For decades we have been accustomed to a very simple binomial: in the West, comics dominate, comics with an American matrix, responding mainly to the giants Marvel and DC Comics. On the other side of the world, in the east, Manga always winsJapanese products, which then colonized the world, especially in recent years.
Shueisha, Kodansha, Shogakukan, Hakusensha and others are Japanese publishers that have been releasing works of all kinds for years, some simple fillers for their magazines and others carving out a place internationally instead. ONE PIECE, Naruto, Dragon Ball, Berserk, Fairy Tail, Detective Conan and other series are known all over the world, which makes manga dominant today. Not by chance, Shueisha and Kodansha are the two top-grossing publishers worldwide. Yet this area is no longer so obvious.
Recently, webcomics, also known as webtoons, vertically scrolling comics of South Korean origin are making their presence felt. It has now been more than a decade since houses like Kakao and Naver have expanded their portals and produced more and more content enjoyed by the western public as well. According to a report by Europe Comics, there is significant growth in the industry. As previously mentioned, Shueisha and Kodansha top the top 10, but behind them are no American giants. but cocoa and naver. The two, fifth and sixth in the list, overtake Marvel and DC Comics, which rank lower.
This goes hand-in-hand with the growth of the South Korean pop world, which is invading the West in a myriad of ways ranging from K-pop, K-drama, and now even webtoons. Growth remains constant and the arrival of anime from these products - Tower of God, Solo Leveling, The God of High School to name a few - is driving more and more money into this different approach to comics. So if American comics have already been surpassed, Koreans now have their Japanese neighbors in their sights. But that has to be said In Japan, the comic industry is a real gianttherefore it will not be easy to reach the same levels.
Looking at the results of the Dragon Ball franchise, there is no doubt that the dominance of Japanese manga and anime will continue for some time.
