Square Enix Boss Says Western Publishers Still Treat Manga as Second-Class

Manga is on a tear in the West—crushing charts and minting millions—yet Western comics gatekeepers still treat it like an outsider. Square Enix Manga & Books marketing manager Morgan Perry pulls back the curtain in a revealing conversation with Anime By The Numbers.

Manga is blowing up in the West, but you would not know it from how a lot of comic shops still treat it. An industry insider just laid out why manga keeps dominating sales charts while still getting side-eyed by parts of the American comics world.

So what is the holdup?

In a chat with Anime By The Numbers, Morgan Perry, marketing manager at Square Enix Manga & Books, said the quiet part out loud: there is still resistance inside Western comics culture to treating manga like it belongs on the same shelf as capes and cowls.

"I think there is still a bit of resistance from western comics publishing, in general, to accept manga on the same level in the comics space. There is hesitation from western comic shops to carry manga in their stores due to a variety of concerns such as shelf space, capital, and a knowledge gap about the products themselves."

- Morgan Perry

Translation: decades of Marvel/DC dominance created a comfort zone, and a lot of retailers are still wary of stocking what they do not know. That pandemic-era bump for Western comics faded, which Perry says has taken some of the edge off that hesitation. But fear of the unknown is still doing laps. In many stores, manga is not a pillar of the business; it is a side aisle.

Post-pandemic reality check: manga became the lifeline

After Western comics cooled off, publishers and retailers went scrambling for growth. Manga stepped in with range and momentum. Perry is clear the landscape is better now than it was a few years back. Plenty of shops want to build proper manga sections. The problem? Volume. Publishers like Viz Media publish hundreds of volumes, and for retailers who are already unsure where to start, the tidal wave of options can feel paralyzing.

What actually helps shops (and what does not)

Perry is not advocating for flooding every shop with more titles or spinning up manga-only stores. The smarter play is letting comic shops fill the gaps traditional bookstores are leaving, and making sure they are not doing it blind. That means manga publishers stepping in with real support: curated guidance, training, and hands-on help building sections that fit a store’s audience and space, not just dumping product and wishing them luck.

If you are still ignoring manga, you are leaving money on the table

Manga’s appeal is global and it is not just fight scenes and superpowers. Romance, slice of life, isekai, horror, comedy—there is a lane for just about every reader. And if you want receipts, look at a recent month’s chart. Here are the top-selling manga volumes in the U.S. for June 2025, which also shows how a few titles are absolutely running the table:

1. Jujutsu Kaisen (volume 26)
2. My Hero Academia (volume 41)
3. DAN DA DAN (volume 13)
4. Jujutsu Kaisen (volume 25)
5. Solo Leveling (volume 12)
6. Kaiju No. 8 (volume 13)
7. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run (volume 1)
8. Jujutsu Kaisen (volume 1)
9. Jujutsu Kaisen (volume 18)
10. One Piece Omnibus Edition (volume 1)

Short version: manga is not a trend; it is a core demand driver. The stores that treat it like a permanent fixture—and get the right guidance on how to stock it—are going to be fine. The ones still waiting for the old status quo to snap back might be waiting a while.

Curious where you fall on this: should comic shops go all-in on manga as a main category, or keep it as a side section? Drop your take.