Brazilian market for mangas and animes
Over the last years, the market for mangas in Brazil has grown. There is a much larger number of Japanese cartoons available at newsstands and bookshops for all tastes and in all formats.
This phenomenon started 12 years ago and it didn’t started with a manga, but with an anime that enabled mangas’ release as well as the introcdution of other Japanese animations in the Brazilian market. It is about
Saint Seiya. In 1994, this animation has reached such a great success that many animes such as
Yu Yu Hakusho, Rayearth (Clamp), Sailor Moon, amongst others came after that. However, these cartoons couldn’t have commercial success in sales concerning Saint Seiya toys, stickers, albums and games. Other market boom would come only by the end of the nineties with
Pokemon. These nice little monsters reached an incredible sales level in Brazil.
In the meantime, just one manga was released in the country:
Ranma ½. Rumiko Takahashi’s great success didn’t reached the result it deserved because the publishing company which introduced Rama ½ in the Brazilian market has done a very bad job. Terms and words were translated wrong, manga was printed on low quality printing paper and the price was very high at that time.
Other two titles came to Brazil only in 2000, consolidating then the mangas, i.e, the same
Saint Seiya and
Dragon Ball, both published by
Conrad Publishing. Thousands of copies of these two animations were sold and they were the first ones to become an addiction that would never stop. In 2001,
JBC Publishing simultaneously published four mangas:
Rurouni Kenshin, Sakura Card Captors, Vídeo Girl Ai and
Rayearth. It is important to point out that except for Vídeo Girl Ai, the other mangas reached good sales levels thanks to the exhibition of their corresponding animes on TV.
Besides Conrad and JBC publishing companies, other companies such as
Panini have tried to bring mangas to Brazil. Nowadays, the big challenge is to be able to bring Japanese cartoons whose animes are not being exhibited on TV. Apparently, now publishing companies are able to introduce new titles in the market. Conrad, for example, has specialized itself in mangas for adults, like
Monster, Bambi and
Nausicaä. On the other hand, JBC releases mangas such as
Negima, Fruit Basket, Tsubasa and
XXX Holic of Clamp Group which are more focused on young people.
The events The public that likes mangas and animes has increased together with the number of conventions around the country. The first events took place in the middle of the year 1996. Nowadays, the most important event is the
Anime Friends. This event always brings an Japanese Artist and this year
Masaaki Endo, Kitadani Hiroshi and
Matsuzawa Yumi will come to the event. AF always takes place on July in São Paulo City. According to the event organization team, about 40 thousand people will be there.
World Cosplay Summit and Editora JBC
World Cosplay Summit – or simply WCS – brings together the best cosplayers of several places of the world in a competition for the title of world’s best cosplayer. WCS is organized yearly by Aichi TV. In 2006, Editora JBC arranged the first presentation of Brazilian cosplayers for the WCS edition of this year. The Brazilian champions selected by means of “WCS 2006 JBC Brasil Stage” will participate in the final phase in Japan. It is important to point out that Brazil is the first Latin America’s country to participate in it. Japan, China, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United States will also be in the competition.
Publishing BC’s CEO in Brazil,
Julio Moreno, said that WCS “is a milestone for Brazilian fans. For the first time in the history Brazil will integrate the international circuit thanks to the partnership created between JBC and
Aichi TV”.
This is just one of JBC’s initiatives. The company is one of the companies that most release mangas in the Brazilian market. JBC has head offices in Tokyo and São Paulo and its aim is to bring Brazil and Japan closer to each other through its publications. A curious fact is that the publishing company was the only one that didn’t cancelled any manga.
DVD market
The market for animes DVD in Brazil is still small. There are just a few titles available.
Sony Company and
PlayArte Pictures are the distributors that most brought animes to Brazil. Sony Company brought
Metropolis, Tokyo Godfathers, Cowboy Bebop – The Movie, Steamboy, Final Fantasy – Advent Children, amongst others, and PlayArte brings animes which have succeeded or are succeeding on Brazilian TV, like the whole
Saint Seiya Serie, Yu Yu Hakusho, Megaman NT Warrior, Nadja and also the movie
Howl Moving Castle. Gradually, this market is getting strong in Brazil even if it is the most slowly one in the animes’ world in the country.
Curiosity: Get to know the mangas which are available in the Brazilian market:
Conrad Publishing
Adolf, Bambi and the Pink Gun, Barefoot Gen, Battle Royale, Black & White, Blade of the Immortal, Buddha, Cinderalla, Dr. Slump, Dragon Ball, Fushigi Yuugi, Gon, Lady Snowblood, MegaMan NT Warrior, Monster, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, One Piece, Ragnarok (manhwa), Saint Seiya, Saint Seiya Episode.G, Sanctuary, Sandland, Slam Dunk, The Ring, Uzumaki, Vagabond, Marusaku
JBC Publishing
Yu-Gi-Oh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho, Shaman King, Bastard, Video Girl Ai, Gunnm - Hyper Future Vision, Yu Yu Hakusho - Anime Comics, Rurouni Kenshin - Kenshin Kaden, Sakura Card Captors, Rayearth (CLAMP), Love Hina, Chobits, Negima Magister Negi Magi,Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, XXX Holic, Love Hina Infinity, Fruits Basket, Mouse, Inu-Yasha, X (CLAMP), Cowboy Bebop, BTX,, Angelic Layer, Tokyo Babylon, Ribbon no Kishi, Love Junkies, Star Wars manga, Onegai Teacher
Panini Comics
Angel Sanctuary, Berserk, Eden, Meru Puri, Peach Girl, Slayers, Lone Wolf and Cub, O Tigre e o Dragão (manhwa), Karekano Briefly:
Crying Freeman, Samurai Champloo, Samurai Executioner, Samurai Legend 
