Manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term manga is used in Japan to refer to both comics and cartooning. Outside of Japan, the word is typically used to refer to comics originally published in Japan.
Manhwa is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to Korean comics. Manhwa is directly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its reach to many other countries. These comics have branched outside of Korea by access to Webtoons and have created an impact that has resulted in some movie, drama and television show adaptations.
Manhua are Chinese-language comics produced in Greater China. Chinese comics and narrated illustrations have existed in China throughout its history.
Digital comics are comics released digitally, as opposed to in print. Digital comics commonly take the form of mobile comics. Webcomics may also fall under the "digital comics" umbrella.
A light novel is a type of popular literature novel native to Japan, usually classified as young adult fiction targeting teens to twenties. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging.
Webtoons (Korean: 웹툰) are a type of episodic digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones.
Yen Press is an American manga, graphic novel and light novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published Yen Plus, a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press has published original series, most notably Svetlana Chmakova's Nightschool and a manga adaptation of James Patterson's Maximum Ride.
ASCII Media Works, formerly ASCII Media Works, Inc., is a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing headquartered in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It originally formed on April 1, 2008, as a result of a merger between ASCII Corporation and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president and CEO of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the first president and CEO of ASCII Media Works. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013.
My Girlfriend's a Geek is a Japanese light novel series in two volumes by Pentabu based on a popular blog of the same name with 11 million page views. A manga adaptation by Rize Shinba started serialization in 2007 and was published by Enterbrain under their B's LOG Comic imprint. A movie adaption was published in 2009 with My Geeky Girlfriend as the International English title. Both the light novel and manga have been licensed for release by Yen Press.
Tapas, formerly known as Tapastic and originally known as Comic Panda, is a South Korean webtoon and prose publishing website and app owned by Tapas Media, a Kakao Entertainment company. It was created in 2012 by entrepreneurs Young-Jun Jang and Chang Kim, who is currently Tapas Media's CEO.
Webtoon is a South Korean webtoon platform launched in 2004 by Naver Corporation, providing hosting for webtoons and compact digital comics. The platform is free and can be found both on the web at Webtoons.com and on mobile devices available for both Android and iOS.
Adachi and Shimamura is a Japanese yuri light novel series written by Hitoma Iruma and illustrated by Non, which began serialization in October 2012 in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko Magazine and is published under the Dengeki Bunko imprint. The light novels are licensed for English release in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment. The series has been adapted into two manga series, and an anime television series adaptation by Tezuka Productions aired from October to December 2020.
Solo Leveling, also alternatively translated as Only I Level Up, is a South Korean portal fantasy web novel written by Chugong. It was serialized in Kakao's digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage beginning on July 25, 2016, and was later published by D&C Media under their Papyrus label since November 4, 2016. The novel has been licensed in English by Yen Press.
Web novels in South Korea have been growing in popularity in the 21st century. Among e-publishing fields, web novels are the core contents that are leading the e-book market. Just as webtoons grew in the early 2000s in South Korea, web novels have been growing rapidly since 2010.
Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion is a South Korean web novel written by Milcha. It has been serialized in Kakao's digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage since September 19, 2016. A webtoon adaptation was first serialized in KakaoPage on September 3, 2017, and is illustrated by Whale. An anime television series adaptation produced by Typhoon Graphics aired from April to June 2023.
Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, also alternatively translated as Omniscient Reader, is a South Korean web novel written by Sing Shong. It was first published on January 6, 2018, on the platform Munpia, and ended on February 2, 2020. Naver Webtoon published an ongoing webtoon adaptation created by Redice Studio for the Korean version and Line Webtoon for the English version in 2020. An anime television series adaptation has been announced.
The Boxer is a South Korean manhwa released as a webtoon written and illustrated by Jung Ji-Hoon. It was serialized via Naver Corporation's webtoon platform Naver Webtoon from December 2019 to June 2022, with the individual chapters collected and published into 9 volumes. A South Korean animated series adaptation by Xtorm has been announced, and the series will be released with 12 Episodes.
Tomb Raider King, is a South Korean web novel written by Sanji Jiksong. It was serialized in Kakao's digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage beginning on November 1, 2016.
Your Letter is a South Korean manhwa released as a webtoon written and illustrated by Hyeon A Cho. It was serialized via Naver Corporation's webtoon platform, Naver Webtoon, from August to October 2018, with the individual chapters collected and published the first volume. The manhwa has been published in English by Line Webtoon. A South Korean animated film produced by Studio N and Studio Lico has been announced.
