Sales for the magazine were initially strong; in August 2001, ICv2 reported that Animerica Extra had grown its circulation month-over-month for over a year, and cited the magazine's growth as proof of uncaptured potential in the American shōjo market. Animerica Extra's readership was roughly 70 percent female; ICv2 additionally noted that retailers such as Mile High Comics were able to capitalize on the success of Animerica Extra to attract female customers to comic book stores. Following the cancellation of Pulp in 2002, the magazine's serialization of Banana Fish continued in Animerica Extra. In July 2003, the magazine began publishing shōjo manga exclusively and began printing certain manga in its original right-to-left format, as opposed to the flipped artwork it had previously published.
