Currently Running Manga Discussion

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yeah, two things that do badly here are sports manga/anime and classic manga/anime which is why Case Closed and Lupin fell off so hard so fast.

As much as I would like to see more classics out here I'd say anything from pre-2000 not named Akira has little to no chance since otaku here simply won't buy it. Not even Tezuka stuff.

Well, Viz is still putting out Case Closed, so it's clearly selling well enough for them. Take it from this ever sad Bobobo and Oishinbo fan; if a series ain't selling it's worth for Viz, they ain't going to bother with putting it all out, especially if it's a long runner.

But I think you are being a bit pessimistic about classic manga, or, at least, Tezuka manga. Digital Manga Publishing has been on an absolute roll with kick starters to help release previously untranslated Tezuka manga like Barbara, Unico, and Swallowing the Earth, and they plan to release even more of his overlooked stuff in the future, while Vertical has re-released Princess Knight and Twin Knights recently and holds the license to some of his other works like Black Jack and Buddha. Not to mention Viz is releasing digital volumes of Phoenix now too. There is clearly some market for classic manga, though it's admittedly not that big and so far limited to Tezuka stuff. Still, I would love to see DMP and Vertical branch out from just releasing classic Tezuka and take on other notable classics, though it seems unless it's relatively short they are hesitant to do so.

It's not that companies won't do it, but the return on such series has never been all too strong. It's why Lupin and Case Closed lasted almost no time at all on TV. Anime/manga audiences usually aren't enough to pull series to completion unless they're mega-sellers or short, at least historically.

If Ashita no Joe or Area 88 was licensed tomorrow I and many other people would preorder it without thinking about it, but would people like us be enough?

Digital is nice and all that, but it really isn't for me. If they can't put out printed copies then that just proves my point that the audience is too small to cater to not to mention there are other people out there who won't buy a series until it is complete because (quite justly) they'd be worried about throwing away their money on an incomplete product.

I want there to be an audience for classic material that extends into general market presence, but even back when it started taking off stuff older than Dragon Ball was having problems selling. Now that goalpost has moved even further forward. It just doesn't bode well for classics in my opinion.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, two things that do badly here are sports manga/anime and classic manga/anime which is why Case Closed and Lupin fell off so hard so fast.

Well, as far as Sports manga go, I do recall that Eyeshield 21, Hikaru no Go, and Prince of Tennis all did pretty decently for Viz (at least good enough for them to finish releasing each of those series).

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yeah, two things that do badly here are sports manga/anime and classic manga/anime which is why Case Closed and Lupin fell off so hard so fast.

Well, as far as Sports manga go, I do recall that Eyeshield 21, Hikaru no Go, and Prince of Tennis all did pretty decently for Viz (at least good enough for them to finish releasing each of those series).

Mostly I'm just going on comments representatives of companies have made in the past that they have the hardest time with older series and sports series.

I'm basically going on the assumption that the market has only narrowed with time and not expanded since otaku related material becomes more and more insular every year.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah I suppose. I think there was a surge of people getting into anime and manga about a decade ago, which is when we got the biggest variety of releases from all of the publishers (especially Viz), since they could afford to experiment with different kinds of series. That said, these days the market has narrowed after a good portion of casual fans lost interest and got burned out on anime, so now that the market is niche once again, then any series that can't prove to be an instant hit is pretty much doomed to obscurity over here.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Digital is nice and all that, but it really isn't for me. If they can't put out printed copies then that just proves my point that the audience is too small to cater to not to mention there are other people out there who won't buy a series until it is complete because (quite justly) they'd be worried about throwing away their money on an incomplete product.

Um, Digital Manga Publishing HAS been releasing their Tezuka stuff in print.  If I wasn't several states away I would hop on over to my school library right now, snap a picture, and show you the proof.

But yes, it is a shame there isn't a big enough market for older manga series. Anime/manga is just not popular enough anymore among casual folk for there to be a sustainable market for anything but mainstream and modern stuff. I will gladly take all the Tezuka DMP and Vertical throw at me, but I'd too love to have a better variety of older stuff in print, which is unlikely to happen.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Oh, that's cool. I assumed digital meant digital comics. We don't tend to get that stuff up here at all.

I do wish more classics could be released in full. I don't buy too much manga, but I would change that for certain series without question.

[Foggle]

I just read the most recent chapter of Attack On Titan. Half of it was a moderately graphic scene of the protagonists torturing someone. How is this acceptable for children?

[LumRanmaYasha]

Well, manga for "children" (aka little kids under 10 years of age) would be kodomo series. Attack on Titan is shonen, and technically shonen series are intended for pre-teen and teenage boys, and no matter the country, boys that age positively welcome explicit violence in their entertainment.   

...I've just skimmed the chapter. Eh, I think I've read worse in Black Butler and far more offensive in Fairy Tail. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It's actually a common misconception that shounen series are aimed at or meant for children. While some can appeal to younger readers, the vast majority are aimed at the demographic between 12-18 years of age. Going by that logic, it's no wonder that AOT is so popular. Adolescents just eat that hyper-violent shit up, and are much easier to fool into thinking that something is mature, deep, and well written when it really isn't. I would know, as I was just like that during that particular phase of my life. Needless to say, I just cringe at the thought of it these days.

As for AOT, though, just like CX, I've seen far worse from shounen series. If you don't believe me, just check out the first third of the Chimera Ant arc from HXH. It's absolutely appalling how needlessly cruel it can be.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I just read the most recent chapter of Attack On Titan. Half of it was a moderately graphic scene of the protagonists torturing someone. How is this acceptable for children?

Have you been reading Vinland Saga? Go read that instead.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I thought Foggle's complaint about that AOT scene was referring to how it's more on the grounds of plausible torture violence.  The stuff that happens in the early Chimera Ant arc, while often cruel, is still more along the lines of fantasy violence, which is nothing out of the ordinary in shonen manga.

Have you been reading Vinland Saga? Go read that instead.

Read All You Need Is Kill and One-Punch Man too. I want to have some discussion about the mangas I'm keeping up with, and those series are seinin so I should expect less reservations. 

On the shonen manga side, I've been finding new chapters of Toriko and Magi better than One Piece's, nowadays. I've felt that way about Toriko for about a year and a half now, actually.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I thought Foggle's complaint about that AOT scene was referring to how it's more on the grounds of plausible torture violence.  The stuff that happens in the early Chimera Ant arc, while often cruel, is still more along the lines of fantasy violence, which is nothing out of the ordinary in shonen manga.

Let's see:
-Disecting someone's brain and then butchering them alive
-Mutating humans into deformed Chimera Ants that pull an Alien with their "kill me..." pleas to the Phantom Troupe
-Killing a little girl's parents in front of her and and then killing the girl herself and eating her brain

Yes, you're right CX. That's COMPLETELY ordinary for a shounen manga! Why, remember when they did that just the other day for One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, and every other currently running WSJ manga?

[Spark Of Spirit]

I thought Foggle's complaint about that AOT scene was referring to how it's more on the grounds of plausible torture violence.  The stuff that happens in the early Chimera Ant arc, while often cruel, is still more along the lines of fantasy violence, which is nothing out of the ordinary in shonen manga.

Let's see:
-Disecting someone's brain and then butchering them alive
-Mutating humans into deformed Chimera Ants that pull an Alien with their "kill me..." pleas to the Phantom Troupe
-Killing a little girl's parents in front of her and and then killing the girl herself and eating her brain

Yes, you're right CX. That's COMPLETELY ordinary for a shounen manga! Why, remember when they did that just the other day for One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, and every other currently running WSJ manga?

Sigh, Togashi...

[LumRanmaYasha]

How much have you read/watched of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure? 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

How much have you read/watched of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure? 

Not much, but I've read enough of most other shounen manga to know that the shit that goes on in the Chimera Ant arc is most certainly not an ordinary thing in most fantasy shounen series. Furthermore, JoJo is now a seinen manga because of its content, and if the earlier parts of the manga were made today, they also most likely would've been considered seinen due to modern standards being different (and apparently not making any sense).

Nice try attempting to save face and make us forget about what you said, though.