U.S. Manga Sales More Than Doubled In 2021 - NPD Reports Sales Up 160% in Units 2 2

[Prince Namor]

From Wikipedia: GANTZ is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. It was serialized in Shueisha's seinenmanga magazine Weekly Young Jump from June 2000 to June 2013, with its chapters collected in thirty-seven tankōbon volumes. It tells the story of Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, both of whom died in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous "game" in which they and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens armed with a handful of futuristic items, equipment, and weaponry.

From me: Equally brutal to Berserk, as well as equally... perverse... it is nevertheless an amazing piece of work that's already been poorly to it-doesn't-suck adapted into video games, anime, and movies. The weapons... the aliens... just based on the creativity and NUMBER of these two things, makes this a notch above almost anything else.... I should warn you though, the level of 'good girl art' (what the Japanese call 'fan service') and even a bit more at times is NOT subtle.

And again, for those who think all manga art is the same:

 

[Prince Namor]

For those looking for something a little more mainstream...

From Wikipedia: BAKUMAN is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, the same creative team responsible for Death Note. It was serialized in Shueisha's magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from August 2008 to April 2012, with its 176 chapters collected into 20 tankōbon volumes. The story follows talented artist Moritaka Mashiro and aspiring writer Akito Takagi, two ninth grade boys who wish to become manga artists, with Mashiro as the artist and Takagi as the writer. Some characters resemble real authors and editors of Weekly Shōnen Jump, and many manga titles mentioned in Bakuman have actually been published in the magazine. 

From me: I'm about half way through the 20 volume box set and I love this series. Yes, it's about these two high school kids who want to be manga creators, but it's also a fascinating look inside of the manga BUSINESS and how it differs (and has similarities) to the American comic book business; it gives us an inside look at relationships - between the two characters and their girlfriends, as well as between other creators in the business, editors, parents... this is as inside a look into day to day Japanese life (granted, through the eyes of two manga creators) as you can possibly get without living it! Compared to the first two I listed, this is pretty PG rated. 

 

[WolverineX]

On 4/12/2022 at 10:35 AM, lighthouse said:

Someday slabbed manga will be a thing.

And some people are going to get rich.

After doing some research into this I end up buying a complete copy of Demon Slayer 1-23. I will read it once and then I will keep table in storage and see what happens in 25 years

[Jayman]

On 4/12/2022 at 10:22 AM, Wolverinex said:

What's it about?  Do I pick this up at Barnes and Noble?

It’s very video game oriented. These giant portals have opened up all over the world and are filled with monsters. Certain people have gained powers from defeating the monsters and have become “Hunters”. They group together and go into these portals to defeat the monsters and gain more powers or level up. 
My co-worker has read them and brings me in the next volume as I read it. I’ll have to ask him where he got them from.

[Jayman]

BTW, Crunchyroll has become one of my favorite apps to poke around on and see some great anime!

[WolverineX]

On 4/12/2022 at 3:15 PM, Prince Namor said:

For those looking for something a little more mainstream...

From Wikipedia: BAKUMAN is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, the same creative team responsible for Death Note. It was serialized in Shueisha's magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from August 2008 to April 2012, with its 176 chapters collected into 20 tankōbon volumes. The story follows talented artist Moritaka Mashiro and aspiring writer Akito Takagi, two ninth grade boys who wish to become manga artists, with Mashiro as the artist and Takagi as the writer. Some characters resemble real authors and editors of Weekly Shōnen Jump, and many manga titles mentioned in Bakuman have actually been published in the magazine. 

From me: I'm about half way through the 20 volume box set and I love this series. Yes, it's about these two high school kids who want to be manga creators, but it's also a fascinating look inside of the manga BUSINESS and how it differs (and has similarities) to the American comic book business; it gives us an inside look at relationships - between the two characters and their girlfriends, as well as between other creators in the business, editors, parents... this is as inside a look into day to day Japanese life (granted, through the eyes of two manga creators) as you can possibly get without living it! Compared to the first two I listed, this is pretty PG rated. 

 

How do you like My hero academia?  The box set is 40% off and I wonder if it's worth a blind buy?  that's about 2 dollars a book.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1974735990/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[lighthouse]

On 4/18/2022 at 9:40 AM, Wolverinex said:

How do you like My hero academia?  The box set is 40% off and I wonder if it's worth a blind buy?  that's about 2 dollars a book.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1974735990/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That’s $5.40 a book. And won’t arrive until October. But the chances of finding all twenty of those volumes in print at any given time is pretty low.

We routinely have around half in stock and half out of print waiting on the publisher.

As for worth it? It was the number one selling manga in the world a few years in a row. There’s not a lot of deep meaning and philosophy there. But for what it is, it’s well executed.

[Prince Namor]

On 4/18/2022 at 12:40 PM, Wolverinex said:

How do you like My hero academia?  The box set is 40% off and I wonder if it's worth a blind buy?  that's about 2 dollars a book.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1974735990/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I hear its really good. That's a GREAT price!

[WolverineX]

On 4/18/2022 at 3:03 PM, Prince Namor said:

I hear its really good. That's a GREAT price!

 

On 4/18/2022 at 1:40 PM, lighthouse said:

That’s $5.40 a book. And won’t arrive until October. But the chances of finding all twenty of those volumes in print at any given time is pretty low.

We routinely have around half in stock and half out of print waiting on the publisher.

As for worth it? It was the number one selling manga in the world a few years in a row. There’s not a lot of deep meaning and philosophy there. But for what it is, it’s well executed.

Okay I'll preorder it  Amazon doesn't even charge you till October,  so you might as well  preorder it now.  

[WolverineX]

On 4/18/2022 at 1:40 PM, lighthouse said:

That’s $5.40 a book. And won’t arrive until October. But the chances of finding all twenty of those volumes in print at any given time is pretty low.

We routinely have around half in stock and half out of print waiting on the publisher.

As for worth it? It was the number one selling manga in the world a few years in a row. There’s not a lot of deep meaning and philosophy there. But for what it is, it’s well executed.

Have you read any manga that you recommend?  Also, how about the popular oldies like Dragonball Z , Gundam, and Sailor moon? 

[KCOComics]

I'll just add that my 9 year old son and 10 year old niece read a ton of Magna. 

Honestly,  I'm thrilled that they love reading so much and he'll plow through 4 or 5 Naruto books in a weekend. 

But it's tough on parents because it gets real adult real quick.  I figure the best thing I can do is read it with them and discuss it. 

[lighthouse]

On 4/19/2022 at 10:41 AM, Wolverinex said:

Have you read any manga that you recommend?  Also, how about the popular oldies like Dragonball Z , Gundam, and Sailor moon? 

I like all the Junji Ito stuff I’ve read. Doesn’t matter the title.

I’m slowly working through Berserk. I like Chainsaw Man. Been trying to get into Jujutsu Kaisen because a few customers keep raving about it.

I’ve read at least one volume of all the biggies (My Hero, Jojos, Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, Inu Yasha, Demon Slayer, etc) just so I can have a sense of the tone. But I am sooooo behind on reading.

[WolverineX]

On 4/19/2022 at 3:47 PM, lighthouse said:

I like all the Junji Ito stuff I’ve read. Doesn’t matter the title.

I’m slowly working through Berserk. I like Chainsaw Man. Been trying to get into Jujutsu Kaisen because a few customers keep raving about it.

I’ve read at least one volume of all the biggies (My Hero, Jojos, Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, Inu Yasha, Demon Slayer, etc) just so I can have a sense of the tone. But I am sooooo behind on reading.

I heard colorless looks good

[deadleg]

On 4/12/2022 at 2:45 PM, Prince Namor said:

From Wikipedia: Berserk is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. Set in a medieval Europe-inspired dark fantasy world, the story centers on the characters of Guts, a lone mercenary, and Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called the "Band of the Hawk"... As of May 2021, the Berserk manga had over 50 million copies in circulation, including digital versions, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time.

From me: I've finished the fourth (of ten so far) of the deluxe hard back collections, and this is amazing. Brutal and beautiful. The art and the story get better with each volume. It would make an awesome Game of Thrones type series or even Lord of the Rings type movie trilogy...

And for those who think all manga art is the same:

 

 

Should be noted that Berserk will unfortunately never be finished as the creator Kentaro Miura passed away last year. 

Edited May 17, 2022 by deadleg

[WolverineX]

On 4/12/2022 at 3:04 PM, Prince Namor said:

From Wikipedia: GANTZ is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. It was serialized in Shueisha's seinenmanga magazine Weekly Young Jump from June 2000 to June 2013, with its chapters collected in thirty-seven tankōbon volumes. It tells the story of Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, both of whom died in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous "game" in which they and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens armed with a handful of futuristic items, equipment, and weaponry.

From me: Equally brutal to Berserk, as well as equally... perverse... it is nevertheless an amazing piece of work that's already been poorly to it-doesn't-suck adapted into video games, anime, and movies. The weapons... the aliens... just based on the creativity and NUMBER of these two things, makes this a notch above almost anything else.... I should warn you though, the level of 'good girl art' (what the Japanese call 'fan service') and even a bit more at times is NOT subtle.

And again, for those who think all manga art is the same:

 

Thinking about trying out gantz. Is the anime  good?

[Prince Namor]

On 5/17/2022 at 7:31 PM, Wolverinex said:

Thinking about trying out gantz. Is the anime  good?

The anime sucks. The manga is amazing. But it's HUGE.

[WolverineX]

On 5/19/2022 at 12:32 PM, Prince Namor said:

The anime sucks. The manga is amazing. But it's HUGE.

Damn. The manga is insanely expensive

[Prince Namor]

On 5/19/2022 at 1:26 PM, Wolverinex said:

Damn. The manga is insanely expensive

The Omnibus' are 600+ pages at about $20 each. 7 so far. 

https://www.amazon.com/Gantz-Omnibus-1-Hiroya-Oku/dp/1506707742/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2Z1OT6V1EG598&keywords=gantz+omnibus&qid=1652981683&sprefix=gantz%2Caps%2C82&sr=8-5

[WolverineX]

On 5/19/2022 at 1:35 PM, Prince Namor said:

The Omnibus' are 600+ pages at about $20 each. 7 so far. 

https://www.amazon.com/Gantz-Omnibus-1-Hiroya-Oku/dp/1506707742/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2Z1OT6V1EG598&keywords=gantz+omnibus&qid=1652981683&sprefix=gantz%2Caps%2C82&sr=8-5

oh nice, so it's ongoing?

[Prince Namor]

On 5/19/2022 at 2:01 PM, Wolverinex said:

oh nice, so it's ongoing?

It's finished. Just not the Omnibus' collections. 

Up to 7 is out, they're saying it'll be collected entirely in 9 volumes.