Kodansha USA

Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008,[3] Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and manga, the latter under their Kodansha Comics imprint. Several Japanese Kodansha manga titles are published in English under the Kodansha Comics imprint.

Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC
Parent companyKodansha
StatusActive
FoundedJuly 2008 (2008-07)
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationNew York, New York
DistributionPenguin Random House Publisher Services (US)[1]
Turnaround Publisher Services (UK)[2]
Key peopleAlvin Lu (President & CEO)
Takashi Sakuda (COO)
Publication types
Nonfiction topics
  • Japan
  • Japanese culture
ImprintsKodansha Comics
Vertical
Official websiteArchived February 11, 2018, at the Wayback Machine

In 2020, Kodansha announced that it had consolidated Kodansha Advanced Media and Vertical into Kodansha USA Publishing, with Kodansha Advanced Media general manager Alvin Lu becoming the President and CEO of Kodansha USA Publishing.[4][5]

Kodansha Comics

Kodansha Comics is an imprint of Kodansha USA Publishing who are responsible for the localization and publication of Kodansha manga. Established in 2009, the imprint was established to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Kodansha.[6] The imprint's launching titles were Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow and Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo, both of which were previously published in English by Dark Horse Comics.[7]

Kodansha Comics later began to acquire series that were previously published by Tokyopop, after their licenses were made to expire by Kodansha.[8] Although bearing the Kodansha name, Kodansha Comics was not intended to be the sole distributor of Kodansha titles, with Del Rey Manga publishing many of Kodansha's titles until the company was shut down in 2010.[6] After the shut down of Del Rey Manga on October 4, 2010, Kodansha Comics gradually began to publish some Del Rey Manga titles, with Random House acting as the distributor for the imprint.[9][10]

Kodansha Advanced Media
Kodansha Advanced Media LLC
TypeLimited liability company
FateMerged into Kodansha USA Publishing
FoundedDecember 4, 2014 (2014-12-04)
DefunctJuly 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)[11]
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
United States
Key people
Hiroaki Morita (President and CEO)
Alvin Lu (General manager)
ProductsDigital manga distribution
OwnerKodansha
Digital Garage (19%)[12]
ParentKodansha
Websitekodanshacomics.com

Kodansha Advanced Media LLC was an American distribution company, based in San Francisco, and established in December 4, 2014. The company is a subsidiary of Kodansha, and a sister company of Kodansha USA Publishing. Kodansha Advanced Media handles the digital distribution of Kodansha Comics manga, as well as digital distribution of select Vertical titles. Kodansha Advanced Media also maintains the Kodansha Comics website.[13]

Kodansha Advanced Media was established in 2014 with funding from Kodansha USA Publishing in order to handle the digital distribution of Kodansha Comics' manga titles in English. In February 2015, Kodansha and Digital Garage announced a joint venture to distribute manga digitally in North America, establishing a Japanese-based joint venture company to invest in digital distribution services, and using Kodansha Advanced Media to distribute manga via websites and smartphone apps.[12] Kodansha Advanced Media is also responsible for handling film releases and events,[12] and in 2015, were responsible for releasing an app for Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches for English-speaking audiences.[14]

In response to piracy, Kodansha Advanced Media simul-translates and simul-publishes Kodansha Comics titles,[15] as well as releasing certain titles on digital platforms prior to physical printing.[16] In December 2015, Kodansha Advanced Media announced that they had made Kodansha Comics titles available in North American public libraries digitally through OverDrive.[17]

References
  1. Current Clients Penguin Random House Publisher Services
  2. "Publishers Representatives | Publishers Distributors". Turnaround Publisher Services. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  3. "Kodansha To Publish, Sell Manga In U.S. In September". Anime News Network. 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
  4. Reid, Calvin (January 22, 2020). "Lu Named Kodansha USA Publishing President and CEO Under Restructuring". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  5. Antonio Pineda, Rafael (January 23, 2020). "Vertical, Kodansha Advanced Media Consolidate Under Kodansha USA". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  6. Reid, Calvin (2009-10-05). "Kodansha Sets Up to Publish Manga in U.S." Archived from the original on 2009-12-12. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  7. "Kodansha Confirms Plans To Publisher Manga In U.S." Anime News Network. 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
  8. "Tokyopop Confirms Its Kodansha Manga Licenses Have Ended (Update 3)". Anime News Network. 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  9. "Kodansha USA To Take Over Del Rey Titles". Anime News Network. 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  10. "Kodansha USA Has No Plans to Rescue Any More Del Rey Titles". Anime News Network. 2013-05-06. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  11. Certificate of Merger (201433910077), State of California Secretary of State, June 27, 2019, retrieved January 26, 2020
  12. Ressler, Karen (2015-02-21). "Kodansha Teams With Digital Garage for N. American Digital Manga Distribution". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  13. "Kodansha Advanced Media LLC Terms of Use". Kodansha Comics. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  14. Antonio Pineda, Rafael (2015-06-17). "Crunchyroll, Anime Expo to Host Yamada-Kun & the 7 Witches Creator Miki Yoshikawa". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  15. Aoki, Deb (2015-09-15). "Interview: Kodansha Advanced Media on the Future of Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  16. Aoki, Deb (2015-09-15). "Interview: Kodansha Advanced Media on the Future of Manga Part II". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  17. Ressler, Karen (2015-12-02). "Kodansha Comics to Offer Manga eBooks in N. American Public Libraries". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
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