Ask John: Why Don’t American Manga Include Premiums?

Question:
I was wondering when might American manga publishers pick up manga that have extras like drama CDs or DVDs?

Answer:
To put it simply, I don’t think that we’re going to see domestic manga with bonus premiums any time in the foreseeable future. Not every manga release in Japan has a collectable version with a bonus premium, or includes some sort of bonus item, but manga with additional premiums are not uncommon in Japan. Manga series including Evangelion, Tenjho Tenge, Gunnm, and Rozen Maiden have had volumes released with bonus character figures. Manga titles including Ichigeki Sachuu Hoihoi-san, Gunnm, Kodomo no Jikan, and Tsubasa Chronicle have also been released in Japan with bonus DVDs. A similar marketing tactic hasn’t become common in America, but it’s not totally untried.

In November 2005 Viz released its translated version of the fourth Fullmetal Alchemist manga volume in three different editions: a standard book only edition, a limited edition that included a 4 inch tall Edward Elric figure, and a limited edition that included a 4 inch tall Al Elric figure. The book alone had a $9.99 cover price while the limited editions retailed at $19.99 each. Since this late 2005 release, Viz has not released any further manga with bonus premiums, nor has any other domestic publisher released any manga with bonus premium items. On a side note, I’d like to mention that TOKYOPOP and Dark Horse have both experimented with publishing hardcover editions of manga, but both companies have not made a routine practice of publishing hardcover manga. Recently publishers including Dark Horse, Del Rey, Viz, and TOKYOPOP have adopted a strategy of publishing “omnibus” manga – large manga that contain the equivalent of several volumes of a manga series at a discounted price.

All of these points, I think, lead to the conclusion that American consumers prefer that manga be cheap and relatively portable. Vertical has achieved critical, but seemingly not widespread commercial success by publishing expensive, hardcover, archival editions of translated manga. The most successful American manga publishers have succeeded by publishing inexpensive paperback manga volumes. In effect, there doesn’t seem to be a significant market for collector’s edition manga, or manga that cost more because of their inclusion of bonus premium items. American collectors seem to appreciate archival DVDs that include premiums, but the manga market seems to gravitate toward cheap, disposable manga for everyday reading rather than collecting and preservation.