, stylized as Book☆Walker, is a Japanese

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. A ...

store that sells

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a '' wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

s, and

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s from various publishers, as well as a few published by themselves. It is based in

Chiyoda, Tokyo is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English.Profile< ...

and was created by

Kadokawa Corporation , formerly is a Japanese media conglomerate that was created as a result of the merger of the original Kadokawa Corporation and Dwango Co., Ltd. on October 1, 2014. History The holding company known today as Kadokawa Corporation was origi ...

. The company was founded in 2005 before launching their store in Japan in 2010 and internationally in 2014. It has two subsidiaries, each with different focuses. One promotes the company's relationship with

influencers An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social m ...

and the other does reading-related

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consist ...

History

BookWalker was founded as Kadokawa Mobile Co., Ltd. on December 3, 2005 by the

. On December 1, 2009, it was renamed to Kadokawa Content Gate Co., Ltd. In December 2010, the service was launched on iOS in Japan under the name Book☆Walker. An Android app and a PC website followed in April 2011 and December 2011 respectively. On July 1, 2010, the company was renamed to BookWalker Co., Ltd. In September 2013, the store was expanded to feature

as well as

s. BookWalker Global was launched in English in November 2014, featuring manga from

Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...

and

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

. However, due to the lack of titles it was closed temporarily, before reopening in October 2015. In November 2015, the global store added thirty-five titles from

Shōnen Gahōsha is a Japanese publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printe ...

. In July 2015, the global store started offering titles from

Yen Press Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published '' Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...

. In December 2016, the Japanese store launched a magazine subscription service, called Magazine☆Walker. In March 2019, the global store started offering titles from

Kodansha USA Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and manga, ...

. In April 2019, the global store started offering titles from

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed ...

. In May 2019, the global store started offering titles from

Sol Press Sol Press was an American publishing company that focused on localizing Japanese visual novels, light novels, and manga. Located in Orange County, California, it was formed in 2017. In October 2021, it was prohibited from doing business in the s ...

. In December 2019, the Japanese store launched a subscription service that offers some of the books published by the parent company for a fee. On April 2, 2020, Magazine☆Walker ended service and was replaced with a new service called Book☆Walker Manga/Magazine Unlimited Reading.

Publishing

BookWalker has published a few titles internationally on their own for sale on their store, which include the following: * ''The Combat Baker and His Automaton Waitress'' (light novel) * '' Ga-Rei'' (manga) * ''

Magical Warfare is a Japanese light novel series written by Hisashi Suzuki and illustrated by Lunalia. Twelve volumes have been published by Media Factory since November 25, 2011 under their MF Bunko J label. A manga adaptation by You Ibuki started serializa ...

'' (manga) * ''

Riddle Story of Devil is a Japanese manga series written by Yun Kōga and illustrated by Sunao Minakata. It was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's ''Newtype'' magazine between the September 2012 and November 2016 issues and is licensed in English by Seven Seas Enterta ...

'' (manga) * ''

The Ryuo's Work Is Never Done! is a Japanese light novel series written by Shirow Shiratori and illustrated by Shirabi. SB Creative have released seventeen volumes since 2015 under their GA Bunko label. A manga adaptation with art by Kogetaokoge was serialized in Squar ...

'' (light novel) * ''

Tokyo Ravens is a Japanese light novel series written by Kōhei Azano and illustrated by Sumihei. It was adapted into a manga series in 2010. It received an anime series on October 9, 2013 and ended on March 26, 2014. Funimation simulcasted the series o ...

'' (manga)

Subsidiaries

;GeeXPlus Established on July 1, 2019, this subsidiary is a talent agency with the goal of "connecting Japanese brands to global influencers by providing promotion planning, production, and distribution." As of June 1, 2022, the following talents are affiliated with GeeXPlus:

The Anime Man Joseph Tetsuro "Joey" Bizinger (born 28 September 1994), known online as The Anime Man, as well as his stage name , is an Australian-Japanese YouTuber, voice actor, songwriter, and podcaster. His video work focuses on Japanese popular culture, w ...

CDawgVA Connor Marc Colquhoun (born 26 July 1996), known online as CDawgVA, is a Welsh YouTuber and voice actor based in Tokyo. He is affiliated with the Kadokawa-backed agency GeeXPlus. Career Colquhoun created his YouTube channel CDawgVA in February ...

, Daidus, Emirichu, Foxen Anime,

Gigguk Garnt Maneetapho (born 31 May 1990), better known as Gigguk, is a Thai-British YouTuber and podcaster who is known for his comedic rants and reviews on anime and otaku culture. He is affiliated with the Kadokawa-backed agency GeeXPlus. Care ...

, Ohara, Sydsnap, and TheGamingBeaver. ;Trista Established in September 2014, this subsidiary provides various services, such as Niconico manga and an app to help monitor time spent reading. It became a subsidiary of BookWalker on April 1, 2018.

References

External links

Official Japanese website

BookWalker Global official website
* {{Ebooks Android (operating system) software Anime and manga websites Mass media companies based in Tokyo Japanese companies established in 2005 Ebook sources Internet properties established in 2005 IOS software Kadokawa Corporation subsidiaries

History

Publishing

Subsidiaries

See also

References

External links