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Azuki (manga publisher)

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Azuki
Type of site
Manga platform
Available inEnglish
Founder(s)
  • Abbas Jaffery
  • Evan Minto
  • Adela Chang
  • Krystyn Neisess
  • Ken Urata[1]
IndustryEntertainment
ParentKiraKira Media, Inc.
URLazuki.co
LaunchedJune 28, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-06-28)
Current statusActive

Azuki is a digital manga publishing and distribution service that aggregates English-translated manga legally from publishers such as Kodansha, Futabasha, Coamix, and Kaiten Books for reading online. Content is made available to read on the Azuki website, iOS app, or Android app through a single linked account, and readers may either subscribe monthly for access to thousands of chapters, or unlock manga volumes via individual purchases. Azuki also translates manga in-house and publishes series exclusive to its service such as Natsume & Natsume and Turning the Tables on the Seatmate Killer.

History

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KiraKira Media Inc., the company behind Azuki, was established in California in early 2020.[2] Three of the four founders are former Crunchyroll employees.[3] The Azuki service officially launched to the public on June 28, 2021.[4]

In March 2022, Azuki received a $500,000 investment from Y Combinator, and officially joined the Y Combinator W22 batch.[5]

In May 2022, Azuki announced that the company would begin licensing and translating series directly from Japan, with the very first exclusive manga license being Hikaru in the Light! by Mai Matsuda.[6] The first chapters of Hikaru in the Light! launched on the Azuki service in June 13, 2022, and serialized weekly until it ended at 4 volumes in December 2022. Later that year, Azuki licensed two new series, My Dear Detective: Mitsuko's Case Files and Turning the Tables on the Seatmate Killer.[7]

In Jan 2023, Azuki announced that the service would no longer be publishing Kodansha's simulpubs in accordance with updated policy from Kodansha and that 13 simulpubs series from Kodansha would be removed from the Azuki catalog. The same simulpub series were removed from all other manga publishing platforms at the same time.[8] Around the same time, Azuki acquired the license for I Fell for a Fujoshi, which began serializing in February.[9]

In March 2023, Azuki began distributing downloadable, DRM-free ebooks of its exclusive series.[10]

During the remainder of 2023, Azuki obtained four more exclusive licenses: Crescent Moon Marching,[11] Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms,[12] Our Aimless Nights, and You're So Sloppy, Hotta-sensei.[13] Azuki also finalized deals with publishers MediaDo International and Medibang! to add over 150 new series to its catalog.[14]

Titles

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This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Manga

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Published by Azuki

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Early Access on Azuki

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Licensed to read on Azuki

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Azuki, Japanese comic subscription service". Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  2. ^ "KiraKira Media Inc. (branch)". Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  3. ^ Justin (September 10, 2021). "Interview: The Azuki Team Talk Launch Day, Immediate Challenges, and Digital Manga Availability". TheOASG. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  4. ^ Mateo, Alex (June 17, 2021). "Digital Manga Service Azuki Launches on June 28". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  5. ^ "Digital Manga Subscription Service Azuki Receives $500,000 Investment from Y Combinator". Anime News Network. March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  6. ^ Saabedra, Humberto (May 28, 2022). "Azuki to Release Idol Manga Hikaru in the Light! In June". Crunchyroll News. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  7. ^ "Azuki Licenses Three New Series: 'Turning the Tables on the Seatmate Killer!,' My Dear Detective: Mitsuko's Case Files, and Invisible Parade". Anime News Network. July 5, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  8. ^ Mateo, Alex (January 12, 2023). "Kodansha Ends Simulpub Manga Distribution on Digital Service Azuki, Other Platforms". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  9. ^ Luster, Joseph (January 19, 2023). "I Fell for a Fujoshi Shojo Comedy Manga Joins Azuki Lineup". Crunchyroll News. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  10. ^ Salkowitz, Rob (March 10, 2023). "Azuki Offers Manga Fans New Digital Reading Options". Forbes. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  11. ^ Moo, William (February 28, 2023). "Azuki to Release Marching Band Manga Crescent Moon Marching on March 16". Anime Trending. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  12. ^ Symchuk, Adam (June 22, 2023). "Azuki Licenses Sci-Fi Action Manga Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms for English Release on July 2, 2023". Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  13. ^ Symchuk, Adam (November 2023). "Azuki Licenses Our Aimless Nights and You're So Sloppy, Hotta-sensei Manga Series". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  14. ^ Moo, William (April 20, 2023). "Azuki Licenses Over 150 Manga Titles, Will Launch New Series Monthly". Anime Trending. Retrieved March 24, 2024.

Primary sources

In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

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