Kodansha USA is one of the most prominent and well-known manga publishing houses in the US, bringing a variety of beloved series to the English language for fans to enjoy. The publisher recently announced that they are launching a new program called Kodansha Print Club, aiming to bring series that were already licensed in English but were only available digitally, to print.
Conveying that they’ve heard fans who’ve communicated the importance of having these titles in print, Kodansha USA’s Sr. Marketing Director Ivan Salazar comments:
One of the things Kodansha is known for is its sizable digital-first catalog, and ever since the start of the digital program, we’ve noticed fans clamoring to have a number of these series available in print. The Kodansha Print Club is our way of trying to bridge this gap and start fulfilling some of those fan requests.
Emphasizing the potential of printed manga bringing in readers new to manga, Sr. Editor of the Digital department Haruko Hashimoto adds:
In the US, manga has to check a lot of boxes to be viable in the traditional print publishing route. As fans know, there are many deserving stories that could reach more readers if given a physical format. Some folks have been following and championing these series in their digital releases, and it has been encouraging to see how ready people are for them.
Kodansha Print Club has picked three titles for their initial launch: Love, That’s an Understatement, Teppu, and Blade Girl. Here’s a more detailed look at these series.
Love, That’s an Understatement by Fujimomo
Spare eraser? Check. Extra folding umbrella? Check. First aid kit? Check. Cool and collected high school student Risa Amakawa has something in her heavy bag for every situation, and the last thing she needs—or knows how to ask for—is anyone’s help. When she saves a beat-up delinquent in the park one rainy evening, she refuses any sort of repayment. But it turns out that saving the notorious Zen Ohira buys her the attention of some unsavory characters. As Zen keeps swooping in to help her out of one pickle after another, her feelings about relying on anyone but herself—and her feelings toward Zen—slowly begin to change… A new romcom from the author of Lovesick Ellie!
For more information on the series, visit Love, That’s an Understatement at Kodansha.
Teppu by Moare Ohta
It’s not easy being good at everything. First-year high school student Natsuo Ishido has always been a gifted athlete, and her ability to easily master every sport has not only bought her a life of boredom but also the resentment of everyone else who has had to work hard for their achievements. Not that Natsuo cares what anyone else thinks. All she longs for is a break from the monotony…for a real challenge worthy of pouring all her efforts into. A rival—an equal—worth beating down, crushing, and demoralizing… That all seems like a pipe dream until a pair of annoyingly peppy transfer students arrive from Brazil and start up a brand-new club that teases the challenge she craves—Mixed Martial Arts.
For more information on the series, visit Teppu at Kodansha.
Blade Girl by Narumi Shigematsu
One year after losing her leg, 16-year-old Rin is tired—tired of the painful physical therapy, tired of being treated differently, and tired of her stupid, heavy, awkward prosthetic leg. All that changes when she encounters the Blade Runners, a group of one-legged athletes who run with “blades”—carbon fiber prosthetics specialized for competitive running—made by their gifted prosthetist, Kazami. The blades are light, flexible, and formidably difficult to control—Rin can barely walk with one, much less sprint. But as she tumbles to the ground again and again, she rediscovers many of the things that she’d forgotten, and finds a new goal: to compete in the Paralympics.
For more information on the series, visit Blade Girl at Kodansha.
Fans can find the first volumes from Kodansha Print Club worldwide through online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, and Kinokuniya. Priced at $14.99 USD / $19.99 CAD, these volumes will be available starting December 10, 2024. Readers can search their preferred retailer’s website to order copies and submit requests for additional titles through Kodansha’s Publishing Suggestion Form.
Kodansha USA’s licensing announcement at New York Comic Con sparked mixed reactions. Some fans expressed concerns about the selected titles and felt the publisher didn’t prioritize genres like shojo or josei, which target younger girls or women. However, the Kodansha Print Club’s upcoming releases show that the publisher is listening to these fans. This new program promises to satisfy readers who want to display their favorite series on their shelves.
Source: Kodansha USA
