Ask John: Why is Shoujo Suddenly So Popular in America?

Question:
I’ve noticed an increase in manga and anime aimed at girls/women, especially from TokyoPop, like Fake, Gravitation and Pet Shop of Horrors. Why the sudden increase and do you thing this “trend” will only continue to grow?

Answer:
Although it’s certainly not a secret, those who aren’t routine market watchers may not be aware of the industry discussion of trends in the domestic anime and manga market. TOKYOPOP deserves a lot of credit for helping to expand the awareness and interest in anime, and especially manga, in mainstream American culture primarily through the revolutionary “pocket sized” graphic novel publishing format. TOKYOPOP was the first domestic manga publisher to print English language manga in small paperback book size at an affordable $10 price point. This new publishing strategy made manga more suitable for distribution through mainstream bookstores, department stores, grocery stores and other outlets beyond the traditional comic book and specialty retail shops that have traditionally carried manga. Furthermore, TOKYOPOP consciously licensed and published manga like Rayearth, Kodocha, Sailor Moon, and Peach Girl which appealed to female readers. American comic book stores are traditionally the domain of male consumers and male oriented comic stories. When shoujo manga reached mainstream outlets like malls and bookstores, the underserved American female market discovered comics and manga en mass for the first time, and hungrily demanded more and more.

With anime being such a high demand commodity in America now, negotiation for translation rights to boys’ anime is highly competitive, and the selection of available titles is dwindling at an alarming pace. The next obvious genre for licensors was shoujo and yaoi- genres for female viewers. Considering the suddenly blossoming interest in manga among female consumers in America that had just discovered manga through exposure at mainstream retail outlets, and the decreasing number of prime anime series for boys remaining unlicensed in Japan, it’s inevitable that companies like Media Blasters, TOKYOPOP, AD Vision, Right Stuf, and Central Park Media have begun eagerly licensing and releasing as much anime and manga for female audiences as they can lay hands on.

Exactly how big this recent trend of female targeted manga and anime licensing will grow remains to be seen, but the size and diffusion of the boys’ anime market in America may be a signpost. It may also be a pinnacle. There’s no telling whether or not the market for shoujo and yaoi will surpass that of boys anime in America, but signs seem to suggest that the domestic anime market and industry may be quickly approaching a plateau. Companies like TOKYOPOP and AD Vision seem determined to monopolize the domestic anime market by flooding the market. At the same time, companies like TOKYOPOP and Media Blasters and AD Vision are diversifying their product lines with Korean comics and animation, American TV series, Asian live action films, Italian horror films, Disney licenses, street racing and even PGA golf videos. While the domestic anime market grew exponentially around 2000-2001, the market now seems to be growing slower. And especially the manga publishing industry seems to be virtually cannibalizing itself by competing with itself instead of competing against American comics or novels.

In theory, there should be no reason why the market for girls’ anime in American can’t grow as large as diverse as the market for boys’ anime is in America. There’s certainly no lack of shoujo anime and manga available in Japan. But my personal suspicion is that the American market can only support a certain level of diffusion of Japanese animation and comics regardless of their genre or style, and we’re quickly approaching that glass ceiling. As long as there are anime and manga fans in America, there will always be a market for imported Japanese pop art in America, and there will always be an American anime industry. But I personally guess that the present shoujo boom in America is a bit more of a sideways expansion than a stratospheric increase.