I’ve covered quite a few manga reading platforms here, and the vast majority of the non-Japanese publisher affiliated ones included some sort of line like, “Kodansha Comics titles are available here.” Even when services seemed to have launched with a thin library, Kodansha titles seemed to be there. But even though many have expanded since my initial reviews of them, for several services, Kodansha Comics’ simulpubs were a key feature of their memberships, like Azuki. To Your Eternity, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card…you could read them the same day as Japan!
Notice the key word “could”.
The Announcements
On January 12th, manga subscription service Azuki announced as of January 16th, no new Kodansha Comics simulpubs would be uploaded to the service. On January 31st, titles including the aforementioned two along with EDENS ZERO, A Sign of Affection, and more would be removed. Azuki apologized but said this was a change on Kodansha’s end that would be affecting other platforms as well.
Sure enough, Crunchyroll made a similar post with their own expanded list:
- A Sign of Affection
- Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card
- Drifting Dragons
- EDENS ZERO
- Fairy Tail
- Farewell, My Dear Cramer
- Fire Force
- In/Spectre
- Space Brothers
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
- The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm
- The World of Summoning
- To Your Eternity
- Toppu GP
- UQ HOLDER!
- Wave, Listen To Me!
The article also contained a comment from Kodansha:
“Due to forthcoming changes in Kodansha’ [sic] simulpub distribution program, we are suspending simulpub updates until further notice. For now, the best way to keep up with your favorite series will be by following the collected volumes. We at Kodansha are deeply sorry to those of you who have kept up-to-date through the simulpub format, and while we can’t divulge any details at the moment, we have exciting announcements to make about simulpubs in the coming months.”
The Next Step
For years, I’ve wondered why Kodansha Comics (or Japanese Kodansha) didn’t build their own manga service. But hey, I countered to myself, maybe they’re really getting a lot of money in being everywhere and letting several outlets host simulpub chapters.
When I first read the news from Azuki, I thought maybe Kodansha Comics struck a deal with Amazon. After all, the two had teamed up for the ComiXology Originals line which included several rescued and rereleased titles like Shaman King and Beck.
Then I read the statement to Crunchyroll and was like, “Yeah, they’re finally doing it themselves.”
Quite a while back, I reviewed Comic Days, a manga subscription service from Kodansha Japan. There you can try out some free content (including web-only titles) as well as buy chapters or volumes from their frontlist and backlist with points. The real appeal is the fact that you can subscribe to read the latest manga magazines in full like Shonen Magazine, Young Magazine, and Dessert. Subscriptions could also earn some points every month. Think of it as something like a hybrid between MANGA Plus and MangaPlaza.
Comic Days debuted back in 2018, so before a lot of services you are likely familiar with now. But with Shueisha announcing all-new Shonen Jump+ manga are going to be released as simulpubs on MANGA Plus as well as opening up user submissions globally, maybe Kodansha has finally started to realize they’d be better off working on creating their own platform instead of just licensing out their simulpubs.
While audiences are likely more familiar with Shonen Jump’s ongoing simulpubs than Kodansha Comics’, the latter does have its own advantages with having manga targeting different demographics. You have action titles like EDENS ZERO and UQ Holder!, but also shoujo fare like Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card and A Sign of Affection. I applaud Jump for having expanded its repertoire over the years, but yes, I would love to see more of Shueisha’s female-oriented content to be made available outside of buying licensed collected volumes.
Anyway, assuming Kodansha is launching their own service, there’s a lot of ways they could go about it: limited free reading, no free reading outside of first chapters, all-you-can-read subscriptions with compiled content, lower priced simulpub-only subscriptions, app only…so many possibilities. I imagine they would have a plan where you can read the simulpub chapters as well as select full volumes, much like how, say, their Kindle Unlimited offerings work. That way, sure, you can start a series and then catch up with the latest happenings, but all that stuff in between in going to cost ya. Of course, it’s not my preferred option, but that’d be my guess.
It is also still possible Kodansha is teaming up with an exclusive partner, but I think cutting the middleman is more likely. Square Enix has Manga UP!; Alphapolis launched Alpha Manga; Yen Press, J-Novel Club, and BOOK*WALKER are all tied together. And, of course, the aforementioned MANGA Plus from Shueisha. It’s all part of a pattern to expand readership and combat piracy.
Still, though, it is disappointing fans of these series may have to wait several months to starting reading these titles again. Also, the value of certain services just plummeted, although it’s not their fault. Sure, we live in times where it’s extremely common for something to be pulled from a service with little warning, but it still stinks. Places like Azuki promise some big news, and it’s not like Kodansha Comics is pulling all their offerings, but that’s still a big hole to fill. Perhaps Crunchyroll, for instance, now can do more with its Alpha Manga partnership besides putting up chapters that are already free to read on Alpha Manga itself.
But for now, subscribers should carve out time before the end of the month to have a binge reading session if they’ve fallen behind on any of these titles. Then, cross your fingers it won’t be too long before we get some positive news about what’s happening with Kodansha’s simulpubs and the other services.