MyAnimeList, LLC, the company which operates the anime and manga catalog website of the same name, has announced that it is launching an English-language digital manga store in partnership with North American manga publishers VIZ Media and Kodansha Comics.
The MyAnimeList Manga Store launches in Canada on Thursday, March 8, and will be available in other English-speaking territories including the United States later this month. VIZ Media and Kodansha Comics will make more than 200 manga titles in their catalog available for purchase on the store upon launch. Officials indicate that they are working to add more manga titles to the current line-up beyond the store's launch.
MyAnimeList is the U.S. subsidiary of Japanese mobile and web portal developer DeNA. Since the website came under new ownership in 2015, it has established partnerships with streaming distributors such as Crunchyroll and Hulu to directly provide users with licensed anime content. Streaming content by DAISUKI was also available on the website from 2015 until the service's termination last year.
To supplement the availability of anime content, MyAnimeList executives began considering the idea of a digital manga store for the website in late 2016. Formal discussions with stakeholders began the following March and resulted in the partnerships with VIZ Media and Kodansha Comics. By offering anime and manga content directly, MyAnimeList strives to become a hub for both mediums outside of Japan.
In a column published last year by the trade magazine Publishers Weekly, manga industry professional Deb Aoki points to the growing availability of streaming anime as a key driver of manga sales, especially in North America. Japanese manga publishers have taken note of this pattern and are increasingly arranging simultaneous publications (simulpubs) of their popular titles.
Major manga publishers Shueisha and Shogakukan already have ownership stakes in VIZ Media, while Japan's Kodansha directly owns New York-based Kodansha Comics. Another publishing giant, Kadokawa, acquired a majority stake in North American manga and light novel publisher Yen Press last year. These investments indicate that Japanese publishers are eager to tap into the English-language manga market, both print and digital.
Official site: https://myanimelist.net/store
Source: Official press release
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Anime