Amazon launched a new manga service in Japan on Wednesday that showcases free content that anyone can download. It is being billed as Kindle Free Manga Magazine and new issues will be posted weekly.
The initial lineup includes the first digital edition of Shueisha’s Grand Jump magazine, as well as Manga Action, Comic Ran Twins, Comic Zero-Sum, Manga Box service, and Square Enix’s Hobo Gekkan Otameshi Gangan.
Kindle Free Manga Magazine is not only being billed as a way to check out the publishers graphic novels and manga, but also a discovery service. There are hundreds of graphic novels and single issues of manga that is being advertised. Each issue ranged in price, but the average price is ¥400.
Amazon started their Japanese e-book store in early 2012 and currently has over 50,000 e-books and 15,000 manga volumes. The platform is starting to become a viable distribution system for companies such as Kodansha and Shueisha who are both publishing weekly magazines.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
