Manga has always been a hot ticket item in Japan, and while North America has some serious catching up to do when it comes to hitting the same numbers as the Eastern country, Western fans are definitely showing a major interest in the medium. In recent years, manga sales have been skyrocketing thanks in part to more volumes making their way to the West as well as the pandemic helping to push sales. Now, in a recent interview, a Weekly Shonen Magazine editor who is playing a major role in KManga’s release broke down the regional differences.
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To start, outlet Sora News 24 sat down with editor Yuta Hiraoka at Weekly Shonen Magazine, asking if he had run into any surprises so far in the North American market when it came to KManga’s launch. Here’s what Hiraoka had to say, “Prior to launching this app we did a lot of research into the American market, so I knew the difficulties involved in gaining users and having them continue to use it. So, what’s happening right now is more or less what I was expecting.”
KManga: Japan Vs US
Hiraoka then broke down what he perceives to be the differences between Japanese and US manga markets, “The manga readers are different and their culture is different in terms of continuing to read a title. In the Japanese app, it’s more common to have people come in and continue to read right away, but it’s sort of different in the US. That being said, the app’s only been out for a few weeks so we still don’t have a concrete sense of it yet.”
Kodansha has made a name for itself with some of the biggest anime franchises outside of the Shonen umbrella. Attack on Titan, Tokyo Revengers, Fairy Tail, Seven Deadly Sins, Vinland Saga, and Fire Force are just a few of the series that have helped propel the manga publisher. If you’re a North American fan that wants to read some of the biggest manga on your phone, KManga’s app is currently available for download, with the browser version for your personal computer set to drop this summer.
Who do you think comes out on top between Shueisha and Kodansha? Do you think manga will become as popular in the US as Japan one day? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
