Support Center

We offer a collection of fiction and non-fiction literature across a range of genres in both digital and print formats.

Here are a few examples of the types of books Kodansha publishes:

• Improve your cooking skills with The Just Bento Cookbook
• Interested to learn more about martial arts? Get your kicks (or throws) from martial arts books like Aikido: The Complete Basic Techniques
• Dive into light novels like the BAKEMONOGATARI series
• Immerse yourself in prose novels like the Rings Trilogy

And we invite you to explore even more unique reading experiences in our Books catalog.

We offer downloadable Audiobooks of select series for fans who prefer listening instead of reading. You can find our audiobooks on Apple books, Audible, Google Play, Kobo, and more.

Our catalog offers a multitude of books for beginners and advanced learners. They are often used in Japanese classes. Some of our language learning books, like Japanese For Busy People, come with free downloadable audio that you can find on our website directly. What's a better way to learn a language than hearing a native speaker?

Manga has its own unique aesthetics that set it apart from Western comics like American mainstream comics (like Spider-Man and Batman) and Franco-Belgian comics (like The Adventures of Tintin and Asterix). This includes having a different reading direction (right to left instead of left to right) and primarily being presented in black and white instead of color.

Manga is also celebrated for its deep characters, imaginative worlds, and intense storylines across a wide variety of genres. The diversity of stories found in manga is yet another characteristic of manga that appeals to readers worldwide, and with manga, there’s a story for everyone.

For fans of Action & Adventure, Vinland Saga and Attack On Titan are great series to start with. Romance is also a popular genre amongst our devoted fans. Good examples would be Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku and A Silent Voice.

Our Spotlight Series provides a unique opportunity to enjoy extended previews of some of our most fascinating series. Anyone with a Kodansha Reader account will be able to preview 3 volumes of each series at absolutely no cost. Each Spotlight Series will be up for 4 weeks, and a new series will be available every 2 weeks. This gives you a chance to dive into new series on a regular basis and get a taste of what's to come — all for free!

Our manga are available to read in either print or E-Book format. You can see digital and print retailers when you're on a volume page in the "Also available on" section. We invite you to purchase and build your own digital library on our website by signing up for the Kodansha Reader Portal.

You can explore our release calendar and take a look at which series and volumes are coming soon. There is also the option to browse by new releases.

You can keep an eye on our News to enjoy exclusive events and benefit from exciting sales.

Basically, no. With Kodansha Reader Portal, anyone in any part of the world can read our previews & Spotlight Series, as well as purchase Kodansha manga! However, if you are in Japan, you will not be able to purchase any digital products from us.

Our manga and books are only available in English.

To receive news updates, head to the top of the Support Center page. From there, enter your email address and select the type of news you would like to receive.

You can sign up for any of the following newsletters:

• Manga News
• Books News
• Retailer News
• Press Releases

You can always change your newsletter preferences in your profile if you have a Kodansha Reader account.

We recommend pre-ordering to save on the full price when a new volume is released.

We invite you to explore Crunchyroll and other retailers for merchandise.

We currently focus on translating and publishing titles that were originally released in Japan. While we're not publishing original works for now, please know that we support and value your creative efforts. We wish you the best of luck and encourage you to continue your great work!

If you're a book reviewer, we invite you to visit our NetGalley page. NetGalley is a service that provides an ARC (Digital review galley) of books for members to discover, read and review.

Please complete the inquiry form on the Kodansha Global Rights inquiry page for requests about using licensed content.

We currently have no openings at Kodansha. We recommend taking a look at our publishing and distribution partner Penguin Random House.

Our new website, the Kodansha Reader Portal, allows you to discover and preview many of our manga series. You'll be able to build your own digital bookshelf on our website.

Creating a Reader account will allow you to read, buy, and collect our manga in one place. You can also take a peek at up to 3 volumes from our Spotlight Series, extra chapter previews on most Kodansha series, and take advantage of additional discounts.

Creating an account is easy and comes with many perks such as:

• Enjoying more manga previews and taking advantage of special discounts
  • Get extra free chapters for over 500 series
  • Preview multiple volumes from our biweekly Spotlight Series
  • Most Spotlight Series will also have special pricing for purchasable volumes
    
    
• Collecting and reading digital manga in your library
  • View all of your chapters, volumes, and purchased E-Books in one place
  • Your library will feature a constant supply of new and free content
    
    
• Keeping track of your reading progress
  • Continue reading from where you left off using any net-enabled device with a web browser
  • Your reading progress is always tied to your account
    
    
• Buying manga with greater ease and choice
  • Purchase and read digital manga the way you want. 1000s of volumes from 100s Kodansha series are available directly from the Kodansha Reader Portal and many other platforms
  • Choose from multiple payment options for quicker and more convenient checkout
  • Retain and review your Order History in your account settings
    
    
• And more!

We’ll make sure to keep you informed as new features are added. If you’re not already a Kodansha Reader, we invite you to subscribe to one of our newsletters and follow us on social media for future updates.

The number of free chapters will vary by series. While we're working on getting you more, we encourage you to take a peek at our Spotlight Series and discover fascinating stories.

Currently, our digital content is exclusively accessible through our website and isn't offered in downloadable formats. Please note that our Reader Portal is a work in progress. We're looking forward to evolving the site and plan to introduce additional reading options for our manga and books in the future.

To create an account, simply click on "LOG IN" in the upper right corner of the website.

You will be prompted to enter your email address and create a password.

Once that's done, verify your account by following the instructions we sent to your inbox. You'll then be ready to take advantage of exclusive free content, purchase manga directly from the site, and dive into your favorite Kodansha stories.

Your username will be the same as the email you used to create your account.

Please make sure that:

• You've spelled your email correctly
• There are no spaces before or after your email address

Select the "Forgot Password" button after entering your email address in the login screen. Instructions to reset your password will be sent to your account's email.

You can purchase our products by:

• Debit card
• Credit card
• Google Pay (Chrome only)
• Apple Pay (Safari only)
• Paypal (It might take a few minutes before Paypal confirms your order.)

*Additional fees may apply

It might take a few minutes for the order confirmation to reach you. Make sure you take a look in your spam folder or contact support for help.

Please reach out to us by selecting the "Orders" topic on the Support contact form.

All sales of digital products are final and non-refundable. For more information, please take a look at our Terms of Use.

Refer to Stripe for more information on the safety of online transactions.