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Digital Manga Service Azuki Licenses Mai Matsuda's Hikaru in the Light! Manga
posted on by Alex Mateo
KiraKira Media Inc.'s digital manga service Azuki announced on Saturday at its Anime Boston panel that it has licensed Mai Matsuda's Hikaru in the Light! manga. The company also announced it plans to add Yoiyu's When Pink Rain Falls 2 manga from publisher Star Fruit Books.
Azuki will add begin releasing Matsuda's Hikaru in the Light! manga on June 13 with a new chapter premiering every week until the service catches up to the Japanese serialization. The service has released a free preview of the manga's first chapter on its website and apps. According to Azuki, Hikaru in the Light! is the first manga that it has licensed directly from Japan.
The company describes the story:
"In order to get up on stage, you need to be special."Hikaru Ogino spends her days singing oldies in her family's bathhouse, but when her best friend Ran — a former idol — invites her to try out for an “idol survival camp” together, it'll put her talents to the test. Can Hikaru outshine the competition and make her stage debut, or will she fall flat? Witness the birth of a new star in this exciting story about chasing your dreams!
Matsuda launched the manga in Futabasha's Manga Action magazine in 2021. Futabasha published the manga's second compiled book volume on February 28, and it will publish the third volume on June 28.
Azuki will announce the release date for When Pink Rain Falls 2, the follow-up to Yoiyu's story, from Star Fruit Books in the coming weeks.
Star Fruit Books describes the second volume of When Pink Rain Falls:
A continuation of our first BL title! Another cute story with Hanao, Touma, and tons of Flowers!!!
Azuki added When Pink Rain Falls in November.
Azuki launched in June 2021 on iOS, Android, and web browser in English worldwide except Japan. The service offers simulpub manga chapters shortly after they launch in Japan in addition to a library of other titles. Azuki's first partnership was with Kodansha USA, and the service offered titles from the publisher's catalog at launch.
Free users are able to access select chapters with advertisements. There is also a subscription available to customers for US$4.99 that allows subscribers to read manga without ads. Comment threads are available on each chapter for registered user discussion.
Source: Press release
