All articles tagged with #manga
A €6bn Franco-Saudi deal will see three theme parks near Paris, including a Dragon Ball Z–inspired manga park, built by the Qiddiya Investment Company; the project is slated to create about 2,000 jobs and will open in stages over several years, underscoring deeper economic ties as Saudi Arabia diversifies into entertainment.
Crunchyroll’s store is now paywalled for Mega/Ultimate subscribers and has dramatically reduced its physical lineup, removing most manga, light novels, manhwa, and danmei titles along with the vast majority of Blu-ray/DVD sets. What remains mostly consists of merchandise, with only a handful of Blu-rays from Sony-owned labels (Funimation), Crunchyroll, and Aniplex still listed. Fans blame Sony’s wider push away from disc-based media and acquisitions like The Right Stuf International for the shift, viewing it as part of a broader move toward subscriptions over physical purchases. It’s unclear whether this is temporary or permanent, and Crunchyroll hasn’t publicly explained the strategy beyond noting the paywalled shift. The online backlash has been swift and vocal.
Shueisha's new MANGA MILLION platform provides free access to about 400 manga across 100+ languages for a limited time, with no registration. The initiative translates roughly one million pages, including many titles for the first time, and features major series such as One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, Spy × Family, and more, aiming to connect creators with readers worldwide during the centennial celebration.
To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Shueisha launches Manga Million, a global, limited-time effort translating about one million manga pages into 100 languages across around 400 titles (roughly 300 new translations) for free and without registration; access is worldwide. An editor’s note later reveals that a Japan-based firm, Flitto, handled some translations, contradicting an initial claim that no AI was used, highlighting an AI translation involvement in the project.
At San Diego Comic-Con, Kodansha USA revealed eight new manga licenses—The Pool, Subaru and Subaru, The Cat and Dog's Nine-Tailed Lives, Kraken Mare, Meaheim, Rega in the Sleeping Forest, I Love You, Please Dump Me, and I Loved Him First!—and also announced a spring 2027 box set release for The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity (six volumes).
A Tokyo study using fMRI and manga found that reading on paper strengthens a reader’s mental map of a story and requires less brain effort than reading on a tablet, which triggered more activity in language and cognitive areas and slowed performance on questions requiring integration of the narrative. The results suggest print may support more efficient narrative comprehension, though researchers used manga to illustrate a general effect; earlier work also links print reading with closer parent-child bonding.
A PLOS ONE study with 25 native Japanese speakers found reading manga on paper led to lower cognitive effort and different brain activation than reading on a tablet: paper readers showed reduced activity in left-hemisphere language areas during integration of the story’s second half, while tablet readers exhibited higher activity in those regions and in right frontal areas. Behaviorally, both groups answered complex questions with similar accuracy, but tablet readers were slower, suggesting that physical paper provides stable sensory anchors that ease narrative processing and memory. Limitations include focusing on manga and device differences like backlighting and page-turn dynamics; researchers plan to explore broader media formats and the effects of writing with pen vs. keyboard.
To celebrate its first anniversary, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy announces a stage play (Aug 8–16, 2026 in Tokyo), a winter 2026 manga serialization on Manga UP! (Tsukueni and Ejeu), and an official setting materials book; a lyric video for 'Sedum' was released with spoilers. The game remains on Switch and Steam with a two-in-one collection, a new combat difficulty, and premium tickets including a prequel novel supervised by Kazutaka Kodaka.
The Super Mario-kun manga, which began in 1990 in Japan, appears to be entering its final arc and could be ending after more than three decades; English readers can catch up via Viz Media’s 2020 compilation Super Mario Manga Mania, and the series even appeared as a costume in Super Mario Maker to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Fans are invited to share memories as the end approaches.
Amazon is offering significant discounts on 4K Blu-ray steelbooks, Peloton fitness equipment, manga box sets, and gaming products, along with a holiday PC sale, providing great opportunities for entertainment, fitness, and tech upgrades in the New Year.
Amazon is offering significant discounts on manga box sets, including volumes 1-90 of One Piece for over $300 off, and Dragon Ball series sets at reduced prices, making it an ideal time for collectors and fans to purchase physical manga. The article also highlights various tech and gaming deals, including hand warmers, PC builds, and collectible card game products.
A group of 10 renowned anime and manga artists have created unique illustrations of the cast of Back to the Future in celebration of its 40th anniversary, showcasing diverse styles from soft and cheerful to dramatic and classic shonen energy. These artworks will be featured at Tokyo Comic Con along with a merch collection and appearances by cast members.
'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle' is an intense, visually impressive anime film featuring major battles against powerful demons in a surreal fortress setting, continuing the franchise's tradition of ultraviolent action and emotional storytelling, ending on a cliffhanger for future installments.
A manga called The Future I Saw, which has accurately predicted past disasters, caused Japanese airlines to cancel flights on July 5, 2025, due to superstitions about an impending disaster, despite scientific warnings that such predictions lack basis. The incident highlights how superstitions and rumors can impact travel and tourism, even when no actual disaster occurs.
Japanese airlines are canceling flights due to decreased demand linked to a 1990s manga that predicts a disaster in July 2025, based on the author's dreams of a volcanic eruption and sea boiling, though experts say such predictions are not reliable.