When two of my favorite comics commentators say almost the same thing, I begin to sense a trend. At Cognitive Dissonance, Johanna is giving up on Rurouni Kenshin:
I’m definitely quitting with this one, because it was a chore to get through it, and there are still a ton more volumes in the series. (If I was anywhere near the end, then it might be worth hanging on.) There are just so many other manga I want to read more.
And at (postmodernbarney), Dorian comes to a similar conclusion with regard to InuYasha:
I’m several volumes behind as it is, and everytime I flip open a new book I note that a) they still haven’t found all the pieces of that damn gem and b) a new nemesis has been introduced who is more powerful and more evil than the previous nemesis, thus forcing the heroes to unlock yet another hidden power they didn’t know they possessed.
It seems that there is such a thing as too many volumes. I often wonder, as I embark on a multi-volume series, how far ahead the author is thinking. Does she know how the whole story will unspool, and which volume will be the last? Or does she have a three-volume story and figure she’ll think up some more stuff if the series get extended? I once read that J.K. Rowling knew pretty much what the whole Harry Potter saga was going to be when she started on the first book. It seems that Natsuki Takaya did the same sort of planning with Fruits Basket; as I re-read the earlier volumes, there is quite a bit of foreshadowing. On the other hand, it was clear from the first volume of InuYasha that this was a story that could go on and on as long as the contracts lasted; you can search for bits of that jewel forever and never find them all, and a story like that is episodic by nature—finding each shard is a new adventure that doesn’t depend on what went before.
There’s a place in the world for both types of storytelling, but the risk with the episodic stories is that the formula doesn’t permit enough variation to stay interesting for 30 or 40 volumes. Even a real story arc can be boring if stretched out too long. On the other hand, I’m willing to stay with a story for 10 or more volumes if it feels like it’s going somewhere—and if the end is in sight.
i feel the same way. i have totally given up on physic academy. totally boring and can tell it will be a long. it also does not appeal to me. sometimes the author changes what we liked the most about the manga.
This is a really interesting topic – I, too, have become real fed up with the never-ending nature of some manga series. It mattered alot less when I was still buying shonen jump and reading weekly installments, but now that I’ve stopped buying the anthologies and started buying ONLY story collections, it’s really becoming annoying. You continue buying it because you’ve invested your emotions into the characters and you want to know how they’re doing, but it comes to a point where you know the author is just dragging it out (prompted by the editors, no doubt).
At this point it time, it becomes, on some level, INSULTING. If the author doesn’t have anything else to waffle on about, please just end the story. If you don’t, not only do your readers get tired, but they’re less likely to hold your writing skills in esteem. That’s why “The Dreaming” is only 3 volumes, with a pre-planned story. Readers are alot more likely to invest in a 3 volume series because it’s not a big drain on the wallet.
The cost of English-language manga also plays a role. AUD$15 a volume is too much to ask for if you’re buying a series with 20+ volumes, and I know for certain because the Chinese volumes are AUD$8 each, and I tend to accumulate more Chinese language volumes for that very reason. When readers feel they’re not getting their money’s worth, they’re going to get “fatigue”. I know that paying $8 for a volume of Rurouni Kenshin seems a bargain whereas AUD$15 doesn’t.
And I’ve seen GOOD manga series become destroyed by extending the story past it’s natural life-span. DragonBall is the prime example. I loved vol 20-30 of 3×3 EYES, and by the time it got to vol37 I was PRAYING for it to end. I got tired of One Piece at vol 30, and same with Naruto. Rurouni Kenshin was interesting up until vol20.
I would say that a good part of how long I can stay with a manga serial is in how the story is moving, if i feel that it is progressing or building to a climax.
Sometimes though the start is interesting enough that it takes a little while to see that writer has no idea where they are going.. unfortunately.
I agree with Queenie on the ‘percieved value’ of a book too, and the difference the price has on how long one is willing to follow a story.
As a side note, Queenie, since you are in Australia, have you seen any of the English language manga translations coming out of Singapore? I believe that the company responsible, Chuan Yi, has the rights for Australia and NZ as well. I also know they have been publishing Fruits Basket, Slam Dunk and Naruto for sure, having see them in bookstores here in Taiwan.
I want all Physic Academy books pleassssssse? No money added please promise,really ,really promise!!!!
boooooks!!!!