How Expensive is A Manga Should Be?
When compared to other countries such as the US or Japan itself, manga in Indonesia are comparably very cheap. However, the price has risen several times over the years. Currently, for regular release, a single volume of manga is still sold for less than US$ 2.50.
“Readers are very sensitive about price; even a raise of Rp 1,000 (about 8 US cents) will incite a lot of protests.”.
To keep the price affordable for Indonesian readers, the cheapest type of paper is used to keep printing costs down. Colored pages are also printed black-and-white; though, if only for the front pages, they could still be kept colored. Elex Media also no longer releases manga with dust jackets, which is a move appreciated by readers as they tend to damage or lose the dust jackets anyway.
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For select, popular titles, though, Elex Media may release “deluxe” or “premium” editions with better paper. A recent example is the premium edition re-release of Fullmetal Alchemist, based on the Japanese kanzenban edition. Despite being two times more expensive, Ms. Sari said that the premium edition has been selling well.
Popular titles in Indonesia are not always the same as the ones that are popular in Japan. Titles like One Piece and Naruto may also be popular everywhere. But unlike in their home country, Naruto notably outsells One Piece in Indonesia. Other popular titles from Elex Media include Detective Conan and Kung Fu Boy. Another massively popular title in Indonesia is Hai, Miiko! (Kocchi Muite, Miiko!), published by m&c!. According to Ms. Sari, Japanese business partners are often surprised when they are told that Miiko! is popular in Indonesia.
In the next part, we will discuss the process of licensing and translating manga, their challenges, and a little info about the light novel licensing process.
See also:
Is Scanlation Killing Manga Publishing in Indonesia? – KAORI Nusantara Manga Readers Survey
To be continued in part 2
The Indonesian Anime Times | Reporting by Halimun Muhammad, Dody Kusumanto and Videtra Reynaldi | Photography by Halimun Muhammad
