For the first time in 15 years, manga publishing giant Viz Media is going to raise the base price of single-volume manga. This is in line with anincrease in pricesaround the world for everything from food to gaming consoles, restaurants to airline tickets. It seems it was only a matter of time before staples in the otaku world also fell victim to inflation, too.
The announcement came via news outlet ICv2, who reported on it last week. A check was done on the prices of upcoming manga releases from January 2024 via online retailers likeAmazonand Barnes & Noble, which revealed the price increase. The increase will affect any new single volume manga coming out from January, both for news series and existing ones.
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ICv2 reported thatMy Hero Academia, for example, is set to release Vol. 36 in December priced at $9.99, which is the standard price for manga from Viz Media right now - and has been for the past 15 years. However, Vol. 37, which will launch in January 2024, is priced at $11.99. This is a $2 increase, which is not an insignificant amount at 20%.
Notably, Viz Media has had some of the cheapest manga for sale for the past several years. For example, single-volumemanga from Kodanshacurrently cost $12.99, and Yen Press charges $13.00. Even with the price increase, Viz Media will remain the cheapest on the market. At the time of publishing, the other manga companies have not announced an increase to their prices yet - but our prediction is, it is only a matter of time.
A 20% price increase will be a major hit to manga fans that typicallycollect every volumeof their favorite stories, especially in today’s economic climate around the globe. Luckily for otaku on a budget that still want to legally read Viz Media titles, the company’s online streaming service, Viz Manga, launched successfully in early May. Viz Manga releases the English version of manga chapters at the same time they are released in Japan, and costs only $1.99 per month.
Of course, Viz Manga does not help otaku who want to have physical copies of manga, as theservice is a streaming onewith only digital content. Like with many things, otaku wanting to spend money on buying physical manga will have to tighten their belts a little bit more against increased prices, and decide if manga is still a priority for them to purchase or not.
