Kodansha Manga Halts Simulpub Deal With Crunchyroll and More

It seems like things are shaking up at Kodansha these days. Last year, reports took fans by surprise as the publisher announced plans to work with Disney on several exclusive projects, but anime adaptations aren’t the only things turning heads at Kodansha. It turns out the publisher’s simulpublishing strategy is shifting in 2023. And for now, that means sites like Crunchyroll and Azuki are losing out on their simulpub catalogs.

The update comes straight from the sites themselves ahead of the shift. New reports confirm Kodansha will halt simulpublish releases starting January 16th. Then by the end of January, a number of its manga titles will be leaving Crunchyroll and Azuki entirely. These impacted titles include:

• Edens Zero
  
• Drifting Dragons
  
• Fire Force 
  
• Fairy Tail
  
• To Your Eternity
  
• Space Brothers
  
• In/Spectre
  
• Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card
  
• Toppu GP
  
• UQ Holder
  

Of course, the update took fans by surprise as simulpublishing is all but an industry standard now. Shonen Jump has made its titles accessible online with an app of its own, and Shueisha has its own Manga Plus service. Kodansha has expanded its reach with same-day releases, so netizens are understandably confused as to why this service is being suspended. And in a recent statement, the publisher teases new simulpublishing ventures are on their way.

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“Due to forthcoming changes in Kodansha’ simulpub distribution program, we are suspending simulpub updates until further notice. For now, the best way to keep up with your favorite series will be by following the collected volumes,” the company’s statement reads.

“We at Kodansha are deeply sorry to those of you who have kept up-to-date through the simulpub format, and while we can’t divulge any details at the moment, we have exciting announcements to make about simulpubs in the coming months.”

What do you make of this latest manga update…? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.