How Big Are Manga Markets in Non-English/Japanese Speaking Countries?

Whenever I’m discussing manga, I tend to focus on the Japanese and English speaking markets. The reasons for this are that the Japanese market is the original and more likely to have an impact on market trends while the focus on the English speaking market is due the fact that I and most of my readers speak English. However, this can sometimes cause people to underestimate how big the manga markets can be in these non-English/Japanese speaking countries and I think it’s important that I at least discuss them within this article.

Arguably the most notable non-English/Japanese speaking manga market is France. The manga released in France tend to be more varied than those found in the US with an estimated 41 publishers of manga. These cover a wide range of more experimental manga than is typically found in other markets (although mainstream titles remain the bestsellers). Just like many markets, the French manga market originally developed based on the popularity of anime in the 80s and 90s. I always find it interesting (and a little funny) how shocked people are when I explain how the French market is as big as (if not bigger) than the US manga market.

With regards to the rest of Europe, while none are as big as the French manga market, there are many worth noting. It is estimated that the majority of comics in Germany are manga and (interestingly) are aimed at a predominantly female demographic. The Italian market remains vibrant with well over a thousand manga released each year. Even Spain has a large manga market although it tends to be dominated by titles with anime adaptations.

Moving over to Latin America, while the market is estimated to be worth only around 30% of Spain’s (which makes it comparatively small), there are still some interesting aspects to this market. It is very much dominated by anime adaptations with one of the biggest hits being Dragon Ball. However, I can remember learning of the popularity of a series named Saint Seiya in Latin America, in contrast to its muted reception in the English speaking world.

Southeast Asia is another interesting market to look at. I can distinctly remember coming across the publisher name “Chuang Yi” consistently when I began collecting manga. While they have since gone out of business, Shogakukan, one of the biggest publishers of manga in Japan, established a subsidiary “Shogakukan Asia” to distribute manga in Southeast Asia. However, Indonesia in particular is worth looking at by itself. The manga market in Indonesia is growing with manga publisher Kadokawa stating that they saw sales in Indonesia “grow threefold between 2012 and 2013“. Manga have proven so popular in Indonesia that they dominate the comic market.

Finally, I would like to discuss South Asia, in particular India. With a market of over 1.3 billion people, there is a lot of potential in this market! However, the only manga publisher that I can find in India is Viz Media who import their English language manga. While English is an official language of India, native English speakers make up a very tiny percentage of the population. While it is estimated that India has a combined English speaking population of over 100 million (including first, second and third language speakers), I still think there is a lot of potential for translating manga into other Indian languages (in particular Hindi but including Marathi, Telugu etc).

In conclusion, there are a lot of very big manga markets in non-English/Japanese speaking countries and, even in countries with smaller markets we are seeing continual growth in the demand for manga. I think it’s important that more people realize how important these manga markets are and that we discuss the impact and potential that they have. Let me know your thoughts on this topic and what the manga market is like in your country.

Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk and amazon.com for all of your needs!