Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd. to Enter the Manga Market, New Seinen Comedy Magazine Announced

Isao Yoshino of Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd. announced plans to add another branch to his company covering manga. According to the announcement, this spring Isao Yoshino plans to start a seinen magazine Comic Yoshimoto, for which professional comedians from his company will team up with professional artists to create 20-25 different stories.

Yoshino expects the magazine to sell up to 250,000 issues each month. Yoshino also stated that he is considering releasing Comic Yoshimoto on the internet, or creating movies for its stories depending on the magazine's popularity.

Yoshino's new company Yoshimoto Books will be teaming up with publishers like Wani Books, and plans to release Comic Yoshimoto twice a month at 320 yen. The magazine will be sold at book stores and convenience stores around Japan.

Acording to Yoshino, he wants to prove that "comedy" and manga aren't something that don't go well together, but a combination that works really well. The targeted market of the magazine is males between the ages of 20-40.

Translated by njt
Source: Asahi Shimbun