In a recent exclusive interview with SuperSugoii.com Yoshiaki Koga, the director of Kodansha’s International Business Department talked about their future plans for India expansion with collaboration with Manga Planet.
About Kodansha
Kodansha Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社 講 談 社, Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Kōdansha) is a private Japanese publisher based in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publisher, producing the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, Weekly Shōnen Magazine and Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine, as well as the more literary magazines Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. Kodansha was founded by Seiji Noma in 1909, and members of his family continue as owners, either directly or through the Noma Cultural Foundation.
The famous series includes Akira, Attact on Titan, Fairy Tail and other.
Yoshiaki Koga
He talked about his affection for India and his frequent visits here. The whole conversation gave his views on how he likes India and why he likes India. He also talked about manga/comic availability & prices in India and the problem of piracy. Then he talked about the plans of Kodansha to license manga in India.
“Kodansha plans to bring officially licensed manga to India in 2021 from more than 2,500 English editions. We want to get our titles that aren’t discovered in the US or Europe but will engage with the Indian audience. We also have many Shojo and Josei manga. Thus, we look forward to having many Indian women manga fans by introducing these mangas with the concept of “Informative but fun” and encouraging women’s empowerment. Besides, I wish to create and publish an original manga with an Indian woman’s main character who can inspire us in the future.
There are some Japanese comics available in India at such as Comic-Con. But most of them are imported and very expensive. Aside, only limited Japanese comics are available on illegal piracy websites. It is a huge problem. That is why we are planning to bring our officially licensed digital manga at an affordable price. I believe a digital platform provides your good experiences staying safe in this COVID-19 situation. Manga Planet will support our vision as a digital manga reading platform. I want to make it happen by Holi next year!”
— Yoshiaki Koga With SuperSugoii.com
Read Full Interview – SuperSugoii.com
About Manga Planet
Manga Planet is a collaborative project between Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. and FANTASISTA, INC. Our goal is to publish original manga to the world and share the latest in manga culture, events, and more with global manga fans. We are working to create cross-cultural and global conversations between manga fans, artists, publishers, and publishers and enable creators to create new stories, art, and manga.
Starting as a Facebook page in 2012, we became a project between Japanese manga publishers and creators to interact with manga and anime fans. In 2015, Manga Planet attended Cool Japan Festival in Mumbai and Delhi Comic Con. To forge relationships with manga fans in India, Manga Planet has supported and participated in many more manga and anime events in India.
— Manga Planet Official Website
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