Last year, BookWalker launched an English version of the site, with little fanfare. Despite having titles like Hajime Segawa’s Ga-Rei, Kouhei Azano’s Tokyo Ravens, and Moroke Yoshida’s Inari Kon Kon, little attention was paid to the service, either because of sites not covering it, or little marketing of what they’re trying to do.
This year at least, they’re trying to take that marketing step. At New York Comic Con, BookWalker had a booth, interacted with users, and showcased how their service works. But will it actually be a success, or fall into the same perils that plagued JManga, Renta!, and Manga Reborn? I talked to the President of BookWalker, Yoichi Yasumoto, to find out.
Organization ASG: So you just stopped by New York Comic Con, have you been to NY before?
Yoichi Yasumoto: 5 times. This is my second time at New York Comic Con.
OASG: Since you’ve been at NYCC before what usually stands out to you when you come over to the convention?
Yasumoto: I think compared to 2010 which was the last time I was here there’s more people cosplaying as Japanese anime characters.
OASG: How did it all start for you, what got you interested in manga? What were your favorites?
Yasumoto: I had been reading Shonen Jump every single week when I was in elementary school. Dragon Ball, Naruto and Bleach are my favorites.
OASG: How did you get involved in the manga industry?
Yasumoto: I like to write, so I wanted to work for a publisher as an editor at first.
OASG: What would you say the BookWalker service is all about?
Yasumoto: It started about 5 years ago in Japan. Although we are a publisher we sell titles other than KADOKAWA as well, like Shueisha, Kodansha, and other publishers. We know what other publishers want, and that’s what makes us different from other bookstores.
OASG: Who came up with the idea of BookWalker?
Yasumoto: The chairman of KADOKAWA started the idea of BookWalker.
OASG: The kind of English version of BookWalker launched for Western audiences last year. What did you guys initially learn from that launch?
Yasumoto: First of all, we learned that we need to have titles; secondly, we went to a lot of conventions and talked to a number of users in Los Angeles, Singapore, Paris, etc, and we’ve been learning a lot from the users. Since we’ve been talking to them a lot they are very keen to have all the English comics and light novels, so that’s why we’re currently focusing on comics and light novels.
OASG: What has surprised you about starting the BookWalker service for Western audiences?
Yasumoto: We’ve been talking to the users and we understand now that the manga fans are also looking forward to getting the light novel titles as well and reading both. I think what’s surprised us is that there were a lot of users who didn’t know about the light novels. Although they didn’t know about them, they were very keen to read them once they realized a lot of the anime they know were bases on light novels.
OASG: Have you heard of JManga, correct?
Yasumoto: Yes.
OASG: That was kind of a big deal over here, but that eventually shut down. It didn’t make a lot of people happy based on how it was set up. What is it about BookWalker that will make the site sustainable?
Yasumoto: One thing I can say is that BookWalker has been very successful in Japan because a lot of the publishers are keen to give us the titles; for JManga, a lot of the publishers weren’t cooperative, and did not give them titles. So what differentiates BookWalker from them is that we have been successful by having a good relationship with the publishers, so we think we’ll be more successful in the U.S as well.
OASG: An example I would say is that you’re working with U.S publishers like Viz Media, Dark Horse, Seven Seas, etc. How has the relationship with those companies helped out BookWalker so far?
Yasumoto: We have a very good relationship with Viz Media, Dark Horse, and other publishers in the U.S as we share a common target — to have more users in the U.S read manga. So they’re very cooperative in giving us the titles.
OASG: What would you say are some of the goals BookWalker can accomplish in the next couple of years?
Yasumoto: So BookWalker sells more light novels than in Amazon Japan currently — we’re going to put more effort into bringing more light novels in the next few years, increasing the market in the U.S. I think a lot of fans in the U.S watch the anime first and then read the manga, but then in Japan fans read the original story first and then go into the manga and the anime — so by getting the original out first, simultaneously as the JP ones, I think that we will get more fans for the titles.
Interview has been edited for clarity. Thanks to Norika Suzuki for the translation.
