The Japanese blog "Justification of Information, Print Media or Story Addiction" (Information Addiction) has posted an article looking at the total number of pages of manga that appears in magazines monthly. According to a study from Media Research Center published in May, currently the total number of pages manga magazines in Japan carry sums up to approximately 102,411. A translation of the article can be found here.

Recently a survey conducted in China on consumer's opinion regarding leisure and entertainment asked the following question:

Do you like to enjoy Japanese manga and anime during our leisure time?

Nearly 60% answered "I love manga" or "I like manga." Only a small group of people answered "I don't like manga" and very few answered "I hate manga." "Whatever" is also a popular answer.

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Japanese news website Oh My News has an article that looks at what makes Global Manga a success, Manga Jouhou has the translation:

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From Macworld comes an article that looks at how Japanese visual novels are not doing as well in the U.S. as Japanese manga:

Hirameki International is popular in its native Japan - it's one of many companies that publishes "visual novels," - a sort of modern-day alternative to "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. The company is having a tough time finding an American audience, however, primarily because of retailer resistance.

Source: ActiveAnime

ICv2 has release its latest analysis on Q1 2007 manga and anime sales according to both Bookscan (bookstores) and Diamond (comics stores). Taken from the Top 50 Manga Properties, the top 10 ranked manga are:

1. Naruto
2. Bleach
3. Kingdom Hearts
4. Fruits Basket
5. Death Note
6. Full Metal Alchemist
7. Vampire Knight
8. Absolute Boyfriend
9. Loveless
10. Tsubasa

For more information, see MangaBlog's analysis on ICv2's report.

From Business Week comes an article titled "Forget Manga. Here's Manwha," which takes an in-depth look at Korean manhwa, and if it will be as successful in the U.S. as Japanese manga.

In past years the manga magazine market in Japan has experienced a rapid decline, what will be the consequence of this trend? After watching Naoki Urasawa's talk on NHK's "Professional: Styles of Work" series, the author of the Japanese manga blog Mandana Tsushin Blog (Manga Bookshelf Transmissions) was surprise by Urasawa's nervous attitude toward fans' reaction at the sudden ending of 20th Century Boy, and published an article on the current manga magazine scene, how it affects a magazine's serializations, and what the future may hold for the market. Below a portion of the article that takes a look at the mange magazine scene in Japan:

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Manga and Internet cafes are common throughout Japan. Due to their cheap costs, the privacy of their cubicles, the ability to order food, access to the internet, video games and more, manga and internet cafes have become more than just a hangout place for young people with nothing else to do.

According to a recent news report in Japan, manga cafes are becoming a place of refuge for the poor who can't afford to live in their own home or a hotel. According to an article from Japan Times:

Experts say the customers, dubbed "Net cafe refugees," are becoming more visible in the 24-hour facilities in tandem with the rise in the number of "working poor," those who have jobs but cannot escape poverty.

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From Asahi.com comes an article titled "S. Koreans get taste for wine from manga," which looks at how a manga titled Kami no Shizuku (Drops of God) has caused wine to see a surge in popularity in South Korea.

According to recent sales figures, the circulation of Weekly Shonen Magazine has dropped below 2 million, while the circulation of Weekly Shonen Jump experienced a slight increase. According to Minegishi, Director of Kodansha's sales division, "Only Weekly Shonen Magazine and Young Magazine are making a profit among Kodansha's manga magazine line-up. Monthly Shonen Magazine breaks even, while the others are showing deficit."

In comparison with sales from 10 years ago, Weekly Shonen Jump's circulation has dropped 2.8 million, and Weekly Shonen Magazine's circulation is around 1.9 million. If the manga magazines experience declining sales, the publishers won't be able to make a profit unless tankobon achieves good sales.

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