[RAILGUN] When will you all release Toaru Majutsu no Index

[Riccha]

It makes me wonder what it is that Yen Press is doing differently to other publishers, as their light novel selection seems to be doing pretty well; or at least, I'm assuming that based on the fact that they're continuing with them.

It's a shame, because there are quite a few different light novel series that I'd love to own copies of. Reading fan translations over the internet just isn't the same as reading an actual book. I can't enjoy it as much.

[Lord Styphon]

It makes me wonder what it is that Yen Press is doing differently to other publishers, as their light novel selection seems to be doing pretty well; or at least, I'm assuming that based on the fact that they're continuing with them.

I'm going to assume it has to do with having the Haruhi Suzumiya license, myself.

[Riccha]

It makes me wonder what it is that Yen Press is doing differently to other publishers, as their light novel selection seems to be doing pretty well; or at least, I'm assuming that based on the fact that they're continuing with them.

I'm going to assume it has to do with having the Haruhi Suzumiya license, myself.

Yeah, I can understand how Haruhi Suzumiya is selling well, given the huge popularity of the anime, but the continued success of some of their other novel licenses don't have such convenient explanations.

[Ashandorath]

their novels are:
haruhi suzumiya
spice and wolf
book girl
my girlfriends a geek
Kieli

Kieli and "my girlfriend's a geek" are, according to their cover art, not being marketed as ligh novels (they tried this with "spice and wolf"). i.e. they are using 3d art people who aren't into manga probably picked them up because of this and got into them. This caused an uproar with "spice and wolf", resulting in a dust jacket with the 3d art and the book having the actual art.

haruhi suzumiya is obvious.

spice and wolf has a pretty large fanbase actually and is very well known, and considering the target audience, they are likely to pick up the novel.

"book girl" is aimed at people who read novels and are literature oriented.

So either have novels being marketed as non-light novels (I don't know if they even are light novels), novels that have a large fanbase and are fairly well known, and a novel series aimed at book geeks. book girl only has 2 volumes out, so it's still possible that it may be dropped at some point.

On the other hand "ballad of a shinigami" isn't that well known, and the target audience is fairly small, strawberry panics fanbase may be dedicated, but again it isn't very large. etc. Not to mention that they are marketed at the anime/manga fans, i.e. "outsiders" aren't going to pick them up.

They're could also be more awareness for light novels now than there was a few years ago, especially with large brands such as haruhi.
Then there's the part that yen press is fairly well known because it has some large titles. Knowing the publisher actually influences my buying habits, since I browse the publishers site. There's a good reason almost my manga is from yen press or seven seas.

[Riccha]

I don't think it's just a matter of how things are marketed or how big the existing fanbase is. Kino's Journey has a dedicated fanbase, and Tokyopop's release of it had a redesigned, 'retail friendly' cover, yet it did not sell well. On the flip side of things, Yen's Book Girl seems to be doing well enough. Volume 3 will be released soon, and they've scheduled release dates for the entire series on their website- excluding the sidestories- which I'm assuming is a good sign. Yet, at the time they licensed it, its fanbase was practically non-existant; if I remember correctly, the anime movie was barely in theatres in Japan back then. The cover is redesigned, but still has the manga-style illustration, and the contents retain things that may be offputting to 'outsiders'; the Japanese setting, the fact that some of the plot of the first volume requires at least a little bit of knowledge of Osamu Dazai's work, etc. . So, where is the difference? What makes one sell, while the other does not?

Being, perhaps, a little harsh to other publishers (for which I apologise), I feel that it's also influenced by whoever is picking licenses at Yen Press has better intuition when it comes to what's worth taking a chance on.

Looking at their releases, and ignoring Haruhi and Spice and Wolf for a minute, they're all finished series that are relatively short (<10 volumes) as far as light novels seem to go. S&W is a little longer, but it is also complete- excluding the recently announced epilogue novel, but I think it's safe to assume there won't be more after that. Personally, I find it hard to buy ongoing things if there's no guarantee of seeing the next part. I doubt I'm alone in this. So, knowing that, I can see why they're going for that kind of thing; the shorter the series, the easier it is to commit to releasing all of it, especially if it's complete. As a buyer, I'd rather purchase the first volume of a series like that than something with 20+ volumes that I'm not sure I'll ever get to read most of.

I have to agree with you somewhat on the 'not being marketed as light novels' front, especially in regards to S&W and Kieli, which are already pretty 'English friendly' to begin with. As for the cover redesigns, I really wonder whether they help or hinder; they seem to alienate existing fans, but can be good for bringing in new ones.

Anyway, I think I've typed far too much, and it's far too early in the morning for me, so I'm probably digressing from the original point; especially since I've gone ahead and said 'I'd love to see an English release of the Index novels!' and then happily pointed out why it wouldn't be good business sense. xD

It's a shame, really. I do my best to support light novel releases (I've never seen the anime of Strawberry Panic, but I'll be picking up the novels once I get paid this month simply because of that), but it seems that everyone is too scared to take risks, and those who do rarely have much luck with their gamble. I really hope to see more LN releases in the future.


Oh, and on a slightly related note; if I were a publisher, I'd snap up Bakemonogatari. It has a sizeable fanbase from the anime adaptation, will likely pick up more if the hints of a North American release of that are correct, and while it's technically 12 volumes long, each 'part' (Kizumonogatari, Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari, etc.) is short enough that the problem of people hesitating to buy because of the possibility of no conclusion could easily be avoided. Winkwinknudgenudge. /blatant pleading.

[Adam_Arnold]

Most novels struggle just to break even (and most don't even get there). What is happening is that the lesser titles are being propped up by other books that are making money.

[MedinaFunky]

is railgun 1-7 going to be published?

[Adam_Arnold]

is railgun 1-7 going to be published?

We just released book 1 this month and book 2 is coming in October.
http://www.gomanga.com/manga/acertainsc ... ailgun.php

[MedinaFunky]

is railgun 1-7 going to be published?

We just released book 1 this month and book 2 is coming in October.
http://www.gomanga.com/manga/acertainsc ... ailgun.php

just wondering cause up to vol 4 is posted for release i wonder who would pick up index >.<

[Adam_Arnold]

is railgun 1-7 going to be published?

We just released book 1 this month and book 2 is coming in October.
http://www.gomanga.com/manga/acertainsc ... ailgun.php

just wondering cause up to vol 4 is posted for release i wonder who would pick up index >.<

Square Enix is exclusive with Yen Press, so they would be likely to put out the Index manga.

[ProvidenceBreaker]

is railgun 1-7 going to be published?

We just released book 1 this month and book 2 is coming in October.
http://www.gomanga.com/manga/acertainsc ... ailgun.php

just wondering cause up to vol 4 is posted for release i wonder who would pick up index >.<

I don't think you have to worry about it ending on 4. That would be a pretty epic cliffhanger to end the series with if that were the case.

[MedinaFunky]

well if i am right railgun manga is totally different from its anime. The manga for index follows the anime exactlly. Making railgun interesting to follow.

[GenericUser]

well if i am right railgun manga is totally different from its anime. The manga for index follows the anime exactlly. Making railgun interesting to follow.

Didn't the Index manga cut off two arcs?

[ProvidenceBreaker]

well if i am right railgun manga is totally different from its anime. The manga for index follows the anime exactlly. Making railgun interesting to follow.

The manga for Index is not really as good as the anime due to the fact that it skips stuff and is pretty damn slow. Kamachi writes his novels faster than the mangaka can draw. It's almost guaranteed to go the original ending route eventually. The anime for Railgun is pretty different because they didn't wait long enough for the manga to produce enough material to work with. It'll be interesting to see if they bother with a second season now that Kamachi is going out of his way to write chapters that directly conflict with all the changes made in the anime.

Tl;dr: Index manga/Railgun anime = Alternate Universe, Index anime/Railgun manga = Actual Story. Obviously the novels take precedence over the anime, but that's not really an option for most people.

Didn't the Index manga cut off two arcs?

Yeah, the second and fourth arcs. The fourth being pretty important when considering the major event that takes place 16 light novels later.

[catshione]

How many Railgun novels will be released by seven seas in total?

how long is this manga?