Kodansha has launched K-MANGA, their first digital manga service outside Japan, with approximately 400 titles, of which about 60 will be simulpubs (same chapter release as Japan). The service is available in the US and there is a free discount campaign which applies to all chapters of Attack on Titan, Tokyo Revengers and FAIRY TAIL. You can watch the launch video below:
The project leader says they are doing their best to make it available in other regions too, and you can the full statement:
We are a publisher that serves as a link between manga artists andreaders. We will continue tostrengthen our efforts to protect manga artists from piracy and other forms of copyright infringement,including traceability of translations. We are starting with US-only for now. However, we know that there are Kodansha manga readers all over the world who want to try K MANGA and read the latest simulpub chapters.We hear you and we are doing our best to make K Manga available in your countries as soon as we can.
Yuta Hiraoka, K MANGA project leader
There are 2 ways to unlock chapters in K MANGA:
- With tickets:
There are normal tickets, which are issued once a day for each title and can be used only for that title, and premium tickets, which can be used for all chapters of all titles for which tickets are eligible. Users can receive three to four premium tickets per day with login bonuses or by viewing ads. This means users can read four to five chapters of their favorite titles every day free of charge. The chapters unlocked by tickets are available for three days at a time. - With Points:
Readers can also access chapters by purchasing “points.” One dollar is equivalent to 100 points, which can unlock manga chapters, which vary in cost depending on their length and recency. For example, a serialized manga released in 20-page installments requires 69 points for older chapters, and 99 points for the latest chapter. Once a user trades points to unlock a chapter, they can access it indefinitely through their account.
Kodansha will also hold a launch party on Thursday, June 22. The party’s theme is “The Stories Behind the Stories,” featuring appearances by famous manga artists and various behind-the-scenes stories of manga production from Kodansha’s editorial department — including live drawings. The event will be streamed live online, with exclusive giveaways for watchers.
Some of the K MANGA titles available at launch:
- Ace of the Diamond
- Aho-Girl: A Clueless Girl
- The Seven Deadly Sins
- Domestic Girlfriend
- Fairy Tail
- Fire Force
- Attack on Titan
- The Heroic Legend of Arslan (simulpub)
- Tomodachi Game (simulpub)
- To Your Eternity
- Tokyo Revengers
- Smile Down the Runway
- Rent-a-Girlfriend (simulpub)
- The Quintessential Quintuplets
- Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro (simulpub)
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (simulpub)
- Your Lie in April
- EDENS ZERO
- Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest (simulpub)
- Blue Lock
- Shaman King
- Vinland Saga
- My Home Hero (simulpub)
- Shangri-La Frontier (simulpub)
- The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse (simulpub)
- The Café Terrace and its Goddesses (simulpub)
- Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku
- Parasyte
- GACHIAKUTA
- + many more
Source: Press release, KODANSHA USA YouTube
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