Forum - View topicNEWS: Kodansha, Dai Nippon Printing Buy Vertical
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_V_
 Posts: 619 |
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....so does this mean that Del Ray Manga is dead?
Del Ray used to be the distributor for Kodansha, but then Kodansha went in house a few months ago. If Kodansha buys Vertical, does this mean they're formally shutting down Del Ray Manga? EDIT: I went back and checked. Del Ray Manga shut down December 1st, three months ago. So is there still going to be an in-house, "Kodansha USA"? Or is Vertical now going to be the distributor for all Kodansha stuff? |
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here-and-faraway
 Posts: 1529 Location: Sunny California |
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I guess the good news is that someone thinks it's worth investing in the type of manga that Vertical releases in the states. I'm curious to see how this will all play out. Vertical does/did(?) an outstanding job releasing manga, hopefully the quality will continue. (I'm guessing it should since Kodansha knows a thing or two about manga.)
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Paploo
Posts: 1875 |
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http://kodanshacomics.com/ Del Rey didn't really close- basically, their staff and most of their licenses got shifted over to Kodansha's own label, which will be distributed by Random House [Del Rey's parent company]. The end result is Kodansha having a more direct involvement in things. A list of their production schedule is on their website, and their new releases should be out in a few months- they've been solicited in Diamond Previews. Vertical has partnered with Kodansha [who also work with Dark Horse on some titles] on some licenses like Chi's Sweet Home and Peepo Choo. While I'm surprised by the move, when I stop and think about it it's not that big of a surprise. Ed Chavez had mentioned Vertical would be working with Kodansha on an English edition of Morning's website awhile back, so it's clear they've been working on assorted things. Curious to hear what he has to say about all this, being Vertical's public figure. I'm also assuming that Kodansha recognized the success they've had with their prose material, which has had a consistent output. So it's probably not just about manga- Kodansha is a big publisher in general, so they might of been impressed with Vertical's success with non-fiction, craft, puzzle and mainstream fiction novels. |
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agila61
 Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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From the twitter:
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The Goron Marshall
 Posts: 111 Location: Canada |
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I'm... really not too sure about my thoughts on this.
However I do feel a tad annoyed/disappointed with companies being sold off/moving a lot lately, even if it is for the good. That is... I hope it's for the good. I don't want another repeat of what happened to Hudson Entertainment, I was looking forward to Bomberman 3DS... That said, I hope Vertical will still release the works that they had announced, especially Tezuka's works. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15573 |
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I hope the fine staff at Vertical get to keep their jobs, and that Kodansha won't make the mistake of mass-dumping manga in our market without doing the proper research like Gutsoon.
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Jaymie
Posts: 915 |
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I think this is a good thing? Hopefully it means that Vertical gets dibs on Kodansha series.
Narutaru, please? 
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Moomintroll
 Posts: 1600 Location: Nottingham (UK) |
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If the deal means Vertical has easier access to quality titles, that's obviously a good thing but I think it might actually be better if Kodansha Comics continues to exist as a separate entity - Vertical's a great boutique publisher and the quality of its releases can only fall dramatically if it becomes Kodansha's dump bin for dozens and dozens of generic, mediocre series.
Last I heard, most of Vertical's profits don't come from its manga releases. Same goes for Kodansha so although they're obviously the focus of our interest here on this board, I'm not sure how much their respective manga divisions actually had to do with the deal. |
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Paploo
Posts: 1875 |
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I'd hope it's just mean Vertical has easier access to the titles in Kodansha's manga catalogue they have interest in- let Kodansha Comics handle the massmarket, shonen/shojo titles Kodansha wants to put out here, and let Vertical continue doing what it does best- finding the best manga titles, new or old, from Kodansha or smaller pubs, and marketing a small, concentrated line of books.
ps- I'd suggest folks keep an eye on Vertical's Twitter account http://twitter.com/vertical_ed and their website http://vertical-inc.com/ Last edited by Paploo on Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:05 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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Where's Ed? I can't even begin to know how this will affect Vertical and their publishing decisions or the company as a whole until a company rep deems to elaborate. I *hope* it means that Planetes can be re-released as a Vertical title, but there's no way to know if that's even possible...
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Paploo
Posts: 1875 |
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Ed's made some posts on twitter- seems things will be business as usual, with Ed reminding us again that they've worked with Kodansha before http://twitter.com/vertical_ed and commenting on questions form manga fans
"# @raintenshi no they haven't but they are investing in our company. Along with printing company DaiNippon Printing, Kodansha r new investors half a minute ago via TwitBird in reply to raintenshi # @ndoneagn we will stop making jokes about not bring around in 6 months...oh and we'll finally start doing more prose again. " So, looks like the two companies are investors in Vertical, and will help them keep stable, and presumably make licensing easier. Sounds like it will benefit the prose line too http://twitter.com/Vertical_Ed/statuses/40604399252279296 Though it sounds like they'll continue working with other publishers too. |
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JohnnySake
 Posts: 586 Location: Auburn Hills, MI |
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It is interesting and oddly timely reading this news tonight after having read a few twitter posts by Jason DeAngelis of Seven Seas about the publishing industry in general.
If this gives Kodansha a method of bringing more titles to English speaking readers than it is a win-win situation for Vertical, releasing the books, and us, the consumers of the same. Other posters have mentioned this but I also add to the collective hope that Vertical can keep releasing their carefully picked titles. I say that because apparently they license from more than one Japanese publisher. Hopefully that won't be affected by Kodansha. If the purchase gives Vertical a more stable financial footing, then the power to them. |
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The Goron Marshall
Posts: 111 Location: Canada |
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Engrish translation, please? Ehhh, I guess this serves me right for rushing through with things, I already started to post about this at some other forums I go to. Oh well. |
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Aliera
Posts: 2 |
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To sum it up, Vertical has new investors. Seems the biggest change is just the added financial stability. 
Looks like they are retaining most (all?) of their staff and are not planning any changes in licenses. As fans, this will probably mean new licenses because of better access to Kodansha's wide catalog. If we're really lucky maybe there will be less wait time between volumes, but I know quality takes time
Also, while they will get more access to Kodansha titles, it's not just limited to manga. Kodansha is a publishing giant in Japan for regular books as well, and Vertical puts out translated Japanese novels, craft and puzzle books too. (Hence the comment about doing more prose). I haven't read any Vertical-published novels personally, but I could be persuaded with the right kind of murakami-esque works *hint hint* All in all, it's looking like a good thing for Vertical and us fans too, unless there's something I'm missing? |
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timesteel
 Posts: 202 Location: California |
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I think It's great that they have Kondansha Backing them. I just hope that It's doesn't affect release quality or even there licensing. though I'm hoping for more tezuka titles or even a Billy Bat license.
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