(no subject)
I continue to be puzzled at bk1's total lack of Sugiura Shiho. They have nothing of hers at all. Zilch. Nada. Rien. Meanwhile Kohri is out in bunko and Silver Diamond has reached the 20s, but as far as jp1 is concerned she doesn't exist.
While I of course discover that the vol 20 of Kohri I have is neither vol 20 nor the end of the series. It's vol 23, so I lack 18-22 and 24. *Always* check one's manga before going to New York. But now what to do? Buying the two last bunko from amazon will cost me $80 CDN, which is ridiculous, quite apart from being bunko. Yesasia and fujisan and kinokuniya seem never to have heard of Kohri. Why, jp1, why you do this to me?
ETA: Rather as E guessed, according to someone who knows more than I do:The publisher Tousuisha has a limited distribution circle. I don’t know the specifics of who they are aligned with, but they don’t have a deal with the major retailers like bk1, Rakuten, etc. Even amazon.co.jp is a fairly new deal-they’ve been there for only about two years. I was ordering from MangaOh before that.
It’s a bit of a vicious circle: they aren’t as popular because of a limited distro, but their distro doesn’t widen because retailers don’t have a deal with them, with small circulation numbers likely being one factor. Potential readers have to really dig around to stumble across their books, usually by word of mouth. Sugiura Shiho is fantastic and needs to reach more fans. I wish there was a way to petition bk1 to carry their stuff.
While I of course discover that the vol 20 of Kohri I have is neither vol 20 nor the end of the series. It's vol 23, so I lack 18-22 and 24. *Always* check one's manga before going to New York. But now what to do? Buying the two last bunko from amazon will cost me $80 CDN, which is ridiculous, quite apart from being bunko. Yesasia and fujisan and kinokuniya seem never to have heard of Kohri. Why, jp1, why you do this to me?
ETA: Rather as E guessed, according to someone who knows more than I do:The publisher Tousuisha has a limited distribution circle. I don’t know the specifics of who they are aligned with, but they don’t have a deal with the major retailers like bk1, Rakuten, etc. Even amazon.co.jp is a fairly new deal-they’ve been there for only about two years. I was ordering from MangaOh before that.
It’s a bit of a vicious circle: they aren’t as popular because of a limited distro, but their distro doesn’t widen because retailers don’t have a deal with them, with small circulation numbers likely being one factor. Potential readers have to really dig around to stumble across their books, usually by word of mouth. Sugiura Shiho is fantastic and needs to reach more fans. I wish there was a way to petition bk1 to carry their stuff.