Along
the way, they co-published “Trigun”
and ”Hellsing”
with Dark Horse
Comics, and funded a couple of Osamu Tezuka (The God of Manga) titles
on Kickstarter. Recently, at Anime Expo in the Digital Manga
Publishing panel, it was announced that DMP had formed a partnership
with Tezuka Production to release all of Osamu Tezuka’s
works digitally across the world.
CBNAH did an
interview with Yoko Tanigaki, VP Sales & Distribution of DMP to
talk about Anime Expo, internal reaction to the Tezuka deal, using
Kickstarter and more.
CBNAH:
First off, how was Anime Expo this year and the feedback you got from
visitors of the industry panels to the Akadot Retail and eManga
booth?
Yoko
Tanigaki: AX2013
was great. It went very well. We received lots of positive
feedbacks- People were excited to see that we offered game, (
https://www.emanga.com/search?categoryid=4 ) on emanga.com. Lots of
people came to check it out at our booth. Akadot performed very well
with our yaoi books too. Overall, it was a very good show; it was a
lot of work but it all paid off in the end.
CBNAH: The
big announcement from Anime Expo is that DMP will be working with
Tezuka Production to release all of Osamu Tezuka's works digitally
worldwide. What was the internal reaction from the company when the
deal was signed by both parties? Any chance of this material
appearing on Comixology?
YT:
Yes. It was a big,
big- HUUUGE announcement for us. I can’t
believe we get to work with Tezuka pro’s
entire library of manga. We are going worldwide with this. Tezuka’s
been looking for a way to go international for a long time. And
partnering up with Digital Manga was the solution. This is “it.”
It took months and months of skype meetings to get this far. We are
both extremely happy with the outcome and we are looking forward to
working with them. Chance of this appearing on Comixology –
yes. I think so.
CBNAH: DMP
is one of the few establish companies (along with Top Cow
Productions) to find great success in funding projects via
Kickstarter. There's a lot of great benefits using Kickstarter, but
what are certain challenges comes with using Kickstarter? Will we see
non-Tezuka projects on Kickstarter in the far future?
Both
Unico and Barbara were successful funded on kickstarter, and Barbara
got an Eisner nomination for Best U.S. Edition of International
Material—Asia
award.
YT:
One single, MOST
difficult thing dealing with Kickstarter is- explaining WHAT
KICKSTARTER is to the Japanese publisher. They’ve
never heard of Kickstarter before…
and we had to explain to them, what it is. “What
is Kickstarter? How does it work? “
was the most difficult thing. We are essentially going to Tezuka
Pro and say “We
want to license this…
but we aren’t
sure if we want to license…”
because we have to wait until the project’s
been funded. As for non-Tezuka projects on Kickstarer in the future?
Sure. We thought about it.
CBNAH:
The manga adaptation of “Vampire
Hunter D”
will be ending next fall with volume 8 due to health concerns for
Saiko Takaki. How's she doing?
YT:
“Vampire
Hunter D”
series has been our flagship series for us and I’m
(personally) sad to see it end. And it’s
been a great run and we are very honored to have been able to work
with Takaki sensei. She is doing just fine and everything is on
schedule for our final volume in the fall of 2014.
CBNAH:
We'll finally see the final volume of “Ai
no Kusabi”
be release later on this fall. The first volume came out way back in
2007, its been a long journey and how does it feel to see this title
wrapping up? Your imprint lines June and 801 Media focuses on Yaoi
titles and it's been huge success for the company. Are there any
titles that have floated under the radar that readers should check
out?
YT:
I know lots of
people were waiting on this series –
and I’m
glad to got them licensed. Titles that readers should check out ..?
Oh my gosh –
YESSS. How much time do you have..???
My suggested
titles are:
ABOUT
LOVE (koi ni tsuite 恋について9781569702437)
Summary from the Akadot
website: Asaka is a dedicated wedding planner who’ll do anything to
guarantee his clients’ happiness. Sadly, his own love life has all
but vanished thanks to his ridiculous work schedule! But when Asaka’s
first patron resurfaces, the precious spark of true love may finally
fly for him. Can he plan the perfect affair…or will it just have to
happen by chance?
http://www.akadot.com/about-love-yaoi-gn-p-35818.html
FLUTTER (furatta フラッター
9781569702741)
Summary from the Akadot
website: Asada is hypnotized by a handsome co-worker he sees on the
street nearly every day. So when the two men are paired up for a
high-pressure project, he can’t believe his good luck! But what
will happen when Asada’s defenses are shaken by their immediate,
undeniable connection? Flutter beats with the racing pulses of
brand-new lovers! When success at work leads to an after-hours
confession, an exciting relationship sparks to life. But is the flash
of intimacy the beginning of a fiery blaze…or just a passing
flicker? http://www.akadot.com/flutter-yaoi-gn-p-40300.html
SAME DIFFERENCE (Docchi mo
Docchiどっちもどっち
9781569702666)
Summary from the Akadot
website: From their offices high in a corporate skyscraper, alpha
males Ozaki and Tsuburaya make all the girls swoon. Ozaki's known for
his irresistible pheromones, while Tsuburaya's a noble, worldly
genius. But when these rivals end up in bed together, who will prove
to be top dog? It's seme versus seme - and much more than pride's on
the line! http://www.akadot.com/same-difference-yaoi-gn-p-40250.html
CBNAH: A few years ago,
Project-H was created for publishing Hentai, Ecchi and Ero books.
Since its launch, has Project-H seen the same amount of success as
the Yaoi imprint lines? What Project-H titles people should check
out?
YT: I’d
say the success of Project-H was greater than our yaoi imprint. They
are very well received and it’s doing so well for us. Fan support
has been great and we couldn’t have asked for more.
If you want to check out
some of Project-H books, try:
VELVET KISS ( berubetto
kisu ベルベット・キス①
9781934129562)
Summary
for volume one from the Project-H website: Shin’s spirits were
soaring after winning the lottery and landing a contract with a
famous firm in the same day—not bad for a normally luckless office
worker. He quickly plummets back down to earth, however, upon
discovering that he’s been saddled with an immense amount of debt.
There is, however, one way he can keep his creditors at bay: become
“friends” with an enigmatic and alluring girl named Kanoko. The
task sounds simple enough at first, but leaves him eating his own
words as Kanoko’s selfish demands start to take their toll on him
both mentally and physically. Will Shin ever be able to pay his debt
off, or will the lust, luxury, and mystery simply overwhelm him??
MY CUTE CROSSDRESSER
(kurasumeito no josou wo tetsudattara kawaisugite furuega tomaranai
ken クラスメイトの女装を手伝ったら可愛すぎて震えが止まらない件
~松本ミトヒ。
オトコの娘作品集~
9781934129586 )
Summary
from the Project-H website: When sweet, determined Miharu goes
undercover as a girl in order to track down a bunch of groping pervs,
he catches the eye of his shocked classmate Keigo, too! But the
biggest surprise of all? The two guys have the kind of chemistry that
exists only in dreams. Will they suffer through the awkwardness and
become the perfect team?
SEE ME AFTER CLASS
(asamade jugyo Chu 1 朝まで授業Chu!
1 9781934129722)
Summary
from the Project-H website: Yuuki's scored a full scholarship to a
very prestigious school. The only catch? A ditzy teacher's error
means he now has to crossdress to keep his real identity a secret!
Will Yuuki pull it off... or will he be pulled to pieces by a cute,
curious classmate?
You’ll love these.
CBNAH: DMP has been
known to have great working relationships with Japanese publishing
companies like Shinshokan and Tezuka Production. What's it like to
work with these large companies on a daily basis and have the access
to a large amount of titles to publish in print or in digital format?
YT: Yes.
We’ve been blessed to be able to work with such a great publishers.
My best part of the job – all I can read manga! It’s books
after books… they tend to pile up very quickly and i don’t think
I’ve seen my desk top in a while. Overwhelming- yes. But I love
it. It’s never dull in this industry. There’s always something
new and keeps me busy. Of course, it’s not always bunnies and
rainbows.. there’s plenty of drama and difficult issues to deal
with. We don’t always get what we want- some creators are for print
only.. some are digital only… some don’t want to be published at
all. Some don’t want to deal with us at all.
CBNAH: Thank you, for
your time.
Check out Digital Manga
Publishing and all of their different imprints and sites:
June Manga:
http://www.junemanga.com/
801 Media:
http://www.801media.com/
DMP Platinum:
http://www.dmpplatinum.com/
DokiDoki:
http://www.dokidokibooks.com/
Akadot Retail:
http://www.akadot.com/
Yaoi Club:
http://www.yaoiclub.com/
EManga:
https://www.emanga.com/
Project-H Facebook
page: https://www.facebook.com/ProjectHBooks
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