Summary
Publisher Kodansha is running a month-long giveaway campaign, offering free digital manga volumes every day during the month of December. The campaign is Kodansha’s effort to promote its manga content , which includes popular titles like Attack on Titan and Vinland Saga, and competes with Shueisha’s dominance in the international market. Readers can access the episodes for free by signing up for a free Kodansha reader account, which also grants access to future giveaway campaigns.
Just in time for the holidays, Kodansha Publishing House is giving away free manga to anyone who requests it in time for a month-long giveaway campaign. This is the perfect year-end effort to keep up with the competition while promoting some of the best manga content available from Jump Shonenmain competitor of.
According to the Kodansha USA website, from December 1 to December 31, 2023, the “Kodansha Countdown Giveaway” will offer a free digital volume of one of the manga series every day of the month. Selected daily titles will be available throughout the day they are offered. They will not be available once the new 24-hour toll rates and daily headings have been selected.
The giveaways for Kodansha classics Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro, Parasyte, BECK and Matcha Made in Heaven are now complete, but there are still 27 days to go and 27 more titles to go – e.g. Blue Lock and Shangri-La Border are still waiting to be let go.
Kodansha’s free giveaway is a great attempt to attract attention for its amazing manga
Kodansha’s “Countdown Giveaway” is more than just fan service. It was a great move to grab market space from its rivals, especially long-standing competitor Shueisha, the publisher of Shōnen Jump. While the Kodansha-Shueisha rivalry is more equal in Japan, that is not the case internationally. Outside of Japan, Shōnen Jump manga and anime dominate the industry. However, their dominance is not due to quality issues. Kodansha has a wide variety of titles including Attack on Titan, Vinland Saga and Ghost in The Shell, which are considered by many to be some of the best manga and anime ever created.
Kodansha’s problem is promotion. Shueisha’s Shōnen Jump quickly recognized the potential of the international manga and anime market. Accordingly, they quickly established a presence abroad to be able to promote its content. So Kodansha has been playing catch-up in creating an effective marketing campaign outside of Japan for its titles. In recent years, Kodansha’s manga has sought to close the gap, and their Blue Lock has earned the position of best-selling manga of 2023.
To gain access to the free episodes, readers must first sign up for a free Kodansha reader account. The account also gives users access to future giveaway campaigns.
Kodansha is trying to close the gap with Shueisha
In 2023, Kodansha also launched a digital comic reading app K- Manga, in another attempt to bridge the gap with Shueisha, which has achieved incredible international success with MANGA Plus . Countdown Giveaway is another campaign that makes a bold move to overcome Shueisha’s market dominance by seeding the public fan base with free copies of its most popular titles. As they correctly predicted, few fans would refuse the offer to buy the first episode for free. At the very least, it effectively puts Kodansha content in front of manga fans’ eyes. There is no doubt that many people will choose Kodansha as their “goal” source of manga and anime.
For the first time in a long time, a Kodansha manga beat Shonen Jump to win the title of best-selling manga of the year. Add to that the popularity of the final season of Attack on Titan as well as the awards received for titles like Heavenly Delusion, Mobile Suit Granada: The Witch of Mercury and Tokyo Revengers, and it’s clear that Kodansha has got a successful year. Only time will tell how well this translates in comparison Jump Shonen, but now, Kodansha are doing a great job of closing the gap.
Source: Kodansha USA