Yamaha motorbikes. Vietnamese coffee. Bánh mì.
And shelves full of Detective Conan.
Detective Conan follows a teenage detective trapped in a child’s body, and has over 270 million copies in circulation worldwide.
Seeing a familiar Japanese character surrounded by Vietnamese text made me look more closely at the business behind the bookshelf.
JETRO’s 2024 report cites annual comic printing of 60 million copies in Vietnam in 2019, alongside an industry estimate that Japanese manga accounted for around 90%.
An older estimate, certainly. But useful context for the shelves I photographed.
The business extends well beyond books.
MANGA Research Institute estimates that the global market built around Japanese manga IP—including publishing, screen adaptations, games and merchandise—was approximately ¥4 trillion (26.7 billion USD) in 2023.
Up 9.7% from the previous year.
Overseas markets accounted for 44%, or roughly ¥1.8 trillion (12 billion USD).
These are market-size estimates, not export receipts or profits flowing back to Japan. But they show how far the commercial life of a story can extend beyond its original publication.
On a spreadsheet, that international reach is a percentage.
In Ho Chi Minh City, it was a bookshelf full of familiar faces.
It was my first visit to the city. Detective Conan had already found a place there.
For me, a familiar character from home. For someone picking up a volume, perhaps their first encounter with a story that could keep them coming back for years.
I’ve already left Vietnam.
Conan is still on the shelf, waiting for the next reader.
(USD equivalents are approximate, using an illustrative exchange rate of ¥150 per US dollar.)
