Manga Sales Revive NYC’s Kinokuniya - 3/21/2006 - Publishers Weekly: "Impatient English-speaking fans willingly cross over to buy the Japanese original rather than wait for the next translated volume. Ishikawa uses the example of One Piece, a Shueisha series for teens that is published by Viz Media in the U.S. 'In Japan, we're up to volume 40. It's only up to volume 8 in English.' Ishikawa also notes that a number of people seek to read and learn Japanese because of their interest in manga. He's noticed the occasional Japanese-language textbook or Japanese/English dictionary tossed in with a customer's manga purchase. Language, he says, rarely prevents fans from buying the originals. 'Even American customers who don't read Japanese buy it, just to look.'"
-posted by Nobius 9:49 PM 