, before 2018 known as , is a Japanese

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wi ...

that distributes out of print manga and

doujinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created by ...

DRM DRM may refer to: Government, military and politics * Defense reform movement, U.S. campaign inspired by Col. John Boyd * Democratic Republic of Madagascar, a former socialist state (1975–1992) on Madagascar * Direction du renseignement milita ...

-free ebooks, with the permission of the authors and supported by advertising. J-Comi is limited to out of print titles so that quality of the work is assured and so that J-Comi does not compete with publishers. The site was the idea of famed manga artist

Ken Akamatsu is a Japanese manga artist and politician who has served since 2022 as a member of the House of Councillors. He made his professional manga debut in 1993, and is best known as the author of ''Love Hina'' (1998–2001) and ''Negima! Magister Neg ...

, officially established on January 25, 2008. But it was not launched until April 12, 2011, after it gained momentum in response to Tokyo Metropolitan Ordinance Regarding the Healthy Development of Youths' 2011 passing of

Bill 156 The is a prefectural law passed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on August 1, 1964. Its purpose is to promote the healthy development of people under the age of 18 by restricting their access to published material that is considered inappro ...

, which many manga creators opposed.

Beta test

The first beta test began on November 26, 2010, and included all 14 volumes of CEO

's ''

Love Hina is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from October 1998 to October 2001, with the chapters collected into 14 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Kodansha. The ...

''. Over the first two days of the beta, there were more than 1 million downloads. Publishers Kodansha and

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

are collaborating with J-Comi, and Shueisha provided some additional manga titles for a second beta test. One of the titles in the beta test,

Mayu Shinjo is a Japanese manga artist. She debuted in 1994 in Shogakukan's ''Shōjo Comic'' with "Anata no Iro ni Somaritai". She continued writing for Shogakukan until 2007, with her works appearing in both ''Shōjo Comic'' and their other magazine '' Ch ...

's "After School Wedding", earned 525,000 yen over a month.

Amnesty program

J-Comi created an amnesty program for unauthorised scans of out of print manga, the "Illegal Out-of-Print Manga File Purification Project," whereby users of J-Comi would upload them anonymously to J-Comi, J-Comi would seek permission from the author to publish them, add advertising to the manga and publish them, giving the author the revenues.

Other developments

Currently in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

only, J-Comi worked with

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

on a comic viewer which could be expanded to American consumers. Readers can add commentary or translations to J-Comi titles. As of September 2011, J-Comi hosted 103 works. In October 2011, J-Comi added a pay service for erotic manga, including a title which was banned under the revised Tokyo Metropolitan Ordinance Regarding the Healthy Development of Youths.Akamatsu's J-Comi Site Posts Adult Manga Restricted by Tokyo Law - News - Anime News Network
/ref>

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Official websiteOfficial blog of Ken Akamatsu
includes many entries on J-Comi Ebook sources Internet properties established in 2010 Japanese entertainment websites 2010 establishments in Japan Manga distributors Anime and manga websites