Back in 2012, a Japanese media company called FANTASISTA teamed up with printer/manufacturer Dai Nippon Printing to create Manga Planet. While originally limited to a Facebook page, Manga Planet grew to become a blog and its own platform. FANTASISTA then created futekiya in 2018, which focused on boys’ love (BL) titles. Then in 2019, futekiya launched an all-you-can-read plan for $6.99 a month (which can be lower or higher depending on the length of the subscription). The service includes its own licensed content as well as indie works.
Later that same year, Manga Planet followed suit. Unlike futekiya, which centered around BL manga, Manga Planet’s original lineup was male-oriented. Since then, it has added titles from most other genres/demographics, including manga from Kodansha Comics.
Manga Planet is now growing again — by merging with futekiya.
Manga Planet’s and futekiya’s Changes
The futekiya brand won’t disappear entirely, but as the company explains, advertising BL-only sites is difficult.
The integration is scheduled for Spring 2023 with additional front- and back-end improvements, like an improved server and reorganized classifications.
Another big change is the addition of rental and purchase content. Before, everything was either free or part of a Manga Planet/futekiya plan. Now, chapters and volumes can be unlocked with money or reward points.
With this, though, means that now not all of the content on Manga Planet will be available to read as part of a subscription. Current subscription content on both platforms is confirmed to continue being free with a plan, and it seems future additions will either be paid-only or subscription-included instead of mixing-and-matching per chapter/volume.
The price will remain $6.99 a month, and current subscriptions to either service will transfer to Manga Planet; if a user is subscribed to both, the plan with the most remaining time will be migrated while the other plan’s remaining term will be refunded. Favorites and history will carry over.
In addition, this summer, Manga Planet will release apps for Android and iOS.
#MangaPlanetTheFuture
I admit I haven’t checked out Manga Planet or futekiya in a while, and while they’ve added several titles I’d be interested in checking out, the platform has looked rather dated. The basic URL for both platforms takes you to the blog, and for someone who just stumbled upon the site, they may miss the fact it is a legal place to read titles — and many for one price. So while I don’t know exactly what this new Manga Planet is going to look like, the fact they’re removing the read subdomain will hopefully make the homepage more exciting and highlight the most important part of the service: the manga.
I do think it is a good idea the two are merging, as this means they are bulking up their libraries, and there doesn’t seem to be a pressing need for FANTASISTA to run two separate platforms. When hearing news like this, price is always a concern, and it’s great the price is remaining the same. I’m sure many BL fans are worried their favorite genre is now going to be deprioritized since now the subscription fee has to be spread across all types vs just one. The companies do seem to acknowledge this fear, but hopefully the brand will remain more than just the social media accounts.
I am more skeptical about the new buy/rent options though. Manga Planet states no current titles will move out of the all-you-can-read service, and they don’t aim to have just a few chapters be free but the rest not included. Manga Planet does have Kodansha Comics series that aren’t available in full despite being complete, leaving readers needing to go elsewhere to finish them. I wonder if, say, the rest of Your Lie in April and Kiss Him, Not Me will be added as paid options so that readers aren’t forced to go elsewhere to finish them. Or perhaps it won’t be an issue if suspicions are correct and Kodansha Comics is going to launch their own service and are going to continue pulling back their offerings elsewhere.
Anyway, I am wondering how Manga Planet will balance new subscription titles versus pursuing manga that is available to purchase and rent. I don’t want to see the subscription to end up stuffed with older and lackluster titles, or see it updated infrequently to push the paid titles — however much they cost. Also to note, that paying doesn’t mean you can download content.
Speaking of downloads, it’s also about time Manga Planet released an app version, and the company is acknowledging they have a lot to figure out still. Many of their titles are mature/R-18, which would seem to be a huge barrier to either put an app on the App Store and Google Play Store or have very limited content on the app version. One suggestion was to not put the APK on Google Play, but Apple devices can’t easily download apps outside of the official App Store. Manga Planet says the app isn’t coming for a while so they have a lot of time to decide, but summer will be here before we know it, and what can be on the app is a big issue. The app is going to be missing a huge chunk if racier content — which includes much of the current futekiya — is online-only.
I do want to see Manga Planet grow so that I don’t have a reason to forget the service exists. The fact the library is going to grow without a price increase is a good start. I’m sure I’ll be checking out the revised Manga Planet when it debuts, and I’m optimistic futekiya fans who have kept the service growing over these past few years won’t feel relegated to the sidelines post-merger. We’ll just have to see though, along with how all the other changes come into play.