Shonen Jump Readers Are Missing Out by Ignoring Competitor Kodansha

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Despite being less known to manga fans outside of Japan than Shonen Jump, publisher Kodansha has consistently produced top-level manga series over the years that have not only captured the hearts and minds of fandom but have also had a fundamental influence on the medium's development and growing acceptance worldwide.

While Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump gets the lion's share of attention abroad for its catalog of manga titles, the other major producer of manga content is Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine. Like Marvel and DC in the United States, these two producers dominate the manga market in terms of the popularity of their titles, the influence of their content creators, and of course, their sales numbers. Despite both publishers' power and impact, in another similarity with the American comic book market, one (Shueisha) stands above the other (Kodansha) in popularity, at least in the international market for manga.

Related: Shonen Jump's Spinoff, Jump+, Gets a Huge English Expansion

There are a number of reasons why Shueisha has been able to edge Kodansha in popularity abroad, including Shueisha's decision to first collaborate with, and then invest in the American manga publisher Viz Media, a company that already had a footprint in the American comic book market. However, the difference in popularity between the two publishers is not a result of a gap in the quality of content they publish. In terms of the stories, characters, and subject matter of its titles, Kodansha has and continues to produce some of the finest manga available. To truly understand the quality of work that Kodansha produces and the influence it has on the industry, all one needs to do is review its library of past and present titles.

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