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CONTENTS
Newsletter Information 12
Why manga?
What’s the hook?
Readers cite many reasons for their love of manga. They note
that the quality of the illustrations is as important as that of the
writing, making manga a truly unique reading and art-appreciating
experience! The global cultural vibe of manga is also an attractive
component, as cited by the New York Times Magazine in a recent article
(“Comics Trip: What Are American Kids Looking for in the Cultural
Mix and Match of Japanese Manga?” by Rob Walker; May 30, 2004;
New York Times Magazine).
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Manga Glossary
Anime Anime is the Japanese
Anime:
derivation of the English word
“animation.” It is used to describe
what is commonly called a cartoon in
the United States. However, in the
United States, anime is used solely
to refer to animation created and
produced in Japan. The key difference
is it appeals to a broader audience
than just children.
Shojo
Shojo: Manga with character-driven
stories created primarily for young girls.
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How to Order Manga
Series:
Most manga titles are part of a series, which can range in length from
two volumes (i.e., Sea Princess Azuri) to more than 20 (i.e., Rebirth)!
Each volume’s title will include the series title and a volume number
(i.e., Fruits Basket volume 2). Each book in the series will advance
the character and plot development through the completion of the
series.
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Reviews & Resources
There are many resources available to librarians who are interested in
learning more about the manga genre as well as specific titles. Here is
a sampling of places you can visit to learn more about manga.
TOKYOPOP Resources:
www.TOKYOPOP. com should be your first stop to learn more about
specific TOKYOPOP titles. You can browse titles by genre or age
rating, and check out our entire release calendar.
We often give our fans the first glimpse of upcoming titles long
before they are available in-store or through a distributor. You can
also access recent media mentions about TOKYOPOP titles and
get more information about the Rising Stars of Manga contest. Most
exciting is our upcoming webpage dedicated to librarians, debuting
in January 2005.
Industry Publications:
ICV2 has great information on anime and manga, in a print quarterly
guide (“Retailers Guide to Manga & Anime”) and on a daily basis
online at www.icv2.com.. The quarterly provides information on
specific titles and includes top-50 lists as well as information on
industry trends. Note that their lists are often based on sales at
specialty retailers like comic shops and don’t necessarily mirror
nationwide sales in the trade book market or popularity at libraries.
They do not provide much information on content to watch for
(i.e., violence, language, sexuality) or include age-ratings in their
listings. You can cross-reference age-ratings for specific titles on
www.TOKYOPOP. com.
NewType Insider and Animerica are print fan publications and,
NewType, Anime Insider,
like ICV2
ICV2, are good resources for manga reviews.
If you have access to BookScan
BookScan, use it! On a weekly basis BookScan
charts the top-50 selling Graphic Novels based on book sales in trade
stores (like Barnes & Noble and Borders) nationwide. It’s an easy way
to get an idea of which titles are popular now.
Publishers Weekly consistently reviews TOKYOPOP titles and is available
in print or online at www.publishersweekly.com.
Though they don’t include ratings, they often point out violence and
sexual themes in the content.
Other Resources:
www.noflyingnotights.com
www.koyagi.com
www.sequentialtart.com
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TOKYOPOP Rating
Information
TOKYOPOP understands that one of the most challenging aspects for
librarians ordering manga is determining age-appropriateness. To
that end, we rate all of our books to provide you with a recommended
guideline on which to base your orders and better information about
where to shelve each series. Ratings icons can be found on the right,
bottom corner of each book, on our website (www.TOKYOPOP. com),
and at all distributors carrying TOKYOPOP product.
A (All Ages) – Appropriate for all ages.
No offensive material.
Y (Youth, ages 10+) – Appropriate for
ages 10 and up. May contain violence.
T (Teen, ages 13+) – Appropriate for
ages 13 and up. May contain violence,
profanity, and semi-nudity.
OT (Older Teen, ages 16+) – Appropriate
for ages 16 and up. May contain violence,
profanity, semi-nudity, and some sexual
themes.
M (Mature, ages 18+) – Appropriate for
ages 18 and up. May contain graphic
violence, nudity, profanity, sex, and
intense sexual themes.
Please be aware that these are only guidelines, and that the best way
to determine the appropriateness of a manga title for your collection
and your community is to review it first yourself. There are also an
increasing number of manga reviews available to assist you and most
of our titles have manga preview pages on the TOKYOPOP website for
your convenience.
Another thing to consider is that many TOKYOPOP manga are
imported from Japan. We try to keep the original book as authentic
as possible and, as such, there are notable cultural differences in
many titles. These may include but are not limited to crude humor,
nudity, ambiguous sexuality and gender roles, and fashion that may be
considered unusual. These issues are deemed acceptable to Japanese
readers and are a part of what makes TOKYOPOP manga authentic,
popular, and cool with young people in the U.S.A.
www.TOKYOPOP.com.
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Join Our Innovative
E-newsletter Just for Librarians!
Just when you thought we had given you all the information
we could, there’s more.
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ONLINE MANGA PREVIEWS
DRAMACON: PSY-COMM:
http://tokyopop.com/product/1513/ http://tokyopop.com/product/1559/
Dramacon/1 PSYCOMM/1