ICv2: Manga Right to Left--Will It Fly?
MANGA RIGHT TO LEFT--WILL IT FLY?
We were interested in the reaction of Tokyopop's competitors and the marketplace to its announcement that it would be publishing all of its manga titles in the original right to left format (see 'Tokyopop To Publish Manga in Japanese Format'), so we followed up this week by talking to Dark Horse, Viz, and Tokyopop about their respective approaches to the issue and their reasons for them. Here's what we found.
Viz is an interesting case because it has published in both formats for years. Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z are published in the right to left format because Akira Toriyama, the books' creator, insisted on it for creative reasons. Vagabond is a samurai story that is done in the right to left format to make it authentic historically (see above). And Neon Genesis Evangelion is published in both formats. Asked whether he saw an impact of format on sales, Viz Senior Marketing Manager Dallas Middaugh noted that Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z are Viz's top titles, although he attributed their success to television exposure as well. He also noted that for Neon Genesis Evangelion, published in both formats, the left to right format outsells the right to left format about three to one, both in periodical and trade paperback formats. 'That's the clearest indication that fans want an easy reading experience,' he said.
We contacted Tokyopop to gauge the market reaction, and also to get more information about the reasons for the decision to use the Japanese format. According to Kristien Brada-Thompson, Marketing Communications Manager at Tokyopop, the decision was based both on focus groups run by the company, as well as the results in other countries when the right to left format was adopted. Carlson's experience in Germany was cited as a particularly good example. 'When they went to all right to left format a year and a half ago, their business just blossomed,' she said. France and Korea were cited as two other countries where right to left comics sell well despite being in the opposite direction of the local language.
Brada-Thompson said the 'retailer response has been exceptional.' She told us that orders on the floor dump (see 'Tokyopop Plans 'Authentic' Floor Dumps in April') have been 20% higher than anticipated and said that the company was very excited by the response.