IGNITION Staff
Looking For a New Comic Book to Read? The Concierge Will Find the Perfect One For You
by Kentaro Takaoka
You’re probably familiar with the “manga cafés” that can be found all over Japan’s downtown areas. It’s where people go to relax and read popular Japanese comics (known as “manga”) in their own private cubicles. However, on June 17th 2015, a new kind of manga café has opened its doors in Shibuya. It’s called the “Trigger Manga Salon)”, and what sets it apart from other businesses like it is that its comic book library has been carefully selected by expert manga concierges who also recommend comics to customers based on their individual tastes.
“Trigger” is the brainchild of Takuma Kobayashi who opened the salon six months after securing the startup funds for it through a 2014 crowdfunding campaign. This is what he had to say about his establishment.
The salon’s comics have primarily been chosen by the manager and assistant manager, as well as investors from the crowdfunding campaign. Together, they’ve carefully selected 4,000 titles spanning 12,000 individual volumes, all of which sit tightly on the shelves of the café. That number will surely grow as plans are underway to start going through the 1,000 manga titles that are being published each month in Japan, and adding selected ones to “Trigger’s” library on a daily basis.
As far as genres go, the establishment has everything from bestselling mainstream titles to niche publications, American comics, and even out-of-print works of legendary artists like Osamu Tezuka or Leiji Matsumoto. They even have a single book worth over $800 in their Premium Collection, making “Trigger” a genuine treasure trove of exquisite, rare comics that even manga fans have never read.
The interior is also nothing like a manga café. Instead of private cubicles, “Trigger” prefers open spaces where customers can interact with each other. It’s one of their most charming qualities. The place also has plenty of that local Shibuya color, and generally feels like a secret clubhouse for adults to relax and gab a while in a salon-like atmosphere. All of that, plus as many comics as you can read, is available for the price of an entrance fee and a drink charge which additionally give you access to an assortment of snacks with manga-inspired names.
Of course, the salon isn’t just for reading comics. “Trigger” also hosts various manga-related events like promotions for new releases, meetings with authors, workshops for people hoping to become manga artists and editors, cooking classes where participants prepare dishes that have appeared in comics etc. The plan is to organize 20 such events a month, but the one they’re working on right now is particularly interesting. It’s a poker tournament sponsored by the publishers of a poker-themed manga, the winner of which will actually be featured in an issue of the comic. It’s all part of Mr. Kobayashi’s vision of organizing “events that aren’t just for manga fans, but also for manga artists.”
Mr. Kobayashi came up with the idea for “Trigger” while acting as the CEO of “ Search Field” , a production company that supports content creators. At the same time, he was also volunteering his time for “ Manga HONZ” , a comic book review site. It’s actually there that he first met Mr. Nagata and Mr. Torai, who now act as the manager and assistant manager of “Trigger,” respectively.
Mr. Kobayashi first understood the power of comic book recommendations after Mr. Torai’s article for “Manga HONZ” helped a single manga title sell 4,500 copies. However, internet users only ever click on articles about works they are already familiar with, which makes it hard to introduce them to new titles online. That’s why Mr. Kobayashi wanted to create a place in the real world where he could “recommend comic books to readers that best suit their hobbies and tastes.”
However, because nothing like that has ever been tried in Japan, Mr. Kobayashi had no idea whether his idea would work or not. That’s why he first wanted to see if he’d be able to raise the necessary funds for it through a crowdfunding campaign. Of course, this test marketing tactic would also have allowed him to alleviate some of the financial risks — like with the cost of equipment and the comic books themselves — that such a project would initially be exposed to.
Mr. Kobayashi decided that if he couldn’t reach his initial funding goal of $65,000, he wouldn’t go through with “Trigger.” However, the final results exceeded his expectations after the campaign managed to raise over $100,000, proving that there was demand for his idea, and not just from young people. Mr. Kobayashi also got 11 publishing companies on board as sponsors, and with all of that support, he finally made his dream a reality. It took longer than expected, and there had been some trouble along the way because by Mr. Kobayashi’s lack of experience with these sorts of ventures, but in the end, the opening went off without a hitch.
Mr. Kobayashi decided on the name “Trigger” because he’d always enjoyed talking with people about comic books over a drink, and he wanted the name to reflect how he saw manga: as a conversation starter. He also wanted it to imply that his salon might be the “trigger” that changes the entire comic industry.
“There are plenty of people out there who are ready to become fans of manga. Even if someone has once given up on comic books, they might return to it thanks to our store. It’d be great if we could do that for all people. I want them to think that if they come to ‘Trigger,’ they’ll experience something new. After all, we do have the best that Japanese comic books have to offer,” Mr. Kobayashi said passionately.
(Photo: Miyu Terasawa, Translation: Cezary Jan Strusiewicz)
Originally published at ignition.co.