Japanese Pop Novels

Hiroki Sakai, the publisher of English translations of Japanese novels, talks to the Daily Yomiuri about breaking into the American market.

From a small office facing New York’s Park Avenue South, the president of Vertical Inc. said his main aim was to win the attention of U.S. readers. Last year, the company published 10 books, including Koji Suzuki’s “Ring,” Kaoru Kurimoto’s “The Guin Saga,” Kaori Ekuni’s “Twinkle Twinkle” and Osamu Tezuka’s “Buddha.” The design of each book cover is eye-catching and loud, differing greatly from those of Japanese editions.

I suppose the publisher is trying to match expectations of manga-reading Americans by using the garish color covers. Still, I think this is pretty cool.