NYCC ’26: Manga goes global with MANGAPLUS, K

During Thursday’s “Taking Manga Global: MANGA Plus and K MANGA in the U.S.” panel at New York Comic Con, representatives of Shueisha’s MANGA Plus, Kodansha’s K-Manga, and Square Enix’s MangaUp international manga-reading apps presented together, through an interpreter, on what they’d learned over the last few years of operating their respective global platforms.

Yuta Momiyama, editor-in-chief of Shonen Jump+ and manager of MANGA Plus, both presented and acted as moderator of the panel. Yuta Hiraoka, head of K-Manga and deputy editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Magazine, presented on behalf of K-Manga, and Nobuhiko Muranaka, director of Square Enix’s global publishing division, presented on behalf of MangaUp.

When introducing MangaPlus, Momiyama mentioned that Jump+ editors do read MangaPlus creators “if comics gain traction there” internationally, and that the benefits of the platform include that editors can see feedback in real time and bring it to the mangaka under their care right away.

Hiraoka said that their goals for K-Manga are to replicate the seamless easy reading environment that exists for manga in Japan on a global scale, which seemed to me to disregard the differences in culture and expectations that might make certain app experiences more or less convenient to different audiences. He reiterated that it’s great to see feedback from fans internationally at the same time as Japan.

Muranaka said that “We’re all trying to spread manga from Japan as fast as possible,” and that getting direct feedback from global fans is very motivating to mangaka.

None of the panelists mentioned using machine translation or generative AI to increase the speed of international manga distribution. I was hoping they’d mention the recent MANGA Plus user survey about AI in translation, but that never came up. 

Hiraoka mentioned that manga getting popular internationally and domestically at the same time helps turn it into a cultural moment in manga spaces. Momiyama specifically mentioned how Kagurabachi’s international engagement helped turn it into a cultural moment even before it got an anime, and how Spy x Family and Kaiju No. 8 also benefited from the traction they got through simultaneous publication. Muranaka said that when something is simulpubbed, the engagement and vibes are really high. When a comic is published after it comes out in Japan, the closer it is to the Japanese release date the higher the numbers go initially. Sharing enjoyment is a big part of the reading experience, and being able to share enjoyment across languages and cultures makes it easier for comics to spread.

In response to whether there are differences in popular works and genres between Japan and the United States, Muranaka said that series about school life used to not do well internationally, but recently it seems that what’s popular in Japan is also popular in the West. “It’s great to see that the North American audience appreciates the same manga we love in Japan.” Hiraoka concurred that it’s similar. “We also like Spiderman in Japan, so it makes sense that popular things get popular anywhere.”

Momiyama mentioned that gag manga tends to be hard to translate well, and that the manga Black Torchis more popular in the US than in Japan.

On the potential of overseas creators, Hiraoka spoke about the Kodansha Manga Academy, which he explained was teaching creators how to make manga to get serialized in Japan. There’s a lot of people who are really great at drawing, he said. Over two thousand people from over thirty countries submitted entries to the most recent Kodansha Manga Award. “Some of those might even be in this room right now,” said the interpreter, to which I raised my hand and everyone reacted with mild surprise.

Muraoka pointed out that 90% of all Clip Studio Paint users reside overseas, and hinted that MangaUp is also considering doing something similar to the Kodansha Manga Award soon.

Momiyama encouraged all aspiring mangaka to submit to the monthly MANGA Plus awards.

In response to what they expect the global manga landscape will look like ten years from now, Muranaka said he believed the US would have more manga readers than Japan in ten years.

Hiraoka said he hopes there will be more North American readers that really love and appreciate manga.

In preparation for the panel, Momiyama collected questions from the audience and fans on social media and selected two to answer. The first was “Will overseas readership in the future be factored into what new manga in Japan are considered for serialization?” to which Momiyama answered it’s already happening. Really good art that creates a strong world is considered the key to overseas appeal, and helps fast-track an artist to serialization. If something’s popular overseas but not in Japan, it probably can’t get serialized yet, but there are some titles that are more popular in the US than in Japan.

The second fan-submitted question was “What are the best ways we as readers can support our favorite manga?” to which Hiraoka answered word of mouth. Posting about what you like, sharing the word, sharing with friends always helps generate an organic fandom. And editors and artists read the comments.

At the end of the panel there was a giveaway of goods representing Square Enix, Kodansha and Shueisha manga. Attendees who identified the correct Japanese spelling of manga titles could win merch including shirts, tote bags and acrylic stands, from Fullmetal Alchemistto A Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity.Muranaka handed out Manga Up stickers on the way out.

Stay tuned to The Beat for more news from NYCC ’26.