Kadokawa, the publishing company behind titles such as Konosuba and Sgt. Frog, will now release several of its manga and light novel series in English on the same day that those books and chapters are released in Japan.
The Japanese publisher announced its new initiative during the company's panel at the yearly Crunchyroll Expo, which is being held online this year due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Kadokawa is one of Japan's largest publishing companies with over 5,000 releases a year. Kadokawa publishes the manga magazines Young Ace and Shonen Ace, which have serialized series such as The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, Eureka Seven, Deadman Wonderland and Sgt. Frog. Additionally, the company is also one of the largest publishers of light novels, and has published works such as High School DxD. Previously, the company has licensed its titles out to outlets such as Yen Press, which it owes a majority stake in, and other localization and distribution companies, but for its new simulpub releases, Kadokawa will handle the localization themselves.
Kadokawa's simulpub project will begin with the following titles:
- The Insipid Prince’s Furtive Grab for The Throne, written by Tanba with art by Yukino Amagi and character designs from Yunagi.
- A Boy Raised by Gods Will Be the Strongest by writer Ryosuke Hata and artist Toya Kuno.
- the lengthily titled My Little Sister Stole My Fiancé: The Strongest Dragon Favors Me And Plans To Take Over The Kingdom?which is written by Ten Kashiwa and features art by hi8mugi with character designs by COMTA.
- The 31st Consort which was originally written by Momotomoe with art by Tsubasa Nanaki and character designs from Nanao Yamashita.
- The Lotus Eaters, Drunk and Sober which was originally written by ZUN with art by Mizutaki.
- Magic Stone Gourmet: Eating Magical Power Made Me The Strongest, which was originally by Ryou Yuuki and features art by Kenji Sugawara and character designs by Chisato Naruse.
"Kadokawa decided to translate and deliver our works by itself," said Satoru Miki, Kadokawa's manager of global business, during the panel. "We will aim for simultaneous distribution at the same time as Japan," Miki explained, adding "We will start with the published editions, but we will move on to simulpub of serialized chapters soon." Miki stated that while Kadokawa is primarily pushing simultaneous publications in both Japanese and English as a way to satisfy fans, the project is also being done to deter piracy. "At the same time, in the English-speaking world, there are many pirated editions that generate no return for the authors and artists, so I would like you to support the creators by purchasing the regular edition," Miki stated.
The first simulpub releases are scheduled to begin in October.
Source: Kadokawa
