Crunchyroll Manga is getting a pretty chunky catalogue boost, with Crunchyroll announcing that 23 Kodansha USA back-catalogue titles will be added to the app on May 18.
On top of that Kodansha drop, the service is also adding You Chiba’s Dricam!! from Shueisha on the same date.
For manga readers, the big headline is not just the number of titles — it is the kind of names involved. The announcement highlights major Kodansha series including Attack on Titan, Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, Say I Love You., and Watari-kun’s ****** Is about to Collapse among the titles coming to the platform.
That is a solid mix: one global mega-hit, a popular rom-com/teasing comedy, a shoujo romance staple, and more catalogue material for readers who prefer catching up in proper digital format instead of hunting across random sources.
What is Crunchyroll Manga right now?
Crunchyroll Manga is Crunchyroll’s separate manga-reading app, not part of the main anime streaming app experience. It launched on iOS and Android in the United States and Canada on October 9, followed by a browser version on October 15.
The service is ad-free and comes included at no extra cost for existing Ultimate Fan tier subscribers. Users on the Fan and Mega Fan tiers can add manga access for an additional fee.
Crunchyroll says the platform is powered by Link-U Group, a Japanese media company connected to digital manga and entertainment services including Comikey, Compass, Studio Moon6, and Romanz.
The app also already has a fairly serious publisher lineup. Current partner publishers include AlphaPolis, Compass, Square Enix, Viz Media, Yen Press, Shueisha, J-Novel Club, and ThirdlineNEXT.
Why Malaysian and SEA fans should pay attention
Here is the catch for us: the app’s launch details so far are for the US and Canada. So for Malaysian readers, this is not a “download now and makan chapters tonight” situation unless Crunchyroll expands availability.
But it still matters because Crunchyroll is clearly trying to rebuild manga as part of its wider anime ecosystem. If the company eventually brings the app to more regions, SEA fans could benefit a lot — especially in markets like Malaysia where anime streaming has become mainstream, but official digital manga access is still more fragmented.
Offline chapter downloads, mobile/tablet/browser support, light and dark mode, full-page spreads, and personalised reading lists are all features that fit how people here actually read. Commute reading, late-night phone reading, tab reading during lunch break — you know the drill.
The bigger picture is also interesting. Crunchyroll previously had a manga service that began back in 2013, including simulpub titles from Kodansha USA across more than 170 countries. But over time, titles were removed, Kodansha pulled multiple manga from the platform in 2023, and that original Crunchyroll Manga service ended in December 2023.
So this new Kodansha catalogue addition feels like a step toward rebuilding publisher trust and giving the new app more weight. For now, Malaysian fans can only watch from the sidelines, but if Crunchyroll wants manga to sit beside anime as part of its global subscription play, SEA cannot be ignored forever.
Source: Anime News Network