Kodansha USA is a subsidiary of Kodansha, a Japanese publisher, who published the Initial D series. Kodansha USA handle the publishing and distribution of many of Kodansha's series in the west.
Kodansha USA collaborated with ComiXology (a subsidiary of Amazon) to digitally distribute Initial D in English in 2019[1], ending a 10 year period where there was no official Initial D manga released in English. They later retranslated and released Initial D physically in omnibus format.
2019 Manga Release[]
Kodansha USA collaborated with ComiXology to release Initial D onto their services in two phases, volumes 1-38 were released in April 2019[1] and volumes 39-48 were released later in July.[2] This version has since been released on other platforms, including Kodansha's own K-Manga app.[3]
Volumes 1 through 33 of this release used the Tokyopop translation, with the rest of the volumes having a brand new translation, which kept the original names of the characters and translated the sound effects.
Each of the volumes features a new cover, these new covers keep the original Japanese artwork whilst replacing the logo and text.
Issues[]
This release of the manga has several issues, including:
Chapter 34 - note the pixelated artwork, and the flatness of the darker portions
Levelling and cleaning - there is visible specs of dirt on many pages, and some volumes (including Volume 04) are visibly poorly levelled, with the artwork being damaged. Many darker panels lose their depth.
Page seams - all double pages feature a large seam down the middle, either a white bar or a crease that separates the artwork (in several cases featuring an actual tear down the centre of the page). This issue is not present in Volume 34 onwards, suggesting an issue with the scan used for the earlier volumes.
Censorship - despite decensoring the nudity in Chapter 006, the Tokyopop censorship of Chapter 097 is maintained.
A large error in Chapter 34
Errors - many translation errors featured in the Tokyopop version are maintained in this version, as text seems to have been copied straight over. Several errors are added, most prominently in Volume 04, where placeholder text requesting that Japanese sound effects be translated is seen covering the art in numerous panels. In one speech bubble in Chapter 34 (in Volume 04) the text "THERE'S MORE TEXT IN THIS BUBBLE IN THE JAPANESE." appears.
2024 Manga Release[]
At Anime Expo 2023, Kodansha USA announced they would be releasing an omnibus (2-in-1) edition of the Initial D manga in Spring 2024.[4] The first volume released March 19th 2024.[5] The release features a brand new translation and lettering.[6]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-04-17/comixology-kodansha-comics-release-complete-initial-d-manga-in-english/.145825
- ↑ https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-07-20/kodansha-usa-announces-4-new-shojo-manga-licenses-release-of-volumes-39-48-of-initial-d-manga/.149178
- ↑ https://soranews24.com/2023/05/11/kodanshas-k-manga-app-launches-with-60-english-simupubs-among-400-titles/
- ↑ https://kodansha.us/2023/07/01/july-2023-spring-2024-new-licensing-announcement
- ↑ https://kodansha.us/product/initial-d-omnibus-1
- ↑ https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2023-07-01/kodansha-usa-reveals-21-new-print-licenses-3-omnibus-releases-2-digital-licenses/.199832