Interview with Viz Media’s (US) Liza Coppola on ICv2
Daniel •
ICv2 have posted a three–part–interview with Viz Media’s Senior Vice President – Liza Coppola.
The interview focuses on the growth of the manga industry in the US, Viz’ strategy for 2008 – that being releasing the same amount of titles as in 2007, but creating a “brand” for each title they release, instead of their properties being “one-off”‘s; defining what exactly “Shounen Jump” and “Shoujo Beat” are.
Specifically, Liza talks about their strategy for “Naruto”, making a “Naruto Nation” promotion that will use the Naruto brand name to build up hype for the franchise – with the release of ‘action figures’, video games, “Naruto” on TV and of course the manga and anime. Liza talks about the success of the “Naruto” manga, and Viz’ strategy for US book stores, with the most recent volumes (16,17,18). Liza says that Viz are “on the tip of the ice-burg” of the Naruto franchise at the moment and 2008 will be a massive push for the franchise as a whole.
Also talked about is how the Western fan base/consumer base is different from the Japanese one and how Viz have to adapt to this difference – by interacting with fans actively, through survey’s and magazines. The upcoming “Blue Dragon” is talked about, with it being such a massive franchise, and of course having Microsoft involved, with the creative talent of Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball) it is set to have a massive following within the next 12-18 months.
The final part of the interview talks about anime. Talked about is Viz’ new download service and its success, along with the success of Viz’ “Pokemon” movies, the greater success of the Naruto movie than of the TV series and of course the phenomenon that is Death Note. Viz have 22 titles in the Top 100 titles on “Video Scan”, which is a great feat and shows the popularity of Viz’ properties, on top of that it is mentioned how “mass [shop] chains” are starting to recognise what anime and manga is. Liza talks about how Viz’ Shoujo Beat line is one of their top priority lines to get sorted out, she also talks about how Viz’ newer line “Viz Pictures” that release ‘live-action’ films is different from the anime market, and finally how the decline in anime in Japan will affect the West – ultimately, that it will not.
