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The number of South Korean films based on Japanese novels and anime is also surging.

Manga sales, including both comics and periodicals, were up about 5% to $210 million in 2007, up from $200 million in 2006 according to the white paper.  This was the lowest growth rate for manga since ICv2 began tracking sales.  Sales through bookstores were up by a mid-single digit rate, but direct market sales of manga declined 5-10%.  The decline in direct sales of manga was due to a reduced emphasis on the category by comic stores, a significant percentage of whom reduced their manga floor space in response to the growing number of releases and the increased difficulty in choosing between them.  Over-all, top manga titles continue to do well, but titles in the lower ranks of releases are having difficulty finding breathing room.

The study found that about 35% of people were influenced by a manga to get into their hobby. By contrast, anime and movies came in at around 15% each, novels at 14.5%, games at 11.5%, and TV dramas at 8.4%.

Death Note has been phenomenally successful in its native country, spawning anime, three live action movies, a video game and a prose novel. It has also - somewhat unsurprisingly, given its amoral nature - inspired some copycat crimes, including one Belgian murder where the killer claimed to Death Note's fictional killer, Kira. It'll be interesting to see what, if any, steps Warners will take to avoid similar controversy from this more mainstream movie version.