Ask John: Why Aren’t There More Anthology Manga in America?

Question:
I was wondering why manga licensors, like TOKYOPOP, basically only license long manga series. Why don’t they license books with various short stories in them as well as the longer series?

Answer:
Anthology manga aren’t entirely unknown in America. A handful of examples include the English language translations of CLAMP’s Shirahime-syo and Juni Itoh’s Flesh Colored Horror, which are collections of short stories from a single author, the Comic Party anthology manga published by Central Park Media, and all of the Di-Gi-Charat manga available in America. There are also ongoing manga anthology magazines Animerica Extra, Shonen Jump and Super Manga Blast to supplement graphic novel releases.

There are possibly several reasons why anthology manga aren’t more common in America, than they are. Two of the biggest reasons may have to do with licensing fees and American marketing. When licensing a manga title from a single author, it’s reasonable to expect only a certain amount of difficulty. It’s possible that licensing an anthology of works by many different authors may pose problems with hammering out agreements with each of the represented authors individually. On the American side, long, continuing manga series may be marketed more effectively because they allow for new volume releases at regular intervals, which keeps the title fresh and contemporary. Most anthology manga are stand alone volumes which may make a splash upon their release but quickly become overlooked or superseded by newer releases.