in the last two editions of the international Festival of comics of Angoulême (UFDB) has returned with its original purpose: to celebrate the comic book. Under the impetus of Stéphane Beaujean, its artistic director, the event is open to all genres of the 9th Art to develop the international dimension of the festival. Drive eclectic, it has particularly advocated for that manga is growing in power, ushering in this year the bubble Manga City, a space of 2500 square meters dedicated to the genre.
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“All the publishers play the game and help to make the coming of the mangaka at the festival of Angoulême,” says Ahmed Agne, director of editions Ki-oon. And, even if the displacement of the authors, of the teams is very expensive and not cost-effective at the level of sales. In comparison, Japan Expo is more than 13 times the sales of Angoulême for our publishing house.” For Satoko Inaba, editor at éditions Glénat, “one of the main challenges for the publishers is to expand the circle of readers of manga”.
The links between the festival and the manga is tightening a little more, since the grand prize awarded to Toriyama and Otomo, respectively in 2013 and 2015. The selection of Rumiko Takahashi among the three winners in the running for the Grand Prize 2019, is a new dedication to the genre. “This is the first woman to have written Shônen (manga for young boys) and one of the first translated in France,” explains Satoko Inaba. And proves, once again, that the festival has entered the evolution of the comic strip.
“Naruto”, “One Piece” and “Bleach”, the three shônen that have crushed the market for manga in the last ten years. Naruto, One Piece, Bleach
Confidential in the 1990s, a boom in the 2000s, by the end of the cycle at the beginning of 2010, the market for manga is back in full swing for 2016. But to maintain this growth it is necessary to look beyond the search of the next Naruto or One Piece , the two shonens to record sales.
My Hero Academia , 3rd best selling in front of Asterix
The Shonens, the locomotives of the market of the manga, have the special characteristic to attract readers from primary school to adulthood. A series has a shelf life of ten years. “The last huge phenomenon of literature, Harry Potter , follows the codes of the Shônen and the work matures with its readers,” says Ahmed Agne.
If the sales of manga in France between 2010 and 2015, experienced a slowdown, this is because titles such as Naruto , One Piece and Bleach phagocytaient completely the space and left no room for the emergence of new titles. While the number of visitors to Japan Expo did not cease to grow.
The end of Bleach and Naruto has resulted in the release of the square and the birth of new best-sellers , among which My Hero Academia , One Punch Man , Platinum End and most recently Promised Neverland . They are imposed by the head of sales.
“Harry Potter follows the codes of the Shonen”
By 2018, according to GFK, the market for manga has jumped 11% and broke the record of selling the unit, which dated back to 2008 with more than 16 million volumes sold. All indications are that 2019 will follow the same trend. This year’s My Hero Academia has more than 800,000 books sold. The third best selling of the 9th Art. He came to Asterix , Walking Dead , legendary …
“One Punch Man”, “My Hero Academia” and “The Promised Neverland,” the new locomotives of the French market. One Punch Man, My Hero Academia, and Promised Neverland
With 16 million sales this year, the manga is no longer in quest of legitimacy. The festival is well aware of this and strives through its programming to show the richness and the talent of its authors, well beyond the headlines.
Only drawback, the track record – one that is tan to gold in 2007 and two grand prizes – do not sufficiently reflect the value of the securities came out of the land of the rising sun. For the publishers, with over 1,500 titles published each year, the juries should welcome specialists of the kind.
also Read: the three manga that will hit in 2018, according to the experts
