Summary
Kodansha USA aims to gain market dominance over competitor Shōnen Jump with its first innovative line of original English-language manga released exclusively on the US website. The latest addition to the line is Yoshinori Matsuoka’s “climate-punk” manga Re:Anima, which is the third title in the series and was originally drafted in English. Through its Reader Portal service, Kodansha USA offers free access to these English-only titles, along with perks like free chapters and manga discounts, potentially allowing them to pick up regained its leading position in the manga industry from Shōnen Jump.
In a further attempt to gain market dominance over its competitors Jump Shonen, Kodansha USA, the American branch of the popular manga publisher, has announced the latest addition to its innovative “first in English” original manga lineup. These exclusive titles will only be accessible through the company’s US website.
As reported on Anime Network News, late last month, Kodansha USA announced that Yoshinori Matsuoka’s new “climate-punk” manga Re:Anima will be released immediately through the Kodansha Reader Portal Service . This manga is the third title of the new series and exclusively includes stories originally drafted in English rather than English translations of the original Japanese works.
Kodansha’s “first in English” special series launches in September 2023 with the premiere of Oma Sei’s vampire horror story Blood Blade. This will be followed in November 2023 with the release of FRENCH BOOK LIBRARY by fan-favorite author Uta Isaki. At its core, this series is quite creative. While manga fans are used to creating content that originated in Japan, Kodansha’s new series – at least – acknowledges the company’s intention to give American fans a thumbs-up for its dedication. their dedication and devotion.
According to Kodansha USA: Re:Anime tells the story of near-future Tokyo, where the average temperature is around 170 degrees. Humanity lives underground to escape the deadly heat, only seeing the surface through the eyes of remote-controlled robots called Re:Anima. Shinano and Kara are members of the Enforcement Bureau, controlling surface crime and illegal Re:Anima mods.
Kodansha was once more popular than its competitors
Once upon a time, Kodansha is considered a more prominent manga publisher than Shueisha. – publisher Weekly Shōnen Jump. The tide began to turn for the younger Shueisha in the 1980s and 1990s with the company publishing hits such as Dragon Ball, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and One Piece.
But Kodansha has never been an easy guy. It’s responsible for its fair share of incredibly influential works like Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy and Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira. More recently, it has enjoyed huge success with Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan, Ken Wakui’s Tokyo Revengers and Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga. Kodansha even claimed the position of best-selling manga in 2023 with Blue Lock. However, Shueisha is a difficult opponent to defeat. However, in recent years, Kodansha has tried many ways to close the gap, including K Manga, its mobile manga app.
Kodansha USA is looking to start a manga revolution in the country
No Kodansha effort is as bold as the Reader Portal Service. Manga on the service will be available for free to anyone who subscribes to the Reader Portal service and will remain so until the release of the first physical volume of the series, currently scheduled for the fall year 2024.
In addition to having access to the series’ English-only titles, members can also enjoy a variety of perks and benefits, from free chapters in Kodansha’s extensive manga library to discounts for manga purposes. Those benefits, combined with the release of top manga series like Re:Anima, show that Kodansha USA may finally be able to regain the lead from Jump Shonen.
Read on Kodansha USA
Source: Anime Network News, Kodansha USA
