1579. ↓-361 (1218) : How to Draw Manga Ultimate Manga Lessons 1 – Graphic Sha, May 2005 [0.1] ::
1598. ↓-213 (1385) : How to Draw Manga Male Characters – Graphic Sha, Aug 2002 [0.1] ::
1613. ↓-199 (1414) : How to Draw Manga Ultimate Manga Lessons 6 – Graphic Sha, Mar 2006 [0.1] ::
1623. ↓-179 (1444) : How to Draw Manga Costume Encyclopedia 2 – Graphic Sha, Sep 2004 [0.1] ::
1632. ↓-144 (1488) : How to Draw Manga Giant Robots – Graphic Sha, Feb 2002 [0.1] ::
1643. ↓-132 (1511) : How to Draw Manga Ultimate Manga Lessons 3 – Graphic Sha, Aug 2005 [0.1] ::
1682. ↓-10 (1672) : How to Draw Manga Ninja & Samurai – Graphic Sha, Nov 2005 [0.1] ::
1694. ↑8 (1702) : How to Draw Manga Getting Started – Graphic Sha, Sep 2004 [0.1] ::
1777. ↑new (last ranked 3 Aug 08) : How to Draw Manga Bishoujo Around the World – Graphic Sha, Aug 2002 [0.1] ::

other titles, previously ranked.

. (last ranked 24 Aug 08) : How to Draw Manga Bishoujo – Graphic Sha, Feb 2001 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : How to Draw Manga Computones 4 – Graphic Sha, Jun 2000 [0] ::
. (last ranked 27 Jul 08) : How to Draw Manga Computones 5 – Graphic Sha, Jun 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 10 Aug 08) : How to Draw Manga Creating Stories – Graphic Sha, Apr 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : How to Draw Manga Dressing Your Characters – Graphic Sha, Jun 2001 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : How to Draw Manga Female Characters – Graphic Sha, Aug 2002 [0] ::
. (last ranked 17 Aug 08) : How to Draw Manga Guns & Military 2 – Graphic Sha, Aug 2003 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : How to Draw Manga Illustration Kit – Graphic Sha, Sep 2004 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : How to Draw Manga Maids & Miko – Graphic Sha, Nov 2002 [0] ::
. (last ranked 24 Aug 08) : How to Draw Manga Making Anime – Graphic Sha, Nov 2002 [0] ::
. (last ranked 30 Mar 08) : How to Draw Manga More How to Draw Manga 1 – Graphic Sha, May 2004 [0] ::
. (last ranked 24 Aug 08) : How to Draw Manga More How to Draw Manga 3 – Graphic Sha, Sep 2004 [0] ::
. (last ranked 27 Jul 08) : How to Draw Manga More How to Draw Manga 4 – Graphic Sha, Jul 2004 [0] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : How to Draw Manga Penning Characters – Graphic Sha, May 2004 [0] ::
. (last ranked 27 Jul 08) : How to Draw Manga Special: Colored Original Drawings – Graphic Sha, Jun 2001 [0] ::
. (last ranked 10 Aug 08) : How to Draw Manga Super Tone Techniques – Graphic Sha, Aug 2002 [0] ::
. (last ranked 22 Jun 08) : How to Draw Manga Super-deformed Characters 2 – Graphic Sha, May 2005 [0] ::
. (last ranked 17 Aug 08) : How to Draw Manga Ultimate Manga Lessons 2 – Graphic Sha, Oct 2005 [0] ::
. (last ranked 10 Aug 08) : How to Draw Manga Ultimate Manga Lessons 4 – Graphic Sha, Jan 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 24 Aug 08) : How to Draw Manga Ultimate Manga Lessons 5 – Graphic Sha, Feb 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 24 Aug 08) : New Generation of Manga Artists 3 – Graphic Sha, Apr 2003 [0] ::

##

(Some of you might have been expecting an article on Go! Comi this week, or last week actually — I promise I’ll be covering Go! Comi at some point in the near future but they’ve this very interesting tidbit on their site that requires some additional research and analysis)

key:
Manga 500 ranking. ↕movement (last wks. rank) : title – pub.info & [score] ::

Top 10 Preorders:

47. ↑8 (55) : Naruto 31 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2008 [398.8] ::
113. ↑13 (126) : Warriors Tigerstar & Sasha 1 – HC/Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [244.9] ::
131. ↑41 (172) : Vampire Knight 5 – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2008 [228.3] ::
160. ↑25 (185) : Fruits Basket 21 – Tokyopop, Nov 2008 [201.1] ::
214. ↑56 (270) : Bleach 24 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2008 [157.3] ::
265. ↓-47 (218) : Hellsing 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2008 [128.2] ::
297. ↑92 (389) : Loveless 8 – Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [110.9] ::
325. ↓-72 (253) : Vampire Kisses 2 – HC/Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [101] ::
339. ↓-44 (295) : Naruto 32 – Viz Shonen Jump, Nov 2008 [96.7] ::
345. ↑120 (465) : Negima! 8 – Del Rey, Dec 2008 [94.5] ::

##

By Month of Release:

September:
418. ↑123 (541) : Berserk 25 – Dark Horse, Sep 2008 [71.7] ::
1504. ↑new (0) : Black Cat 16 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2008 [0.1] ::
784. ↓-86 (698) : Black Jack 1 – Vertical, Sep 2008 [12.9] ::
214. ↑56 (270) : Bleach 24 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2008 [157.3] ::
860. ↑782 (1642) : Bleach Collector’s Edition Hardcover 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2008 [9.1] ::
1469. ↑38 (1507) : Bleach vols 1-21 box set – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2008 [0.2] ::
1107. ↓-94 (1013) : Chibi Vampire 10 – Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [2.9] ::
1508. ↑new (0) : Death Note Collector’s Edition Hardcover 1 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Sep 2008 [0.1] ::
1534. ↓-775 (759) : Dragon Ball VizBig Edition 2 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2008 [0.1] ::
544. ↑191 (735) : Dragon Ball Z VizBig Edition 2 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2008 [44.8] ::
1336. ↓-56 (1280) : Eiken 12 – Media Blasters, Sep 2008 [0.3] ::
1719. ↑new (last ranked 3 Aug 08) : Evyione: Ocean Fantasy 2 – Udon, Sep 2008 [0.1] ::
632. ↑523 (1155) : Gentlemen’s Alliance† 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2008 [30.2] ::
739. ↓-14 (725) : Getbackers 26 – Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [15.9] ::
841. ↓-154 (687) : Getbackers Infinity Fortress 1 – Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [9.6] ::
358. ↑192 (550) : Gothic & Lolita Bible 3 – Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [91] ::
468. ↑394 (862) : High School Debut 5 – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2008 [59.1] ::
1599. ↓-174 (1425) : Hunter x Hunter 22 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Sep 2008 [0.1] ::
430. ↑144 (574) : Junjo Romantica 7 – Tokyopop Blu, Sep 2008 [68.7] ::
893. ↑new (0) : Love*com 8 – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2008 [8.2] ::
297. ↑92 (389) : Loveless 8 – Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [110.9] ::
1601. ↓-171 (1430) : Mail Order Ninja 3 – Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [0.1] ::
794. ↑126 (920) : Manga Mania Shonen – Sixth & Spring, Sep 2008 [12.6] ::
832. ↓-129 (703) : Mixed Vegetables 1 – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2008 [10] ::
666. ↑new (0) : Monkey High! 3 – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2008 [24.6] ::
889. ↑new (last ranked 6 Jul 08) : Monochrome Factor 3 – Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [8.4] ::
919. ↓-186 (733) : My Dearest Devil Princess 4 – Broccoli Books, Sep 2008 [7.3] ::
882. ↑new (last ranked 22 Jun 08) : Nana 12 – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2008 [8.5] ::
47. ↑8 (55) : Naruto 31 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2008 [398.8] ::
660. ↑259 (919) : Negima! 19 – Del Rey, Sep 2008 [25.2] ::
406. ↓-155 (251) : Phoenix Wright 1 – Del Rey, Sep 2008 [75] ::
1678. ↑new (last ranked 10 Aug 08) : Rave Master 30 – Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [0.1] ::
535. ↑new (0) : S.A (Special A) 6 – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2008 [46.1] ::
557. ↑301 (858) : Skip Beat! 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2008 [42.7] ::
1007. ↑new (last ranked 3 Aug 08) : Sundome 3 – Yen Press, Sep 2008 [4.9] ::
1554. ↓-404 (1150) : tactics 6 – Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [0.1] ::
1244. ↓-81 (1163) : Vagabond The Art of Vagabond: Water – Viz Signature, Sep 2008 [0.6] ::
325. ↓-72 (253) : Vampire Kisses 2 – HC/Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [101] ::
131. ↑41 (172) : Vampire Knight 5 – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2008 [228.3] ::
537. ↑new (0) : Wanted – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2008 [46] ::
113. ↑13 (126) : Warriors Tigerstar & Sasha 1 – HC/Tokyopop, Sep 2008 [244.9] ::
452. ↑404 (856) : Wild Ones 4 – Viz Shojo Beat, Sep 2008 [62.7] ::

October:
856. ↓-20 (836) : .hack// G.U.+ 3 – Tokyopop, Oct 2008 [9.2] ::
851. ↓-19 (832) : .hack// XXXX 2 – Tokyopop, Oct 2008 [9.3] ::
846. ↓-153 (693) : Air Gear 10 – Del Rey, Oct 2008 [9.4] ::
445. ↓-28 (417) : Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan – Random House Pantheon, Oct 2008 [64.5] ::
1712. ↑new (last ranked 27 Jul 08) : Beauty Pop 9 – Viz Shojo Beat, Oct 2008 [0.1] ::
847. ↑602 (1449) : Black Lagoon 2 – Viz, Oct 2008 [9.4] ::
946. ↑new (0) : Blank Slate 1 – Viz Shojo Beat, Oct 2008 [6.5] ::
870. ↓-156 (714) : Bleach Souls: Official Character Book – Viz Shonen Jump, Oct 2008 [8.8] ::
624. ↓-126 (498) : Death Note vols 1-13 box set – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Oct 2008 [31.6] ::
1455. ↓-34 (1421) : Dragon Ball Collector’s Edition Hardcover 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Oct 2008 [0.2] ::
1467. ↑3 (1470) : Fruits Basket Planner – Tokyopop, Oct 2008 [0.2] ::
782. ↑276 (1058) : Fruits Basket Ultimate Edition 4 – Tokyopop, Oct 2008 [13.1] ::
1319. ↓-297 (1022) : Fullmetal Alchemist 17 – Viz, Oct 2008 [0.3] ::
265. ↓-47 (218) : Hellsing 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2008 [128.2] ::
843. ↓-153 (690) : Hikaru no Go 13 – Viz Shonen Jump, Oct 2008 [9.5] ::
1582. ↓-216 (1366) : Inuyasha 35 – Viz, Oct 2008 [0.1] ::
1566. ↓-264 (1302) : Kitchen Princess 8 – Del Rey, Oct 2008 [0.1] ::
728. ↑new (0) : Knights 2 – DMP, Oct 2008 [16.8] ::
1517. ↑new (0) : Legend of Zelda 1 – Vizkids, Oct 2008 [0.1] ::
838. ↑590 (1428) : Love Mode 11 – Tokyopop Blu, Oct 2008 [9.7] ::
561. ↑527 (1088) : Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 1 – Yen Press, Oct 2008 [41.8] ::
906. ↓-389 (517) : Pet Shop of Horrors Tokyo 3 – Tokyopop, Oct 2008 [7.6] ::
1413. ↓-108 (1305) : Ral Ω Grad 2 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Oct 2008 [0.2] ::
1362. ↑263 (1625) : Rosario+Vampire 3 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Oct 2008 [0.3] ::
779. ↑188 (967) : Strawberry Panic (novel) 3 – Seven Seas Strawberry, Oct 2008 [13.3] ::
1185. ↓-155 (1030) : Tail of the Moon 13 – Viz Shojo Beat, Oct 2008 [1.4] ::
1460. ↓-21 (1439) : Vampire’s Portrait 1 – DMP June, Oct 2008 [0.2] ::
1529. ↑new (0) : Yagyu Ninja Scrolls 5 – Del Rey, Oct 2008 [0.1] ::
700. ↑new (last ranked 10 Aug 08) : Zombie Loan 4 – Yen Press, Oct 2008 [19.5] ::

November:
1502. ↑new (0) : AP’s How to Draw Manga How to Draw Chibi – Antarctic Press, Nov 2008 [0.1] ::
160. ↑25 (185) : Fruits Basket 21 – Tokyopop, Nov 2008 [201.1] ::
835. ↑new (0) : Hayate the Combat Butler 9 – Viz, Nov 2008 [9.7] ::
1015. ↑46 (1061) : King City 1 – Tokyopop, Nov 2008 [4.7] ::
857. ↑new (0) : King of Thorn 6 – Tokyopop, Nov 2008 [9.1] ::
839. ↑new (0) : Mushishi 6 – Del Rey, Nov 2008 [9.6] ::
339. ↓-44 (295) : Naruto 32 – Viz Shonen Jump, Nov 2008 [96.7] ::
812. ↑797 (1609) : Ouran High School Host Club 11 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2008 [11.3] ::
1605. ↓-171 (1434) : Record of a Fallen Vampire 3 – Viz, Nov 2008 [0.1] ::
1527. ↑new (0) : Wild Adapter 6 – Tokyopop, Nov 2008 [0.1] ::
1435. ↓-62 (1373) : Yu-Gi-Oh! GX 2 – Viz Shonen Jump, Nov 2008 [0.2] ::

December and Beyond:
1424. ↓-83 (1341) : Berserk 26 – Dark Horse, Dec 2008 [0.2] ::
966. ↑new (0) : Blank Slate 2 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2008 [5.8] ::
1487. ↑164 (1651) : Bleach 25 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2008 [0.2] ::
1000. ↓-388 (612) : Full Metal Panic! (novel) 2 – Tokyopop, Dec 2008 [5] ::
854. ↑new (0) : Monochrome Factor 4 – Tokyopop, Dec 2008 [9.2] ::
431. ↓-98 (333) : Naruto 33 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2008 [68.4] ::
345. ↑120 (465) : Negima! 8 – Del Rey, Dec 2008 [94.5] ::
1518. ↑new (0) : Nightmare Inspector 5 – Viz, Dec 2008 [0.1] ::
1520. ↑new (0) : Rave Master 31 – Tokyopop, Dec 2008 [0.1] ::
1606. ↓-171 (1435) : Sola 2 – Broccoli Books, Dec 2008 [0.1] ::
1280. ↓-151 (1129) : Tail of the Moon 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2008 [0.4] ::
586. ↑91 (677) : Warriors Tigerstar & Sasha 2 – HC/Tokyopop, Dec 2008 [36.3] ::

1532. ↓-890 (642) : Phoenix Wright 2 – Del Rey, Feb 2009 [0.1] ::

1166. ↓-165 (1001) : Yotsuba&! 6 – ADV, TBA [1.8] ::

I’m using my manga charts to look at the output of select publishers —

covered previously:
Aurora Publishing, ADV Manga, CMX, Dark Horse, Del Rey, DMP/DMP June/801

In the Spotlight this week:

Broccoli Books

I was wondering which pub to tackle next (Go! Media was the next one up, alphabetically, and is slated for next week) when it occurred to me to maybe take a closer look at exactly which, and how many, publishers I should be looking at anyway. The fruits of that effort were posted this morning, and after combining those percentages with a straight-up title count, I’ve managed to outline the full course of these columns: 19 publishers, plus 2 special features, plus (to close this out with a bang) special 3-part articles for both Tokyopop and Viz for a total of 25 columns —of which this is the 7th.

So. We’ll be doing this for a while.

##

In no way meant as a slight, I initially skipped Broccoli because at the time there were only 17 of their titles in my spreadsheet (10 of them ranked) and I figured I would lump them in with some others in a consolidated, 3rd-tier publisher report.

In the interim, another 9 titles have migrated into my database, Koi Cupid debuted well, all four volumes of My Dearest Devil Princess are picking up online sales — and maybe there’s a Nintendo DS port of Disgaea 2 coming or whatnot, because some of these titles are on the move. The 26 current titles (17 ranked) when weighted by score add up to around .5% of the market

.5% of a $210M market is One Million Dollars. (I just like saying that) (…and that’s only an estimate, and would be gross sales, not net revenue or EBITA or profits)

So: Broccoli.

Broccoli Books specializes in Japanese comics, illustration books, graphic novels, and more. Broccoli Books is a division of Broccoli International USA, parent company of Anime Gamers USA and Synch-Point.

…

Many familiar with Japanese animation goods know the name Broccoli. Broccoli is a name that people have come to recognize in the field of anime and manga merchandise. Broccoli International’s Japan-based parent company, Broccoli, opened Gamers, a store catered to the Japanese animation, comics, and card game fans in 1996.

Ah… so nice to be back in the comfy realms of lazy-bloggerdom, and having the luxury of just linking to the publisher’s website

While we’re touring the Broccoli site, please look out the window to your left for a magnificent view of a regularly updated industry blog, always nice to see that, and to our right is an index of the books that you can find by clicking a tab marked, you know, ‘books’. I hate to make a big deal out of this, and really, it’s just so I can knock Tokyopop for their atrocilicious web site design, but we All need to berate Tokyopop for that at every opportunity.

But wait, there’s more! A current new release list! — Product Previews! — Online-exclusive content! — Links to Company HQ in Japan where you can find boring financial information!

I can almost see your eyes rolling on that last one, but come on: when I can load up a site and go from front page (and across a language barrier) to “FY2007 sales of 10.1 billion yen” in under two minutes? That’s some good web design.

##

Broccoli has also set up a BL imprint, Just like everyone else. (I think I may even have one, and I’m not even a publisher.) Boysenberry Books isn’t trying to quickly flood the market with a mess of books, though; true to their roots they are taking the time to put out quality product as a first priority, and that strategy seems to be paying off. While Sex Friend may not be ranked, the other 3 books are.

310. ↓-49 (261) : Pet on Duty – Boysenberry Books, Nov 2007 [94.3] ::
738. ↓-171 (567) : Delivery Cupid – Boysenberry Books, Jul 2007 [15.7] ::
1520. ↓-725 (795) : Cigarette Kisses – Boysenberry Books, Jul 2008 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 27 Jul 08) : Sex Friend – Boysenberry Books, Dec 2007 [0] ::

I don’t know about their release shedule, but even 2-3 books a year beats ADV.

##

BL is just a sideline, anyway. The main imprint has the benefit of anime & game tie-ins, access to the most saccarine-sweet-chibi-moe-characters ever (the company was practically built on them, and they continue to “innovate”) and on top of that, when they say Deluxe (which they do, right on the cover of every book) they mean it. Next time you’re at your local, find a Broccoli book and pick it up: you’ll note that it feels substantial, even heavy for a book that size. This isn’t recycled newsprint.

Disgaea is on a tear; or at least the Art Book is. Other books breaking into the most recent Manga 500 include Koi Cupid vol 1 and Sola vol 1. The first two books of My Dearest Devil Princess aren’t that far behind.

I only have 26 Broccoli titles in my database — that’s with the 4 Boysenberry titles above. 26 of 3499 titles is only a very small fraction, but Broccoli seems to be on pace to do well.

currently tracked Broccoli titles, alpha by series:

1491. ↑new (0) : Aquarian Age: Juvenile Orion 5 – Broccoli Books, Mar 2005 [0.1] ::
1612. ↓-161 (1451) : Aquarian Age: Juvenile Orion 2 – Broccoli Books, Jul 2004 [0.1] ::

177. ↑42 (219) : Disgaea The World of Disgaea 2 – Broccoli Books, Apr 2008 [186.1] ::
970. ↓-70 (900) : Disgaea 2 vol 2 – Broccoli Books, Jul 2007 [6.8] ::
1669. ↓-99 (1570) : Disgaea 2 vol 1 – Broccoli Books, Feb 2007 [0.1] ::
1743. ↑new (last ranked 13 Jul 08) : Disgaea 1 – Broccoli Books, Sep 2006 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 3 Aug 08) : Disgaea 2 vol 3 – Broccoli Books, Jan 2009 [0] ::
. (last ranked 27 Jul 08) : Disgaea The World of Disgaea Character Collection – Broccoli Books, Feb 2007 [0] ::

1619. ↓-160 (1459) : Galaxy Angel II 4 – Broccoli Books, Sep 2008 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 27 Jul 08) : Galaxy Angel Beta 3 – Broccoli Books, Aug 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : Galaxy Angel II 2 – Broccoli Books, May 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : Galaxy Angel II 3 – Broccoli Books, Feb 2008 [0] ::

252. ↓-15 (237) : Koi Cupid 1 – Broccoli Books, Apr 2008 [122.9] ::

. (last ranked 13 Jul 08) : Kon Kon Kokon 1 – Broccoli Books, Jun 2007 [0] ::

549. ↓-171 (378) : My Dearest Devil Princess 1 – Broccoli Books, Nov 2007 [33.7] ::
577. ↑124 (701) : My Dearest Devil Princess 2 – Broccoli Books, Feb 2008 [29.6] ::
928. ↑new (0) : My Dearest Devil Princess 4 – Broccoli Books, Sep 2008 [7.9] ::
953. ↑new (last ranked 3 Aug 08) : My Dearest Devil Princess 3 – Broccoli Books, Jun 2008 [7.2] ::

. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Murder Princess 1 – Broccoli Books, Mar 2007 [0] ::

455. ↑333 (788) : Sola 1 – Broccoli Books, Jun 2008 [52.9] ::

1159. ↑new (0) : Until the Full Moon 1 – Broccoli Books, Feb 2005 [3.8] ::
. (last ranked 13 Jul 08) : Until the Full Moon 2 – Broccoli Books, Apr 2005 [0] ::