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18:57:03 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Everyone having a good weekend?
18:57:11 <bay|AX|Kodansha> I see tons of attack on titan cosplay
18:57:14 <bay|AX|Kodansha> only now is it become really huge
18:57:23 <bay|AX|Kodansha> I guess we're going to get started
18:57:35 <bay|AX|Kodansha> (Trailer for attack on titan)
18:59:03 <bay|AX|Kodansha> One full volume of attack on titan every month starting august
18:59:07 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we're taking attack on titan monthly
18:59:14 <bay|AX|Kodansha> it's gotten so popular and so well that we want to catch up with japan
18:59:19 <bay|AX|Kodansha> 1 full vol every month
18:59:24 <bay|AX|Kodansha> until we catch up with japan in feb 2014
18:59:32 <bay|AX|Kodansha> (releases are in last week of month)
18:59:40 <bay|AX|Kodansha> super exciting, and it's going to be hard work but it's worth it
18:59:46 <bay|AX|Kodansha> it's been doing really well with us this weekend
18:59:50 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and we're out of 1-3
18:59:55 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and i brought 3x as much this weekend
18:59:59 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Sailor Moon BOx set 2
19:00:03 <bay|AX|Kodansha> October 29 2013
19:00:05 <bay|AX|Kodansha> $65.94
19:00:13 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Box set includes 7-12, slip case, stickers
19:00:20 <bay|AX|Kodansha> joins set 1 to create an image
19:00:39 <bay|AX|Kodansha> vol 12 comes out in 10 days
19:00:42 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and that finishes the main story line
19:00:46 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and we're going to be moving on to the short stories
19:00:54 <bay|AX|Kodansha> short stories 1 and 2
19:01:03 <bay|AX|Kodansha> sept 10 2013 / nov 26 2013 respectively
19:01:09 <bay|AX|Kodansha> 10.99 each
19:01:23 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we're happy to finishing bringing sailor moon back into the US
19:01:26 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Sherlock Bones
19:01:35 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Written by Yuma Ando
19:01:40 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Illustrated by Yuki Sato
19:01:55 <bay|AX|Kodansha> vol 1 Sept 17 2013, vol 2 nov 19 2013, vol 3 jan 14 2014
19:02:04 <bay|AX|Kodansha> from same writer as kindaichi case files
19:02:20 <bay|AX|Kodansha> but that's not all...
19:02:25 <bay|AX|Kodansha> first of all
19:02:29 <bay|AX|Kodansha> problems...
19:02:50 <bay|AX|Kodansha> print books are heavy, take up space, can only be in one place at a time, cannot be used to make a delicious marinara
19:02:58 <bay|AX|Kodansha> kodansha ebooks coming july 16th
19:03:08 <bay|AX|Kodansha> now they will be
19:03:19 <bay|AX|Kodansha> will be on
19:03:21 <bay|AX|Kodansha> nook
19:03:23 <bay|AX|Kodansha> google play
19:03:24 <bay|AX|Kodansha> ibookstore
19:03:25 <bay|AX|Kodansha> kindle
19:03:43 <bay|AX|Kodansha> the ipad app will no longer update
19:04:19 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we are not going to take your books away, you can still download, just it won't be updated
19:04:00 <bay|AX|Kodansha> What books will we get?
19:04:21 <bay|AX|Kodansha> No sailor moon
19:04:46 <bay|AX|Kodansha> launch day titles include;
19:05:20 <bay|AX|Kodansha> at full moon, kitchen princess, mardock scramble, ninja girls, bloody monday, danza, i am here, zetsubou sensai, cage of eden, missions of love, until th e full moon, genshinken 1 and 2, arisa,and fairy tail
19:05:32 <bay|AX|Kodansha> 2 vols per month diigtally
19:05:35 <bay|AX|Kodansha> 1 volper month in print
19:05:54 <bay|AX|Kodansha> the response to the monthly sales has actually caused sales to increase
19:05:57 <bay|AX|Kodansha> sales are actually going up
19:06:12 <bay|AX|Kodansha> our most recent volume wa the best 4 week sales of any volume
19:06:18 <bay|AX|Kodansha> 1-31 available july 16
19:06:30 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we'll do 2x /month digitally until we catch up with japan at the end of the year
19:06:41 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Sankarea
19:06:43 <bay|AX|Kodansha> also launch day title
19:06:59 <bay|AX|Kodansha> vol 1 on launch date, vol 2 8/13/13, vol 3 10/29/13
19:07:12 <bay|AX|Kodansha> No. 6 will also be launch day
19:07:14 <bay|AX|Kodansha> vol 2 aug 13th
19:07:51 <bay|AX|Kodansha> vinland saga
19:07:57 <bay|AX|Kodansha> from the creator of planetes
19:08:04 <bay|AX|Kodansha> 472 pages of manga for $19.99
19:08:06 <bay|AX|Kodansha> vol 1 oct 8 2013
19:08:10 <bay|AX|Kodansha> vol 2 jan 21 2014
19:08:21 <bay|AX|Kodansha> i don't think we introduced ourselves
19:08:29 <bay|AX|Kodansha> i'm one of the editors, ben applegate, and kana is one the heads of the program
19:08:41 <bay|AX|Kodansha> this won't be starting on launch day because it won't be printed
19:08:44 <bay|AX|Kodansha> it will be day and date with print
19:08:49 <bay|AX|Kodansha> 2 vol omnibus, 2 in 1
19:08:54 <bay|AX|Kodansha> include a ton of extras,
19:09:07 <bay|AX|Kodansha> will include a story by yukimura that hasn't been relasedf in english before
19:10:09 <bay|AX|Kodansha> will also be our first hardcover release
19:10:16 <bay|AX|Kodansha> also includes pictures of the author dressed as a character
19:10:37 <bay|AX|Kodansha> one more digital
19:10:40 <bay|AX|Kodansha> titan
19:11:14 <bay|AX|Kodansha> attack on titan will come out on same day as release date on all digital platforms
19:11:16 <bay|AX|Kodansha> that concludes our presentation
19:11:19 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and now we will take questions
19:12:04 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: At your comic con panel, you mentioned a sailor moon artbook, what is the status?
19:12:17 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: We thought we had the good news on it at AX, our deadline for getting the information was last week
19:12:23 <bay|AX|Kodansha> when we finally got it, it wasn't as good as we hope
19:12:50 <bay|AX|Kodansha> what it was is that it's delayed in japan, the author is drawing more new art
19:12:33 <bay|AX|Kodansha> so we're not going to have it in 2013
19:12:35 <bay|AX|Kodansha> looks like sometime in 2014
19:13:10 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: any of the packins that are in japan for titan with the manga?
19:13:34 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: we are considering that, but it hasn't gotten beyond that
19:13:37 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we're thinking about that
19:13:42 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Pricing for online?
19:13:51 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: MSRP is the same as print, for everything but apple
19:13:58 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and apple will be the same as the ipad app
19:14:01 <bay|AX|Kodansha> for ibookstore
19:14:13 <bay|AX|Kodansha> that doesn't mean you'll pay 10.99 though
19:14:20 <bay|AX|Kodansha> they usually discount on nook and play stores
19:14:25 <bay|AX|Kodansha> they will decide
19:15:03 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Now that you are working on Battle Angel Alita Last Order, but any plans to get Battle Angel Alita or the stand alone vol?
19:15:22 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Right now we are doing last order, the first series ...the reason we are able to publish the series is that he brought it to kodansha in japan
19:15:50 <bay|AX|Kodansha> it's very hard for us to do a manga in japan if kodanasha hasn't published it
19:16:07 <bay|AX|Kodansha> battle angel alita isn't in print in japan currently and it's up to the author with how it will go in print, and when
19:16:24 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Japan comes with limited version with extras, have you ever considered doing that in the US? LE versions?
19:16:34 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: We are considering it for titan, but it's not something we've done
19:16:45 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Any plans to release Moyashimon?
19:16:56 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Del rey title and right now we're ont going to rescue any more del rey titles
19:17:09 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Are you going to release the code name sailor v manga?
19:17:15 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Already out
19:17:18 <bay|AX|Kodansha> First thing we did
19:17:37 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Regarding vinland saga, how historically accurate is it?
19:18:31 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: (basically it's historical fiction)
19:18:49 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Why did Vinland Saga take so long and will you bring out the whole series?
19:19:14 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Don't know the first, and yes to the whole series
19:19:21 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Are you in touch with Takeuchi and can you bring her to the US?
19:19:38 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: We are in touch with Kodansha japan and they are in touch with her... she's really busy right now... we've considered it many times
19:19:58 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: How long will it take to catch up on Sankarea?
19:20:20 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: With Titan it will be easier since we've been publishing it, Sankarea is monthly in japan so we should catch up
19:20:32 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: ebooks compatible with b/w kindle?
19:20:33 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Yes
19:20:58 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: For more attack on titan, are you in contact with kodansha for more artbooks and media?
19:21:00 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A; I guess(?)
19:21:12 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: For No. 6, why did they translate Nezumi's name to Rat?
19:21:51 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: we went back and forth with it, first of all, the japanese creative team asked us to translate the name to it, it was something i was very aware that the fans knew it as nezumi, but we felt that for new readers, it would flow a lot better if we translated the name
19:23:01 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: What should I read before it gets popular since my friends are giving me crap for not reading Titan?
19:23:11 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: I would say Vinland saga but i don't know if there will be a hit anime for it out
19:23:40 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: With Sankarea, were you worried about the oversaturation of zombie stuff
19:23:49 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Initially yes, but then we saw the anime last year
19:24:19 <bay|AX|Kodansha> (lost)
19:24:58 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: are you guys going to make a box set when you catch up on fairy tail
19:25:19 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: That's a good idea, we've had that idea, it's not coming soon or anything, our schedule is full
19:25:32 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: How does your team decide which titles?
19:26:45 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: (we go through what's in japan and we figure out what will sell in america and we like it) kodansha sends us all the magazines they publish, every 2 weeks they send us a huge box
19:28:37 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Anything for Negima fans?
19:28:44 <bay|AX|Kodansha> (lots of meh questions/not questions)
19:28:50 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Well, Fairy Tail is magical shonen
19:29:30 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Now that you've done sailor moon and sailor v, have you considered her other works?
19:29:45 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Yes, anything we can put "From the author of Sailor Moon" on
19:29:50 <bay|AX|Kodansha> When she'll let us
19:30:30 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: What makes something easier to license?
19:31:03 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Combination of factors, short... 10-12 vols... none of these are hard and fast rules... it should if possible have an anime or some multimedia, and it should have an appeal to the US market
19:31:08 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and it should be new
19:31:17 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and i mean like after 2000 is old by this standard
19:32:10 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Sailor Moon manga doesn't have ending notes from the author?
19:31:56 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: She asked us to remove them
19:32:30 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: If Vinland saga does well, would you consider do (something historia)?
19:32:40 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: if that does well, we hope to increase our range of the seinen market
19:32:52 <bay|AX|Kodansha> a lot of companies have had trouble getting seinen to work
19:33:05 <bay|AX|Kodansha> if it succeeds, that opens up many things
19:33:19 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Hardcovers, pet project or for seinen series?
19:33:22 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: We're serious about it
19:33:35 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we're very serious about the vinland saga release
19:33:42 <bay|AX|Kodansha> it will be on a table in Barnes and Noble
19:33:44 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we're paying for a table
19:34:24 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Light novels such as SAO?
19:34:01 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: We don't do any
19:34:10 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: What about the manga for SAO?
19:34:16 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Not a kodansha title
19:34:36 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: More zetsubou sensei manga
19:34:40 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: We have not dropped zetsubou sensei
19:34:42 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we have pushed it back
19:34:45 <bay|AX|Kodansha> because it was not selling at all
19:34:48 <bay|AX|Kodansha> i mean really really bad
19:35:01 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we would keep doing it normally if that was the case, but zetsubou sensei takes a lot more to release than anything
19:35:05 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and the translation is a huge chore
19:35:13 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and the translation notes are usually 16-20 pages long
19:35:14 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we have not dropped it
19:35:28 <bay|AX|Kodansha> but it's hard to do and we have to work it out so we can do it infrequently
19:35:47 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q:othe rtypes of books beside manga?
19:35:53 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: artbooks, but otherwise not far from manga
19:36:24 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: from what you've said, sounds like takeuchi is really limiting, is there a reason she's limiting what's shown in america? i have the japanese and korean work and it seems surprising that she's so unsupportive
19:36:37 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: She's not unsupportive, I don't want to leave that impression, she gets back to us immediately
19:36:50 <bay|AX|Kodansha> There are some artists out there who want to interact with fans and those who want to focus on work
19:36:59 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and i feel takeuchi is the latter kind of artist
19:37:03 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and she's supportive of our releases
19:37:21 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Based on what you said about the viablility of zetsubou sensei, would it be easier to release it as an ebook?
19:38:04 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Print costs are a fraction of the cost with a book like that, most of the costs go into translation, lettering and editing, so while the ebook release, while it's something we're considering, while it's not as aeasy as it sounds
19:38:21 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Of all the mangas you are trying to catch up, how do you divide the work up?
19:38:31 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: The editor in charge assigns the work to a freelance translator
19:38:41 <bay|AX|Kodansha> that translator makes a script from a hardcopy of the book
19:38:57 <bay|AX|Kodansha> then we receive the jp pages and we have a letterer put in the stuff
19:39:10 <bay|AX|Kodansha> then we go on mutliple edits and have the letterer go over many revisions
19:39:21 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and then we mail the pdf to a printer who makes a finall check book
19:39:29 <bay|AX|Kodansha> so for accelerations we have to be careful and coordinate everyone's schedules
19:39:34 <bay|AX|Kodansha> for fairy tail, everyone has 2 weeks
19:39:51 <bay|AX|Kodansha> the translator has 2 weeks, the editor has a week, and the letterer has 2 weeks
19:40:24 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: The digital releases, region locked?
19:40:28 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Not something we have any control of
19:40:35 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Worldwide with exceptions
19:40:43 <bay|AX|Kodansha> some will have territorial exceptions
19:40:45 <bay|AX|Kodansha> almost all are world wide
19:41:01 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: What about omnibuses? Going to continue those?
19:41:08 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: We love doing them and w'ell keep doing them
19:41:14 <bay|AX|Kodansha> We aren't going to do it for every single title
19:41:22 <bay|AX|Kodansha> If the single volumes are selling, then there is no reason for us to do it
19:41:29 <bay|AX|Kodansha> They are good for older things tha twe want to keep in print
19:41:40 <bay|AX|Kodansha> And they are perfect for that and we're going to keep doing that
19:41:59 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: So with the new chapters on digital manga, will we see more color pages per volume
19:42:04 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Some of our books in japan have color pages
19:42:09 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we can't afford to do them in our releases
19:42:18 <bay|AX|Kodansha> where possible, they are available in the digital release
19:42:35 <bay|AX|Kodansha> it's only for new books and when the color page was in the japanese tankoban
19:42:53 <bay|AX|Kodansha> if the image was greyscale in the tankoban, we don't have it
19:43:07 <bay|AX|Kodansha> but for No 6, Genshiken (and missed), they will be
19:43:17 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: With the Del Rey rescues, is del rey holding you up, or is it you?
19:43:34 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Here's the thing with Del Rey, it was going to end regardless
19:43:45 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and kodansha comics arrived because kodansha wanted to continue
19:43:49 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and a lot of the same people work on both
19:43:53 <bay|AX|Kodansha> however, they are both separate entities
19:44:08 <bay|AX|Kodansha> what that means, is to rescue every single del rey title, it means we would have to go back and pay the rights for everything
19:44:12 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we would have to go back and get all of them
19:44:19 <bay|AX|Kodansha> it's not financially viable for every single series
19:44:58 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Manga magazine?
19:45:22 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Funny you mention that, if you got the post card, it will send you to the digital sampler, this is over 1000 pages of manga
19:45:30 <bay|AX|Kodansha> this is the first chapter of everything that will be digital
19:45:44 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we don't have a print sample
19:46:02 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: on topic of seinen manga, satoshi mizukami?
19:46:05 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: not kodansha manga
19:46:40 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: I remember Cromartie High School is a kodansha title, will it get a digital release?
19:48:09 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: I love it, however, it did not sell well the first time it was out in english, and it wouldn't make sense to go back and re-localize it
19:47:10 <bay|AX|Kodansha> the tokyopop materials, i don't know what shape they are in
19:48:23 <bay|AX|Kodansha> but keep this in mind, in any book that tokyopop did the localization on, they put translation(c) tokyopop
19:48:06 <bay|AX|Kodansha> kodansha owns the translations, but they are still skittish about that (even though the validity is almost none)
19:48:34 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Determination of costs and prices?
19:48:49 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Before we start, we put together a profit and loss statement
19:49:05 <bay|AX|Kodansha> which lists all the costs and sales estimates
19:49:17 <bay|AX|Kodansha> if that number is good, then it's a go
19:49:17 <bay|AX|Kodansha> or else...
19:49:26 <bay|AX|Kodansha> where the price comes in is where it's targeted
19:49:42 <bay|AX|Kodansha> vinland saga is targeted at adults and there are fewer copies so we need to make back more on each
19:49:54 <bay|AX|Kodansha> but something like sailor moon will sell at the regular price point
19:50:06 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: What made you decide to pick up Sankarea?
19:50:16 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: The anime was good, the story is good, we liked it, we thought it would sell
19:50:20 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and it's short
19:50:40 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Kitchen Princess...why an omnibus?
19:50:52 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: That was a del rey title we wanted to bring into print under kodansha
19:51:04 <bay|AX|Kodansha> and omnibus was a good way to do it
19:51:07 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Do you have a dream project?
19:51:08 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: yes
19:51:25 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: Any plans to bundle the digital copy with print?
19:51:41 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A; Marvel and some are doing that, we're not going to do it off the bat, we're exploring it, logistically it's rough
19:51:57 <bay|AX|Kodansha> because we're a small team and marvel put a lot of money into doing that
19:52:12 <bay|AX|Kodansha> Q: What's the chance of kodansha bringing back bilingual titles?
19:52:26 <bay|AX|Kodansha> A: Those were done by Kodansha japan, not US
19:52:39 <bay|AX|Kodansha> thanks everybody
19:52:41 <bay|AX|Kodansha> we're out of time