From going public earlier this June to conducting successful piracy stings, launching merchandise, and bringing popular titles to print, Webtoon has certainly had an eventful year and it seems an even bigger expansion is on the horizon as the platform could soon bring the hottest Japanese webcomics to the whole world.
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As per a press release on January 16th, 2025, Webtoon Entertainment has announced its first-ever investment in a Japanese webcomic studio with the goal of bringing more Japanese webcomics to local and global audiences and strengthening this particular localization pipeline. The Japanese studio in question is No. 9 Inc., the producers of hit titles like Savior of Divine Blood and I Am the Strongest Transcendent, with the investment being made through one of Webtoon Entertainment’s subsidiaries, Line Digital Frontier, which operates Webtoon’s Japanese sister platform Line Manga as well as eBookJapan.
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Webtoon’s Investment Could Finally Bring Japanese Webcomics to the Growing Global Fanbase
When Naver Webtoon went public earlier this June, it declared that the funds raised from the IPO would be used to expand the platform’s creator base, and this promise appears to have been fulfilled through the latest investment in No. 9 Inc. Expanding Webtoon’s Japanese creator base seems most logical given the massive growth the medium has had as of late with even competitors like Shuiesha recently jumping into the race with JumpTOON. That said, the localization of these Japanese webcomics still lags behind, and this is exactly the gap that Webtoon’s new partnership with No. 9 Inc. could fill.
Junkoo Kim, the CEO and founder of Webtoon Entertainment, also explained the reason for the partnership, stating, “Japan is the home of manga and some of the world’s most exciting comic art, so it’s a natural growth market for our global business.”
As for the choice of studio, Webtoon has already localized two of Studio No. 9 Inc.’s titles so far including I Am the Strongest Transcendent and Savior of Divine Blood. The latter, in particular, has seen huge success on Line Manga, consistently bringing in over 100 million yen in sales monthly, and this success has carried over even with its localization on Webtoon.
Regarding working with No. 9 Inc. CEO Kim stated, “We’ve spent years cultivating our IP & Creator Ecosystem in Japan, leading to strong growth and a string of hits. Working with No. 9 Inc., we’ve already developed global hits with series like Savior of Divine Blood, and we’re excited to expand our partnership to produce more incredible Japanese webcomics for local and global audiences.”
Overall, it will be exciting to see what new Japanese webcomics Webtoon could soon bring onto its platform. Though Korean manhwa usually gets all the love, Japanese creators do have some hidden gems just waiting to be discovered. Studio No. 9 Inc. already has many excellent titles, such as Return of the Genius Swordmaster and Welcome Back, First Love, begging for localization. Hopefully, these and many more of No. 9 Inc.’s series will soon make their way to Webtoon.
Source: Press Release courtesy of Webtoon Entertainment Inc.