Anime

Comico Manga Service in Japan Shuts Down in January 2027 After 13 Years – News

Published

20 minutes ago

August 18, 2026

Service launched in 2013

NHN Japan Corporation’s free manga app Comico announced on Monday that it will end service after 13 years on January 6, 2027. The company plans to transfer customers’ previous purchases to the Mecha Comic digital bookstore.

Announcement image of Comico app ending — Image via Comic’s X/Twitter account

The app will suspend the addition of new content, rental renewals, coin sales, and new account registration on August 31. Users will also no longer be able to post works to the app after that date.

Sales and rentals will end completely on September 28. Tickets will no longer be usable.

From January 7-April 30, users will be able to transfer their bookshelves to another designated platform and refund their unused coin purchases. Some titles will not be eligible for transfer pending the permission of the original publishers.

Global webtoon platform Pocket Comics ended its English and French platforms, and the Korean Comico platform in October 2025, due to “business reasons.”

NHN launched the Pocket Comics app in English in the United States, Canada, and Singapore in July 2020. It launched with 41 titles, including both Japanese manga and Korean webtoons. Some of the Japanese titles that launched in the English version include Yayoiso‘s ReLIFE, Kakeru Utsugi‘s How to keep a mummy, Kurose‘s Momokuri, and Shō Futamata‘s Nanbaka. All four manga have previously inspired anime.

Pocket Comics launched in France in January 2022 and quickly found success, topping the local App Store charts by targeting women in their 20s and 30s. But the early momentum has faded, with local readers still favoring traditional print manga.

Comico is a free manga-reading smartphone app created by NHN PlayArt in 2013, and it launched different versions for Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Sources: Comico‘s X/Twitter account, Comic Natalie

Anime

MediaOCD Adds Kyo Kara Maoh!, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Kashimashi Anime, More Titles to Discotek Deep Dives Project – News

Published

13 minutes ago

August 18, 2026

qasimgillani

Blu-ray box art for Kyo Kara Maoh! — Image via MediaOCD’s website

MediaOCD announced on Monday a new round of titles that it is adding to its store as part of the Discotek Deep Dives initiative.

The company has added the following titles for pre-order in August:

MediaOCD announced in January that it has started to carry distributor Discotek Media‘s entire back catalog (that the company specifies “to the extent that it’s available”) through the initiative. The company will add 20-30 Discotek titles monthly to its store for pre-order, prioritizing titles “that are getting hard to find.”

Source: Press release

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.

Anime

Ayumu Murase Steps Down From Kanon Himeno Role in The Idolmaster SideM – News

Published

1 hour ago

August 18, 2026

qasimgillani

New cast member for Mofumofuen unit to be announced at later date

Image of Kanon Himeno — Image via Idolmaster’s website

Bandai Namco‘s Idolm@ster franchise announced on Tuesday that Ayumu Murase will “graduate” from the role of Kanon Himeno in The Idolmaster SideM franchise, no longer voicing the character. The company announced a new cast member will join Kanon’s Mofumofuen unit at a later date.

There are currently no plans to replace previously recorded audio, but that may change in the future. Murase will complete recording obligations for a few projects before his departure.

The Idolm@ster SideM Growing Stars smartphone game launched in Japan in October 2021, and ended service in July 2023.

The game inspired a stage play in June 2022.

The Idolm@ster SideM smartphone game launched in 2014, and ended service in January 2023. Like other games in The IDOLM@STER franchise, SideM is built on the concept of “idols you can produce.” The app focuses on the male idols at the agency 315 Production (pronounced “Saikō Production” or “Ultimate Production”). The Idolm@ster SideM Live on St@ge! smartphone game launched in 2017, but it began winding down service in January 2021.

The first game’s anime adaptation premiered in October 2017, after a prologue special about the three Jupiter idol unit members aired in September 2017. Crunchyroll streamed both anime as they aired.

Sumeragi launched the The Idolm@ster SideM Wake Atte Mini! manga in 2016 and ended it in January 2018. Sumeragi‘s The Idolm@ster SideM Wake Atte Mini! Returns sequel manga then launched in Dengeki Maoh in September 2018 and ended in January 2019. The sequel manga’s one compiled volume shipped in March 2019, and bundled an anime episode. The first manga inspired a 12-episode television anime series of shorts that premiered in October 2018. Crunchyroll streamed the show as it aired.