Hmm. It seems that several major manga publishers will be raising their prices in the immediate future, including Del Rey, Viz, and Dark Horse. Their books will now run $1 or $2 more per volume.

People have pointed out (quite correctly) that manga used to cost anywhere from $15 to $20 per volume, and the industry survived somehow. However, that was several years ago, when publishers released far fewer titles and the market was limited to devoted fans, not twelve-year-olds shelling out their allowances for the ten-millionth volume of Fruits Basket or Naruto. I'm not saying these price hikes will kill the industry, but I think they might lose more readers than they're bargaining for. After all, those twelve-year-olds are feeling the economic pinch, too, and I bet "But, Mom, my manga costs more!" isn't going to convince their cash-strapped parents to give them more spending money.

Labels: Economy of Doom, manga