A pillar of the Japanese doujin community closes many physical stores.
【Aug 31st, 2022 Update Added】
On July 5th, Tora no Ana (TORANOANA Inc.) stated that it will be shutting down 6 of its company-owned retail stores. Stores in Akihabara, Shinjuku, Chiba, Namba, Umeda, and Nagoya will close on August 31, 2022. Only one store in Ikebukuro will survive the chop. The Ikebukuro store will continue its business, focusing on products that are oriented toward female audiences.
Why does Tora no Ana have to close down?
TORANOANA Inc. reported that its retail store business has been severely affected by the effect of COVID-19 since 2020. They further elaborate that they do not see any signs of the circumstances improving for them. But on the other hand, the company saw a drastic increase in sales from their online businesses. Both their online orders and their Fantia subscription platform saw massive increases in users.
Thus, the company has made the decision to focus on going digital.
Why did Tora no Ana decide to leave the Ikebukuro store in operation?
In an interview, Shinjiro Ayukawa (TORANOANA Inc. director) noted that the Ikebukuro store was the only retail store that was making a profit for the company.
It’s interesting to note that the Ikebukuro store mainly features products that are meant for female audiences. Ayukawa stated, “Currently, about 80% of our of sales are from women“. He added that the regional uniqueness of Ikebukuro* has contributed to the Ikebukuro store’s consistent profitable records.
(*On’s Note: Ikebukuro has an area called “Otome Road”, which is a long stretch of road that has many stores that cater to BL (Boy’s Love) and things like 2.5D theatres.)
What are the effects of the store closure on artists?
Dan Kanemitsu (notable translator with 30+ years of experience in the industry, and a doujin creator himself) tweeted the following thread detailing the concerns about Tora no Ana shutting down stores:
The consignment shops help provide outlets for the creative material to be sold. If the creators have to sell the books themselves, the amount of time that you would be bogged down doing mail order can be intimidating.
— 兼光ダニエル真 (@dankanemitsu) July 8, 2022
Having less outlets for their works will inevitably decrease the exposure to potential customers and fans.
Given that Japan has been going through its seventh wave of COVID-19 recently and has recorded the most daily COVID cases in the world on July 27, other doujin businesses and events may be subject to further changes in the future as the pandemic continues.
Aug 31st, 2022 Update:
Hundreds of otaku gather to bid farewell as Tora no Ana Akihabara store closes its doors for the last time.
とらのあな秋葉原店Aが本日20時23分ごろ閉店
最後、涙出た。 pic.twitter.com/HYzePuqkzB— あきばる編集部@秋葉原 (@akibaru2022) August 31, 2022
Other:
- COVID has also affected Doujinshi conventions like Comiket.
- Buying doujinshi has become harder digitally too, with FANZA (DMM) removing MasterCard from their list of payment options.
- US retailer RightStuf also removed their erotic content after it was absored by Crunchyroll (SONY).
There’s no Comic Market overseas, but if you want to support your favorite doujinshi artists, we’re in the middle of publishing many C100 titles! Some have already released and some are currently being localized.
Keep an eye on our “C100 Collection“!
We also have a growing collection of Physical Books available for pre-order!
If you enjoyed this article, you can support us by buying our officially localized English Doujinshi on our Irodori Comics Store! Works are uncensored and DRM-Free for you to keep!
Furthermore, when you buy works on our website, up to 60% of the selling price goes directly to the artists as royalties! Since the Japanese Yen is at historical lows, USD royalties go a long way for our artists.
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