On the morning of September 17th, Mangaka Inee shared a post asking for support due to the popularity surrounding their manga series Love-Bullet. With sales that weren’t boding well for the longevity of the manga, Inee has done what countless mangaka have in this modern era- taking to Twitter to find a wider audience. In short, the decision has sent the manga rocketing up the charts of various retailers in Japan and has made a very palpable difference in popularity in its home country.
As a quick aside for those that are unaware, Inee’s Love-Bullet is an action yuri manga that started running in Comic Flappers in August 2023. Focusing on the lives of modern cupids attempting to bring couples together, it provides a messy and silly outward look at romance that pairs wonderfully with its somewhat-tactical-somewhat-comical action, presenting a real one of a kind manga these days.
With the explanation out of the way, let’s take a step back before diving into the fan response that has driven this change- it’s given us too good an opportunity to discuss the impact of international audiences in a domestic Japanese industry. It is becoming harder and harder to say that manga- as it runs in magazines specifically- is the domain of the Japanese public exclusively. Kagurabachi fever swept the world before returning home, Magical Girl Dandelion was licensed after only 2 chapters due to the incredible global fan response on Twitter, and now Love-Bullet has seen considerable uplift in popularity. It hardly matters if it’s Weekly Shounen Jump at this point, global fans have been proven to have a voice in the series that they might eventually get. And there’s something really incredible about that.
Fans Adding Ammunition
That feeling of having a voice is almost as incredible, of course, as the rallying from several Twitter accounts around Love-Bullet. Many crowded behind Inee on Twitter on the 17th of September to provide support and encouragement, but a few key accounts stand atop the pile. The first to come to mind must certainly be Twitter user Daily LOVE-BULLET. Though the account initially joined in August 2024, they’ve provided a solid voice to the manga, and as early as September 14th (prior to Inee’s plea) were providing information and resources to support the manga via. For direct response however, Twitter user alex responded on the same day with a step-by-step guide (which you can read here) on purchasing the first volume of the series, which has since skyrocketed to over ten thousand likes.
Similarly, other accounts have joined the fray, such as jo whose post has garnered over twenty-five thousand likes, or lillian who has received several thousand likes on their post as well. In total, the fan response is comparatively meteoric for the prior state of Love-Bullet as accounts from all corners of the internet continue to rally behind the manga and provide tweet after tweet in support of the series.
Providing Love-Bullet Some Firepower
Twitter can only carry a mangaka so far, though. Plenty have provided various chapters and titles in hopes of scoring big with the algorithm, and while it can work, Love-Bullet was reaching mission critical if Inee’s statement is to be taken seriously. Because of that, the direction of action that many accounts recommended was purchasing the first volume of Love-Bullet somewhere. Following alex’s guide, the user directs potential buyers primarily towards Bookwalker and Manga Republic– for digital and physical respectively.
The result of this bout of Twitter activism feels… almost like an exaggeration. It doesn’t top charts wherever it treads ground, but it does shoot up over sixty thousand spots on the Amazon Bestseller list in Japan (from #69,571 to #2,352 in Comics, Manga, & Graphic Novels at the time of writing). Similarly, it doesn’t break into the weekly best sellers for Manga Republic, but within 24 hours has physically sold out with the following retailers: Manga Republic, Kinokuniya, Amazon, and possibly several others at the moment of writing this article. Additionally, Love-Bullet ranks 14th overall on Bookwalker’s daily rankings and has been verified to reach as high as 12th on CDJapan’s popularity rankings.
Always Shoot Your Shot
While Love-Bullet may succeed and find popularity with its first volume, it’s also important to remember how long the road ahead still goes. Where fans stand is currently the beginning, but it’s hard to say that what they’ve done hasn’t been something outstanding. There’s months and even years left to work through and ensure success for, but in this moment at least, a pat on the back is deserved for the accounts that popularized this moment, and the individuals that have been a part of it.
Similarly, it’s also a reminder that Japan and the wider world of manga aren’t as separate as you might think. You can’t necessarily change the world of manga on your own, but when given an opportunity hope is always more important than resignation. Yes, you too could have a hand in saving your favorite manga in the future. It’s hardly so rigid that you can’t move the needle, and it’s an important piece to remember. Not only is your voice important for having titles licensed in your native language, it’s also important for ensuring the success and longevity of the series you love. So, lock in and load up, there’s still plenty of series that deserve to see another sunrise.
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