Forum - View topicAnyone think Yen Press will go outta business?
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Zopelthe543
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Yeah so I've been reading a couple of Yen Press titles and it makes me wonder how well this company is doing. I feel that some of there titles are a bit over priced, well the ones that are 4 panel gag comics and such. Only dishing out a couple 100 and so pages. Not only that it seems that most of there titles aren't that well known or not that popular except for Soul Eater maybe being the only Mainstream title.
Also Yen press has quite a bit of manhwa and I know how some people like to bounce up and down spouting that its not REAL manga and that its not from the Japanese so it sucks. And even though they got a Magazine to boost up some sales its also a bit pricey to some people compared to Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat. and after hearing about the Shojo Beat incident I'd think that Yen Plus Magazine will die pretty quickly. A thing I appreciate the most about Yen Press though is their printing quality is pretty amazing and they even include the color pages instead of leaving it black and white, which probably is the reason as to why some of there titles are a bit pricey.So what are your thoughts about Yen Press? Do you get buy a lot of their titles? |
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stuckinfresno
 Posts: 223 Location: Fresno, CA |
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I don't think Yen Press has anything to worry about as of right now. Their publication schedule is still on time and the number of titles released per month is still high. (Unlike Go Comi) As for the price per volume it is rather fair. Tokyopop has raised thier prices to 10.99 a volume and the quality is not nearly as good. Viz is looking to raise prices as well (look at the price for Naruto 46 or Claymore 15 it is 9.99). I understand the frustration of slim volumes, but it is your choice to buy. And as you stated, the translation, paper and ink quality, and inclusion of color pages makes it worth it.
As for titles I think you are forgetting a lot of Yen Press' publications. How about the hit Haruhi? Higurashi? They have the manga. Others such as Cirque de Freak or Nightschool are new works that have quite a bit of popularity. They are also releasing the Kieli novels. Other long standing titles such as Angel Diary or Chocolat still have quite a following. This is the difference with Yen Press they have titles that are not Naruto popular (Haruhi exempted) but have good followings. Also the Internet rumor I read here on the ANN boards is that Yen Press is looking to released Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler in their magazine. This is a title that has a huge following that I know many people are excited about. My only question is when will Yen release the tanbukon? |
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Maryohki
 Posts: 526 |
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I'm sure Yen Press will do fine. They're releasing a lot of popular and good titles, and from what I've seen they're handling them really well.
Also they are not allowed to go out of business. They announced Pandora Hearts for December. No going out of business for them allowed. Not until they've released all of Pandora Hearts. I'm not too sure about Yen Plus, though. I don't think the concept of rotating titles before they're finished is a good idea for anthology magazines to do. It just annoys the readers and they quit buying the magazines. |
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ninjapet
 Posts: 1517 |
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There release of TMoHS is great I think. They better not go out! Compared to Viz and other C.o they do a great job for the price per volume. Plus there the only ones who do color pages in there volumes.
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Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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I think the high-quality production and the higher price points are the reason they won't go out of business. If there's anything I've learned about anime/manga fans, the ones who will buy want to buy the best possible product. The one's who won't buy are usually the ones complaining the loudest about prices.
There magazine, from what I've read here and there, is doing fairly well. I do think they might be making a mistake by dropping titles. I'd do a half and half personally, with the biggest and most mainstream as the full runners while smaller titles come in and out to give people a chance to preview them. Also, unlike say Tokyopop, they appear to be a rather well-run group that isn't making many mistakes. The big question from me isn't "will they last" it's "will they be allowed to last" given that they have a larger parent company. Will the larger corporation accept that making any profit on manga is virtually a miracle with all the theft or will they close them down and try for something bigger? I'm also concerned about their light novel line, which means a lot to me given the utter failure other companies have been at releasing light novels. (Seven Seas was doing the best job but they weren't getting enough sales, probably because they started with the least marketable titles.) Yen's main problem right now would be Diamond's distribution profit caps screwing with their ability to get into smaller comic shops vs. larger retailers. As it's been said here, Yen has several high-level sellers and fan-favorites. Of course, so long as fans BUY their product, there will not be a problem. Considering the quality of their product, I think fans would be hard pressed to not buy. |
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zawa113
 Posts: 7357 |
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Man, now I'm starting to feel bad, I've only really noticed Yen Press within this past month (although I do plan to get Spiral, so I do want a title that they are publishing sometime in the near future). To be fair, this is more due to me being away at school and pretty much ignoring all companies equally (except Tokyopop, which I acknowledge exists but am going out of my way to ignore, it is now against my morals to buy any new manga from them as long as they insist on publishing on tissue paper).
It's fun and weird when I go into the Borders and everything seems different after 4 months, it's an adventure to see whose shelf space is dwindling and whose is rising and what new titles are there. My Borders carries no Vertical anymore and minimal Seven Seas and CMX, and at least ten copies of every volume of Naruto (and they took some of the space for Naruto away from Monster, stupid Borders near me no longer seems to carry Monster, I want those last two volumes!). But I still notice Yen Press taking up more space every few months, and I'm guessing Soul Eater is going to be a big seller. Also important is that I actually see their manga in stores, it's not like some of the more obscure companies where I can only seem to get their things online or see like two random volumes at Borders and that's it. So far this summer, I've only gotten 8 volumes of manga, 3 were Viz (Uzumaki 3, Please Save My Earth 1 and 13), 4 were used Tokyopop (since it doesn't give them direct money, went to the used bookstore, Jing Twilight Tales 1-3, 5), and 1 Yen Press (Cirque du Freak). I like to try and have at least one series from every manga publisher and if Cirque du Freak is any indication, Yen Press deserves my money. I think so long as they keep up quality and don't raise the price (I've come to accept $11 as a normal manga price, any more than that and it better have more pages, hence why Parasyte gets a free ride at $13, but no other Del Rey title does for me) and publishes at least a few mainstream titles to bring in the money that they should be fine for now. If the economy gets better, hopefully they'll thrive where Tokyopop once did and join the race for getting lots of money from manga. Vertical, great publisher whom I love dearly, is still here despite publishing mostly niche titles (like older Tezuka stuff) that aren't commonly found in Borders, so long as Yen Press doesn't rush to publish every pile of junk they can see and assume everything will make money (that they have gotten Kuroshitsuji at least to me clearly indicates that they have a brain), I think they outta be ok for now. |
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Mushi-Man
 Posts: 1537 Location: KCMO |
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I don't think Yen Press has to much to worry about. They've managed to stay afloat in the though economy while still keeping their fan base. And they aren't really showing any signs of plummeting into bankruptcy. I'd say they'll be around for some time to come. Sure they don't own all the big name titles like viz but they got a large variety of manga with a fan base to keep the sales up. Not to mention they also have Haruhi which is a big seller. I think the only thing Yen Press has to really worry about is keeping the same amount of quality in their products.
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Zopelthe543
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This would be another cool thread to talk about but its not a discussion of manga here. |
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mlisette23
Posts: 96 |
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I think that's really the problem with Light Novels, they're being marketed towards the wrong crowd. I'm hoping that what Yen Press is doing with the Haruhi novels is proven to be successful and other companies :cough:Seven Seas, try to do the same thing. I'm sure there's a market for these novels but that market isn't the majority of manga and comic book buyers. I've seen a few people read light novels in the manga isle, of course when I say that I mean they read the whole novel! That's really extreme, how much spare time can you possibly have to read a whole novel in a bookstore 
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ninjapet
Posts: 1517 |
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Little Brown books and Yen Press are owned by the same C.O and there marketing for the Haruhi novels is something.
At first I saw the cover of the paperback copy and the summery they put on and was thinking. "Man this sounds like they watered down the novel" I was wrong the novel was better then the translations I read. I guess watering it down is the best way to market it to every one? |
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Agoston
 Posts: 225 |
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I keep up with their Spiral release. Gotta agree, the paper quality is pretty nice. And they leave the omakes and the note from the author on the dust-jackets in there too, it's a nice touch. I hope they don't go out of business, a half assed company like Tokyopop deserves it a lot more.
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Richard J.
Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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Plus, they've got those sweet hardbacks versions. As Agoston mentioned though, their manga line is packed with quality. Color pages are a fairly regular thing with them where most companies don't even seem to be aware of the existence of color in manga. Author's notes and translator notes are pretty common too. Omake pops up when they have it. The paper quality is excellent. To be honest, I really don't see where they can be faulted. While their prices may be a little higher than other companies, they are also offering a better product compared to some of the others. I think Del Rey has the second best line due to titles and consistency in their releases with Seven Seas after them. I'd rate Seven Seas higher but they cancelled most of what I wanted from them and they aren't consistent in their releases, also some quality control issuses crop up. At least so far, Yen Press has done everything I could ask for and then some so, again, I feel they'll be fine. Those who will buy manga, should be buying their manga. |
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ninjapet
Posts: 1517 |
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I can't wait for there release of Soul Eater
but I saw the early release plans of the volumes, they had only plan on releasing about one volume between 2009-2010 I mean I thought the manga had 14 volumes or so? Del Ray is 2nd to none with Yen Press. (Del ray has a fantastic translation on Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei) |
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Kikaioh
 Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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I actually like Yen Press' selection for their monthly compilation.
 I've never been a big fan of manhwa myself (the story-telling I've seen so far hasn't been particularly up my alley, though I do like Pig Bride a fair bit) but their selection of manga titles has been quite excellent (Sumomomo is pretty funny, Bamboo Blade is very campy and Higurashi is a surprising suspense thriller that's so unique and refreshing ). It's the right kind of compilation too, I think, for transferring into more mature titles if you grew up on Shonen Jump (not a slam against Shonen Jump, though - their manga titles make up almost half my library, I love em'!  )
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einhorn303
 Posts: 1180 |
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If our world suddenly changed into a one in which there was no hardcover release with Noizi Ito, and the only way to read Haruhi in English was with the re-designed paperback covers...I would cry. Technically, though, the Haruhi novels are done by Hachette (Yen Press's mother company), not Yen Press itself. |
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