The wave of disappointment many felt in India when the popular Japanese comics Naruto Shippuden came to an end was not surprising, for the audience that reads Japanese comics, referred to as ‘manga’, is on the rise. This is thanks to not just the gamut of genres that these comic books offer, but also the popularity of comic conventions.
Raj Kumar, 32, an event manager who has been reading Japanese comics for the past five years, says he is a fan of Naruto, a manga that follows an adolescent ninja and his adventures. Kumar says that unlike regular comics, most of which cater to children — such as the case of Marvel or DC comics — and are mostly about heroes saving the world, manga has content suitable for everyone.
Amazon.in reported a huge jump in sales in 2015 since the launch of manga for the Indian market almost two years ago. Flipkart too, says it has been witnessing a steady increase in sales over the last two years. Anil Goteti, Senior Director- Retail, Flipkart, said the introduction of Comic Cons and cosplaying (in which fans dress up as their favourite characters from popular culture) in major metro cities has contributed to this growth in popularity of manga. Around 40 per cent of the sales come from Karnataka, West Bengal and Maharashtra.
VIZ Media LLC, which is co-owned by Japanese publishers Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co. Ltd, entered into a partnership with Simon & Schuster India, a publishing house headquartered in the UK, for the distribution of the these comics in India.
Kevin Hamric, Senior Director, Sales and Marketing at VIZ Media, said that since the launch in 2013, the market for manga has expanded and Japanese publishing houses, which were reluctant earlier, are showing interest to license more titles. “The Indian market has a huge potential and hence, is an important market for us. It is still growing and within five years the market size will be significant,” Hamric added.
According to a report published on the Japanese publishing industry, with the decline in manga sales in the home country, Japanese publishers are targeting overseas audiences, in India and other South East Asian countries to promote their business.
Richie Maheshwary, Manager – Digital Sales and Operations, said with Comic Cons gaining momentum in India, even offline sales are picking up. “We were sold out at the Hyderabad Comic Con in September 2015,” Maheshwary said.
Some of the most popular comics in India are Naruto , One Piece , Bleach , Death Note , Bakuman , Vampire Knight and Dragon Ball Z .
South India Market
Senthil Kumar, Sales Manager – South, Simon & Schuster India, said that though Bangalore is the leading market in the South for manga comics, Chennai is fast emerging as a potential market, with the sale of comics rapidly increasing since August 2015. “The number of orders we have been receiving from distributors in Chennai has been on the rise since August,” he said. Bangalore accounts for about 50 per cent of the sales, followed by Hyderabad at 25 per cent and Chennai at 15-20 per cent. The rest of the sales are from Kerala. Simon & Schuster India also has distribution centres in Pakistan and Sri Lanka as well.
Mohammed Aftab, Sales Head – Starmark, said, “Initially, the number of books we sold were in single digits. Since August, sales began increasing and eventually, we were completely sold out. Distributors have increased their orders since. ” After licensing mangas such as Pokeman and Tokyo Ghoul, Aftab said, the sales are likely to increase rapidly as these two have been a favourite among the Indian audience.
According to S Varadarajan, Assistant Manager, Starmark, the frequency at which books are re-stocked at the bookstore has increased. “One of the main reasons for this is the impact of anime. Many people watch the anime and want to read the books,” he added.
Balaji R, Store Manager, Starmark, said that while graphic novels constitute only five per cent of the total sales, the crowd is niche and consistent. “Even though the sales percentage is less, the audiences are growing and the penetration of manga is increasing,” he added.
How are the Indian comics doing?
A report published on the Indian comic industry stated that five million English comic books are sold in India annually.Together with comics in regional languages, the sales revenue adds up to around $30 million.
A store manager of a popular chain of bookstores said that though the penetration of foreign comic books from the likes of DC Comics, Marvel and the Japanese manga comics have affected the sale of Indian comics, local comic books too have a constant audience.
A store manager of a different chain of bookstores said that though the penetration of comic books from abroad — the likes of DC, Marvel and Japanese Manga — is increasing, Indian comics, like the Amar Chitra Katha series, continue to be bestsellers as they have stories on India mythology