Big Tech, Japanese comics publishers target webtoon business

Big Tech have started webtoon services while major Japanese comic book publishers are gearing up for the business, threatening South Korea’s online giants Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp., which have yet to make profits from the sector despite their market dominance.

Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest online shopping mall, in April launched a digital comics service called Amazon Fliptoon in Japan. Apple Inc. joined the race by introducing a new webtoons page in the country through its e-book platform Apple Books.

Shueisha Inc., Japan’s leading comics publisher, plans in 2024 to launch Jump Toon, a new webtoon app that allows readers to enjoy comics by scrolling down,  according to information technology industry sources in Seoul on Sunday.

Ahead of the launch, the company known for providing top-notch entertainment through multiple platforms also opened the Jump Toon Awards, an event for creators who want to get serialized on the new service and Shonen Jump+, its online magazine for manga, Japanese comics or graphic novels.

“We aim to produce global hits by actively discovering new talent,” said the company, unveiling its ambition to expand its business into the world.

Shueisha already introduced famous manga series such as Slam Dunk, Dragon Ball and One Piece in its Weekly Shonen Jump, which was first issued in 1968. The company offers content on its website, but mostly cartoons published in the magazine.

US PLATFORM BY ATTACK ON TITAN PUBLISHER

Its domestic rival Kodansha Ltd. famous for global box-office hit comics such as Attack on Titan, Akira and Ghost in the Shell last month launched a webtoon platform in the US.

The publisher of manga magazines including Nakayoshi provides some 400 cartoons including about 70 comics currently serialized through the K Manga app and website.

Users can enjoy parts of the cartoons for free while paying for the full service. The new platform separately offers live drawing sessions or interviews of creators for US readers.

Such moves of US major tech companies and Japanese cartoon publishers come as the global webtoon industry is rapidly growing. The market was forecast to jump by more than 12 times to $60.1 billion by 2030 from $4.7 billion in 2021, according to a US market research firm Spherical Insights & Consulting.

RISKS TO NAVER, KAKAO

The Japanese comics industry is trying to utilize the webtoon business model of South Korea’s major players, industry sources said in Seoul.

Naver and Kakao established content value chains that produce and distribute web novels, webtoons and videos through one intellectual property. Their success in the global market led the Japanese cartoon sector, which usually only makes popular comics into animated films, to reconsider their existing strategy, the sources said.

“The Japanese industry is largely trying to reflect the operation method, content discovery and business models of Korean webtoon platforms,” said a digital comics industry source in Seoul.

That is expected to pose risks to Naver and Kakao, the webtoon businesses of which are in the red as they have spent heavily to expand their shares in major global markets such as the US and Japan.

Competition is likely to intensify further before they make profits. especially once other Big Tech names with strong financial power make inroads into the market, industry sources warned.

Write to Seung-Woo Lee at leeswoo@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.