I still think there’s room for more growth. :)

I wonder if the trouble isn’t that adult manga isn’t selling, but rather that this type of adult manga has reached its saturation? Personally, I have no interest in anything with graphic violence, nudity, profanity, excessive cleavage etc. But I’d love to see series that depict adult lives without delegating it to the same vein as cheap romance novels (like the line Harlequin tried to sell).

IMHO, while the market is saturated with several certain types of genres (shoujo, shounen, seinen), there is very little for the readers who’ve grown up and expect more grown-up things without being hit in the face with it. IMHO, Vertical has been the best at meeting this demands so far, providing a range of stories to satisfy my more adult reading habits without screaming “mature content!” Stories like Buddha, Ode to Kirihito, and To Terra have been wonderful reads. Tokyopop’s “Tramps Like Us” (which is, sadly, now complete) was another favorite with a compelling and a relateable storyline.

When more publishers start putting out more high-quality, well-written, titles for grown-ups, I’ll be one of the first to buy, and I know a veritable horde who would be not-so-far behind.

Never though I’d say this: but I’ve grown out of shoujo. The demand has been met and the market has leveled. There IS no more room for let’s-see-if-it-sticks type explosive growth tactics. It’s time to grow somewhere else. :)