Exclusive – Three years after successfully launching the Sport Addict collection, the publisher Pika is inaugurating a new collection with great fanfare: Pika Masterpiece. Mehdi Benrabah, the editorial director of Pika editions, tells the Internet user about the arrival of the title that will release this new collection.
After two years of uninterrupted growth, the manga market (47 million volumes sold in 2021) seems set to break a new record. Despite the shortage of paper and the extraordinary printing times, publishers approach the year with increased ambitions and a rich release schedule. The explosion of collectors, the comeback of heritage works, the numerous reprints of out-of-print titles – which only delighted second-hand manga traders – and digital simultrad reading: it has never been so easy to be a manga reader in France than today.
Mehdi Benrabah, the editorial director of Pika editions, explains to L’Internaute how the future is even brighter for manga readers…
Linternaute.com: Has the explosion in sales of recent years had an impact on the editorial strategy?
The impact is indirect. At Pika, we have always sought to publish hits in order to be able to release less commercial titles or editions, as for example with our Pika Graphic collection. Today, the good health of the manga market allows editorial audacity. This comforts us in the editorial choices that we push and strengthens our room for manoeuvre. Especially since 2022 is starting on an excellent sales basis…
We found it absurd that sports manga, despite many quality titles, is a “cursed” genre.
The sports manga finally seems to have overcome its curse which confined it to niche sales?
Absolutely. In 2019, we created the Sport Addict collection at Pika because we found it absurd that sports manga, despite many quality titles, is a “cursed” genre. As a publisher, I want to break the glass ceilings that close the door to several segments. This is also what we do with romantic comedies, which is a genre that appears to be very limited and which suffers from the reputation of not having any hits. However, as we have seen, success can be achieved. Also good with titles like Kaguya-sama, Love is War Where The Quintessentials Quintuplet for romantic comedies Full Drum for sports manga. Blue Lock is a special case because in this manga sport is not omnipresent, the “battle royale” side is very important and that’s why we didn’t put it in the Sport Addict collection. In any case, we want to continue on this dynamic.
The furyô, also kind of “cursed”, broke its glass ceiling with the success of tokyo revenge. Does this open up new perspectives?
It’s great for the image of the genre that a surprise hit like tokyo revenge arrives and becomes a driving force in the category. At Pika, for twenty years, thanks to the works of Tôru Fujisawa, GTO and Young GTO, the furyô has always been represented in the catalogue. So there aren’t really any new prospects from an editorial point of view, just maybe a more prosperous market. In any case, the genre has been close to our hearts for years.
What are the first titles that come to mind in this particular genre?
In terms of works, two titles immediately come to mind: Rokudenashi Blues (Racaille Bluesformerly published by J’ai Lu) and Shonan Junai Gumi (Young GTO). These are two absolute references of the genre. Two “game changers” if you forgive me the expression. There is unequivocally a before and an after these titles. From a publisher’s point of view, Akita Shoten and his school of furyô is a major player in the genre. I think about Crows by Hiroshi Takahashi but this publisher should not be restricted to a single title.
And one of these reference titles is not at home?
Only one so far (laughs). But we can now announce it, Rokudenashi Blues arrives at Pika editions.
This major series in Japan no longer had its place in the landscape of French-speaking manga
Why choose this title, 20 years after its first publication in France by J’ai Lu?
Since I read manga, Tôru Fujisawa and Masanori Morita, the two bosses of furyô, are authors that I adore. Their manga sit on my shelves both at work and at home. And when you’re a publisher, we all have our selection of essential authors that we would like to publish in our catalog. We put these securities aside, in the hope of one day having the opportunity to make an offer on them.
Masanori Morita has accompanied my thoughts for years. And when we visited the 50th anniversary exhibition of Weekly Shōnen Jump in Tokyo, with my colleagues from nobi nobi!, for the period of the 80s*, we were amazed at the place granted to the work of Masanori Morita. We know his genius, but the exhibition has put into perspective the importance of Rokudenashi Blues within Weekly Shōnen Jump. The tribute was impressive, it put into perspective the fact that this major title rubbed shoulders with dragonball and slam dunk. Morita was put on the same level as Inoue or Togashi. Realizing that this major series in Japan no longer had its place in the landscape of French-speaking manga is the last trigger that pushed me to confirm my interest in the work with Shueisha. It was during a dinner with this publisher in Tokyo, the very day of the visit to the exhibition! Interest that materialized in offers a little later when we were convinced and ready internally.
*(Editor’s note: the 50th anniversary of the Shōnen Jump gave rise to three exhibitions. The first grouping the period from 1968 to the 80s, the second the 90s and the third the 2000s to the present day)
How and why is this title not “dated”?
Generally speaking, drawing with a more realistic style stands the test of time better. Even if graphically Morita matures throughout his work and reaches a solid level from the first volumes of Rokudenashi Blues, the drawing is of an irreproachable quality quickly. It is a trait that is a true witness of the eras and styles that the author has gone through.
The subject, him, is not dated at all, one is attached from the start to this band of bums. Their stories of friendships, rivalry and epic brawls are foundations of shônen that we still find today. When we read this manga, we appropriate it, we immerse ourselves in it and we devour it without paying attention to things that may seem dated like an old school uniform, outdated haircuts… We focus on Taison Maeda, the hero , and his dream of becoming a boxer and the many human hazards that will punctuate his adolescence.
The first time that Taison Maeda, even with his enthusiasm and his first name which predestines him to boxing*, realizes that he does not have the basics to face a real boxer is a scene that particularly marked me. I can’t wait for new readers to get caught up in the story of this unforgettable “young thug”.
* the first name “Taison” is a reference to “Mike Tyson”.
In 20 years, the title has had several editions in Japan. How to choose which one to publish in France?
Of course, I look at what exists in Japan, but before the format, what interests me above all is the cutting. Rokudenashi Blues is a series that has 42 volumes in its basic edition. It’s too long these days for such a series. The river format could be a brake. The bunko version (pocket), cut into 25 volumes, is perfect, except that the format itself has never achieved good sales in France. Besides, that wouldn’t pay homage to Masanori Morita’s trait. That’s why I wanted a larger format, 150x210mm. A dimension that we have already experienced with the Eternal Edition of Sailor Moon, which highlights the boards very well. But it was also necessary to remain affordable while being qualitative. We therefore inaugurate with Rokudenashi Blues the collection Pika Masterpiece, which aims to be a new showcase for the works that we consider founding. In their fields such as furyô, “death game”, heroic fantasy, survival, etc. Other titles will enrich this collection, which is not intended to be a heritage collection but more to highlight mangas that have marked their eras, beyond the golden age alone. It is a collection that wants to be dedicated to each title that will be published there, the works are more important than the collection itself. The proof of this is the logo of the collection, which we wanted sober… but classy.
Is it accompanied by a new translation?
I have respect for J’ai Lu and Tonkam, which previously published Masanori Morita. But it was important to make our own version, with the Pika DNA. Not to hide the past, but to be able to defend the title with our values, we are not going to communicate on “the return of blues scum” but on ” the cult series Rokudenashi Blues“. We have not only changed the translation, the lettering has also been completely revised. The production teams have outdone themselves, making possible very qualitative finishing effects on the dust jacket. It is not the same title, not the same editorial approach, not the same format nor, I think, the same ambition behind this publication. It is a blank page that we assume 100%.
In terms of sources, the series being available digitally, we had access to all the files of the bunko edition but unfortunately we could not have access to all the color pages that we would have liked to have. This is difficult material to recover 20 years later. Each volume will open on a full color page featuring the cover illustration.
What release schedule do you expect?
We will publish a volume every two months.
Marketing actions already planned?
We have a lot of ideas and we have many surprises in store for you. Of course, we intend to support this title as it should. The idea is not to produce a beautiful work and release it in nature. We’re going to push him to meet the audience he deserves.
One last word ?
Two in fact, firstly, we do indeed read all license suggestions that come to us through our website. More to comfort us on an editorial choice or measure the expectation once we have acquired a title. For example, when requests started pouring in on Blue Lock we were very happy, because we had signed the title several months before. Then, I know that social networks are the time of instantaneousness and immediacy, but if we control the timing of an announcement it is not for the pleasure of seeing the fans suffer. There are many ins and outs with our rights holders, and with Pika’s communication strategy, for these titles to work. I sincerely hope that we can avoid this kind of leaks in the future, for the good of all these manga for which we share the same passion! ♡