While the major English manga publishers all have variety in their releases, they also tend to have niches. VIZ Media has some of Japan’s biggest hits and low price points to keep the hype going. Kodansha is pushing shoujo/josei digital releases. Yen Press loves isekai. Seven Seas is known for girls’ love. Noticing gaps in their libraries, new (whether to the manga market specifically or as an actual business) publishers have emerged to try to capture a piece of the market: DENPA, Square Enix, One Peace Books.
Well, recently, two new companies have decided to enter the ring: Ablaze Publishing and Kaiten Books.
Ablaze Publishing
Ablaze Publishing was established in June 2019. It was co-founded by Rich Young, a comics veteran who has worked with companies like Dark Horse and Dynamite Entertainment. Ablaze’s first announcement was Franco-Belgian comic Vampire State Building, a series with art by the artist of The Walking Dead.
In its announcement press release, the company said:
“ABLAZE will be releasing a variety of titles—in different formats, genres, and age ranges—original material, crowdfunded titles, reprints, art books, including international titles from Europe, Asia (manga, manhwa), and more.”
Publishers Weekly added that Ablaze was aiming for 10 releases in 2019 and 50 releases in 2020. Since then, they’ve added several more comics and an art book.
Despite difficulties in getting to publish violent Conan the Barbarian series in the US, the company appears to be doing well. Bleeding Cool found that in January 2020, in terms of per capita in the comics market (marketshare of comics sold divided by number of titles for a company), Ablaze beat companies like IDW, VIZ Media, and Archie Comics.
But now, the time for their first manga announcement has come: Cagaster by Kachou Hashimoto.
Netflix has the anime adaptation available to stream under the title Cagaster of an Insect Cage, a direct translation of the Japanese title 虫籠のカガステル (Mushikago no Cagaster).
Starting with its debut in June, one volume of the manga will be released a month until the final volume in November.
Cagaster was originally drawn for the author’s website. The nine online volumes were then published in France in six volumes under the shorter title Cagaster in 2014-2015. In 2016, Japanese publisher Tokuma Shoten released the manga in Japan in seven volumes, although the first two were shipped the same day.
Based on the length, covers, and name of the series, the English version appears to be based on the French language release. This would make sense considering Ablaze’s other connections/releases from the European market.
Kaiten Books
The other new publisher is Kaiten Books. According to their Twitter, they were founded in July 2019 but wasn’t revealed until March 2020. Their first two releases will be Loner Life in Another World by Bibi and Shojo Goji and Shed that Skin, Ryugasaki-san! by Kazutomo Ichitomo. The first volume of Loner Life in Another World is going to be released on March 31st digitally, but both manga will have digital and physical versions through Amazon. Kaiten Books said they want to eventually have their manga available on other platforms.
Both of Kaiten Books’ manga were serialized in Comic Gardo from Overlap. Several Comic Gardo titles have been licensed by J-Novel Club (How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom) and Seven Seas (Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest). Their website banner hints at two more unrevealed titles.
While Loner Life in Another World and Shed that Skin, Ryugasaki-san! are two different genres (isekai and ecchi romcom), it’s good to know Kaiten Books is going after more than J-Novel Club or Seven Seas Overlap leftovers. In fact, according to one of the founders, Kaiten Books is looking to add BL titles.
A Bad Time?
The fact that more companies are trying to license manga for the English-speaking audience should once again show the strength of the graphic novels market. It’s also great that both are committing to the physical market, even though it may be a while before you see them at Barnes & Noble or even Walmart.
Unfortunately, they are also debuting at a very rough time. With the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the world is going to be experiencing disruptions if not recessions for a while. Goldman-Sachs predicts the United States’ GDP will shrink 5% in the second quarter of 2020, and it’s possible that the quarter will be worse than any during the Great Recession.
Even though it is likely the situation will improve by the time Cagaster comes out or Loner Life in Another World and Shed that Skin, Ryugasaki-san! have a physical release, economic stings will remain for a while. Kaiten Books has thanked fans for positive feedback and excitement for their company and licenses, and Ablaze Publishing has other releases and is led by an industry veteran. Hopefully, that will allow them to sail through the rough spring and summer the world is likely to experience. Despite the cries of my wallet, I always want to see more manga get an official release, and I’d like to see these two new publishers craft their niche in the English manga marketplace.