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Crunchyroll to Simultaneously Offer Kodansha Manga in 170 Countries

Media distribution service Crunchyroll announced on Saturday that it will digitally release 12 titles from Kodansha's manga catalog. The service will launch on October 30 with chapters available to both free and paid users in 170 countries the same day the chapters are published in Japan. Free users can read only the latest chapters with ad support, while paid subscribers can read all manga including catalog titles. Readers can access the manga on their computers as well as Android and iOS devices.

Japanese financial news source Nikkei reports that subscribers will pay US$4.99 a month for full access to 12 titles on October 30, with the catalog expanding to over 50 titles by next summer. According to Nikkei, the manga will be available in 170 countries — including the United States and the United Kingdom, but excluding Japan, China, France, Germany, and Italy.

Crunchyroll will publish the following 12 manga at launch:

Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama

Kodansha USA is currently releasing Attack on Titan in print and digital formats. Kodansha is releasing the series as ebooks for the Nook, Kindle, Google Play, and Apple's iBookstores. Wit Studio's anime adaptation wrapped last month and Crunchyroll and Funimation both streamed the series as it aired.





Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima

Kodansha USA currently publishes Fairy Tail in physical and digital formats in North America. The 31st compiled volume will ship on October 29.




Space Brothers by Chuya Koyama


The story follows two brothers, Mutta and Hibito, who made a vow as kids to travel to space. The younger brother Hibito did become an astronaut, but not Mutta. However, Mutta's life changes one fateful day.

This manga inspired the ongoing television anime as well as a live-action film. Crunchyroll is streaming the anime as it airs in Japan. The original manga has not previously been available in English.




UQ Holder! by Ken Akamatsu


The story centers on a boy named Touta who dreams of leaving his small town and moving to the city. However, he must first defeat his teacher, the immortal Evangeline.

Kodansha USA announced it licensed Ken Akamatsu's latest manga series at New York Comic Con earlier this month. The company will release the first volume of the series in  North America in Spring 2014.



Mysterious Girlfriend X by Riichi Ueshiba

Mysterious Girlfriend X (Nazo no Kanojo X) received an anime adaptation  in 2012 which Sentai Filmworks released on DVD and Blu-ray in June. The manga has not previously been made available in English.



A Town Where You Live by Kouji Seo

The romantic-comedy has been adapted into an original anime video series in 2012 and a television anime series in July. The anime adaptations and manga adaptations have not previously been made available in English.




Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches (Yamadakun to Nananin no Majo) by Miki Yoshikawa

Miki Yoshikawa launched this manga in Weekly Shonen Magazine last year. A live-action adaptation premiered on Fuji TV in August. The manga has not previously been made available in English.



As the Gods Will - The Second Series (Kami-sama no Iu Toori Ni) by Muneyuki Kaneshiro (story) & Akeji Fujimura (art)

The story of the original horror-survival manga begins when strange and frightening things start happening at Shun Takahata's high school. After his teacher is killed, he and his classmates must play horrifying games in order to avoid death.

This manga launched this year in Weekly Shonen Magazine after the original Kami-sama no Iu Toori manga ran in Kodansha's monthly Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine from 2011 to 2012. A film has been green-lit. The manga has not previously been made available in English.




My Wife is Wagatsuma-san (Wagatsuma-san wa Ore no Yome) by Yuu Kuraishi (story) & Keishi Nishikida (art)

The romantic comedy My Wife is Wagatsuma-san (Wagatsuma-san wa Ore no Yome) premiered in Weekly Shonen Magazine in 2011. The manga has not previously been made available in English.




Fort of Apocalypse (Apocalypse no Toride) by Yuu Kuraishi (story) and Kazu Inabe (art)

"Yoshiaki Maeda has been falsely imprisoned at Shōran Academy, a rehabilitation center for delinquents from around the Kantō region. Day after day, the violence swirling around Yoshiaki pulls him ever deeper into despair. But suddenly, within the facility, undead man-eating zombies emerge! In this nightmarish world, delinquents begin a fight for survival!!"

This manga has not previously been made available in English.




COPPELION by Tomonori Inoue

This manga inspired the ongoing television anime that Viz is streaming in North America.

This manga has not previously been made available in English.




The Seven Deadly Sins by Nakaba Suzuki


"The king is dead at the hands of the traitorous Holy Knights! It's up to the Princess Elizabeth to unite seven legendary warriors – the Deadly Sins – to save the kingdom and secure her birthright, starting with Meliodas, the Sin of Wrath!"

Kodansha USA announced that it licensed this series at New York Comic Con earlier this month.