The meteoric rise of manga in the UK, according to Japan

The English section of the Japanese newspaper Asahi.com have posted an interesting article (complete with multiple interviews) on the meteoric rise of manga (and anime) in the UK, which is apparently culminating with the launch of comics publisher SelfMadeHero’s “Shakespeare Collection”; comics drawn in a manga-style by Sweatdrop Studio’s Sonia Leong (Romeo & Juliet) and Emma Vieceli (Hamlet). Both of these graphic novels are set to launch in the UK on March 1st.

It’s worth noting SelfMadeHero’s publications will be sold in Japan too.

Generally the article covers a whole range of points relevant to the UK based fan, talking about NEO magazine (which apparently boasts a monthly circulation of 15,000 issues in the UK) and how £500,000 was spent on advertising the Manga Force bi-weekly DVD magazine, only for “fan sites” to be “unimpressed when the commercial’s voiceover narrator mispronounced the name of a classic series.”

Thanks to Colin Palin for reporting this news!