Kodansha just unleashed some major changes to their social media with a brand new website at kodansha.us, plus updates to their social channels.
“With this launch we are entering a new era of Kodansha, bringing in all titles from Kodansha Comics, Kodansha USA International, and Vertical under a unified Kodansha,” the publisher announced.
The website, centerpiece of this next phase initiative, becomes the place to go for specific information covering the publisher’s extensive catalog of translated manga and books. With a simplified design featuring a menu at the top, the site makes it simple for readers and fans to journey into portals to all of Kodansha’s catalog, or just to find out the latest news about licensing arrangements, upcoming releases and sales. If you’re searching for a specific title or creator you can type the name directly into a search bar. If you’re more of an intuitive discoverer or print explorer it’s easy enough to navigate from the menu to lists of titles.
Once among the lists visitors can refine results by filtering according to genre, interest, whether or not there’s an anime version or simply alphabetically. This is Kodansha’s online version of readers flitting from shelf to shelf in a library or bookstore with no particular title in mind, just hoping to see something that sparks the imagination.
Beyond the redesigned webpage Kodansha has also rebranded their Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds to reflect the publisher’s more unified approach.
Just announced, we've got a new look & site!
Check out our new homepage at https://t.co/66tfqplT5i.
Keep following this account to stay updated on manga news. And for Kodansha book updates follow @KodanshaBooks!
— Kodansha Manga (@KodanshaManga) March 9, 2021
Fans of Kodansha’s English-translated titles such as Ao-chan Can’t Study, Battle Angel Alita, Witch Hat Atelier and, of course, their beautifully re-mastered Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon books can engage with the company and others on Kodansha Manga at their social media site of choice.
As a company that’s been around since 1909, though, the publisher has also amassed a vast library of novels, art books and guides. These include books on history, such as The Battle of Lepanto by Nanami Shiono or novels, like Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse. Social media users interested in fiction, literature and learning everything from Japanese particles to cooking can connect with the publisher under Kodansha Books.
“So, join us as we continue to inspire impossible stories, by publishing exciting manga, as well as culturally thoughtful and inspirational books,” the Kodansha USA Team writes by way of invitation.
Their improved website design will definitely help readers catch that inspirational spark. The older version was visually noisy and the perpetually spinning graphics at the top could be a source of frustration if you hesitated a moment before clicking. Few things are less inspiring than landing on some product you’re not interested in at all when there was something else you absolutely wanted. Happy searching ahead for all Kodansha readers and fans.
The latest company news and title information for Kodansha can be found on their website.
