Webtoon Entertainment‘s Japanese subsidiary, LINE Digital Frontier, unveiled its strategic investment in Japanese webcomic and manga studio No. 9.
The deal marks Webtoon Entertainment’s first investment in a Japanese studio. Webtoon is owned by South Korea’s Naver Corporation.
Webtoon said in a statement that this minority stake in No. 9 will help to “boost Webtoon Entertainment’s content pipeline in Japan, the company’s fastest-growing market.”
No. 9 will appoint an outside director from LINE Digital Frontier to its board as part of the deal, with LINE Digital Frontier operating both LINE Manga and eBookJapan.
Founded in November 2016, Tokyo-based studio No. 9 produces and publishes manga and webcomics, with IP including popular titles like “Savior of Divine Blood” and “I Am the Strongest Transcendent.” The studio’s webcomics have already been localized for Webtoon’s global audience, with titles translated into Korean, English, Mandarin Chinese, French, Thai and Indonesian.
“Japan is the home of manga and some of the world’s most exciting comic art, so it’s a natural growth market for our global business,” said Junkoo Kim, CEO & Founder of Webtoon Entertainment.
“We’ve spent years cultivating our IP & Creator Ecosystem in Japan, leading to strong growth and a string of hits. Working with No. 9 Inc., we’ve already developed global hits with series like ‘Savior of Divine Blood,’ and we’re excited to expand our partnership to produce more incredible Japanese webcomics for local and global audiences,” added Kim.
Webtoon Entertainment’s Japanese LINE Manga app topped the overall app market by revenue, including games, multiple times in 2024, according to research intelligence company SensorTower. The company is working with Japanese partners to adapt some of their hit IP for global audiences, including an anime adaptation of the hit “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint” series alongside Aniplex and Crunchyroll, and an adaptation of “GOSU” with Toei, creators of the long-running Dragon Ball and One Piece series.
This investment comes at a time where many Japanese companies are seeking out international partnerships in a bid to expand their businesses globally. For example, Toho was among the first Japanese studios to forge an overseas footprint, including acquiring leading anime distributor Gkids in North America. At Tokyo’s TIFFCOM contents market last year, TBS Holdings and Fuji TV both gave presentations on their international expansion plans, which included establishing new U.S. offices and selling and packaging their extensive libraries of IP.
From Deadline.com