The top American manga (and manhwa) publishers have indicated that they plan on releasing a total of 1461 volumes in 2007 according to a survey reported in ICv2 Guide #39: Anime/Manga. This contrasts with a total of 1,224 volumes in 2006 and 1026 in 2005. A chart breaking down the releases by publisher (and also demonstrating a more than 100% increase in the number of anime and manga-related novels from 2006 to 2007) is included in the new ICv2 Guide.
The ICv2 Guide is an umbrella publication that replaces ICv2's three magazines (Retailers Guide to Anime/Manga, Retailers Guide to Graphic Novels, and Retailers Guide to Games), but like its predecessors each volume of the new ICv2 Guide will continue to focus on one of the same three areas -- and will also add reviews by noted librarians, retailers and the ICv2 staff (see 'The ICv2 Guide -- Inside Pop Culture').
The new ICv2 Guide also includes a survey of the latest trends in both the anime and manga markets, analysis of the best upcoming releases in both categories, as well as the most authoritative lists of the 'Top 50 Manga Properties' and the 'Top 25 Anime Properties' based on year-to-date sales for all of 2006. These lists are compiled with year-end figures from the BookScan list of graphic novels sold in bookstores with ICv2's own monthly analysis of sales to the direct market provided by Diamond Comic Distributors. Here are the top ten properties from both lists:
ICv2 Top Ten Manga Properties
1. Naruto
2. Fruits Basket
3. Kingdom Hearts
4. Bleach
5. Fullmetal Alchemist
6. Death Note
7. Loveless
8. Absolute Boyfriend
9. Black Cat
10. Tsubasa
ICv2 Top Ten Anime Properties
1. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
2. Howl's
3. Pokemon Movie 8
4. Dragon Ball Z Movies
5. Fullmetal Alchemist Movie
6. Inuyasha Movie 4
7. Princess Mononoke
8. Karas -- The Prophecy
9. My Neighbor Totoro
10. Voltron
For information on how to obtain your copy of the ICv2Guide#39: Anime/Manga, with all the special feature articles, the complete Top Properties lists, and much more, see 'ICv2 Releases ICv2 Guide #39: Anime/Manga.'