How Mills and Boon turned to manga comics
Mills and Boon romances are strong sellers the world over. But in Japan, the publisher has appropriated the manga comic format in order to attract a generation for whom a novel just won't do.
Mills and Boon is synonymous with fluffy love stories populated by dashing heroes and swooning heroines. Japanese manga comics, on the other hand, conjure up very different images - of violence, simpering schoolgirls and explicit sexual content.
But Mills and Boon runs a thriving business in Japan, publishing its books in manga format, the novel-length comic books read by children and adults alike. And where this cultural cross-over is concerned, stereotypes are best left behind.
In the manga section of many a bookshop, alongside the comics about gangsters, sci-fi, high school students and indeed the infamous pornographic stories, is the romance section. It's here that Mills and Boon has entered the fray against the Japanese publishing houses.
Full article is here.
The author was notably alarmed by culture "miscombination" of mangaka style with Mills and Boons romance. I personally find his/her comments to be hilarious but it does drive a nail, what is uniquely Japanese and why it works?
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