Back in 2020, I checked out izneo, a comics platform started by French and Belgian publishers. Because of its origin, it’s no surprise European comics are a major focus, but manga was also available to purchase on there. Titles from Harlequin, Kodansha Comics, TOKYOPOP, and more were also available as part of izneo’s Premium subscription plan at $7.99 a month.
In my review, I noted while izneo did have some unusual and/or hard-to-find comics and the option of viewing titles on your Nintendo Switch, it was rather lackluster for manga reading. True, the service had some nice options for its reader, but two page spreads could be very frustrating with its reading order and/or page count. During the pandemic, the number of manga-reading platforms rose sharply, and so that meant increased competition for izneo.
And now it seems the company is throwing in the towel on expanding their presence outside of Europe.
As of January 31st, izneo is shutting down its English language division. As izneo explains:
“As we are restructuring to provide you with an even better reading experience, you will no longer have access to the English store.”
Which kind of sounds like the “it’s not you, it’s me” excuse people use for breakups. Because if you’re an English-only speaker, the soon-to-be French-only interface is not going to be an improvement. Yes, French is one of the easier languages for English speakers to consult a dictionary or make educated guesses, and most menu options are rather intuitive, but still.
Since izneo itself isn’t shutting down, users will still be able to access their original purchases. But the company urges subscribers to end their membership before the end of the month. There will also be some English titles still available from Cinebook and Europe Comics, but all other English publishers will be removed.
Since my original analysis, the platform did fix several of its initial issues, but its European origins are still clear with “gender” instead of “genre” and dates written with day of the month first. izneo struck some licensing deals to offer manga publishers’ works, but Kodansha Comics titles are available on almost every manga online reading platform. The lack of VIZ Media titles is also a big negative for its eBook store.
And speaking of its store, pricing. The day I started writing this, the first volume of Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro was free at places like Barnes & Noble and BOOK*WALKER; izneo wanted $10.99. As you can see from the image below, Barnes & Noble shows that the retail price is only $7.99 originally, which is what izneo was charging for the rest of the series while other venues had them discounted to around the $4 mark as part of a Kodansha Comics sale.
This was hardly an anomaly. That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime volume 1? About $6 elsewhere on sale, or $10.99 retail, versus $12.99 at izneo. izneo certainly wasn’t a place to jump right to if you wanted to find a sale, and even moreso with Kodansha offering weekly deals at most other eBook platforms. But even the titles not on sale you’d have to check elsewhere to make sure you weren’t overpaying.
I certainly don’t relish the thought of izneo’s English store ending, but it’s also not surprising. A lot of izneo’s issues probably stem from not understanding the foreign market. The European-isms on the site give it a Google Translate feel, and Americans certainly love their discounts. Had izneo English launched a few years beforehand, before increased competition and the pandemic boom and stresses, it may have been a different story. But as it is, izneo is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. It has a Switch app, but it isn’t necessarily a better or even practical option for comics reading. izneo pushes European comics, which may be lost in the fray on other platforms, but casual readers aren’t likely to know what “BD” means and search for it — or understand why Archie titles are there and not under US Comics.
I know for me personally, it’s not a service I’ve thought about much since my original article. I think of platforms like Azuki and Mangamo for manga-heavy subscription reading, Kindle/ComiXology for variety, and Comikey and MANGA Plus for free chapters. Plus, I’m a physical book lover anyway, and even some of the best digital comics platforms have had a difficult time winning me over. And izneo, at least for manga, didn’t fall into that category.
But I’m glad for the most important part: users will not be left in the cold. They can still read whatever titles they bought (in English), just with French menus. With izneo being so popular in Europe, I don’t think anyone has to worry about the service shutting down completely. But it will certainly be annoying to continue any in-progress series on another platform instead of having them all in one place. Unfortunately, that’s a risk when buying digital content. I also do hope izneo’s exclusives wind up elsewhere, preferably as part of a subscription plan. It’d be a shame if they were to disappear from English readers’ hands completely.