Comics | Quebecers Even More Manga Fans

Japanese comics love to delve into hyperbole, but it’s no exaggeration to say that Quebec readers have been consuming manga in abundance lately. Who, why, how? Publishers, booksellers and librarians enlighten us.

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Posted at 6:00 am

We often see explosions of all kinds in the boxes of Japanese action series. Indeed, if there’s one that resonates strongly, it’s the sales of manga in the provinces. One Piece, Naruto, Demon Slayer… alongside these titles that have become cult, a flood of novelties regularly hits our shores, imported from Japan after a stopover in France. Since early 2023, La Presse has also inaugurated a manga subsection dedicated to what’s new in the comics section.

At O-Taku Manga Lounge, a specialty bookstore and reading lounge in Montreal, it’s evident: fan base is growing (sales have quintupled in seven years), with a particularly pronounced outlier in recent years. “We have seen a change in our clientele, with a smaller proportion of enthusiasts who already knew us, but more people who have just discovered manga,” notes Amélie Jean-Louis, owner of the brand founded in 2010, also commenting on the emergence of the English language market after American protectionism has long slept its comics.

PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE

The owner of the O-Taku Manga Lounge, Amélie Jean-Louis

On the side of La Boîte de diffusion, which brokers several French publishers in Quebec (including Kana and Vega Dupuis), operations manager Mathieu Loubert noted a “huge explosion” in March 2021 as their leading series tripled their sales.

Our 20-year-old flagship Naruto series did well from 2002-2010, then fell before picking up again in 2018-2019 and exploding in 2021.

Mathieu Loubert, operations manager at La Boîte de diffusion

Glénat, which has a branch in Quebec, is also seeing its collections being taken by storm. Pioneer of manga introduction in France (Jacques Glénat, formerly on a mission to Japan to export his Franco-Belgian comics there without success, had instead returned to Europe with Dragon Ball and Akira under his arm), the editor of Iron Spearhead One Piece has sold millions of copies in France in 2021, all manga combined; to see the echo of these successes systematically reproduced on the other side of the Atlantic with a slight delay.

“All the stars have adapted to the growth of manga, the market of which has grown by 100% in 2021,” stresses Marion Glénat, daughter of the founder who recently took over the reins of the manga ‘business, on the occasion of her visit to Montreal. “In Quebec, the market doubled in 2019-2020 and then doubled again in 2020-2021,” said Christian Chevrier, President of Glénat Québec.

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PHOTO PROVIDED BY GLÉNAT EDITIONS

For Marion Glénat, the manga allows for a steady date.

Loans and catalogs have also been expanded in the manga section of the Grande Bibliothèque de Montréal. “It is one of the collections that has seen the greatest increase in loans. We always see young people sitting on the floor to read in this section,” says Mélanie Dumas, director of the Universal Collection of the Library and National Archives of Quebec, noting that in five years the annual acquisitions are almost have doubled. Selection is also tricky given the constant tide of new releases. “Fortunately, the two librarians responsible for the selection are manga enthusiasts. We try to find a balance between audiences, themes and genres by looking for the best in each category,” she says.

A diff called Netflix

Why this unprecedented enthusiasm? One of the names that kept popping up as the Japanese hero attack was, “Netflix! »

All of our interlocutors have made progress: previously, distribution of animated manga versions was limited to specialized platforms, but lately consumer giants have filled their catalogue. With La Boîte de diffusion, Mathieu Loubert clearly sees the effects: as soon as these series go into the airwaves, their printed counterparts become very popular (again); For example, he points to Hunter x Hunter, not quite young anymore but whose crest was restored after a Netflix revamp. “To find out what works, just follow what’s on Netflix,” adds Amélie Jean-Louis.

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PHOTO JOEL SAGET, AGENCY FRANCE-PRESS

The One Piece series has become a real phenomenon.

On another table, Marion Glénat also evokes the blunting of the fears and prejudices that may have tarnished the reputation of these comics in the past, as parents are more aware of the immense variety of genres published and this, no, the manga does not do the youth spoil.

We’ve followed the enthusiasm of this readership, which is accentuated by the consumption patterns of young people who don’t want to wait a year to have the rest of their comic. It’s a Netflix generation that likes to follow an adventure episode after episode, and the manga allows you to make a real appointment at bookstores.

Marion Glénat, Head of House Glénat

“It has become something universal that is no longer just something for geeks, but a real social phenomenon”, Tisch Marion Glénat.

The Shonen is unleashed

Words that find an echo in the analysis of the very broad readership. The focus of the target group is on teenagers and young adults, which explains the large proportion of shonen (manga for more male youth) in the catalogs – they account for 85% of the market according to Glénat. The shojo, which focuses more on young girls, is struggling to take off while its adult counterpart is gaining muscle. “In the past, the 16-30 year olds have been the focus of the target audience, but knowing that the market and publications are changing, the target group is growing. It’s practically 50-50 for men and women,” estimates Ms Jean-Louis. “The Shonen stands out the most. We detect in his a love for the horror genre; Mangetsu publishers, for example, took over Junji Ito’s catalogue,” says Mr. Loubert.

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PHOTO YOHAN BONNET, AGENCE FRANCE PRESS

Junji Ito’s dark universe seems to be seducing readers here.

A manga-specific phenomenon of generational cycles was also addressed, with certain waves tending to better preserve or reconnect with these black-and-white adventures.

The manga is also a bit like a Pokemon: it evolves. Will its transformation be reflected in the archipelago in Europe and North America? “In Japan, digital manga is 70% and paper is 30%. In France it remains 90% for paper, even if they are all available digitally. This should evolve,” the President of Glénat Editions tells us. “Comics aren’t very strong in digital, but that’s where manga excels the most. It’s about the development of webtoons [mangas en ligne sous forme de défilantes] ‘ adds Mr. Loubert. What future for manga? The answer in the next volumes.