One of the most-talked-about manga publishing companies, Kodansha has yet again given a shocker to manga fans. Although this is a bit less nhidaunting when compared to its expanded deal with Disney+, it would still affect those who read manga legally on third-party services.
On January 12, 2023, the official website for Azuki (KiraKira Media Inc.’s online manga service) revealed that Kodansha has undertaken some policy changes regarding its manga distribution on Azuki and other platforms.
As a result, Kodansha will be discontinuing its simulpub services on all of these platforms, with effect from January 16, 2023.
Azuki also updated that certain chapters will be removed from the service on January 31, 2023. These chapters were previously distributed simultaneously with Kodansha. Following are the titles (including the chapters that will be removed):
- A Sign of Affection – Chapters 20ex-32
- Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card – Chapters 50-69
- Drifting Dragons – Chapters 57-78
- EDENS ZERO – Chapters 132-222
- Space Brothers – Chapters 377-395
- The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm – Chapters 20-54
- The World of Summoning – Chapters 1-11
- To Your Eternity Chapters – 147-165.2
- Toppu GP – Chapters 29-79
- UQ HOLDER! – Chapters 181-192
- Wave, Listen to Me! – Chapters 65-86
Note that the non-simulpub chapters from some of the above series and other titles that are not simultaneously published will stay on the service. These include titles like Fairy Tail and Rave Master.
The manga service will make a big announcement very soon.
Azuki launched its service on mobile (iOS and Android) and web in English worldwide(excluding Japan) in 2021. The service publishes manga shortly after its original publication in Japan while also providing its collection of titles.
Source: Azuki’s Official Website
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