2008 Manga Report Cards ~ BLU Manga

Editor’s note: I have to say, I really wasn’t able to give BLU an evaluation this year. Having only read Junjo Romantica I didn’t feel I had enough of a sample to say much about their production and content. Luckily our staff ninja and Manga Recon member Erin volunteered to share her thoughts on the Tokyopop BL imprint.

I’ll chime in here and there, but I’ll make sure to put my thoughts on italics, so don’t hate on Erin if you don’t like the grades… (Ed)

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As I found out when I was researching Aurora, most imprints outside of Viz’s SJ and SB have struggled to create their own identity. The idea of creating imprints is actually a good practice in my opinion as it helps readers decide on what titles to sample given on the quality of other titles within the line. It’s hard to say this now, but in my opinion over the last 3+ years BLU has been a strong imprint for TP and for this market. The current economic situation and significant changes by their parent company Tokyopop took some shine off the BLU name, but did not hurt the line’s standing in my eyes (and I think Erin agrees).

If anything a changing and competitive BL market made 2008 the toughest one yet for BLU. The rise of Aurora Publishing’s Deux line meant there was yet another publisher to compete with for licenses. DMP’s co-branding partnerships with Shinshokan, Taiyo Tosho and Oakla Shuppan, announced in 2007, meant BLU had fewer licensors to negotiate with for new content. And while BLU has never said this, I wonder if TP’s ties to Harper-Collins prevented them from picking up “hardcore” titles BL fans have been asking for since DramaQueen has been in flux.

With Kadokawa Shoten titles like Junjo Romantica, Tea for Two and Takumi-kun 2009 should look good for BLU. With fewer titles their production quality should improve (but a smaller full-time staff might not be able to handle all those books and whatever TP they might have).

BLU ‘08 might have been smaller than BLU ‘07, but that should not be considered a bad thing. BLU was sleeker, with improved content, and, even though fans might not like the price change, potentially stronger as they were able to compete within the small BL market more financially.

BLU Manga
TOKYOPOP
5600 Willshire Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90036

website: http://www.blumanga.com/
Founded: October 2005
President: Stu Levy(??)
Imprint of– TOKYOPOP

Junjo Romantica ~Pure Romance~ 5,6,7
Love Mode 8,9,10,11
Love Pistols 4,5
Voice or Noise vol. 2
Takumi-kun Series 3
Tea for Two 1,2
Fallen Moon
Ellie Mamahara: Alley of First Love
A Capable Man
You Will Fall in Love vol. 1

17 volumes from 10 titles (7 series and 3 one-shots)
1 series concluded
2 series launched
License on hold: Baseball Heaven

Content:

I believe that Blu picks relatively solid titles based on what I’ve read. They tend to publish Fumi Yoshinaga’s works that aren’t picked up by other publishers, and their catalog includes some books by Hinako Takanaga, who also has works in print by DMP (Little Butterfly) and DramaQueen (Challengers).

Tea for Two was my favorite yaoi series to debut this year. Many of the sound effects were translated in an elegant way, and I enjoyed the overall production quality of the two volumes that came out this year.

Distribution:

Distribution is also becoming a problem for the imprint. According to the remaining editor in Blu’s forum:

“It’s getting harder to do hardcore books because stores are often not ordering them. If you’ve had trouble buying our books in stores lately, please order them off Amazon.” source: (Blu Manga Message Boards)

This doesn’t bode well for the imprint, with seven fewer books released in 2008 versus 2007.

Communication:

When it comes to communicating with fans, Blu seems very open and honest about changes to their release schedule. The remaining editor in the forums, going under the name “Shonen-Ai-Samurai,” usually answers questions the same day. Unfortunately, Blu’s forums seem to have been hit especially hard by spammers in the two months, making it more difficult to find worthwhile information.

The news and events section of the Blu website hasn’t changed since Yaoi Con 2007, but the front page was updated several times in 2008 with items like, “PLEASE stop emailing about Love Pistols 6. We will look into bringing it over ONCE it is released in Japan.”

I’m a little disappointed in the Blu Newsletter sign-up, which opens up a Microsoft Office Live window. Do they actually have a newsletter? I can’t seem to get it to work. I would also like to see more information on the website in regards to which titles are one shots, which are continuing series, and how many volumes each series runs.

Production:

Evaluation:

According to a forum post in June (Blu Manga Message Boards), Blu did not go untouched by the Tokyopop layoffs, with at least one staffer being let go. Blu also cancelled plans to attend Yaoi Con (I can’t tell if they went to Yaoi Con or not) and Yaoi Jamboree. This was not surprising, as Tokyopop cancelled several convention appearances the year (most notably San Diego Comic Con, Otakon, and New York Anime Festival).

Despite the cuts and restructuring, BLU still looks like a line that should have some brand recognition. Unlike many other BL pubs their books are often found at major chains (though their exposure at comic shops has declined). Their current $12.99 price point is more in tune with what the competition is doing with BL. That should help as distribution chains across the board are becoming more conservative (in regard to the number of titles they are carrying and the type of titles). And looking at the imprint right now, I’d give them a better chance than the mothership… But that’s just me.Overall Grade for 2008: B

On the surface 2009 looks a little grim for Blu. Currently the production schedule listed on their website only goes through February, with only two books on the list. The 2009 anime OVA adaptation of Love Pistols (titled Sex Pistols in Japan) might give Blu a little boost in these difficult economic times. But with only two books projected on their site pickings are slim.

Seeing is believing though, as a Amazon lists and published release schedules (Pop Culture Shock) by their parent company Tokyopop have announced the following titles on tap for 2009, along with the continuation of series You Will Fall in Love, Tea For Two and Junjo Romantica: Usawa no Futari, Cause of My Teacher, Gorgeous Charat L’Esperanza, Love Hurts Aishiatteru Futari, Gakuen Heaven -Nakajima-. Production should remain around 16~18 for 2009 barring any changes with Tokyopop. If BLU can evolve and become a boutique line by improving production quality they should continue to be a good line to support (that’s of course all dependent on TP’s situation).

Wrap-up:

• Content: A
• Communication: C+
• Distribution: B+
• Production: N/A
• Outlook: B
• Overall: B