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Hi All,
I've been working on a new manga column for this site, and while doing various research I discovered a bit more on the whole Raijin issue. As many of you know, Raijin has switched from a weekly to a monthly format. What it boils down to is the North American manga scene still isn't ready for a weekly anthology. With the huge subscribtion price and relative limited availability it was difficult to get an audience to leap into the fray.
Going monthly will bring in a larger audience, thanks to a smaller yearly subscription price. For those who are worried about the series getting behind, Gutsoon is planning an agressive release schedule for its graphic novels. It's also important to note that the decision to go monthly was not done as a last resort, but was something they had been planning for at least the last 2 months. There was some concern amongst the fans that the move to a monthly format was a hasty decision to try and stop the failure of Raijin. I also know among various manga circles, people are already predicting the death of Gutsoon in North America. The fact of the matter is they are quite commited to bringing quality manga to North America, and will do everything they can to keep the magazine and the graphic novel lines going in North America.
Hope this helps!
Allen
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