2004 Year in Review
Manga
by Liann Cooper,
The manga industry has come a long way—you no longer have to hunt for weeks searching for that next volume of your favorite series or reread volume two of Akira because it's the only manga your bookstore carries. In fact, you probably have a hard time avoiding manga, seeing as it has practically exploded onto bookstore shelves. shounen, big boobs, and deep drama—everything a comic fanatic's heart could desire is now easily accessible and appears to have nothing but a healthy future in today's society. 2004 has been a big year for manga and 2005 promises to hold some even bigger surprises in the crazy world of Japanese graphic novels.
Industry forerunners manhwa titles—enough to satisfy the most hardcore of fans.
If you thought TOKYOPOP dominated the market in 2003, you were probably blown away by 2004. It seemed like every manga spine was dotted with the red TOKYOPOP logo! And if it wasn't, it was stamped with Viz's trademark shoujo or “SJ” (Shounen Jump) icon. Both companies kicked their releases up a notch and thus seemed to take over the market. But, quantity doesn't always mean quality and within the mass of releases by both companies were some duds. Duds mean more room for newer companies and the newer companies all but shined in 2004. The industry relies on the two bigwigs TOKYOPOP and Viz, but some newer companies are making their mark and keeping the industry fresh.
In 2003, ADV Manga was off to a small, but successful start; their flagship series and YOU immediately think of TOKYOPOP, Viz, and now ADV Manga.
Another strong name in the manga game is Del Rey Manga. Just by looking at their first four acquisitions—The Wallflower, this fledgling company has a very bright future.
And speaking of bright futures, GALS! on the way in 2005, fans have lots to look forward to with this small company.
Another small manga branch that's making a name for itself is Golden Cain. Though more pricey at $15.99 a book, if you're looking for some hot'n'heavy yaoi action, Be Beautiful has put themselves on the map in order to satisfy your cravings.
Last but certainly not least in this manga game is Level C, Media Blasters has shown nothing but quality and attention to detail. I know I'm looking forward to what's to come, and hopefully readers will welcome Media Blaster's unique perspective to the industry with open arms.
As always, there are those companies that have been around for a while and have a small collection of titles. But those titles are produced with such quality that readers will always appreciate and anticipate their release. World of Narue. These companies are small, but without them fans would not have some of their favorite series. They all had a successful year in 2004, and hopefully their success will continue into 2005.
Enough about manga, right? Let's talk about manhwa. You know—the Korean comics. While it seemed like manga was dominating the scene, manhwa was making an impact of its own. It used to be that The Missing White Dragon. Offering a nice variety of shoujo and shounen manhwa titles, Infinity Studios is in for some stiff competition with TOKYOPOP and ADV's manhwa library, but if they keep to releasing good quality titles, fans are sure to sit up and take notice.
So, what does the future hold for the world of manga? Will the market bust because of the staggering amount of manga and manhwa that has been released? These strange backwards comics are showing up in the most common of places such as WalMart and Target, for Pete's sake! Aren't readers going to become oversaturated and stop buying? I say a big “N-O” to that, my friends. Even Bandai is getting into the game with a manga line of their own, tentively scheduled to kick off sometime this year. The time to strike is when the iron is hot and the iron is hotter than ever.
Readers are rabidly devouring these series. Manga commercials are showing up on T.V.; companies such as Rising Stars of Manga are flourishing. Because of this gateway to “Americanized” manga, and the influx of manhwa, series are more than readily available. As long as companies continue to listen to the fans and pump out quality titles and translations, the market shows no signs of busting anytime soon. The world of manga is a huge place and the stateside market has tapped into but a small percentage of it. So, as the rabid readers we are, we should enjoy the amazing quantity available to us and the industry. It's been a long time since ChixComics or having to special-order manga from your local bookstore and I, for one, am in no rush to go back.
Industry forerunners manhwa titles—enough to satisfy the most hardcore of fans.
If you thought TOKYOPOP dominated the market in 2003, you were probably blown away by 2004. It seemed like every manga spine was dotted with the red TOKYOPOP logo! And if it wasn't, it was stamped with Viz's trademark shoujo or “SJ” (Shounen Jump) icon. Both companies kicked their releases up a notch and thus seemed to take over the market. But, quantity doesn't always mean quality and within the mass of releases by both companies were some duds. Duds mean more room for newer companies and the newer companies all but shined in 2004. The industry relies on the two bigwigs TOKYOPOP and Viz, but some newer companies are making their mark and keeping the industry fresh.
In 2003, ADV Manga was off to a small, but successful start; their flagship series and YOU immediately think of TOKYOPOP, Viz, and now ADV Manga.
Another strong name in the manga game is Del Rey Manga. Just by looking at their first four acquisitions—The Wallflower, this fledgling company has a very bright future.
And speaking of bright futures, GALS! on the way in 2005, fans have lots to look forward to with this small company.
Another small manga branch that's making a name for itself is Golden Cain. Though more pricey at $15.99 a book, if you're looking for some hot'n'heavy yaoi action, Be Beautiful has put themselves on the map in order to satisfy your cravings.
Last but certainly not least in this manga game is Level C, Media Blasters has shown nothing but quality and attention to detail. I know I'm looking forward to what's to come, and hopefully readers will welcome Media Blaster's unique perspective to the industry with open arms.
As always, there are those companies that have been around for a while and have a small collection of titles. But those titles are produced with such quality that readers will always appreciate and anticipate their release. World of Narue. These companies are small, but without them fans would not have some of their favorite series. They all had a successful year in 2004, and hopefully their success will continue into 2005.
Enough about manga, right? Let's talk about manhwa. You know—the Korean comics. While it seemed like manga was dominating the scene, manhwa was making an impact of its own. It used to be that The Missing White Dragon. Offering a nice variety of shoujo and shounen manhwa titles, Infinity Studios is in for some stiff competition with TOKYOPOP and ADV's manhwa library, but if they keep to releasing good quality titles, fans are sure to sit up and take notice.
So, what does the future hold for the world of manga? Will the market bust because of the staggering amount of manga and manhwa that has been released? These strange backwards comics are showing up in the most common of places such as WalMart and Target, for Pete's sake! Aren't readers going to become oversaturated and stop buying? I say a big “N-O” to that, my friends. Even Bandai is getting into the game with a manga line of their own, tentively scheduled to kick off sometime this year. The time to strike is when the iron is hot and the iron is hotter than ever.
Readers are rabidly devouring these series. Manga commercials are showing up on T.V.; companies such as Rising Stars of Manga are flourishing. Because of this gateway to “Americanized” manga, and the influx of manhwa, series are more than readily available. As long as companies continue to listen to the fans and pump out quality titles and translations, the market shows no signs of busting anytime soon. The world of manga is a huge place and the stateside market has tapped into but a small percentage of it. So, as the rabid readers we are, we should enjoy the amazing quantity available to us and the industry. It's been a long time since ChixComics or having to special-order manga from your local bookstore and I, for one, am in no rush to go back.
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