The largest publishing house in Japan, Kadokawanow boosted by the investment of sonyhas announced an ambitious goal: increase your annual production of original works (i.e. light novel and manga volumes, books in general) to 9,000 titles by fiscal year 2027. And no, they are not referring to reaching this sum among all the properties they have created throughout their history, but to launching 9,000 new books each year.
If this seems like an exorbitant amount, you will be surprised to know that this new goal is actually an update of a previous one. He This number represents a significant jump compared to their previous goal of 7,000 books per year, which they now plan to reach two years earlier, in 2025. It is clear that Kadokawa is looking to capitalize on Sony’s financial backing and global infrastructure to distribute its light novels, mangas, and other publications around the world.
In fact, Takeshi Natsuno, president of Kadokawa, noted that this increase in production marks a new stage for the publisher in the mission of creating original stories at an unprecedented pace. While the alliance between Sony and Kadokawa already aimed to fully exploit anime and live-action production capacity, now the business plan also includes the expansion of the company’s capabilities for the print market. But can originality, which is already suffering wholesale today, be maintained if the production quota increases even further?
Fountain: Automaton Media
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