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Manga Answerman - Why Isn't My Favorite Manga Licensed In America?

It's got underage characters doing some legally and socially unacceptable activities

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It's from a Japanese publisher who has an existing ‘first look’ relationship To explain this, it's helpful to understand the basic business relationships of some N. American manga publishers. Viz Media gets first crack for most Shogakukan and Shueisha and Hakusensha manga. Kodansha Comics and Vertical publish the bulk of Kodansha Comics and novels in N. America. Yen Press is partly owned by Kadokawa.

A couple recent examples:
- To Love Ru and To Love Ru Darkness by Seven Seas instead of Viz (subsidiary of Shueisha)
- Prison School by Yen Press instead of Kodansha US. When they were asked on their english blog a couple years ago about Prison School, they incredulously replied that such content would never make over in the US, stating no one wanted to pick it up because of content. Even Kodansha US is releasing more "riskier" titles now. I wonder if the same representative is eating crow now.

I'll be the first to mention the mystery that is Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, given that it's been released in many other overseas territories, is quite inoffensive, and already has a devoted fanbase... Perhaps it's more niche than I think, but if Mushishi and Saturn Apartments could get full releases, what makes YKK such a risky bet?

configspace wrote:

Quote: It's from a Japanese publisher who has an existing ‘first look’ relationship To explain this, it's helpful to understand the basic business relationships of some N. American manga publishers. Viz Media gets first crack for most Shogakukan and Shueisha and Hakusensha manga. Kodansha Comics and Vertical publish the bulk of Kodansha Comics and novels in N. America. Yen Press is partly owned by Kadokawa. A couple recent examples: - To Love Ru and To Love Ru Darkness by Seven Seas instead of Viz (subsidiary of Shueisha) - Prison School by Yen Press instead of Kodansha US. When they were asked on their english blog a couple years ago about Prison School, they incredulously replied that such content would never make over in the US, stating no one wanted to pick it up because of content. Even Kodansha US is releasing more "riskier" titles now. I wonder if the same representative is eating crow now.

Hiya! I was that person. I currently work at Yen and edit Prison School over here. Isn't life fun?

No eating crow tho. I stand by what I said years ago--- 2013 Kodansha Comics had a very different line up than current Yen Press. Prison School would have been hella out of place over there. So I guess that's another reason to add to the pile: if the series in question would be "off brand," the publisher might not consider it. Drawn & Quarterly isn't gonna publish the hot new Shonen Jump manga, for example.

As for a title I would like to see licensed but is difficult:
Takemiya’s Song of the Wind and the Trees is a series that has a bunch of things working against it for example being old, long, Shogakukan and having sensitive content.

katscradle wrote:

As for a title I would like to see licensed but is difficult: Takemiya’s Song of the Wind and the Trees is a series that has a bunch of things working against it for example being old, long, Shogakukan and having sensitive content.

This one was recently announced by an Italian publisher. They said it will be its first release outside of Japan.

https://www.facebook.com/JPopManga/photos/a.10150161468230367.418135.233308605366/10160608490110367/?type=1&theater

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It's got underage characters doing some legally and socially unacceptable activities

Unless your name is To Love Ru Darkness or A Girl on the Shore.

I've pretty much come to accept that some of my favorite manga have a long shot, at best, of ever being available officially in English. [...] I have no optimism at all for The World God Only Knows (too long, too Japanese),

Why might a creator not want it in English?

CatSword wrote:

Quote: It's got underage characters doing some legally and socially unacceptable activities Unless your name is To Love Ru Darkness or A Girl on the Shore.

You're omitting a key part of that segment: "...features under-age characters having, uhm, sexual interactions with older characters." As far as I can tell, the relationships and hijinks of those series take place among teenagers, not between adults and teenagers or children.

especially if it have some ero content ala shinmai mao no testament (though the manga & LN versions been released in the US already!)