Author: Tim Craig
Published 2020.
Length: 14 pages (plus exhibits)
In 2018 Weekly Shōnen Jump, the Japanese manga magazine that has brought us Kochikame, Dragon Ball, Slam Dunk, One Piece, Naruto, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, and dozens of other classic manga series, celebrated its 50th anniversary. But while Jump’s sales were more than double those of its nearest competitor, its circulation had dropped to less than a third of its mid-90s peak as publisher Shueisha and the rest of Japan’s gigantic manga industry struggled to meet the challenges of digitalization, piracy, and a shrinking reader base.
This case presents an overview of Japan’s manga industry, including the role that “god of manga” Osamu Tezuka played in making Japanese manga what they are today, and describes how Shueisha and Japan’s other manga publishers are responding to a changing industry environment that has weakened their traditional business models.
Topics: Manga, Weekly Shōnen Jump, Osamu Tezuka, Digitalization in publishing, Piracy
Individual cases from Cool Japan may be purchased from BlueSky Publishing for ¥400 or $4 each. For instructors wishing to use Cool Japan cases in their classes, student copies may be made from a master copy; copyright permissions must be purchased for each student in the class. To inquire or order, please contact: tcraig@blueskyacademic.net.
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