Line Manga

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Wikipedia

Line Manga
Type of site
Digital manga, webtoon platform
Available inJapanese
OwnerWebtoon Entertainment
URLmanga.line.me Official website
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched2013
Current statusActive

Line Manga (LINEマンガ) is a digital manga and webtoons distribution platform launched in 2013 by Line Corporation and operated by Line Digital Frontier since 2018. The service initially offered only licensed manga. In 2019, it merged with XOY, a free webtoon platform operated by Naver Webtoon Corporation in Japan. Following the integration, Japanese-translated versions of webtoons from Webtoon began to be featured on the platform under the label Line Manga Webtoon, making Line Manga the Japanese counterpart to Webtoon.

Overview

Line first launched its manga service in 2013 offering licensed manga titles to purchase.[1] One of the biggest features of the service was its integration with the Line messaging app, users could recommend and share manga titles with friends in the app, collect special stickers that were exclusive to titles bought on the service, and use Line's digital currency to buy titles.[2] In 2017, Line Manga introduced the ability to read some manga chapters for free similar to the webtoon model it had used with its Naver Webtoon service.[3] Naver, Line's Korean owner, in 2018 decided it would close down its Japanese service of Naver Webtoon (known as XOY in Japan) and merge it with Line Manga bringing with it not just its translated webtoons but also its domestic Japanese webtoons to the service. [4] Since its launch, it has grown to be the second most popular manga app in Japan behind Piccoma and has reached over 23 million downloads since its inception.[5][6]

Line Digital Frontier

Line Digital Frontier Corporation
Native name
LINE Digital Frontier株式会社
Company typeSubsidiary
FoundedJuly 2, 2018; 7 years ago (2018-07-02)
HeadquartersMidtown Tower, 9-7-1, Akasaka,
Minato, Tokyo
,
Japan
Key people
Masamine Takahashi (CEO)
ServicesLine Manga
Owner

Line Digital Frontier Corporation (LINE Digital Frontier株式会社) is a Japanese digital comic service provider owned by Webtoon Entertainment.

Line Digital Frontier was established in July 2018 as a joint venture between Line Corporation (70%) and Korean Naver Webtoon Corporation (30%), following a capital and business alliance in June 2018. LDF inherited Line Manga and Line comics businesses.[7]

In January 2019, Line Manga integrated with XOY, a free webtoon platform previously operated by Naver Webtoon Corporation in Japan, resulting in the free distribution of Naver Webtoon's original works as Line Manga originals.[8]

On August 3, 2020, Line transferred its entire stake in LDF to Webtoon Entertainment, the parent company of Naver Webtoon Corporation. Consequently, LDF became wholly owned by Webtoon Entertainment (partially via a subsidiary). Line used the proceeds from the transfer to acquire a 33.4% stake in Webtoon Entertainment.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "「LINE マンガ」タブレット版がサービススタート". マイナビニュース. June 12, 2013.
  2. ↑ "LINE、マンガ購入でスタンプがもらえる電子コミックサービス「LINE マンガ」". マイナビニュース. April 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Japan's Line Corporation gets into the e-book business with 'Line Manga'". April 9, 2013.
  4. ↑ "お知らせ :: XOY". xoy.webtoons.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  5. ↑ "韓経：カカオのピッコマ、日本ウェブトゥーン市場で「独歩的１位」". 中央日報 - 韓国の最新ニュースを日本語でサービスします.
  6. ↑ Gehrke, Norbert (May 4, 2021). "Japan's highest grossing manga app is Korean". Medium.
  7. ↑ "LINEのマンガ事業を展開する新会社「LINE Digital Frontier」へ韓国No.1サービスのNAVER WEBTOONが資本参加". プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1｜PR TIMES (in Japanese). June 28, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  8. ↑ 株式会社インプレス (January 18, 2019). "LINEマンガ、無料ウェブマンガの「XOY」をサービス統合". Impress Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  9. ↑ Inc, Nikkei (May 28, 2020). "LINE、「LINE マンガ」を展開するラインデジタルフロンティアの株式を米Webtoon Entに譲渡". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved November 14, 2025. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)