I finally gave Kodansha’s K MANGA app a try back in June and up to late July. The app was first released back in May and there were plenty of issues that made it a disaster on launch day. The website eventually launched a few weeks later, but I’ve only used the app. I did log in on the website to see how that operated, but only to see how manga titles rolled over and what the reader was like.
So, here’s the pros and cons of Kodansha’s K MANGA service!
The Good
+ The best thing about the K MANGA service is the amount of free manga to read. So far they’ve had campaigns where certain volumes are available for free, there are some manga with at least 4 (monthly) or 8-10 (weekly) chapters available for free, and with a ticket and after running out of tickets watching a video ad, a majority of manga can be read without paying a cent. For a manga series you’re reading it’ll recharge its free-to-read ticket after 24 hours so you can read the next part/chapter for free for 72 hours; over time once you get past the already available free chapters and get to the section that require tickets, you can still read manga without having to pay anything.
+ At least for now as long as you jump on every easy opportunity to get points and tickets, there’s some enjoyability to be had on the service. Don’t know how long it’s going to last, but I guess if it’s something like gacha games (My only experience is with Fire Emblem Heroes), if you log in every day you’ll at least get tickets. If you scroll to the gift points section there’s usually a new manga where if you get to the end of the chapter, you get 5 points. If you decide to select a treasure chest and watch a video (which so far have ranged between 30 seconds to 1 minute), you’ll have 3 chances a day to get points or tickets.
+ When I eventually talk about what manga I have read on the service, most of them will be K MANGA original titles. Of course, K MANGA originals are just Kodansha manga serialized in magazines aside from Shonen Magazine (Magazine Pocket, Comic Days, etc) but the advantage in reading the KM Originals is just about all of them don’t require purchasing points. For example, something like Nagatoro or Iceblade Sorcerer, the latest chapter requires points — how long it’ll be like that I’m not sure. But after that, the rest will need the use of tickets and then once you run out you watch a video ad to read a chapter.
+ The reader for the app seems good enough, not obtrusive, image quality is high, can’t really note anything wrong with it.
The Bad
– There’s no getting around the fact that the points structure is an obstacle to really enjoying the service, especially if you’re not a fan of playing games to get points and even more so if you’re not sure how you’ll be able to keep your manga if K MANGA ends. To wit, while I haven’t explored Manga UP! enough, VIZ Manga/Shonen Jump allows you to read the latest chapter for at least three weeks for free, and Alpha Manga for at least 3 months. If it’s not a KM Original, you’ll have to pay points of varying ranges for a good portion of a series. K MANGA offers 10 options for purchasing points, and the good news is you’ll likely find series you want that’s cheaper than other digital platforms, but the bad news is you might find a series where you have to spend more.
– Previously, Kodansha’s simulpubs were widely available on multiple digital platforms, but right now K MANGA is US only. I would be very interested to know the view count of Kodansha USA simulpubs since this service launched compared to prior years, though it would be unfair since Kodansha’s simulpubs were more widely available. The good news is that its recent competitors (so excluding Shonen Jump somewhat and MANGA Plus) are also not available in a majority of countries so they aren’t alone in forgoing other places at launch. The bad news is that you have to hope being this limited at the start, without a timetable on when this service will launch elsewhere, won’t negatively impact the bottom line or the attitude towards the service from potential readers.
– This feels like a weird thing to complain about, but hear me out: for completed series you’ll have an opportunity to read most of it for free with a ticket for 72 hours. So depending on how often you log in and get tickets, you can complete a bunch of series over the course of time without paying for anything. I say most but not all because the last three chapters of a series require points to read, not tickets. This doesn’t feel right? I guess the argument would be you should accrue enough points eventually over time if you follow the easy ways to get them, but I can’t understand only being able to own the last three chapters of a series by paying with points at this rate when you need tickets to access the others aside from the handful of early chapters that are already available for free, and it’s only for 72 hours.
Suggestions
Ok, the suggestions are obvious (consider a possible subscription plan that’s not point centered, become available in more territories, etc), but one immediate idea that should be under consideration is to make the latest chapters of a simulpub available for free, or at least make that chapter available for free a week later but with ads. Interesting that after you run out of tickets they allow you to read only one chapter after watching an ad but don’t allow it for any series you have to purchase with points.
Another suggestion is to make more new series available without the use of points…for better or worse it’s more of an advantage to read KM Originals or completed series, but right now there’s only 31 KM Originals currently available on the service.
I can guess Kodansha had plenty of goals when creating this app, but for me at least, the only appeal is trying out new manga to read when they’re made available for free. The only series I ended up using points for is EDENS ZERO, and since I’m taking the slow and steady approach, it’ll be a long while before I catch up to its most recent chapter. Ultimately, there is some appeal to this service, but the fact is, sometimes you just want to jump on a series and read without any interruptions. And if you’re not interested in the points method nor its ways of getting points and tickets, this is a service that makes it really tough to follow a good majority of simulpubs, and that’s pretty disappointing.
The Titles I Read
Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious To My Charms (8 Chapters). This is one of two titles where I ended up purchasing volumes. It’s a rom-com where the female lead Mona tries to charm male lead Kuroiwa like she’s done everyone else, but it doesn’t work. She makes many attempts to sway him (and goes too far), but she has no idea that his upbringing is the reason it’s not working. Once I finished chapter 8 and ran out of tickets, I ended up purchasing the next 6 volumes digitally on Amazon. See, look at that, I fell for K MANGA’s trap! Probably. It’s typical shounen romance hijinks for the male gaze so it’s not for everyone.
I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability (104 Chapters). A sorcerer from a different world gets killed by a noble, unable to continue learning the ways of magic. But when he dies, he’s reincarnated as the seventh prince. His first action as a baby was blasting part of a castle instead of crying. Very much fun because Lloyd is a complete psychopath, where he’s all-powerful (except he can’t beat his maid Sylpha), uncaring about things that have no benefits to improving magic, and only loves magical applications so basically he cares little about romance. It gets up to typical modern fantasy/isekai tropes when the plot doesn’t revolve around him, but his twisted personality makes up for it, which makes this entertaining. This is the second manga where I got cliffhangered and instead of paying for points, I ended up purchasing a volume digitally on Amazon.
As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World (108 chapters). A solid isekai tale with some of the usual isekai tropes. This one stars a salaryman who dies and has been reincarnated as Ars Louvent, and while he physically has no stand out traits, he has a superior ability to appraise talent. This means he can find the talents hidden within a person better than anyone else, which can also get him into some dicey situations since he can’t explain it that well (I mean he’s 3 years old haha). The story eventually takes a turn some time later when he’s forced to assume the mantle of head of House Louvent, and his journey to create a peaceful realm begins. Good art and a fun concept makes this fun to read. The getting married part at his age will likely turn some people away, though who knows if we’ll get a time skip to where it feels appropriate. (This isn’t even mentioning that he was formerly an adult before!)
EDENS ZERO (7 chapters using points). The only simulpub title I’ve chosen to keep up with so far, it’s weird to go back to the cast of EDENS ZERO when they were three years younger, but admittedly, I felt it was kind of fast for them to go into their older forms when they did, so maybe it’s for the best? For now it’s nice to see how the crew can reconnect now they’re in Universe 0. Got a ways to go if I ever want to catch up to the current.
The Quintessential Quintuplets: Full-Cover Version (34 Chapters). I’ve read the series digitally. I’ve read the series physically. Now I’m reading Futaro and the Quintuplets all over again, but in color! I really don’t have much to add to be honest. It’s just now I’ll get to relive best girl coming up short in getting Futaro’s heart one more time, but in color!
The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity (49 chapters). We follow Rintaro and Kaoruko, two high-school kids who could not be in more different worlds (Rintaro in the seemingly lower social class, delinquent all-boys school Chidori and Kaoruko in the prim, proper and expensive seeming all-girls school Kikyo), but a chance encounter at Rintaro’s family’s patisserie leads to the two connecting in a pretty lovely way. Despite the supposed bad blood that should be enveloping these two, Rintaro and Kaoruko have found a way to support each other and have fun in each other’s company. Very enjoyable cast of characters and story so far, but we’ve mostly seen how Chidori and Rintaro’s friends act. We see Kaoruko and her friend, and it’s possible Kaoruko’s past plays a big part in things, but really my only criticism of the manga is it feels there’s still much to learn about the all-girls school yet we still know very little about it. But this has been a great read.