Comments on: Manga is losing young readers in Japan as kids and teens move away from print but can’t afford digital platform subscriptions, industry researcher suggests

By: suuuui

suuuui — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 03:54:02 +0000

I think this article overstates its conclusion. A decline in print magazine readership is not the same as proving that young people are moving away from manga itself. Those are different claims, and both can be true at the same time: the old print-magazine culture may have weakened, while manga consumption has shifted toward apps, web releases, free chapters, and mixed print/digital reading. There is also data suggesting a more nuanced picture. A 2025 survey of Japanese elementary and junior high school students found that over 80% said they like reading manga, while junior high students showed increased use of digital manga or mixed print/digital reading. Another 2023 survey found that 51.81% of teens read manga at least once a month, and that free digital manga was one of the main ways teens accessed it. This does not prove that there is no long-term decline, but it does suggest the situation is more complicated than “kids can’t afford digital subscriptions.”

By: Carl

Carl — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 15:28:14 +0000

Simply reading in any language should be free ,this helps educate and would free many that otherwise would end up in prison or worse ….stupid planet stupid people ,no help to social systems…

By: SMcB411

SMcB411 — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:20:32 +0000

There are roughly 45,736 books in each series. My daughter is constantly asking for the next 3 in each one she’s reading. I spend $30 getting her the next three, and she’s done reading them that day. The stories roll on into oblivion with rarely a true or satisfying end (if you can ever make it to the “end”), and it’s a money trap. Second hand bookstore? Sure…but they never have the ones she needs next. Our local library only has a handful of series. Im all for comics…but Manga is so much fluff and feels like a money grab. They need to rethink their whole format. The storytelling is rarely quality beyond the conclusion of the first main conflict…and the art is slapdash in an effort to pump out more and more. Meh.

By: Ame Yuki Kaze

Ame Yuki Kaze — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:48:32 +0000

They aren’t giving up reading. They’re giving up buying. Slight difference.

By: Dogma

Dogma — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:43:57 +0000

Kids don’t have money nor their parents permition for digital things like subscriptions, if they can find the same mangas day and date on piracy sites, whats the point?

By: Jj

Jj — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:22:12 +0000

But it is normal once they’re just destroying all anime!!

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:17:21 +0000

In reply to Jay. Very well said! Its a shame that this is where we are in society.

By: Claire

Claire — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:07:30 +0000

As I started reading this my immediate thought was, “Of course in the work-yourself-to-death culture/economy Japan people don’t want to pay for frivolous things”. This is a really tragic late-stage capitalism issue.

By: Rowieboats

Rowieboats — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 02:28:13 +0000

In reply to John. I want to have manga, and I adore books: but I can't even afford groceries in this economy. I'm not going to lie, I'm unfortunately guilty of piracy when it comes to manga because the ones I want aren't even available in English. I do try to support the artist, but it's not always realistic.

By: So long reading

So long reading — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:40:52 +0000

Who could have thought rising prices would have people pull back from a luxury? I know several folks who opt to go to the library to read books, be it manga or something else entirely because they don’t want to spend money on yet another subscription.

If folks don’t wise up and realize the more they rise prices, the less people will want to buy it.

But also, most series just seem very formulaic and I’m always trying to find stuff that’s either unique (like JJBA) or just never been done before.
So it’s not worth having this as a subscription when I am basically scrolling to find something to read.

By: John

John — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:09:40 +0000

Its a lot harder to get the readers back once you lost them. They get interests in other places. Not to mention all subscription services are taking advantage of people right now and charging a exorbitant amount for each one. Cancel everything people and watch them scramble, I wish. Gl to everybody in this dystopia of a world

By: Jay

Jay — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 20:21:18 +0000

Yeah, because it’s a growing indicator of the people running out of disposable income for luxuries. It’s not like printed magazines were cheap either, but you got something real, forever for it or that you could share with someone else. You can’t do that with digital platforms.

Nor does a kid have a reliable constant income for these subscriptions they’ll no longer have access to read if they stop paying. Where’s the value? It just evaporates the second the next month rolls around until you pay again.

We’re already seeing the crumbling of the entertainment industry. People are both cord cutting and leaving the streaming platforms. The industry is not going to be able to make the money it’s projecting, especially with these expensive mergers. Because it’s all going into gaming and similar instead. Non-interactive entertainment is not valuable when you can’t own it and only have access on a costly monthly basis