Up Close: Viz Media's Liza Coppola
By Karyn M. Peterson -- Playthings, 6/27/2006 11:01:00 AM
Viz Media has been enjoying quite a bit of success recently, having garnered all top 10 spots on Nielsen BookScan’s Adult Fiction Overall Graphic Novel list this May with offerings from its manga series Naruto (volumes 1-2 and 7-10), Rurouni Kenshin (volume 27), Bleach (volume 13), Fullmetal Alchemist (volume 7)and Death Note (volume 5). 
Q: Why do you think Fullmetal Alchemist, Rurouni Kenshin, Death Note and especially Naruto are so popular?
Coppola: I believe [these] properties are very popular due to [their] rich storylines. They are stories that have rich, complex main characters that all have a vision—whether it's becoming the ultimate ninja, discovering the master alchemy formula or being suddenly given the power of life and death. They're ordinary characters that have some form of a “gift” that they've discovered within themselves and they must learn to live with all the complexities that come with that talent or power.I think those aspects are every kid's aspirational dreams—to wake up and suddenly become something you weren't before, but your essence remains the same. You are still the same nervous, geeky kid but now you have discovered a hidden talent. With manga, the storylines are deeper and more involved. Characters have motives that are slowly revealed as the story progresses and they have secondary characters that are just as rich and fleshed out as the main characters.”
Q: What is Viz doing to fuel the popularity of these titles? Coppola: Our job in marketing is to reach not only the core fans but also to broaden that base and draw in new readers that may have watched the anime on TV but not read the manga.We do this through many different channels—whether it's building deluxe box sets with limited edition premiums [for] core fans, sneak preview trailers at the conventions or partnership marketing, where we produce a free Animerica “magalog” that talks about the properties for Best Buy, Waldenbooks and Borders customers.
We've worked with a non-profit organizations to orchestrate a touring children's museum exhibit called Jump to Japan that demystifies manga and anime for parents and kids. We also work very closely with literacy organizations such as Newspaper in Education, Reading Is Fundamental and the Get Caught Reading program to ensure that the properties are kid endorsed and parent approved.
Q: Is Viz planning to use the popularity of these titles to promote other series?
Coppola: We have such a strong and diverse library of titles that anytime we can introduce a new reader to a property by making a recommendation, we are more than happy to open up a new world to that reader.If we have a fan of Naruto, we hope that they will also become a fan of Death Note or a property that they may have never heard of before we suggested it. Our readers trust that we are the experts in providing them with not only a diverse range of titles, but also in our suggestions. If they are a reader of a Shonen Jump title, they will find that they would probably enjoy other titles in that imprint. The same for the Viz Signature imprint, which is designed specifically for a certain type of reader in mind—the titles are all “carefully hand selected” to match the imprint.
Coppola: Both Bleach and Death Note are two very strong series that we already know have a very strong following. Death Note is an ongoing manga series that has sold over ten million copies in Japan with each volume hitting Japans Top 10 best-selling list. It has been translated in 6 countries and the main characters from the manga even appear in a popular Japanese video game, called Jump All Stars. The story is about Light Yagami, an ace student with great prospects who is bored out his mind…until he finds The Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue death God. Any human who’s name is written in it dies, and Yagami vows to rid the world of using the power of the Death Note.
Bleach, by creator Tite Kubo, is a hyperkinetic, all-purpose, ghost-busting action series targeted to teens. It is the story of an average 15 year-old, Ichigo Kurosaki, who was born with the ability to see ghosts. When his family is attacked by a Hollow—a malevolent lost soul—Ichigo encounters a Soul Reaper and absorbs her powers. Now he is dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured souls find peace. A dedicated website is forthcoming at bleach.viz.com.
[Another] very popular title is MÄR, targeted to boys and girls ages 6-14. Created by Nobuyuki Anzai, MÄR features Ginta, an average 14-year-old boy who is suddenly transported through a mysterious portal into the fairy tale realm he envisions in his dreams. In the World of MÄR, Ginta acquires superhuman strength and a strange new friend, Babbo, a talking magical weapon known as an ÄRM, with whom he embarks on a quest to save the World of MÄR from total domination by evil chess pieces!” 
Q. Tell us about your fans. What kinds of readers are buying Viz manga?
Coppola: This is a difficult question as we offer such a diverse range of titles. We have the Studio Ghibli Library, where we appeal to a much more mainstream audience—those who most likely saw the Disney release of Spirited Away and want to capture that movie in book format. We have Shonen Jump readers that you would think—based on the titles and the story premise—would specifically fall in the primarily boys 12 and up range but we've seen a very strong female readership for these titles as well.
Our goal at Viz Media is to widen that range of manga readers and our titles. We offer titles for younger audiences such as Pokemon, and titles targeted primarily for girls 16 and up with our Shojo Beat imprint. The distribution outlets vary for each title. We have distribution for Naruto not only in the traditional bookstores, but also in Wal-Mart and Hot Topic. Our goal is to have distribution where we can reach all the targets.”
