#kodansha manga app

[manimeconquest]

Everything You Need to Know to Use Kodansha's K Manga App

The world of subscription services has rapidly become the norm over the last few years, ensuring a dedicated space, and ease of access, for specific products. There have been a few noteworthy manga apps around, but last year Kodansha dazzled the U.S. market by launching a version of their epic manga catalog called K Manga. Kodansha’s catalog on K Manga has their heavy hitters Attack on Titan,…

[akkivee]

hypmic jumpscare

[juiceboxscans]

Update: How to Support the Mangaka

Welcome new fans!

If you saw the anime and then found us through scanlations, we're glad you're here. Raise Wa Tanin Ga Ii/Yakuza Fiancé is a really fantastic manga and we enjoyed working on it.

The manga is still on hiatus. We don't know when or if it will return.

The mangaka has cleared all mentions of the anime from their Twitter and we are concerned that we might have contributed to their distress by picking up new material when we did, after it was licensed, and scanlating it.

We understand that licensed translations aren't available in all languages and is not carried by all retailers. The best way to address that is to use whatever resources we have to ask for access as often as we need to so we get it.

We urge you to please do your best to support the mangaka by buying physical or digital licensed translations.

-> Not available in your language? Reach out to publishers in your country and ask them to pick it up.

Publishers have social media accounts on Twitter and other social media platforms. Look up their webpages or accounts and reach out to them. Don't wait for surveys and for them to ask you what you want, ask.

Start with this list of manga publishers on Wikipedia.

-> Not available for sale at your local bookstore or chain? Reach out to retailers and ask them to stock it.

Google bookstores in your area, look for customer service contact information on your local Amazon instance and set up an alert.

-> You can also get manga physicals and digitals through libraries. Library copies contribute to a an author's sales numbers, reading scanlations does not. If your local library doesn't have volumes, ask them to get it.

-> You can buy your own chapters on Bookwalker and use a translation app such as Papago on your own.

-> Currently simulpubs are available on the K_Manga app. If you can't access it, reach out to Kodansha and let them know. If they don't know you want something, they can't give it to you.

Don't assume all mangaka are okay with scanlations: Konishi had Kodansha go after TikTokers who used clips of Koji Yusa from the Shouma CV, so clearly they feel strongly about using copyrighted material without permission.

We know collecting manga is an expensive hobby, and the animanga industry is notorious for overworking and underpaying artists, but if we really appreciate the work they do we need to respect artists by being willing to compensate them for their time and energy.

Please let us know if you'd like a template for how to ask for what you want. And if you're able to buy you can refer to our pinned post for resources. If you don't see retailers or sites you use frequently, let us know so we can update our info.

Thanks for reading!

[nadekofannumber1]

I wish I liked some popular shojo more bc it’s legit a genre that gets way too much hate and is often discriminated against in publishing spaces even having its real genre being changed when being localized bc shojo is locked to a specific context. But since I don’t feel like I can advocate for it as much as someone who prefers shojo magazines like “Halloween”, I feel like a lot of my defenses of shojo josei fall flat to a degree when not discussing the very literal advertising discrimination (Kodansha loves changing genres on their site, instead of using publication or demographical categories, they just make shojo a more “romance” genre.) (also less and less shojo manga are getting anime adaptations in favor of live action shows, josei is treated even worse) (ppl also give shojo too much flak bc of misogyny, even though I’ve seen ppl watch shows with similarly awful qualities of other publication genres).

What I can say is ppl decide if something is shojo based on vibes just because jump’s brand is so identifiable. Even though learning about other magazines could easily let you get the read on the vibes and tropes of the magazine’s publishing contents easily, like, a lot of popular gangan manga hold similar fandom vibe because gangan is more woman friendly creativity wise. Though I must say that ofc more standard shonen like soul eater came out of that as well, along with a slew of adaptions of other material into manga (it is the manga publishing brand of square after all). But even beyond things like FMA they have properties like: Pandora hearts, black butler, nozaki kun, the royal tutors, TBHK, kokkuri San, the apothecary diaries, inu x boku, ojisama to neko, durararara. Of course with things like gangan online and subsequent apps a lot more of the content published gets more varied like daily lives of highschool boys, watamote, jahi Chan, my bride is a mermaid, vermil in gold, how I attended an all guys mixer. As a publisher, gangan is actually very unisex, which makes it have the vibe of being innately less hostile to women. But because it doesn’t have the vibe of being shonen shonen (tm) ppl don’t realize how they think of

I feel like this concept got out of hand but it proves my point that ppl don’t know the difference between a publishing demographic, and a genre. I blame jump for this and thus I mentally hold a rivalry with it (of course I have more legit reasons to beef with jump like how they protect nobuhiro watasuki makes me suspicious, even if I like a good amount of jump manga my mind has beef, there’s more to this but I’ll stop now)

I can say all this but I can’t defend shojo in the way I want to, I can’t say people are too hard on something like peach girl when I haven’t read it. People always act surprised when shojo is good, and I find that, incredibly weird. Criticizing tropes is fine, saying a romance sucks and you don’t like it is fine, saying that a lot of common tropes in said publication genre put you off from reading is ok too, but by treating all shojo the same is weird.

Society is when people don’t know that junji Ito is primarily a shojo mangaka.

[arkus-rhapsode]

Manga Publishers: Shueisha and Shonen Jump-What's the deal? (Quick Post)

Hello all, Arkus Rhapsode here again this time with a much smaller post. Recently I've been getting asked by people what a "Shueisha" even is? "Isn't it all just Jump?" Which reminded me how, at least in the west, manga fans really don't understand the difference between publishers and how something like Weekly Shonen Jump is an imprint part of a larger publishing company known as Shueisha.

Shueisha itself has numerous other magazines underneath is such as V Jump (monthly Shonen magazine aimed at middle schoolers), Weekly Young Jump (A weekly seinin series), Jump+ (An online service that allows multiple manga with more range and broad genres), Ribon (A monthly shojo magazine), etc. With the ones containing the word "Jump" being part of the Jump Line of comics which are usually Shonen and Seinin series.

The amount of magazines may vary from company to company so it may be too much to ask of everyone to know all of them. In fact with digital platforms they kinda just blend together. And as someone in North America, I can see the SJ stamp placed on non shonen jump series by viz because they don't use categories like "Jump Comics" at viz.

Now this is information I really don't expect the average western manga fan to know because back in the day, we all had to use stuff like Manga Panda or Manga Stream which would post chapters from One Piece and Naruto alongside stuff like Fairy Tail and the Seven Deadly Sins. So for a lot of people the distinction of what is even inside "shonen jump" can change. Even with modern convinces this makes it hard for some as they think Spy x Family or Kaiju no 8 are shonen jump because they're updated on the SJ app.

This did get me thinking about how much publishers in Japan don't really make the company the "brand." In America, Marvel and DC slap their names on all their comics. This is the "Marvel Universe" or the "DC Universe." Now part of this is because they are a connected universe so they need a single unifying brand so you know what's what in a world with things from super science to mutants to magic. As well as the fact most of their characters are owned by the company. But you see this with things like animation too, its easy for networks to remind you that this is a Cartoon Network show or this is a Nickelodeon show even though they may have wildly different tones or genres or artstyles.

But in Japan, its interesting to see how much Shueisha as a publishing company isn't really concerned with tying its identity with the brand of their magazines. Part of me wonders that if its due to the fact that the publishers of these companies don't actually permanently hold the rights of the series that run in them. There's actually a lot stronger creators rights in Japan and a creator can simply choose to walk away from a publisher, famously Hiroyuki Takei would leave shueisha and take all of the Shaman King franchise to rival publisher Kodansha. Then Tsukasa Hojo and Tetsuo Hara both famous for their work on City Hunter and Fist of the North Star respectively, would create their own publishing company called Coamix and take the rights to their series to bolster the value. And none bigger than Makoto Raiku, a creator heavily critical of his former employer Shogakukan and creators rights enthusiast, would end up taking Zatch Bell with him and having its sequel independently published.

While in the case of Marvel many creators made characters on a work for hire contract which would stimulate that anything they made would become the property of the company.

Now that's not to say Shueisha don't invest in their brand. "Jump Comics" is a brand that possibly gets more promotion than another. As mentioned previously, you only really see Weekly Shonen Jump making manga the focus of their magazine cover. Heck some of the best covers are when you see all the characters inside the magazine hanging out. And my personal favorite is the Shueisha puts on Jump Festa, a convention specifically for jump related announcements and advertising which are almost always host to a massive mural each year of series running under the "Jump" label. I wish more companies honestly did this, particularly Kodansha and Shogakukan, but it Nintendo Direct vs Sony State of Play has taught me anything, its that not every company has that fanbase that'll make a big deal out of everything to sustain such a venture.

[demonlordclayman]

Clayman's REVENGE - Chapter 27: Elemental is out!

[insomaniacat]

HOW IS OMORI NOT TRENDING TODAY THE MANGA IS LITERALLY OUT THIS IS CRIMINAL

(You can read the first chapter free on K manga here: https://kmanga.kodansha.com/title/10607/episode/352385)

[untilyouremember]

Where can I read and request manga?

My mission with my tumblr is to help you find official resources to consume manga; doing it these ways will help the mangaka who work to bring you content and it encourages English publishers to bring over more series.

Check under the cut for legal websites, apps and retailers with detailed information. At the bottom you'll find surveys and ways to contact publishers with requests.

You can use regular retailers to buy digital and print: Amazon/Kindle, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Bookwalker, Google Play, Apple Books, Nook

There are apps available for buying volumes, chapters, using ticket systems to access free content, or with subscriptions.

Mangamo - $4.99/mo for 200+ titles; titles available for purchases with in-app library

Viz manga - $1.99/mo; titles available to purchase with in-app library (carries titles from Viz, but not their SJ series)

Shonen Jump - $2.99/mo; titles available to purchase with in-app library (carries specifically SJ titles, which are often popular shounen)

Comikey - uses a key system; ability to read for free with ads and patience

Kmanga - app maintained by Kodansha; chapters are often available to read for free through a ticket system and able to purchase

Kodansha - a website where you can create a free reading account. They offer 3 free chapters on all their manga, occasionally feature several free volumes, and run sales on their content somewhat regularly.

MangaPlus - $1.99 or $4.99 for a subscription; will allow a free read of their simulpub series.

MangaPlaza - 7 day free trial; $6.99/mo; [info incoming, seems to have more mature licenses]

INKR - 3 ways to access content; free, coins & 'Extra Membership'. Extra can cost $4.99/mo or $44.99/year and gives you access to content, extra savings and "free ink" that can be traded for their coin system. (Used to be Manga Rock and that was a fun read from them)

MangaPlanet - $1.99/week -> $47.99/year depending on which tier you pay for.

MangaUP - 1 month free trial, $4.99/mo; you can browse their 'vault' to see if things you like are included

Irodori Comics - hosts 18+, specializes in doujinshi, more info incoming

Renta! - point system; 1 point = 1 cent; regular bonus points for higher purchases

ComiXology - $4.99/month; a service through amazon that allows you access to comics, manga and graphic novels. Specifically boasts {2400} manga titles.

Animeplanet - has a library of completely free comics and anime through partnerships; seems to host less manga styled comics but free is free.

Manta, Comicle, Webtoon, Tappytoon, Tapas, WebComics, Bilibili will be looked into but they host mostly webtoon style comics

Seven seas has a (mostly) monthly survey that is linked on their homepage at all times. {They will pull from any publisher, including digital only simulpubs}

If you have a bookwalker account, I found a Google doc that you fill out requests and they send them to publishers.

To send suggestions to Viz, use this survey that is listed through their Contact Us page (you select the "Series Suggestion" and will be redirected) {they mostly pull from shogakukan and shueisha titles}

To send suggestions to Kodansha, go to their contact us page and there are 2 useful drop downs; suggest reprints and suggest series, suggest series is also useful to request a print of anything they've licensed digital only. {They pull almost exclusively from Kodansha Japan}

TokyoPop has a discord server where they look at your suggestions in the channel #licensesuggestion

If you are able, in any way, support official English releases. It shows it is a lucrative business decision to continue the manga. Nothing is worse than starting something and being unable to finish it because it stopped getting translated and published.

I will update this post as needed, enjoy your manga! ♡

[innerchorus]

If you’re in the US, Kodansha’s new K Manga app has now launched and the Arslan Senki manga will now be released there as a simulpub. I can’t access it so I can’t tell you for certain whether the most recent chapter is already there or not, but it’s great news and hopefully in the near future they will make the app available for people in other regions, as they have said they intend to do.

[skeleton-richard]

Bookwalker has a sale on Kodansha series! Take this as a sign to start reading Frau Faust by Kore Yamazaki ;)

Thanks to @archangelmacaron for alerting me!

[animenostalgia]

News - Kodansha has launched it’s own branded manga app called K MANGA in the United States. K Manga will run on a points system, similar to many webtoon and manga websites overseas. Basically, most manga will allow you to read the first chapter or two for free. But if you want to read any more, you’ll need to use either “tickets” or “points”. “Tickets” will be given to users for things like log-in bonuses and special campaigns. “Points” can be earned by reading featured manga, watching advertisements, or buying them outright. They’ve released a video on Youtube to explain the system that you can watch here. They’ve stated they will eventually have a web version of the app as well, and they’ll also be hosting a digital launch party for the app on June 22, 2023.

Currently, K Manga doesn’t have a lot of older manga titles (and seems more focused on newer ones), but from what I’ve seen, they do have some older manga, including:

Battle Angel Alita

Love Hina

BLAME!

Parasyte

Ghost in the Shell

Peach Girl

Manga app/service Azuki still as of this writing carries many Kodansha titles, you can browse their catalog here.

[juiceboxscans]

Where to buy raws and manga

Updated: With the anime coming (MON) October 7, 2024 and Volume 8 being released in English September 2024, and Volume 9 coming April 2025, we are reaching the end of canon content. Please support the mangaka if you are able by purchasing physicals and voicing your support for the work where you can.

How do I support something when I can't even get it?

It can take a little work. Ask your local bookstore to stock Yakuza Fiance: Raise Wa Tanin Ga Ii, special order the manga where possible (bookstores pay attention to enthusiastic fans who place special orders), put in requests on websites, reach out to your local manga publishing companies.

Hi fellow Raise fans! Thank you for the follows and reblogs. Can't say enough how much we appreciate knowing our work, however imperfect, is appreciated. We will keep doing our best!

While you wait for the next update, and if you can afford to do so, we hope you'll consider purchasing the raws or physicals of the manga. It's so good that it's worth owning, we think, and if you can afford it you won't regret it!

With that in mind, we have some resources for you.

Please note: These are not affiliate links and clicking on them does not benefit us in anyway. This is for you in case you are inclined or are able to buy this fantastic manga!

Physicals

Please note:

Volumes 1-8 are now available for purchase

Volume 9 April 2025

Earlier volumes are often discounted up to 25%. Click bolded text to be taken directly to RWTGI book pages or other helpful information as noted.

Barnes & Noble Amazon Seven Seas Publishing (the license owner) Penguin Random House Pika Edition (French)

Note: We know RWTGI is also licensed in Spanish and Korean among other languages but we do not know the publishing houses. If you do, please comment and if not please be patient while we update.

Kinokuniya is a Japanese bookseller with locations in 12 countries (includes the UK, southeast Asia, Australia, and the US). They carry Japanese and licensed English volumes. Pre-orders can sometimes come with a premium like an art sketch. Click for locations worldwide. They ship!

Secondhand volumes are available on Walmart's site, Thriftbooks, and Alibris. They are also available from various eBay sellers.

While you're at it, consider getting a copy of Konishi's first work, Haru no Noroi (or Haru's Curse) It's a great story and a heartstring-tugging read.

Digital

For Japanese: Click on the bold underlined text links and enable your browser to translate. If you are using Chrome there is a free translation extension in the Microsoft store.

For a monthly manga subscription: Kodansha Afternoon has a really nice monthly magazine which includes Raise and other manga.

For single chapters: Kodansha has the COMIC DAYS site. New members get 100 coins to start-- each chapter is between 60 and 80 coins. Chapter 1 is free and more recent chapters are free for a short time a few months after their release.

For ENG (US only):

For single chapters: Kodansha's app K MANGA. One of our friends on the RWTGI fandom Discord tested it and you can get the first 9 chapters for free, another 3 for free around 13-14, and every month or so they unlock another chapter. For $1 you get 99 tickets to 'rent' a chapter (like you own it but you can only read it on the app, isn't Digital Rights Management fun?), you can also 'earn' tickets each time you log in, and currently they have a promotion going.

Unfortunately this is only available to US residents as of this writing. If you have Twitter, give Kodansha a shout and let them know what complete bollocks/bullshit this is: KMANGA_KODANSHA

Here's where we cover our asses!

Don't repost our work, don't retranslate it, don't make us another casualty of copyright law. Kakao and other publishers are currently cracking down on 'M' scanlator sites and doxing site admins.

So please: Be chill so we can just enjoy this thing together. Thanks!

Happy shopping and thanks for your support! 💞

[saanix]

"ahh shit a few manga I follow are being dropped by their tl teams because Kodansha is gonna simulpub in english... well that sucks but I guess I can just get their app"

the fucking app, only available in the United States

I am going to kill Kodansha executives.

[obstinaterixatrix]

Kodansha’s having a sale on bookwalker where a bunch of first volumes are free. Ends tonight, though

[demonlordclayman]

Chapter 26: Sentiments is live!

[megaboy335]

Anime and Manga Log [5/28/23]

Over the years I’ve thought about doing a blog to post my thoughts about various manga and anime. Recently my good buddy @silvertsundere​ started a weekly AniManga post where he posts some short thoughts each week.  I however, usually have a lot to say. It would take me forever to write up long discussions about every single chapter update I read each week. So I’ll be picking out a few titles to talk about each week. From Jump I will discuss my weekly top 3 and anything else I want to talk about.

Weekly Shonen Jump has been the core of my reading diet for nearly 15 years now. I have been following Shonen Jump since the mid-2000s when Viz was releasing the print magazine. Later around mid-2008 and into 2009 I got into Ohba and Obata’s Bakuman. This lead me to learning about the toc rankings and I started following the magazine religiously. I love the raw energy of a Shonen Jump series. Due to the competitive nature of its ranking system the series are always trying to improve themselves and catch the readers off guard. There’s nothing else quite like it. In comparison, Shonen Magazine series frequently have an emphasis on romance (and fan service) or its a sports manga. Shonen Sunday titles are usually very chill. They prefer to develop characters at a slow natural pace. Jump series always have something happening since losing readership could cost them a position in the magazine. I’ve been entertained by series of all genres short and long out of Jump. In fact it was talking about Nisekoi that made my Tumblr blog semi-famous in 2014-16. The creed of “Friendship! Effort! Victory!” will never fail you. I’m currently reading everything from Weekly Shonen Jump, most Jump+ titles, and a few other series from other magazines. My Kodansha reads are paused at the moment because KManga is a bad app. The only Shonen Sunday series I am caught up with is Frieren (on hiatus). Eventually I’ll get caught up with a few others so I can follow Viz Media simuls. I generally only read official releases and prefer to keep scanlations to a minimum. 

So without further ado, discussion for the series listed below are under the Keep Reading. I’m hoping to make this a weekly post going forward. There will be spoilers and opinions below. Be warned. 

- Sakamoto Days Ch.120 - Blue Box Ch.102 - Cipher Academy Ch.25 - Naruto: Konoha Story Ch.15 [END] - Pokemon Horizons Ep.8 - Soaring Sky! Precure Ep.17

Sakamoto Days 120: Sakamoto Days is the mindless action series in the line-up right now. Its very much inspired by movies like John Wick. Lately we’ve been a backstory about Uzuki and Sakamoto’s relationship. The biggest selling point of the series is Suzuki’s endless creative imagination of cool set pieces. They never cease to amaze me with how the character interact with the location to defeat their opponent. If I had to guess, the series is about halfway complete right now. Still a ways to go, but plotlines are starting to center around the baddie of the series. This week’s chapter finished the backstory with a fight between Sakamoto and Uzuki. Instead of the grand speculate we usually have, this fight was more grounded. No dialogue for half the chapter. Just a rapid exchange of blows. Leaving the backstory in Uzuki’s pov shows this how incident is still something he thinks about, and connects his character to Sakamoto. I always look forward to reading this series. When is the anime going to be announced? Blue Box 102: The series just cleared its 2nd anniversary and its going as strong as ever. Blue Box is a slow burn romance following our main couple struggling in sports and love. Its a story filled with youth and presented with the thin loose line work of Kouji Miura. She always puts an emphasis on capturing a character’s expressions in the moment. It will frequently hold a reaction shot to show specific mannerisms. Lately, the series has been gearing up for a long awaited confession between Taiki and Chinatsu. Its been a long time coming, though I am unsure if the series will actually do it. Rom-Coms aren’t known for changing the status quo in the middle of the series. This week’s chapter teases our main couple being much closer than they imagined in terms of proximity. They’re both unknowingly to the other in the same area. That’s lead Taiki on a fast sprint to catch up with Chinatsu. Will they meet each other or just barely miss? Its hard to say. The scenery shot of the frozen lake in this week’s chapter was very pretty.  Cipher Academy 25: The return of Nisioisin to Jump was near the top of my wish list, and I can confidently say he’s been delivering week after week. The story is about an academy of code solvers where literally every single thing is decided by your ability to decode a puzzle. It’s such a Nisioisin concept. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be catching on with readers. Cipher Academy has been ranking low in the toc rankings. The recent chapters have been getting down to business with moving the plot to its ultimate goal of unearthing the big Crypto collection (yes you read right that, Nisio is writing about Crypto of all things) hidden deep within the academy. The leading Class Private of each class are going to participate in a tournament arc to determine the “Code Emperor”. Now admittedly for a manga about codes, they don’t matter that much in the grand scheme of the writing. The codes are always plot devices for the characters to interact around. Nisio’s greatest strength of conveying character traits with eccentric dialogue is very much here, and with the added visual language of Iwasaki art. Together they compliment each other quite well. But anyhow, Nisio tournament arc sounds like its going to be exciting. Iroha is going to have to put his brain into overdrive to outwit his peers. Don’t get cancelled on me Cipher Academy!

Naruto: Konoha Story Ch.15 [END] This finishes the pair of Naruto Light Novel manga adaptations that began last fall. Konoha Story was previously adapted into Boruto so I was already familiar with the story. It followed Mirai learning to believe in herself more and discovering the legacy she’s been left. Throughout the story we had cameos from several old character each of whom imparted some wisdom into Mirai. Sadly, it falls into the trap of all post-Naruto. They rely on recycling old plotlines instead of pushing the canon forward. In this case because the story is about Mirai and since Asuma died to Hidan, from the Jishin cult, Mirai has to face someone from the cult in modern day. Luckily, Kishimoto left a good foundation with the team 10 dynamics for the story to work with. At the very least Mirai’s character feel more natural in the world and something we were bound to see at some point. Overall, enjoyable and the manga was a nice way to experience the story again. [Final Score: 6/10]

Pokemon Horizons Ep.8: We’re two months into the new Pokemon anime and its finishing the prologue phase of the story. We’ve had intro arcs for both Riko and Roy. They each have an ancient artifact that’s sure to connect to a bigger plot. We know very little about the villain group right now. However, its still been great so far! First, its refreshing to have a female protagonist for a change and have main characters who can have organic character development. I guess placing them both school better connects to the target audience and game characters. Poor Riko only got to spend 1 episode in school before getting swept up in the plot. I appreciate slower pace of long running anime. Episode 8 focused on the streamer character Dot. She’s a shy in person, but puts on a high energy performance on the internet. Similar to the seiyuu’s counterpart in Bocchi. Exciting things are ahead as the gang is about to land in Paldea.

Soaring Sky! Precure Ep.17: I started watching Precure weekly during the 15th anniversary series Hugtto, and here we are at the 20th series Soaring Sky. Precure series often have some of the most solid character writing among airing shows. Unlike 1 cour incomplete adaptations, Precure gets 4 whole cours to flesh out its characters. Soaring Sky is a return to form with a focus on a central main duo and hand to hand combat. The cure designs are better made than usual for animation. That allows for most episodes to feature some nice movement or character acting when it matters most, as seen once again in this week’s episode. Sora was tasked running a relay, and she wanted Mashiro to be the one passing the baton. It was a cute story that once again reinforces the friendship bond shared between our duo. Despite monster fight feeling tacked onto the scenario this week, it featured some slick movements. Next episode is the long awaited debut of Cure Butterfly. Ageha can finally start on Precure adventures as one of the squad.

Full read/watch list for the week: