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I have to confess, even though Akira is kinda old news, I want to see how they put that out. One of the prizes of my collection is my complete run of the color editions - I know, coloring is a slight against some deity or another, but in this case it worked and they're gorgeous - and I almost hate to read them, as they are in the easily broken square binding. I'd love it if they'd publish the colored editions unflipped, but that's probably hoping for too much. I guess I'll settle for unflipped.

Kondansha, you say....? Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinteresting... [PRAYS] C'mon, Mazinger! C'MON, MAZINGER! Anime cry

balisongnet wrote:

I need some clarification, "back catalog", does that mean titles they already have in Japan? English is not my mother tongue so... Very Happy

It's not clear to me (an English-native speaker) what is meant by "back catalog" in this article. So don't feel bad about wanting clarification. My guess is that the "back catalog" used here is referring to older completed titles rather than ones that are currently running in Japan. But that's just my guess.

who_is_friend wrote:

Come ooooon LIFE. Please LIFE. I'm begging you Kodansha.

I've been waiting with baited breath for volume 10 to come out. I really hope it's one of the ones they'll bring out.

Also, Sailor Moon would be nice.

You and me both, friend.

moroboshi-kun wrote:

I have to confess, even though Akira is kinda old news, I want to see how they put that out. One of the prizes of my collection is my complete run of the color editions - I know, coloring is a slight against some deity or another, but in this case it worked and they're gorgeous - and I almost hate to read them, as they are in the easily broken square binding. I'd love it if they'd publish the colored editions unflipped, but that's probably hoping for too much. I guess I'll settle for unflipped.

Don't count on the colored editions. I'm pretty sure Marvel (as Epic) did the coloring and Kodansha likely didn't see a benefit in buying the altered art from the New Yorkers given that b/w manga sells just fine in the US.

I too would love to see an unflopped release of Akira (I'd replace my Dark Horse books if it happened), but I'm not getting my hopes up about that either. It costs money to make edits to an already print-ready book and Kodansha is obviously starting their foray into the American market conservatively by issuing evergreen titles like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. My bet is that they minimized their initial capital outlay by bargaining with Dark Horse for the previously translated, edited, and (unfortunately) flopped books.

Previouly untranslated titles probably won't be flopped given that the market has proven that step unnecessary and fewer steps means lower production costs.

In publishing terms, "back list" means older titles that (hopefully) continue to sell even when their release season has passed. Given the entirety of the statement (particularly the part about original publishing being an eventual goal), I think they are referring to titles that Kodansha already has the rights to, so mainly all their Japanese original series.

It will be interesting to see what changes this brings to the manga market. I'm not surprised to see Del Rey continue with their licenses, since it's a Random House imprint and Random House Japan is co-owed by Kodansha.

Swissman wrote:

I suppose Kodansha is aware that YKK is a niche title and doesn't want to sell the rights to foreign markets.

I find that unlikely... I expect that whatever the title is, if a foreign publisher wants to offer a reasonable amount for the license, Kodansha will sell. It's no skin off Kodansha's nose whether it sells well in foreign markets or not; they'll have got their money from the courageous publisher. It's not Kodansha not wanting to sell, it's foreign publishers not wanting to buy.

Swissman wrote:

I once spoke with a french publisher directly about the reason as for why YKK hasn't been released until these days in France or licensed by his company. He told me: "Well, the art, the characters faces are too round. People usually don't like that kind of style. Manga like this simply don't sell well, voilà". An argument I found strange, because the same company released Barasuis Strawberry Marshmallow.

The art style and character designs aren't the only things to consider here. Slice-of-life titles also don't tend to sell very well. And most of the ones that do sell, such as Strawberry Marshmallow (and that's a pretty low-selling title) are also comedies. Even leaving aside the character designs, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou has a very limited appeal. I personally think it's a fantastic manga, and would love nothing more than to own a set of it translated into English... but if I was running a company that translates and publishes manga, it would take a lot of effort to convince me that enough people would buy it to break even on the title, let alone make a profit.

Sakagami Tomoyo wrote:

Swissman wrote:

I suppose Kodansha is aware that YKK is a niche title and doesn't want to sell the rights to foreign markets.

I find that unlikely... I expect that whatever the title is, if a foreign publisher wants to offer a reasonable amount for the license, Kodansha will sell. It's no skin off Kodansha's nose whether it sells well in foreign markets or not; they'll have got their money from the courageous publisher. It's not Kodansha not wanting to sell, it's foreign publishers not wanting to buy.

Maybe yes, maybe no. The niche titles Aria and Emma also saw a french and german manga release, so why not YKK, an award winner no less?

YKK has been mentioned several times to a german publisher in this forum and the response was a simple "we looked at this title and I can tell you guys for sure that the manga won't be published in the near future." Upon further questioning for the real reasons the response was more or less that they're new in the manga publishing business and that they have to concentrate on mainstream stuff (which in Germany means selling second rate shounen ai/shoujo or bad manwha to young girls).

Quote:

Swissman wrote:

I once spoke with a french publisher directly about the reason as for why YKK hasn't been released until these days in France or licensed by his company. He told me: "Well, the art, the characters faces are too round. People usually don't like that kind of style. Manga like this simply don't sell well, voilà". An argument I found strange, because the same company released Barasuis Strawberry Marshmallow.

The art style and character designs aren't the only things to consider here. Slice-of-life titles also don't tend to sell very well.

Well, I know, I said basically the same in the aforementioned forum years earlier. I think the real reason for why YKK hasn't been published in any market is that it's 14 volumes long and thus too long for such a niche slice-of-life seinen title.

Sailor Moon and YKK, would be wonderful! (I'd actually be happy if YKK would go back into print in Japan so I could complete my collection. Koi Kaze, also; I'm still looking for #5.)

TsukasaElkKite wrote:

My GOD, I hope they start releasing Beck and Life again.

And maybe they'll stop being jerks about the license and release Sailor Moon, too.

firedragon54738 wrote:

why can't some one bring back Gunslinger Girl?

The same goes with me! If Del Rey releases all of those titles (especially Life!) It'll be christmas all over again!

Am I the only one who wants Initial D picked up by them?

I find it interesting that Kodansha are using Akira and Ghost in the Shell first. While these haven't been done recently, these titles have been on sale for so long now, and yes I know some are hard to find. Perhaps there are many who don't own these awesome classics, but I'd like to see what else they have in the pipe.

Akira I'd certainly buy if its unedited, and GitS likewise. Thing is I don't hold much faith in Kodansha yet, because we've been burned so many time by japanese publisher people who don't undestand the U.S market, and think that we are walking goldmines.

I'll be watching the format and prices closely, because they are going to have to do a lot, to top what Dark Horse have been doing with manga, over the last 23 years.

Good luck anyway, Kodansha. Don't disappoint me.

I hope that, if/when Kodansha publishes a better-translated and unflipped version of Sailor Moon, they put it in some kind of omnibus edition (3 omnibuses of 6 volumes each, or 6 omnibuses of 3 volumes each), because I finished collecting the French version from Glénat over a decade ago now and I can't fathom buying all 18 volumes individually again, even if it's in English and unflipped.

I remember the billingual manga of past, they were skinny things with cheaper paper but were just fine overall. I pray that this annoucement means I can finally read Sailor Moon on something other than my computer^^

ZeetherKID77 wrote:

Am I the only one who wants Initial D picked up by them?

No worries, I wanted it as well. Crying or Very sad

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