Manga and Anime culture has its up and down since it first arrived in France. Now, Manga and Anime are part of culture in France and it is also very popular there. From the end of the 1970’s intercultural relations between France and Japan was mainly through Manga and Anime. Anime first appear on French TV since the middle of the 1970’s and it became very successful. However, these Anime were not so much perceived as Japanese product and there was not any Manga that related to these Anime. Manga became visible as a distinct cultural product because of Anime. Between 1988 and 1977 when French commercial channel TF1 broadcast Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon, Manga became more popular since 1994-1995 when many original Manga linked to these popular Anime were published and that is when the Manga boom in France began (Vanhee, O 2006).
However, Manga and Anime popularity start to disappear in 1997. Manga and Anime were considered bad and not good for children and it have dangerous psychological effects. Many adult were also afraid of French economy decay when compared with the rise of Japan culture. They feared the invasion of a cultural offer that they couldn’t control. As a result of these critique and pressure from many, the main TV channels stop broadcasting anime from 1997 and replacing it with American and French cartoons.
Anime start to appear again in 2002, mostly on cable TV channels. It start with a fan who disagree with critique and the stop broadcasting of Anime. ‘These fans elaborated underground networks of distribution'(Vanhee, O 2006, pp3). They became cultural experts in this area. As many fans grew older, they gain access to financial and other resource to promote and legitimate ehat they love and that is Manga and Anime. Many fans even started Anime companies and becoming the industrial leader today.
Currently, Anime, Manga and Japanese culture in general is quite popular in France. Japan Expo 2013 attract more than 200,000 people. This number show that a lot of French interest in Japanese culture and that result in many Japanese restaurant in France and many many store sale Manga and Anime, they even selling Anime at a supermarket. Here are some of Manga and Anime store in Paris.
Manga sales in France have stayed stable or positive even when Manga sales dropped in The U.S. but but according to the report, Manga sales in France dropped 7.2percent in value last year(2013). About 40 percent of new releases in France in 2013 was Asian comics book and majority of the Asian comics licensed in France are Japanese Manga; of 1,555 released in 2013, 1,456 were Manga (Japan), 79 were Manhwa (Korea), 9 were Manhua (China).
Reference
Vanhee, O 2006, ‘THE PRODUCTION OF A ”MANGA CULTURE” IN FRANCE: A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF A SUCCESSFUL INTERCULTURAL RECEPTION’, accessed 10/09/2014.