“I could also read American comics, but I prefer the Japanese ones because they’re less clumsy.”

According to Tokyopop Germany managing director, Joachim Kaps, manga accounts for 70% of all comics sales in Germany. It has become so popular, that they (as well as another publisher, Carlsen Manga) are producing and exporting manga from Germany. One example is Gothic Sports by Anike Hage (Vol. 3’s cover is shown in this month’s manga releases article).

From a units sold standpoint, manga is even more popular in France. Readers there say they prefer the graphics of manga over western comics. They also believe that the stories told in manga address more relevant issues for teens.

Perhaps in reaction to the rising popularity of manga, French illustrator and author Albert Uderzo, best known for his Asterix series, published Asterix and the Falling Sky in 2005. This volume, while still set in 1st century B.C. Gaul (France), departs from the previous 32 volumes by introducing two sets of aliens from outer space. One is the evil Nagma (anagram of manga) who want to steal the Gaul’s druid potion so that they can conquer more planets. The comic also pokes fun at Americans. The other alien group is called the Tadsilweny (anagram for Walt Disney) and they want to confiscate the potion since they consider it a dangerous weapon.

The brief British reference said that Tokyopop UK had it sales double from $4 million in 2006 to $8 million in 2007. There was also mention of British experiments with publishing their own manga with adaptations of Shakespeare and the Bible.

The article mentioned one interesting point. Europe is “the largest consumer of manga outside Japan“. They referred to a report by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) which said that the combined manga sales in Germany and France “totaled $212.6 million last year” (which probably means 2006). The article did not have a link to the report, but a similar report is mentioned in a ComiPress article. That article states that Germany and France combined for a range of 20.6 billion yen ($188.6 million) to 23.6 billion yen ($216.1 million) while the US that year (2005) had sales of 20 billion yen ($183 million).

On a related note, according to an ANN article, the Japanese government has allocated 147 million yen (about $1.34 million) “to spread anime, manga, and other elements of Japanese popular culture in Eastern Europe“. The money will be used to pay for 30 teachers to go to Hungary and three other countries to teach Japanese and Japanese popular culture.

Business Week Article (via ANN): Europe’s Manga Mania

ComiPress Article: New Report from JETRO on the Manga Market in Germany
JETRO Report (Japanese) and pdf link

ANN Article: Japan Plans 147M Yen to Spread Anime, Manga in Europe

ANN Japanese Sources: Nikkan Sports, Asahi Shimbun

“The main character of the manga, a young man called Shizuku Kanzaki, discovers the beauty of wine after his father, a famous wine critic, dies and leaves an unusual will: a description of 12 wines he considers to be the best in the world, comparing them to Jesus Christ’s disciples.

The first person to find these “disciples” will inherit the father’s wine collection, a contest that pits Shizuku against his adoptive brother, Issey Tomine, who works as a sommelier.”

As wines have been introduced in the manga, readers have been going out to purchase them. According to Reuters, winemakers have noticed the Kami no Shizuku effect:

“The minute it was translated into Korean, we had calls from three importers,” said Basaline Granger Despagne, whose family has grown wine near France’s Dordogne river for 250 years. Their Chateau Mont Perat 2001 Bordeaux appears early on in the manga.

“When it was translated into Chinese, people called us from Taiwan saying, ‘I bought some Mont Perat and sold 50 cases in two days because of the manga’,” she said in a phone interview.

Umberto Cosmo, whose family produces Colli di Conegliano Rosso Contrada di Concenigo, was pleased to hear that his wine appeared in the manga. In a phone interview with Reuters, he said that sales jumped by 30% after the manga came out.

The Decanter.com article also comments about how the manga describes wine:

“The books are notable for their unconventional descriptions of the wines featured. For instance, Mont Perat is likened to a concert given by the rock group Queen, with the wine’s acidity taking the place of Freddie Mercury’s vocals.”

Mangaka Yuko Kibayashi, under a nom de plume, and with the help of her brother Shin plan to continue the series for another four to five years revealing the identity of the 12 “disciple” wines during the course of the series.

Kami no Shizuku is currently published in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Not surprisingly, a French version is scheduled to be published in 2008 with the possibility of an Italian version to follow. Also, there are rumors of a live-action adaptation.

Image of Kami no Shizuku, Vol. 1 from beNippon.com
Image of Château Mont-Pérat (2001) from snooth.com

Decanter.com article (via ANN): Manga comics ignite interest in wine

Reuters Story: FEATURE-Taste of heaven: Manga spreads ‘Drops of God’ in Asia

Pizza Hut has recently been using anime as one way to promote their pizzas. They had product placement within the series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and Darker than Black. They had a promotional campaign tied to the theatrical release of the Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone movie. Now, they have a similar campaign under way tied to the shōjo series Maria-sama ga Miteru. According to the series official website…hopefully, I have interpreted the Japanese translation (Babelfish) correctly…customers who buy a medium pizza will get a limited edition Maria-sama ga Miteru design pizza box, while supplies last. Additionally, Pizza Hut Club members will have access to a special computer wallpaper and mobile phone graphic. The campaign will run from January 7 thru February 13. All orders made online will be entered in a drawing where the prizes are a stamp sheet signed by the main cast (1), a script signed by the “Red Rose” cast (3), a script signed by the “Yellow Rose” cast (3), a script signed by the “White Rose” cast (3), and the Season 3 OVA fan disc – Vol. 1 (20). Entry to the drawing can also be made by mail. The entry deadline is February 19. Note: This campaign is for Japan only.

Images © Oyuki Konno/Shueisha, Yamayurikai 02

Maria-sama ga Miteru official website

ANN Article: MariMite Pizza Hut Japan Campaign, Fan Disk Announced
Japanese Source: Moon Phase

In 2006, Nissin Foods celebrated the 35th anniversary of the introduction of one of their most famous products, Cup Noodles, with a campaign called the Freedom Project. It included the usual print and TV ads as well as special 35th anniversary designs for their Cup Noodles. What made this campaign different is that Nissin commissioned the creation of a 6 part OVA called Freedom as its centerpiece. It was created by Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira), who also was the character and mecha designer. Of course, there was plenty of product placement throughout the series.

Last month, Nissin started airing two commercials for another of its products, Donbei Instant Noodles. For this campaign, they have characters from Mobile Suit Gundam sing the praises of Donbei. The “Mieru” commercial shows Amuro Ray delirious from hunger after a long battle and crying for joy when he sees floating bowls of Donbei Udon and Soba.

The other commercial features Zeon leader Gihren Zabi giving his “Sieg Zeon” speech, except he says “Juicy Udon” instead of “Sieg Zeon”.

Tohru Furuya and Banjou Ginga, the seiyū for Amuro and Gihren, reprised their Mobile Suit Gundam roles for the spots.

Nissin has posted both the “Mieru” commericial (in low, middle, or high quality) and the “Eat up, my countrymen” commercial (in low, middle, or high quality). You will need Windows Media Player for playback.

Freedom, Noodle and Gundam Images ©Nissin, Sunrise, Sotsu Agency, and Bandai Visual

ANN Article: Gundam Characters Hawk Instant Noodles in Japan
Japanese Source: Nikkei Trendy Net

Last November, Anime Anime (via ANN) reported that Japanese retailer kamikau.com was offering 20 different styles of tissue boxes with designs from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Each style costs 525 yen (about $4.79 US) and includes 100 2-ply white tissues. Each features artwork from the series on 5 sides. The set of 20 is offered at 10,500 yen (about $95.82 US)…so no discount. To protect the tissue box, kamikau sells a clear acrylic cover for 2100 yen (about $19.16 US). They also offer a customization service, so people can create their own style (using the images found in the 20 pre-made styles) for no extra charge.

Images © 2006 Nagaru Tanigawa/Noizi Ito/member of SOS and © 2006 Morizane – Shoji Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Anime Anime Article (Japanese): 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱」のボックスティッシュ インターネットで限定販売

ANN Article: Not-So-Daily Link of the Day: Haruhi Tissue Boxes

In the past anime and manga have been used to promote beauty and personal hygiene products for women (The Rose of Versailles bath powder sets) and children (Shin-chan Eau de Toilette, Body Fresh Spray, and Cologne). Now, the hair product division of German-based company Schwarzkopf & Henkel (home care, personal care, and adhesives) will be introducing a new line of hair coloring products for men.

Pictured above and below are the current line of bleaching and darkening products.

According to ANN, “the new lineup will include more unusual colors: beige, ash, gray, blonde, khaki (greenish tint), and blood (reddish tint)”. The projected price for each color is 700 yen (about $6.43 US). The launch date is February 4, 2008.

The characters used for the 2007 line and those that will appear on the 2008 line come from the high school fighting manga Crows and its sequel Worst by Hiroshi Takahashi. Here is a synopsis of Worst from DMP:

“Worst is a high impact gang-related title that deals with teenage boys fighting their way through high school on order to gain respect. There is no room for deceit and underhanded tricks at the notorious High School ‘Suzuran.’ These young men follow a strict honor code when it comes to brawling, very reminiscent of the mafia in the early days. Traditionally called a ‘Yankee Manga’ (’Yankee’ having a different meaning and pronunciation than in English) typically involves delinquent young men and thugs like ‘Hana Tsukishima’ who is making his way through the ranks to rule over the rest at school.”

You will notice that the main character, Hana Tsukishima, doesn’t appear to have much hair and that he isn’t on any of the products above. Not to worry, Schwarzkopf & Henkel is using his image to sell their line of facial tissues.

On a related note, last October, a live-action prequel called Crows Zero directed by Takashi Miike opened in theaters around Japan and Korea. Schwarzkopf & Henkel used this as an opportunity for cross promotion. They gave away posters signed by Takahashi-san and the film’s star Shun Oguri (Hana Yori Dango).

Product Images: ©2007 Schwarzkopf & Henkel K.K. All Right Reserved
Character Images: © Hiroshi Takahashi (Monthly Shonen Champion) 2002-2007

ANN Story: Manga Used to Sell Hair Coloring Products…for Men

Japanese Source (which also shows a photo of the upcoming product line): Sankei Shimbun

Finally, one more piece about products for men. It seems the juggernaut of kawaii, Hello Kitty, has decided to enter the arena. Sanrio Co. will be rolling out a line of products aimed at young men including bags, watches, and T-shirts. The products will go on sale in Japan this month with later releases planned in other Asian nations as well as the US.

There will be some minor modifications to the look of Hello Kitty for men. According to Sanrio (via the Associated Press), the shape of the head will feature:

“…a more rugged, cool look to appeal to men in their teens and 20s. For example, a picture of the cat on a $36 black T-shirt has the words, ‘hello kitty,’ instead of the usual dots for the eyes and nose.”

While this will be the first time Sanrio has developed Hello Kitty items specifically for men, they did have a trial run of sorts last fall. They collaborated on a “limited edition” of men’s clothing with designers in Tokyo’s Harajuku section. This was noted in the Hello Kitty World blog.

As to why Sanrio decided to enter the men’s fashion market, spokesperson Kazuo Tohmatsu said:

“We think Hello Kitty is accepted by young men as a design statement in fashion.” He added, “Young men these days grew up with character goods. That generation feels no embarrassment about wearing Hello Kitty.”

Photos of Products: © Associated Press/AP Photo/Koji Sasahara
Images of Hello Kitty: © 1976-2008 Sanrio Co., Ltd.

Associated Press Story (via The Miami Herald): Hello Kitty targets hip young (tom)cats

ANN Story: Hello Kitty Takes on Men for Next Conquest