An adult matter for comics: Manga sales down

NHK reports that Japan's manga comic market has seen a 6.6% drop over the last year to ¥418.7 billion -- the largest recorded decline in history.

According to The Research Institute for Publications, manga magazines in particular were down 9.4% from the previous year to ¥191.3 billion -- the first time since 1991 that this market peaked under ¥200 billion. Analysts blame the lack of hit titles, general anemic consumption stemming from the recession and the proliferation of manga fans reading titles at manga cafes rather than purchasing magazines and books at stores.

While the decline of the manga market is bad enough for publishers and comic authors, these circumstances may also have a profound impact on the total entertainment industry. Manga has traditionally been the initial creative source for anime, live action TV shows and feature films. So with fans' sales as the only way to measure popularity, producers may not know which new comic series to adapt to another medium. Hence we can expect lots and lots of remakes of old manga in coming years. Hey, it worked for 2009 box office smash "Rookies"!