How Does Xxtik Affect Manga Sales And Visibility?

Question

Discussions keep mentioning how TikTok boosts manga sales. Heard certain titles went viral and sold out, but what's the actual cause-and-effect for a series' visibility?

sherri reed · Answer

That’s really interesting. My understanding is that one really large TikTok video can create a ton of impulse purchases and get a title trending on retailer websites for a short period of time almost like a flash flood, even making older series suddenly sell out. But in terms of long-term audience, that’s not going to sustain readers unless the manga itself has a strong hook to convert viewers into readers. From what I’ve read, ‘Notice Me, Darling!’ seems to be a good example of this, as at first glance it’s an office romance, seemingly only on the surface level of a crush between co-workers, but actually dives deeper into a professional rivalry with many hidden secrets along the way, really sustaining readers past the initial interest in the trend.

Grayson · Answer

Watching the algorithm ‘pop’ a manga into bestseller lists on my phone is kind of thrilling as it feels like I’m watching a small revolution happen before my eyes. Short-form content on platforms like xxtik ‘-packages up’ the core emotional beats of a story into one ‘hooky’ bit of content – dramatic reveal, relatable character meme, unique/stylistic paneling etc. This single hook usually correlates with a spike in both digital and physical sales of the full-length story – often in collectible edition or translated form with proper content.

It changes from there as local comic shops get more foot traffic and start to take more pre-orders. Publishers reorder more prints, and even licensing negotiations get jump-started when a title shows strong global interest. However, the majority of the trend can end up being counterproductive as it can give an incomplete impression of a manga’s pace and/or tone and lead to buyer’s remorse oreven stop reading manga altogether. In addition, solo creators will find it difficult to maintain momentum for extended periods of time without the funding to constantly churn out related material. How creators and artists use xxtik to send their fans to their crowdfunding campaign, for example, or to buy limited prints of their work, is also constantly changing.

Xxtik functions primarily as a high-powered marketing tool that dramatically influences a title’s trajectory whether it be to super stardom or to complete obscurity. While many of the current trends may be somewhat performative in nature, I do give Xxtik great credit for helping to level the playing field and giving voice to many previously overlooked titles. There is nothing quite as thrilling as finding that quiet little gem of a manga and then watching it get the audience it so rightly deserves.

Natalie · Answer

My heart skips a beat when some tiny, obscure clip on xxtik catapults a manga into a trend of epic proportions. The video is usually short and snappy, focusing on one single panel or a short funny/ meaningful moment of a character, or even just a quote. In a space where most people new to manga have never set foot in a comic book store, these little bursts of viral magic often prompt people to buy the volumes of the series. And that in turn leads to the bookstores refilling their stocks, publishers rushing to print mid-run extra copies, and even the back cataloges of series getting a long tail of sales as people discover hidden gems.

But in a way it is all a series of rollercoaster sharp hills. Fans and creators are sustained by immediate gratification so trends reach a sharp and sudden peak, before crashing back to earth in the short space of time it takes for a new trend to take hold and engage the imagination of fans and readers. Clips can spoil important story developments and, as is often the case with the net, over-simplify complex and nuanced plot developments to create memes that give a superficial impression of a manga’s tone and personality.

In practice xxtik is a great discovery tool and can shift how a series will chart. Some of the new trends are really great and find great new works that deserve love, others are kind of terrifying in how fast they can die out. But seeing someone go out and buy the first volume of a series because of a heartfelt clip is pretty magical though.

Peter · Answer

It’s really interesting to see how xxtik can reshape a fandom. A quick 5 second reaction to a panel can spark enough interest in people to run out and buy the volume to find out what happens next. This kind of visibility is really good for backlist titles, for fan translations to get more readers, and for indie creators to see a spike in sales or commissions. It’s really cool to see community edits and fanart being used as a gateway into a particular series for new fans, and things like ‘Berserk’ or ‘Dorohedoro’ are great examples of this.

This trend is typically short-lived and usually ends with people only ever reading as much of the work as the meme covered. Also, spoilers for ongoing series spread way too fast, destroying many surprises that authors worked hard to include in their stories. In the end, though, the positive effects of the platform outweight the negative. It brings more attention to current and past works, increases the number of potential readers, and helps support the creators of these works in ways that weren’t possible a decade or so ago. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing someone find a new world to obsess over, purchase lots of editions of the work, and then recommend it to all of their friends.

Mechelle · Answer

Yes, creators (mangaka and webtoon artists) can also become personalities and gain a huge amount of fans. Fans are very interested in seeing the daily lives of their favorite creators. Even simple clips of their daily routines, clips of their studios, etc. of the creators themselves can create a huge amount of fans. These fans even become “fans” of everything that creator creates.

This shift in power dynamics for creators means that those who have built large personal platforms will have more control in their deals with publishers. Even if a particular series or book doesn’t sell well, the artist will have a base of fans who will continue to support them because of their connection to the creator, much like a patron supports an artist. This kind of sales can be far more stable than the hype of a particular trend or the success of one book.

henry sullivan · Answer

This algorithm does have a lot of bias towards certain types of content, mostly based on how visually stunning or extremely emotional something is. In general, it caters to a very specific set of tropes that many readers love to indulge in on a daily basis, such as enemies-to-lovers, overpowered protagonists, etc. As a result, slice-of-life stories, slow-burning dramas, and highly philosophical manga often do not receive sufficient organic exposure, and their potential sales are capped based on how easily “clip-able” certain moments from the work are.

As the algorithm shapes visibility, it creates a feedback loop in which publishers and creators are encouraged to create more ‘clip-able’ moments to reach a wider audience. But in trying to get more visibility for a work, they risk having its sales potential capped by the work’s ability to be ‘clipped’ and shown in 15 second bites. That’s to reduce narrative art to a bunch of short clips, and it’s not something that can be valued or even measured effectively. The visibility created by the algorithm isn’t neutral. It has the power to shape both creative and commercial incentives in as yet unknown ways.

Maryel Pedronan · Answer

The data mining potential here is rather disturbing. These platforms know down to the second of a panel of a manga where people are going to pause, re-watch, share, etc. They know what character archetypes, what emotional beats, what kinds of artwork engage people the most. This data will likely get fed into the editor's meetings to decide the direction of a story, how a character is going to be developed, whether or not to green light a new series, etc.

This shift in how things become visible makes them quantifiable and even predictable. Thus, for example, the sales potential of a storyboard can be estimated by how ‘algorithm-friendly’ it is. This is the most profound effect of all: the platform’s definition of visibility (what gets seen) will increasingly dictate what gets created. So, in time, we will move from a situation in which visibility follows creation to one in which creation is engineered in order to be visible. This is a fundamental change in the art-commerce balance.

Amosa · Answer

Obscure, completed series have found their best advocate in obscure, completed series. I have bought many old, out-of-print manga titles as e-books because some fan had created a fine video essay or edit about the themes of the work. As opposed to short clips this kind of in-depth analysis obviously appeals to a different audience of perhaps more dedicated fans.

These people will actually become true fans of the work and want to read the entire series, as opposed to a quick ‘high’ from a short clip. They have created a huge market for the re-licensing of older titles, which are then re-released to the public. The long-tail-end of the platform’s recommendations are also created by these obscure influencers and fans, meaning that that classic and cult titles are being given a new lease on life that would have otherwise gone unnoticed by traditional marketing methods.

Jane A Onyango · Answer

You’re talking about the dancing app?! I thought that was one of those things that would be used for memes and life hacks. My niece showed me a comic on here the other day and I have no idea what she’s trying to show me. It’s all speech bubbles and I feel so old. But if this app has more ‘One Piece’ stuff then I might have to get it.

Blanca Azucena Bonifaz Zambrano · Answer

Audience reactions in comment sections of videos that are getting a lot of attention are a huge goldmine for publishers and creators alike. Many of them lurk in comment sections to see what lines are being quoted, which characters fans are simp-ing for, and what fans think is going to happen next in a story. They can even be influenced by audience’s minds in terms of where to take a story next in subsequent chapters.

Writers might choose to develop a particularly beloved side character or elaborate upon a romance between two particular characters based off of obvious fan fervor. This platform creates a direct, informal feedback loop between the writer and the reader, giving stories the potential to be more engaging and responsive to their audience. However, this can lead to stories being written as some sort of popularity contest where the most vocal fans determine the story’s direction.

Pamela Porath Mlostek · Answer

A big part of what we do here at Manga Box is to show off artists and their unique artistic styles. Sometimes an artist has a way of drawing light, or fabric, or expressions that is so amazing that we highlight their work regardless of whether the story is any good or not. We highlight the artists as craftsmen and women. They could get famous, get artbooks made, get invited to exhibitions and even get a fanbase so crazy that they buy everything the artist ever draws.

This allows the sales of art to become associated with the artist’s name rather than the one-off series they’re currently producing. Thus artists of less successful titles can be granted visibility by their innate genius, allowing them to find an audience and possibly gain commercial success outside of their currently ongoing narrative.

How Does Xxtik Affect Manga Sales And Visibility?

11 Answers

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