Publishers rushing to satiate Malaysia’s manga fans

By Amy White, Media Asia 03-Jun-05, 07:38

Manga’s massive fan base in Malaysia is not just young men.

Malaysia is fast becoming one of the biggest Southeast Asian audiences for manga or anime comics which originated in Japan in the mid-'60s. The number of both local and Japanese titles in the market growing daily and becoming an intrinsic part of Malaysian youth culture -- in fact, local artist Mohamed Nor Khalid, whose trade nickname is Lat, has gained a solid reputation for being one of the most-read manga cartoonists in Southeast Asia. His comics are gaining worldwide fame, domestically selling up to 100,000 copies, a significant number for a small market like Malaysia.

Manga, originally developed for high school students, now reaches a wide range of audiences including children, teenagers and adults aged up to the mid-30s, male and female alike.

Manga accounts for approximately one third of all printed material in Japan and, if this vast popularity is anything to go by, Malaysia should not be far behind.

Malaysian manga's biggest success story is Gila-Gila, a well-established title published by Berita Publishing, that was originally based on the American Mad magazine. It launched in 1978 and still maintains the second-largest circulation in Malaysia, at around 80,000 on a bi-weekly basis. Mangga and URTV, published by Utusan Group, are also well-established titles in the market. A number of other titles reach a target circulation of around 20,000 to 30,000, including Gelihati, Batu Api, Homor, Guli-Guli, Mat Jenin, and Toyol.
As well as local titles, internationally-known Japanese comics such as Dragon Ball Z and Doremon, the 22nd century robotic cat, are also hugely popular, something that Aznol Zakry, head of research at MEC Malaysia, attributes to the growth of Japanese video game culture and anime TV channels in Malaysia in recent years.

"Manga has grown popular in Malaysia because of the Japanese influence, with cable TV and video games like PlayStation entering the market," he says.

Margaret Au Yong, MD, MEC Malaysia, says that the Malaysian audience tended to be less affluent than other Asian markets and therefore have a strong loyalty to preferred and trusted titles. Nonetheless, she says there is room for new manga titles to enter the market-- but in order to stand a chance of success, however, these new titles would need to launch with new and varied content.

Jom, a Bahasa Malaysia manga title from publishing house Kumpulan Karangkraf, was launched in April this year and already has a claimed circulation of over 50,000. The comic has moved away from the traditional style and offers content which covers film, fashion, entertainment, tech and youth culture, aiming to appeal to a wider group of readers as well as key advertisers such as mobile phone operators, and technology and fashion labels.

Despite the common opinion of media experts that there is a glut of this kind of publication available in the market, Malaysian advertisers appear well behind the consumer craze. With print the undisputed medium in Malaysia, with a 63 per cent share of the advertising expenditure pie, there are ample avenues for advertisers to explore within the magazine category.

One brand that has been keen to jump on the manga bandwagon is Toyota, which recently launched its own manga-style comic across Asia. The comic targeted kids as a means of gaining influence over parents' spending habits. Toyota's branding runs on the front and back covers as well as inside the book, which features the artwork of Japanese manga artist Tetsuo Tanaka.