4:25 AM – 5:15 PM (PDT) | Channel 2 | Saturday 4 July 2020

Panel Description: Let’s talk digital manga with budding subscription services Manga Planet and futekiya’s Chairman Hyoe Narita, Editor-in-Chief Emma Hanashiro, and Producer Gladys Angala.

Manga Market in Japan vs Overseas

There are 100 million people in Japan and 300 million in the U.S. but the manga market in Japan is much bigger. 

Why?

• Overseas publishers choose titles
• Price differences
• Small and medium publishers’ lack of resources

As a result, there is piracy which means artists do not get compensation for their work. (For more information, we recommend reading our notes from last year’s AX panel “Japan’s Amazing Manga Magazine,” which gave some more insight into the differences and costs between the American comic industry and Japan’s.)

Let’s STOP Manga Piracy!

• Read officially licensed Japanese manga–because it helps bring more to the American market (and because it’s not against the law!)
• Avoid sharing illegal links
• Learn more about manga piracy. A good rule of thumb is to check the site you’re using for their licensing information. If you can’t find it, it is probably illegal.

Manga Planet and Futekiya

Manga Planet is a manga subscription website where you can read some of your favorite and popular series! Manga planet has a multitude of genres while Futekiya, an off-shoot of the brand and another subscription service, is Boy Love focused. According to the developers, the content is well-curated to give readers a list of new and old favorites. They also update regularly. One thing that may attract readers is that, compared to many other streaming or manga-sharing platforms, Manga Planet and Futekiya do not have different levels of service or different costly memberships–both platforms are priced at $6.99 USD/month with unlimited access to the content at said price. The platforms are built by manga fans for manga fans and they additionally feature original blog content for their members regarding new releases, manga culture, events, and more. You can read about their mission for the blog here, LINK.

Upcoming Releases

• Enchanted Racer
• Marin
• Prince of Lan Ling
• Zan
• Silent Mobius

How Does One Suggest Manga For Them to License/Publish?

• Directly contact them! (Social media is a great place to start as they have accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.) They’re always listening to suggestions from their fans!
• @Mangaplanet (Twitter)
• @Manga_planet_official (Instagram)
• @ManagPlanet.jp (Facebook)
• @Futekiya on all platforms