[...] Previously, Shonen Jump titles were $7.99, while Shojo Beat books were $8.99. (A discrepancy that caused some conversation back in 2006. In that post, Christopher Butcher predicted this price rise, three years [...]

I wondering about that, too.

Has anyone asked VIZ why they price the same size, format, etc. books differently? That seems unusual to me because I think other publisher don’t do that. I mean, DMP dust-jacketed, slightly-larger format manga cost $12.95 no matter what the subject is, and they’re all very well produced and edited. Be Beautiful’s yaoi line, on the other hand, is $16 a small, so-so produced and edited book, but people, mainly women, are willing to pay it.

Yeah, hair, facials, manga, etc. it can get expensive being female.

Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura (the latter as Cardcaptors) were both on TV. They were, however, both before the current boom (Sailor Moon, at least, was before Mixx Publications (now TokyoPop) existed), and were heavily edited/hacked up to be acceptable for US networks and to remove as much trace of Japanese as possible.

I think Viz is just starting to roll out the Shojo Beat anime series, as they recently announced the Full Moon anime. The big difference is that Naruto and One Piece are on TV, while Full Moon will be on DVD. I can’t think of any shoujo anime that have been on TV. What I don’t know is whether the Viz folks knew Naruto was going to be on TV when they were pricing the volumes. Even so, as Johanna points out, how would they know it was going to be a success?

Most of them seem to have a fairly strong prescence in that field as well, as someone like me who doesn’t closely follow anime is aware of their series. While I don’t recall seeing any Shojo Beat anime series. (they might be out there, but I just haven’t seen them)

Do I think there was any malice or sneering in the pricing decision? No. Do I think Brigid is allowed to be annoyed that it costs her more to keep her daughters in manga than it would if she had kids who primarily read shonen titles? Yes.

And how do you judge supply and demand when launching a new line, anyway? Isn’t it a guess until after the books are already on sale?

Viz also charges $9 for Inu-Yasha. Does that mean they are discriminating against Takahashi fans?

Viz also charges $9 for Tenchi Muyo. Does that mean they are discriminating against Tenchi fans?

Viz charges $10 for nearly all of their older-audience titles. Does that mean they are practicing ageism?

For someone to wring their hands and cry sexism where none exists is just silly. Why are some books priced at ten bucks while others are at nine bucks or even eight bucks? Well, I don’t have any special insight myself, but if I had to fathom a guess, I would say it’s all just a matter of BASIC SUPPLY AND DEMAND, and nothing else. The young boy’s shonen titles sell more (they regularly pop up on the top of the GN sales charts) — higher sales equals lower production cost per unit. The same thing happens in the other direction (such as with Be Beautiful’s yaoi manga, which a much lower number of units sold, have a price point of $16 and sell like hotcakes on Amazon at that price).

People who wrap themselves up in the self-declared cloth of victimization get no sympathy from me. Bleah.