Andy's Islands
@andysislands.bsky.social
130 followers 240 following 1.1K posts
Long time fan of Shaman King and the rest of Hiroyuki Takei's works. Doing a bunch of archival work located at https://manga.properties .
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andysislands.bsky.social
Kodansha is really stepping up it's game this year with reaching out and expanding manga worldwide. Young Magazine USA, Mochikomi Fresh Ink manga reviews, Kodansha House, and developing a new manga award next year. A ton of year-long efforts that look to be paying off!
KODANSHA teases new international manga award in 2026
At the editor panel at Kodansha House, editors from Kodansha Japan discussed ways for mangaka outside of Japan to get published.
www.comicsbeat.com
andysislands.bsky.social
They really should have driven the "now go buy the manga/figure from the Crunchyroll Store" angle. It's sort of there, but buried under "Extras". And not even offering to sell digital volumes to continue reading. Doesn't quite feel like a full vision on what they want to do with it.
andysislands.bsky.social
Similarly, I wonder how frequent they will add new chapters/series. Are they always going to stay far behind? Too early to tell, but could be easily forgettable.

Services like Azuki, Viz, & Manga Plaza are out there in Social Media land doing their best to get those titles out there for awareness.
andysislands.bsky.social
It seems like the catalog is "wide but not deep." A lot of titles, but most aren't the entire story. Feels more like you are paying for extended samples/previews, not a commitment to getting to the end. It forces you to leave the new platform to continue reading something you may enjoy.
wsstalkback.bsky.social
@crunchyroll.com manga has officially launched.

Crunchyroll Ultimate Fan subscribers ($15.99/month) can enjoy Crunchyroll Manga at no extra cost, along with anime-streaming on up to 6 devices, offline viewing and reading.
andysislands.bsky.social
The one silver lining I can see is that they may be more motivated to license out some more of their catalog titles, even on other services. Especially if they have an upcoming anime tie-in.

Like "Liar Game" now has a better shot at an official English release.
andysislands.bsky.social
MangaPlus isn't getting into product merchandising either. Viz has established those pipelines for success (Hot Topic, etc.).

They also aren't promoting "Young Jump" has a brand either. So they aren't making collective gains there either.

It feels like they should be partnering with someone first.
andysislands.bsky.social
Feels like just covering the already minimal overhead costs.

But it's degrading the product if they get a hit on their hands. Would Viz buy a non-exclusive title that they may have to completely retranslate/letter? A print-only license that might not be a passion product (ala FotNS print editions)?
andysislands.bsky.social
The tricky part is that it also doesn't seem to have a long term roadmap. These titles aren't getting print releases. They aren't being promoted online via social media. They aren't getting convention appearances.

Without the investment to make them successful, its kinda a waste on its own.
andysislands.bsky.social
Looks like the app is out early. My quick initial findings for those interested (reposting from Discord):
Doing a quick survey of the new Crunchyroll Manga app....
• Don't need an account to at least view the titles available.
• Doesn't appear to have any "buy the volume". So it is a "all-you-can-read".
• No chapter samples, so need to pay in order to see what the reader experience is like
• Does have links to the Crunchyroll store to buy physical goods.
• Does have links to the Crunchyroll app if they have an anime in their catalog
• No publisher search
• No listing of credits/publishers
• No exclusive titles from what I can tell
• Very few Viz's Shonen Jump. None of their Shogakukan (Viz Media) titles
• Doesn't highlight any simulpubs being a part of the service
• For some titles, doesn't split "volumes" into actual chapters. Just listed as "chapters" which contain a full volume.
• Most of them only have 2 or 3 volumes of content. Only a few have a lot more. But even things like One Piece is still missing hundreds of chapters.
andysislands.bsky.social
Uhh... Good luck for the Crunchyroll Manga (v2) launching tomorrow...

Almost one of the worst times the launch. But maybe it will be the big win they need right now. One can hope for it to be a fantastic service with lots of content ready for day one!
rhymeswithk.bsky.social
Friends, #weebwednesday is upon us once again! You know the drill - quote-post with your weebiest hot takes, nothing racist, nothing intentionally inflammatory, have fun with it ♥
a girl in a blue dress is dancing next to a jukebox
Alt: a girl in a blue dress is dancing next to a jukebox
media.tenor.com
Reposted by Andy's Islands
bunnycartoon.bsky.social
BookshopOrg is having an Anti-Prime Day sale--for the next 2 days, you get FREE SHIPPING on ALL orders! A great time to order manga, comics, & books from indie bookstores. Bonus: if you're feeling generous, you can use my portal link to shop to support me, too! bookshop.org/shop/AnimeNo...
A promo image for Bookshop.org's "Anti-Prime Sale", which reads "FREE Shipping Oct 7 & 8. Support bookstores, not billionaires."
andysislands.bsky.social
I do want to shout out Neon Ichiban's implementation of manga publisher sales. Clean layout, unique URL, filter and search only on sale titles (!), and all titles in order (by series and volume).

Kodansha frequently has sales, and this is the best way to view them that I've seen! Great job!
Screenshot of Neon Ichiban's "Kodansha's House" sale. A grid of manga titles with "A Sign of Affection" and "Ace of Diamond" are shown in a 7x3 grid with the covers for each volume shown. The title, release date, and price are shown below each cover.
Reposted by Andy's Islands
jazzyjin.shrinecomics.com
Hey everyone! My name is Jin and I am one of the co-founders of Shrine Comics an indie manga publishing platform that will be relaunching it's new app this weekend.

Please give @shrinecomics.com a follow!!

#manga #indiecomics #anime
andysislands.bsky.social
Honestly that sounds right in line with the modern space Sci-Fi anime series. I would probably use those exact same words to describe "The Orbital Children." At least Netflix is consistent!
andysislands.bsky.social
I had some mild interest in watching it, but still haven't gotten around to starting it.

Since those "first week numbers" matter the most I prioritize my watching on those things I want them to make more of. Some day I'll probably get to even starting it! At least 18 episodes is a good number.
andysislands.bsky.social
A surprisingly long video of the Young Magazine USA launch is now on YouTube (in Japanese)

I still got to work through it, but I spotted a wild @vlordgtz.bsky.social in the video (29:34)!
【アメリカ進出】成功か失敗か…?社運を懸けたビッグプロジェクト
YouTube video by ヤンマガ日常ch
www.youtube.com
andysislands.bsky.social
I wouldn't mind if TSS was omnibus volumes either.

Would get a bit tricky without Red Crimson and Marcos in print. But if they omnibused those as well... it could work out.

Just hope there's still enough fan support to make it happen! I want to fill my shelves again!
andysislands.bsky.social
Gut feeling says we should get Shaman King The Super Star print editions for Fall '26.

Assuming we get SKY sometime by Spring '26. That would lead to 2 manga volumes by Fall '26. Then could set-up a promotion campaign for the TSS anime to air in Fall 2026 & pair with the English TSS print release.
shamanking.news
Kodansha will have a panel at New York Comic Con (NYCC) this upcoming Friday, October 10th, at 11:30am. They will be announcing some of their upcoming digital titles this Fall and other print manga titles for Fall 2026 (and beyond).

www.newyorkcomiccon.com/en-us/things...
Screenshot of the NYCC website highlighting the panel that is included in the post's link:
Header: "Kodansha's Upcoming Series Debuts & New Licenses"
Sub-Heading: "Fri, Oct 10, 2025
 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
North-Room 406.2"
Description: "Kodansha—purveyors of some of the most exciting & heartfelt manga published today like, Blue Lock, Gachiakuta and Witch Hat Atelier and more—invites manga veterans and newbies alike to get a special sneak peek of some of the hottest new series and latest license coming soon to a bookshelf near you! Hear from the manga experts at Kodansha as they detail an upcoming year of huge manga debuts, offer recommendations for soon-to-debut releases and even hand out some special manga giveaways. It’s a panel no manga fan can miss!"
andysislands.bsky.social
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K., are all of the countries listed on the cover (with the price). So lots of places to look for it...
andysislands.bsky.social
Yeah, it could be an interesting find, and probably the first "simulpublished" manga magazines ever?

Since it lists a bunch of European countries (and UK as it's English), I got to see if I can find sites/auctions for it somewhere over there... Will be fun to track this down!
Reposted by Andy's Islands
kodansha.us
😊Happy World Smile Day😊

Brighten your day with a smile and a good manga! Can you guess which manga these happy grins are from?

Take our quiz and let us know your score in the comments below! 👇

#WorldSmileDay #MangaSmiles #GuessTheManga
andysislands.bsky.social
@wsstalkback.bsky.social , have you ever seen this or know anything about it?
andysislands.bsky.social
I came across this issue cover online yesterday which was very interesting. The cover of this Big Comic issue from 1971 features the cover of an English "international edition" of Big Comic for what appears to be the same issue.

Was this ever published? I can't find anything about it.
Cover of the "Big Comic" magazine issue with a May 25, 1971 cover date. It is a yellow background with a large starburst shape showing a photo of an "Big Comic International Edition" magazine cover which has a white background and featuring a man with curly hair holding a sign with a photo of a woman.
andysislands.bsky.social
I know it's not on the most popular streaming service... but you got to support the little guys who are still getting great stuff.

I really enjoyed this show, it's a fun watch!