{"id":1011,"date":"2014-04-23T13:57:27","date_gmt":"2014-04-23T17:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/?p=1011"},"modified":"2014-04-23T13:57:27","modified_gmt":"2014-04-23T17:57:27","slug":"the-hard-sell-for-hardcovers-premium-manga-releases-in-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/the-hard-sell-for-hardcovers-premium-manga-releases-in-the-us\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hard Sell for Hardcovers: Premium Manga Releases in the US"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here in the US, we\u2019re most familiar with manga in its standard paperback form.\u00a0 For around ten dollars, we get between 150 and 200 pages of content in black and white on decent-quality paper. \u00a0Early-adopter types might also be used to digital formats, be they individual downloads or subscription-based services.\u00a0 Whether in print or online, we\u2019ve grown familiar with a low-cost, no-frills approach to manga where lots of content for as little money as possible is the goal.\u00a0 In this market, premium hardcover releases might seem like something of an oddity, and yet that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019re starting to see from a number of publishers.<\/p>\n

\"HCManga\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A girl, a guy, and a giant robot. Yep, you’re in the manga section.<\/em><\/p>\n

Browse through the manga section of a bookstore and you\u2019ll come across several hardcover manga series on offer.\u00a0 There\u2019s Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin<\/i> from Vertical, Vinland Saga<\/i> from Kodansha, and A Bride\u2019s Story<\/i> and Highschool of the Dead<\/i> from Yen Press.\u00a0 I could go on, but we\u2019ll stick with this group in order to do some analysis without taking all day.<\/p>\n

Flip through any of these books and you\u2019ll notice a number of things beyond the heavier covers.\u00a0 Most of these releases are bigger than usual, in terms of both the size and number of pages.\u00a0 The hardcover edition of Highschool of the Dead<\/i> looks capable of crushing any of the four paperback volumes that it collects.\u00a0 There\u2019s also more \u201cextra\u201d content than one might expect from the average paperback; the authors\u2019 notes in A Bride\u2019s Story<\/i> and Vinland Saga<\/i> are a good example of this.\u00a0 Finally, color pages make a frequent appearance, from the multiple color sections in Gundam<\/i> to every single page in HOTD<\/i>.\u00a0 You can expect to pay extra for these releases, but that money\u2019s going towards more than just a hefty cover.<\/p>\n

\"HOTDComparison\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Obligatory size comparison shot. Yes, the\u00a0<\/em>HOTD\u00a0hardcover is ridiculously huge.<\/em><\/p>\n

We know why this format might be appealing to buyers, but what is it about these particular titles that earned them the special edition treatment?\u00a0 In many cases, it has to do with the market for the series in question.\u00a0 Vinland Saga<\/i> and A Bride\u2019s Story<\/i> are both extensively researched pieces of historical fiction, featuring detailed art and stories that don\u2019t necessarily follow a typical manga plotline.\u00a0 They\u2019re probably not going to catch the interest of as many people as recent hits like Attack on Titan<\/i> or Nisekoi<\/i>, but they\u2019re likely to be very popular with their niche audience.\u00a0 Series like Bride<\/i> and Vinland<\/i> tend to play to a slightly older audience, one with a bit more money to spend than the average manga fan.\u00a0 Because of this, Yen Press and Kodansha likely decided that a deluxe format would be appealing to this limited fanbase, and potentially increase each book\u2019s profit margin without hurting sales.\u00a0 A dedicated audience with money to spare is a prime market for a hardcover release, especially when the series in question is good enough to generate positive word of mouth.<\/p>\n

On the other end of the spectrum, we have heavy hitters like Highschool of the Dead<\/i> and Gundam: The Origin<\/i>.\u00a0 The hardcover editions of HOTD<\/i> are omnibus collections of the original paperback releases, printed in color on larger pages.\u00a0 In this case, Yen Press had the sales data from the paperbacks to look at when they made the decision to print a deluxe version.\u00a0 This franchise hit the US at the height of the recent zombie craze, and won a sizable fanbase as a result.\u00a0 Strong sales of the anime and manga probably led to the decision to make a product that would appeal to the most passionate of those fans.\u00a0 I suspect a similar thought process led to Gundam<\/i> receiving the hardcover treatment.\u00a0 As a new take on the classic storyline, the series has a built-in audience of people who remember watching Mobile Suit Gundam<\/i> way back in the day.\u00a0 Where titles like Vinland Saga<\/i> try to appeal to a small but enthusiastic fanbase, HOTD<\/i> and Gundam<\/i> try to appeal to the core of a larger audience.<\/p>\n

The \u201cspecial edition\u201d approach is never going to work for everyone.\u00a0 Plenty of manga fans simply want to read their favorite series and don\u2019t see the need to pay extra for a more impressive product.\u00a0 On the other hand, this is also a market full of collectors who enjoy the extras as much as the actual content.\u00a0 Whether or not we\u2019ll see more premium manga releases will depend on how well the current crop of titles fare.\u00a0 If publishers come to see hardcovers as a safe bet, they\u2019ll be more inclined to take that bet in the future.\u00a0 If that happens, though, we might all need to invest in sturdier bookshelves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You can find most hardcover manga discounted at RightStuf.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kawaii Overthink is written by Paul Jensen. You can follow his ramblings about anime and manga on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>. Check back every Wednesday for new articles.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here in the US, we\u2019re most familiar with manga in its standard paperback form.\u00a0 For around ten dollars, we get between 150 and 200 pages of content in black and white on decent-quality paper. \u00a0Early-adopter types might also be used to digital formats, be they individual downloads or subscription-based services.\u00a0 Whether in print or online, [Read more…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1011"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1016,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011\/revisions\/1016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}