NYAF: ICv2’s Marketing to Girls panel

ICv2 kicked off NYAF with a really interesting afternoon of panel discussions. Al Kahn stole the show with his comment that “Japan is over,” but there was plenty more to hear. Below the cut is my summary of the panel entitled “Girls—The Other Half of the Otaku Generation.”

Strong female characters, a more accessible storytelling style, and books that are available in girl-friendly chain bookstores—these are the key reasons why manga are so popular with girls and women, according to panelists at ICv2’s panel “Girls—The Other Half of the Otaku Generation.” And while manga has opened up the market, early indications are that anime will remain a boys club for some time.

The panel brought together an articulate group of professionals who are all involved in the female otaku market: Tokyopop senior editor Lillian Diaz-Przybyl, librarian Nola Thacker of the Suffolk County Library System, Del Rey associate publisher Dallas Middaugh, FUNimation senior brand manager Jill Snider, Yen Press co-publisher Kurt Hassler, and VIZ Media editorial director Elizabeth Kawasaki. Larissa Faw, editor of Youth Market Alert, moderated the panel.

Hassler called traditional American comics a “boys club,” produced by publishers who specifically target male readers. “They are very good at marketing to that consumer and maintaining that audience, but it is very exclusionary to female readers,” he said, while the Japanese model is more diverse.

That doesn’t mean the increase in female readers has gone unnoticed by American publishers. Snider pointed to Dark Horse’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Marvel’s Anita Blake as two successful series that target women. Diaz-Przybyl added that both series offer strong female characters. “Marvel and DC have been trying to capture the female audience for a while by reimagining Supergirl as a cheerleader and giving Spiderman’s girlfriend her own series,” she said. “Buffy and Anita Blake are really strong female protagonists. It sounds like a cliché to say that, but that’s what a lot of girl readers are looking for, like Sakura in Naruto or the side characters in Death Note.

With its dynamic storytelling style, manga is more readable than American comics, panelists said, and that brings in new readers as well. “Manga relies on images and dialogue,” Middaugh said. “American comics—and this is a very broad generalization—rely on deep monologue. You have to go deep into a characters’ head with dialogue and thought balloons.” This makes manga more appealing to a wider audience, he said, and as girls read more than boys, anything that brings in new readers will bring in more women and girls.

One more key ingredient in the manga boom is the books are available in chain bookstores. Several panelists described comics stores as unappealing to women, even “icky.” And while some critics complained that manga would push American comics off the shelves, Hassler, the former graphic novels buyer for Borders, said just the opposite has happened: The success of manga allowed bookstores to expand their graphic novels sections, making more space for American comics as well.

When it comes to licensed merchandise, Snider said, girls buy more than boys, and they stay committed to a brand they like. Reflecting on her own experiences with the library’s anime and manga club, Thacker said that while the boys are collectors, the girls are shoppers.

One market the panelists did not see growing is anime for girls. Japanese producers aren’t making a lot of girl-oriented series, Diaz-Przybyl said, so there is less available for licensing. And there are fewer outlets as well. “When I meet with Cartoon Network, they tell me they don’t care about female audiences,” Snider said. “They only want to reach boys nine to 14 years old.” Middaugh, who has also dealt with Cartoon Network, added that while girls will watch cartoons for boys, boys don’t watch cartoons for girls. What’s more, viewership of shows like Sailor Moon dropped when they went into reruns, or as Middaugh said, “Boys will watch the same thing over and over again. Girls are a little bit smarter than we are.”

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Comments

  1. I was impressed with every member on that panel but I have to say that watching librarian Nola Thacker blew me out of the water! I think I found her viewpoint unique because she interfaces very directly with the audience of up and coming manga readers in a way that a profession editor wouldn’t get a chance to.

    For example it was interesting for me to find out that tween manga readers would go back and check out non-comic books on related subject matters! It was very refreshing hearing that as there’s always been that movement in the press to link manga and anime with violence ala Deathnote stories and the like.

    As an artist I was also very excited to hear about the editors feelings that this generation of tween and teen manga fans would grow up in a few years and produce a wave of original English language manga. Having been inspired by Star Blazers at age of fourteen to make that extra push to go to art school — that brought a smile to my face.