Forum - View topicNEWS: Ten Most Powerful in US Manga Industry
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CorneredAngel
 Posts: 854 Location: New York, NY |
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Not in any way to belittle his contribution, but somehow, Dallas' name seems rather out of place on that list, given that pretty much everyone else on there is like three steps higher up on the corporate ladder than he is. But I guess maybe that just means I've never realized just how much Power (r) he wields.
In any case, Dallas, if you're reading this, congrats ^^ |
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Tempest
 I Run this place.ANN Publisher  Posts: 10420 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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Dallas is effectively the senior person when it comes to manga at his company. Hi higher-ups are not actively involved in chosing licenses, deciding release schedules, etc... Essentially, if Del Rey Manga was a subsidiary of Random House (as opposed to a division), Dallas would be the president / editor in chief. Much like Gen Fukunaga is the President of Funimation, and he ranks very highly in the anime industry power scores, not his higherups as Navarre corp. In contrast, Mike Richardson actively involves himself in the manga department at Dark Horse. I was one of the contributors to the poll, and I'm happy to see that the final list is relatively similar to mine. 7 of the 10 are people I recommended, although not necesarilly in the same order (I had the Borders group buyer much lower on my list). The big surprise in the final list for me was Masashi Kishimoto. Does he actually have that much involvement in the way his property is handled in North America? Anyways, it was fun contributing to ICv2's list, I hope they let me do it again. -t |
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Dargonxtc
 Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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Borders beat out Barnes & Noble huh? I guess B&N is just the big dog on the block in my neck of the woods. Borders must be big in the rest of North America. But in my region, Borders would come in a solid third as far as bookstores go.
Also it is interesting to see that the creator of Naruto has officially moved to God status. 
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Malintex Terek
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I highly doubt that; it's more likely people are overhyping his impact since his property is hot news right now. Rumiko Takahashi has earned enduring popularity/profits for Viz over a number of works; I'd see a sun like her having far more impact on "the industry" than a short-living flame like Kishimoto. I'm glad to see Mr. Middaugh on the list; it's good to know he's still influential at Del Rey. |
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CorneredAngel
Posts: 854 Location: New York, NY |
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...since this is an annual list, that's exactly the point. Next year, the list may be completely different (...although realistically, it probably won't.) |
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Shii
 Posts: 110 |
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Everything ICv2 says is crap anyway. I feel sorry for the poor fools who get roped into buying their bullshit retailer guides.
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Deltakiral
 Posts: 3338 Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK) |
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That the surprise if you ask me, well maybe B&N being 5 also I guess, but still overall I didn't think there was too much out of place, other then Naruto. But then again with all the Naruto sales you have to "Believe it!" |
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ATKokmen
Posts: 6 |
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Speaking in generalities, although B&N has more stores nationwide than Borders does, Borders (both its stand-alone superstores and its mall stores) has been somewhat stronger in the manga category than B&N has. That's not to say B&N's a slouch in that area--far from it--but Borders is indeed, to many manga fans, the store of choice. As for Dallas's ranking, I won't say much because, after all, I work with him and therefore nothing I say would or should be considered credible  . But I will say that everyone here is delighted to see him recognized for being absolutely indispensible to the Del Rey Manga program. I also think, though, that Dallas would be the first to remind folks that no publishing program is an island after all, and that Del Rey Manga's success is also a testament to our Japanese partners as well as our colleagues throughout the company, from the overarching corporate level through our editorial, production, sales, publicity, and promotion teams.
But keep watching the shelves, because when it comes to Del Rey Manga, you ain't seen nothing yet... --Ali Kokmen Del Rey Manga Marketing Manager www.delreymanga.com |
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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Congrats to Dallas Middaugh and Mike Richardson since I've constantly been growing fonder of Del Rey and Dark Horse ever since getting more interested in the medium. While I do appreciate Viz for their absolutely amazing Signature line, they don't attract me with enough variety, and Tokyopop's offering of titles give me sporadic flashes of great titles isn't that far to tide me over.
I wouldn't say that at all. Certainly someone like Hayao Miyazaki, but Masashi Kishimoto will only have the staying power in North America as long as the Naruto franchise stays afloat -- Toriyama and his Dragon Ball saga is evident of that.
Licensing Mushishi and relicensing Kiseiju (more commonly known as Parasyte) was truly brilliant. Look forward to upcoming licenses. |
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Malintex Terek
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Outside of promoting Kishimoto's name (which is synonymous with his product), there's no logical reason to do that, since even though Takahashi's influence has been significant in the long run, she's hardly known for historically having a great deal of clout. Every year, Takahashi still manages to pull a good show, since all of her manga is published by Viz and it's typically high-selling, accessible (that is, localized) quality stuff (at least to a point). Inu-Yasha by itself is a rival for Naruto; throw in Ranma 1/2, Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku (let alone "minor" stuff like MS and 1PG) and it's pretty clear Takahashi pulls more weight than some upstart newbie. |
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Dargonxtc
Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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Well I was half-way kidding(sucks to have to use sarcasm tags all the time). On a more serious note it was interesting that that name got brought up on the top ten list of most influential people in the North American market. When you are listed on a list that is only business people, and your the only artist, it shows you how much the market is focused on your work. True, this list may not mean much, but I stand by the god status remark. Making the list proves the influence of the work itself, least this year in my mind. ATKokmen: Thanks that makes much more sense. Like I said in my area, B&N are pretty much the best place for popular manga, but I have been to some a few hundred miles away where the GN aisle was much smaller. But like pretty much everyone else I buy my manga local or online so I only have my own references to go on. Also the type of cover you use on the xXxholic series is great. I love the way it feels in my hands. I wish all manga had that type of smooth and durable, yet not sticky cover. It slides nice into and out of shelves, and doesn't smudge up as much. Great outer bindings. |
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The Xenos
 Posts: 1519 Location: Boston |
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Well, good to see Mike Richardson up there as Darkhorse was an American company doing manga back befoe anyone belived in it. Viz too, but I don't know if those officers listed are just current or helped start publishing manga. If it wasn't for them, Tokyopop would never have gotten its foot in the door. Of course, once they did and once they found the size and price format, manga exploded. Then we can thank Barnes and Noble and Borders for finally backing graphic novels and not just having a single section of poorly managed booked tossed next to the sci fi section.
Thought it seems the major book chains get credit, which somehwat disturbs me as all they had to do was accept the format that already fit their shelves. I dunno, maybe I'm just pessimistic about major chains edging out smaller booksellers anyway. I try to buy at smaller book stores and local comic stores to help the local economy and local retailers. Also, anyone else find it funny that this guide to manga has NO manga on its cover? It's got an American grapnic novel and a Korean manhwa for the two titles on the cover. I think maybe Stu Levy deservers to maybe move up some slots because that tricky SOB has conned people into beliving manga is whatever the hell HE says it is. You don't see Stu Levy selling magazine sized anthology manga, do you? No, Stu Levy has conned the retail giants that manga is a size format and not a product of Japan. I don't think that's right. Yes I'm still insting on it. I still argue that American books like that should be called graphic novels and korean books should be their native term 'manhwa ' (or how ever the English name is meant to be spelt). It's called honesty and forgive me if I think publishers and marketeers should try to have some. Last edited by The Xenos on Thu Oct 19, 2006 12:20 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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HeeroTX
Posts: 2046 Location: Austin, TX |
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In manga? You're kidding right? Urusei Yatsura manga NEVER gained traction here (in the US) and Maison has always been a "niche" title even in fandom. Ranma had legs for Viz but was nowhere NEAR the popularity of current titles when it WAS a "big name". Inu Yasha is (or was) easily a rival for Naruto IN ANIME, but in manga, it's not even close. In Japan Takahashi is definitely more of a force (long term) than Kishimoto, but not in the US. That said, I think Natsuki Takaya possibly more impactful than Kishimoto, but after that, looking at sales, for the one year, Kishimoto is obviously the dominant mangaka in the US. (Akamatsu would also merit consideration IMO for having Love Hina AND Negima, since he'd be one of the few mangaka with best selling titles from two different companies) And I agree on Borders > Barnes & Noble for manga selection, I know I shop at Borders for manga (or at specialty shops). I'm impressed that the difference is that pronounced though. |
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loplop
 Posts: 57 |
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You have to remember when people talk about Borders, The Buyer there buys for Borders and Waldenbooks. They are the same company. It's not a big surprise considering the number of outlets . . . .
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jgreen
 Posts: 1325 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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I don't know how long those two have been around, but not since the beginning....Editor-In-Chief Satoru Fujii and Publisher Seiji Horibuchi were always at the masthead of Viz's earliest titles, IIRC. I don't have any copies of Mai The Psychic Girl handy. 
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