Monthly PW Rankings: October 2006
Not to be outdone by Taiyosha or Tohan, Publishers Weekly has created their own BestSeller list for the sequential arts. In what I believe is their first list, manga titles have taken 8 of the top 10 with your favorite ninja in training Naruto taking three of those spots. What kinda of "jitsu" is Viz using?

Manga Bestsellers: October

1. Naruto 11
by Kishimoto Mashashi
Viz Media, Shonen Jump
Price: $7.95
ISBN: 1-4215-0241-0

2. FullMetal Alchemist 9
by: Arakawa Hiromu
Viz Media, Viz Media Manga
Price: $9.99
ISBN: 1-4215-0460-X

3. Negima 11
by: Akamatsu Ken
Ballantine Books, Del Rey Manga
Price: $10.95
ISBN: 0-3454-9231-5

4. DNAngel 11
by: Sugisaki Yukiru
TOKYOPOP, TOKYOPOP
Price: $9.99
ISBN: 1-5981-6810-X

5. Naruto 10
by: Kishimoto Mashashi
Viz Media, Shonen Jump
Price: $7.95
ISBN: 1-4215-0240-2

6. Fruits Basket 14
by: Takaya Natsuki
TOKYOPOP, TOKYOPOP
Price: $9.99
ISBN: 1-5953-2409-7

7. Death Note 7
by: Ooba Tsugumi/Obata Takeshi
Viz Media, Shonen Jump ADVANCED
Price: $7.99
ISBN: 1-4215-0628-9

8. Naruto 9
by: Kishimoto Mashashi
Viz Media, Shonen Jump
Price: $7.95
ISBN: 1-4215-0239-9

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Okay, a few thoughts on this whole idea. First, I think its about darn time. Maybe, the industry was testing out the waters a bit. Maybe, pundits like PW were wondering if the graphic novels market had become stable enough to not act sooner with this. Either way with GNs selling and the shelf-space wars beginning again the impact GNs, in particular manga (why look at that 80% of that list is that manga stuff), should make retailers and pubs take notice at what is selling. (And why?)
I love what LoveManga does with his number crunching. I get a funny tingly feeling looking at the numbers as I compare it to trends I see. I feel that this business is taking a life of its own. So, to see more views on what is moving makes me excited about the growth potential for this industry.

Second, I would love to figure out how PW was able to read the future on day two of October to determine the best sellers for next month? Pre-orders? Sales actual?! Or are they gauging this ala ICv2, crystal ball and existing industry data culled over "XX" amount of months. Look, I have met some of the PW crew. I have seen them work and I read their work. No, need for me not to trust them. But I am also a scientific type of manga fan. Give me the method for your nice idea here, man.

Finally, I will go completely selfish Manga-phile here and demand a Manga Top 10!

Oh, hold on Ed, you cannot ask that after the first one. Give them some time.

I want a manga list and I want one like Taiyosha. I want it to detail the following - children's, shojo, shonen, seinen, BL, menslove and alternative. I want rankings from 1 through 10 for the Manga 10. And for the other demographics, I want 1 through 5. And to toss a bone to Jim Lee and the non-"manga" comickers, give AmeComi their own Top 10 with appropriate break downs. You don't have the man power, the MANgaCast can do it for you. Give us the details, we have the wo/men to do this, but lets do this right.[/end manga rant]

By, the way the MangaCast has its own top tens. Happens twice a year. One hosted by the old coots JPine and EChav around New Year's. We got to prepare for those shows soon actually, JayP The other by the mercucial Jack Tse generally scheduled around SDCC. Place your bets in Vegas for the Winter version. Odds are you'll be surprised!
And of course LovMan has their own around XMas. So in case PW doesn't listen to me (and when have they... looks at subscribers ;__;) you have your options. They just won't get emailed to you every month.