Playthings interviews Viz senior vice president of marketing Liz Coppola, who demonstrates right up front that she really understands the appeal of manga: Talking about Viz’s hottest properties, Naruto, FMA, Rurouni Kenshin, and Death Note, she says,
They are stories that have rich, complex main characters that all have a vision—whether it’s becoming the ultimate ninja, discovering the master alchemy formula or being suddenly given the power of life and death. They’re ordinary characters that have some form of a “gift” that they’ve discovered within themselves and they must learn to live with all the complexities that come with that talent or power.
I think those aspects are every kid’s aspirational dreams—to wake up and suddenly become something you weren’t before, but your essence remains the same. You are still the same nervous, geeky kid but now you have discovered a hidden talent.
I think that’s a great summary of children’s literature, from Alice in Wonderland to Harry Potter. Of course, she goes on to say, manga have more complex storylines, with hidden motivations that don’t surface until later in the story. That’s what keeps us going for 28 volumes.
The rest of the interview is interesting but probably nothing new for most readers—she talks about what the hot properties are and how Viz is trying to expand the market. She touches a bit on branding, and how Shonen Jump has a strong female readership.
Our readers trust that we are the experts in providing them with not only a diverse range of titles, but also in our suggestions. If they are a reader of a Shonen Jump title, they will find that they would probably enjoy other titles in that imprint. The same for the Viz Signature imprint, which is designed specifically for a certain type of reader in mind—the titles are all “carefully hand selected” to match the imprint.