Kodansha Announces New K MANGA Platform for U.S. Fans

Kodansha has announced that it will launch its newest manga distribution service, K MANGA, on May 10, 2023, exclusively to U.S. readers.

Kodansha has stated that the K MANGA platform will increase accessibility for American manga fans who like reading titles such as Attack on Titan and Ghost in the Shell. The goal of K MANGA will be to simultaneously release the latest chapters of original serialized manga from Kodansha, as well as its weekly and monthly magazines. As of now, the service will be exclusive to the United States. 

K MANGA will launch with approximately 400 titles upon launch, including 70 ongoing manga series currently in serialization. Users will have access to K MANGA’s library and will be able to read limited amounts of free manga chapters per day, depending on the selected title. It will feature manga from multiple genres such as action, thriller, isekai, romance, and fantasy.

Features of K MANGA

Earliest Exclusive Access to Latest Chapters

Readers will be able to access exclusive chapters of popular manga series early in the U.S., before any other platform. A few titles include EDENS ZERO, Blue Lock, Rent-A-Girlfriend, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse, and Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro. 

Access to Popular Manga in Kodansha’s Catalog

In addition to the latest manga series, K MANGA will showcase a wide digital catalog of popular titles such as The Seven Deadly Sins, Fire Force, and Chihayafuru.

A Manga Service by the Kodansha Editors 

K MANGA will also be managed by Kodansha’s editorial team, who are closely involved with editing and producing the newest manga in Japan. 

Official Localization

K MANGA delivers official translations for its manga series worked on by industry professionals familiar with each title. 

This past January, Kodansha announced that multiple simulpub manga series will be removed from digital platforms such as Azuki and Crunchyroll manga. Early non-simulpub chapters of certain series already available on the services will remain.  

Source: press release