×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
NEWS: Simon & Schuster Australia Takes Over Distribution of Viz Manga in AU/NZ


Goto page 1, 2  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Ali07



Joined: 01 Jun 2014
Posts: 3333
Location: Victoria, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 11:01 pm Reply with quote
Had no idea that Madman was going to stop distributing manga. Thing is, manga here can be pretty expensive, and I'm better off buying from BookDepository than buying from a company over here.

Usually, buying manga here is about $3-5AUD more than I'd pay importing it. And, when you're buying multiple manga a month, it really adds up. Especially with Viz...as I usually pay $12AUD for their manga. A lot of places here sell Viz manga for $15AUD or more.

I don't mind paying a little more for my anime, in order to support Aussie anime distributors. Especially as it is rare that I buy multiple anime titles in a month.

Well, I'll make the most of Madman's sale. 11 of 15 volumes of the Library Wars - Love & War manga for $66AUD...not too shabby. Will just have to hunt down the volumes they no longer have, which are 2, 12, 13 and 15.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cosain



Joined: 29 Apr 2009
Posts: 322
Location: Sydney
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 12:35 am Reply with quote
Surprised
so thats the reason why they're having a huge manga sale...
they didn't mention it at all that they're ceasing selling manga down here.

I'm glad some other distributor is picking up the distribution, it would suck if i had to import and pay excess shipping fee to AUS :/
still expensive compared to others, but readily available.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Sloggett



Joined: 09 Apr 2011
Posts: 46
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 2:28 am Reply with quote
I wonder if this will mean finally getting digital versions of Viz titles.

I always see advertisements for cheap digital copies for full series in "Weekly Jump". So many times I've gone in to buy, only to notice that it's for US and Canada readers only.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
LetsEatRamen



Joined: 26 Feb 2015
Posts: 30
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 2:54 am Reply with quote
Well, that came out of absolutely nowhere, and I can't seem to find any info about WHY Madman is ceasing manga distribution... I wonder if this will change manga sales in some way..?

Anyway, at least everything's on sale Smile
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Ali07



Joined: 01 Jun 2014
Posts: 3333
Location: Victoria, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 2:56 am Reply with quote
cosain wrote:
it would suck if i had to import and pay excess shipping fee to AUS :/

You don't with BookDepository, which is why I use them. And, stuff usually arrives in about a week from when they send it.

Only times I ever buy manga here is if I'm in a store and they have some older manga that I want to buy. Everything new, I buy from BookDepository.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
StregaMember08



Joined: 11 Jun 2015
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 3:53 am Reply with quote
This is a super irritating and costly development. Bookdepository's shipping times are absolutely dire, and madman was around the same price with the animelab discount to boot.

Also means I won't be supporting australian businesses any more, which kind of annoys me more than I thought it would. Ah well, such is life and what have you.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
HikariGo



Joined: 16 Jan 2014
Posts: 89
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 7:07 am Reply with quote
Madman Entertainment is quite diversified now, and there have been hints by representatives on their site that perhaps that the company will likely sell manga again down the track (probably through partnerships with other non-VIZ manga companies).

This still feels like a real blow for them though, and it always felt good when purchasing manga from them, because I knew I was supporting a local company rather than purchasing direct from the US through Amazon/Rightsuf/Book Depository.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Ali07



Joined: 01 Jun 2014
Posts: 3333
Location: Victoria, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 7:34 am Reply with quote
StregaMember08 wrote:
Bookdepository's shipping times are absolutely dire

Really? When I pre-order, they usually arrive on the date that they're released in the US. But, if it is in stock, it does take a few days for them to send it (which they tell you about when you're gonna order something).

What have you experienced? The longest I've waited for a book to arrive is about 8 business days.

Anyway, back on Madman's sale...I'm now questioning whether I should get Library Wars or Psyren...decisions, decisions...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
omiya



Joined: 21 Sep 2011
Posts: 1823
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 8:00 am Reply with quote
Are the English versions of "The art of ..." where ... is a Studio Ghibli anime title going to be available once Madman stops distributing them (they are getting out of books entirely, not just manga)?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jenny10-11



Joined: 25 Jun 2015
Posts: 98
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 4:33 pm Reply with quote
I wonder if this will affect manga prices in Australia. I usually order my manga from BookDepository though. While sometimes they can take a while with already published books (around a week is the longest I've had to wait for them to ship something. Pre-orders are usually fine), I'd rather wait than pay for postage from Amazon (and the exchange rate *shudder*) or from any of the Australian online stores, which have expensive books and postage. Also, Booko is a great tool for finding out who's selling a book for the cheapest, including postage.

omiya wrote:
Are the English versions of "The art of ..." where ... is a Studio Ghibli anime title going to be available once Madman stops distributing them (they are getting out of books entirely, not just manga)?


Yeah, all they're getting rid of all their books. Currently the Studio Ghibli art books are getting sold for $20 each, so get in while you can.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 7:11 pm Reply with quote
Sloggett wrote:
I wonder if this will mean finally getting digital versions of Viz titles.

I always see advertisements for cheap digital copies for full series in "Weekly Jump". So many times I've gone in to buy, only to notice that it's for US and Canada readers only.


Are you serious? Viz keeps advertising itself as being available digitally to the entire Anglosphere, but you guys can't get the manga volumes?

HikariGo wrote:
Madman Entertainment is quite diversified now, and there have been hints by representatives on their site that perhaps that the company will likely sell manga again down the track (probably through partnerships with other non-VIZ manga companies).


Okay, so does this mean Madman is not actually going out of business, just shifting what it sells?

I see this kind of business decision all the time when a company expands rapidly or diversifies a lot. It's annoying to the consumers of the stuff that gets canceled, but I can understand why: They're not a major audience anymore.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
StregaMember08



Joined: 11 Jun 2015
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 11:59 am Reply with quote
Ali07 wrote:
StregaMember08 wrote:
Bookdepository's shipping times are absolutely dire

Really? When I pre-order, they usually arrive on the date that they're released in the US. But, if it is in stock, it does take a few days for them to send it (which they tell you about when you're gonna order something).

What have you experienced? The longest I've waited for a book to arrive is about 8 business days.

Anyway, back on Madman's sale...I'm now questioning whether I should get Library Wars or Psyren...decisions, decisions...


Oh their pre-orders are typically fine, it's just the other stuff which typically takes a few more business days than they claim. Usually it's more a lottery whether a book I order will ship within the specified shipping time or it'll take several business days longer.

First world problem and all that. On the flip side they've not once failed to supply an order even for the older stuff out of stock everywhere else that I've ordered in the past so in a sense it balances out, just wish the wait times were a bit lower given snail mail times are already pretty sluggish in the sticks.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
HikariGo



Joined: 16 Jan 2014
Posts: 89
PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 12:12 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I see this kind of business decision all the time when a company expands rapidly or diversifies a lot. It's annoying to the consumers of the stuff that gets canceled, but I can understand why: They're not a major audience anymore.


This definitely does not seem to be a decision by Madmen Entertainment, but by VIZ who as the one who owns and sub-licenses the manga/books etc. for distribution to Madmen for AUS/NZ probably just decided not to renew their previous partnership when it ended, and instead gave those regions to Simon and Schuster who handle most of their distribution in other regions.

This also doesn't mean that any of the current Madman distributed VIZ manga/art books/novels etc. will be discontinued/cancelled, but instead they will likely just not be printed anymore with any Madman logo's and trademarks. Obviously any commercial decisions on what they decide to distribute now are up to Simon and Schuster now though.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 6:17 pm Reply with quote
What is this about Madman and not selling manga anymore though? Surely Viz is not their only manga publisher. Or am I interpreting this wrong and that non-Viz manga is still going through Madman? Or has Madman only received manga form Viz, and other publishers use other companies?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
HikariGo



Joined: 16 Jan 2014
Posts: 89
PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 7:49 pm Reply with quote
I am pretty sure Madman only had deals with Chuang Yi (now defunct) and VIZ.

The dregs of the Chuang Yi stock and all VIZ manga are all in the fire sale, so it seems they have no deals in place with other publishers.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group