Forum - View topicVinland Saga Manga's U.S. Release Could End After 7th Volume
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13581 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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Seriously, when you make ambiguous statements like this, it can be hard for fans to support you. I think it's simpler to just say something like "Because we are having sales problems with a series we didn't really market very well, here's your chance to help continue said series".
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lys
 Posts: 1011 Location: mitten-state |
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One thing that Kodansha has said on the subject is that sales have been okay for current volumes, and it sounds like they mainly need that number to not drop off (that is, they don't want to lose readers/buyers as the series goes on, as happens a lot when publishing a series, as people lose interest or fall behind and wait to catch up). This sounds hopeful to me! It seems close enough that I think those on the fence for buying the series should go for it rather than hold back.
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leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Oh, is THAT why Stephen Paul of the One Piece Podcast sounded so depressed as of late? He's the official translator for Vinland Saga, and he's always talking about how it's his favorite thing to translate (though he does enjoy translating One Piece too).
That, I feel, is a major factor. I'd bet it's because the books are hardcover 2-in-1 editions, and so they'd cost substantially more. It not only looks more intimidating to someone unfamiliar with the serious or just curious, it also costs more to take the plunge and get the first volume. That is, such a format would require a higher level of commitment than if there were normal, thinner, cheaper paperback editions. Depending on the quality of the hardcover, it may also be easily ruined by manga cows. I've seen some try to bend hardcover manga in ways they're not supposed to and destroy the covers' internal structure. If this happens repeatedly with copies of Vinland Saga at Barnes & Nobles and such, it'd result in a lot of returned copies back to the publisher.
But you're looking at it from the point of view of a wholesale buyer. Someone who's looking through manga will focus on two things: 1) That it's $20 and thus costs more than other manga, regardless of its content, and 2) That it's big. It's a poor format for someone just trying to sample it who's unsure if they'll like it or not. Then again, as mentioned later, there are more expensive hardcover manga that are selling better, so I guess there's some other turn-off to it. Is Vinland Saga available digitally? Because if it isn't, that was a major opportunity wasted. It would avoid both of those problems at once because digital releases are inherently cheaper due to not needing any raw materials and fewer middlemen, and all digital manga will look the same in size from afar.
So Kodansha is pretty much not used to western-style PR? That being said, something that LOOKS cheap and something that IS cheap are two totally different things. Something that sells for a low price but looks prestigious will be snatched up if it's good. Something that sells for a low price and looks low-quality will get sales here and there if it can undercut the competition. Something that sells for a low price but looks even shoddier than the price suggests will sell only to the uninformed. That's the way I see it. An example is Pabst Blue Ribbon in China: It is marketed as a prestigious beer available at a low price (sold in tinted glass bottles instead of cans, sometimes put into textured black paper boxes, cursive font all over it, black silk sheets and its 1800s year of founding put prominently on the ads), and due to that, it is now one of the most popular western beers in China.
And from the DC side, I went looking for Irredeemable a few months ago at an independently-run bookstore and found it as a jacketless hardcover. I have Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? as a hardcover with a jacket though. I've also seen Blackest Day released like that. However, the covers tend to have that slightly rough texture to them that indicates a step up from the glossy children's books.Blackest Day is also smaller in page size than children's books, which are pretty large. There's also America: The Book, I Am America (And So Can You), and Earth: The Book, but they're meant to look like textbooks and children's books. And there's hardcover books from National Geographic, some of which don't have dust covers (my copies of Our Universe and Everyday Science Explained do not, but National Parks of America does), but they are wrapped in that leathery stuff and have minimalist cover designs as shiny foil imprints (a galaxy for Our Universe, a light bulb for Everyday Science Explained) that indicates they also carry prestige to them. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15368 |
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I told Kodansha what to do, but they don't want to listen. All they have to do is get their Japanese bosses to spring for ads for the manga on that cable show, Vikings-and they get new potential customers.
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5876 Location: Virginia, United States |
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At the very least, you need to finish up the first arc. Don't know if volume six or volume seven finishes up the second arc. I stopped reading the scanlations when they started publishing. I don't know how much stock is out there, but you don't want to be the unlucky one who waits too long and misses out of a volume. |
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jonip
Posts: 7 |
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I'm sorry about the late answer. You might be right about that. It would not be even the first time if that happens. When I started Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, I got a warning that just buy quickly the second book. I didn't do that and next moment it was out of print. Luckily there is now these omnibus editions of that series. I think I have to reconsider my decision and buy those volumes of Vinland Saga's which Kodasha have published and maybe will publish. I liked Planetes so there is no reason not to follow Yukimura's storytelling if it is possible. |
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RAmmsoldat
 Posts: 1261 Location: North wales coast |
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From the way im reading things i see the situation as this. Vols 1-5 didn't sell well enough to satisfy the japanese overlords and so kodansha warned folk that they wont be allowed to carry on if things didn't change. Vol 6 has sold well apparently so we all need to keep it up with vol.7
I've had my pre order since april, i really hope the rest of the fans dont let us down, manga shouldnt be such a hard sell. |
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