the manga market | France

1.1 Definition and scope of the study

Manga are books, halfway between comic books and American comics. A category in its own right, a manga is recognizable by characteristics that distinguish it from traditional French-Belgian comics:

• The reading is from right to left,
• The drawings are generally left in black and white,
• They are often published episode by episode.

Born in Japan during the Meiji era, modernizing and nationalist, the first mangas were inspired by European caricature drawings and were published in newspapers. Influenced by post-war American comics, mangakas began to draw their mangas in the form we know them today. Imported into France in the 1980s and translated by Glénat, they enjoyed growing success with iconic titles such as Dragon Ball and One Piece Publishing houses, mostly French, are gradually establishing themselves and taking over the market . Publishers publish volumes, which collect chapters published in Japan on a weekly basis. Usually, the story of a manga is broken down into arcs told over several chapters.

However, we must distinguish sub-genres within manga. The most common, with their target audience, are:

• The Shônen (boys under 15 - action and adventure)
• The Seinen (adolescents 15 to 24 years old - action and psychology)
• The Shôjo (girls 10 to 18 - romance)
• The Josei (adult women - romance and action)

Many issues affect the manga market in France, such as the growing prevalence of digital technology for books, comics, etc., which provides free access to pirated versions of manga and threatens the ecosystem. The main mission of the new manga is to seduce the new generation, born after 2000 and 2010, and perpetuate the excitement that was created in previous generations