One of the biggest publishing company of Japan, Kodansha and its offshore wing, Kodansha USA have released a statement to anime and manga streaming sites, Crunchyroll and Azuki, that they should stop simulcasting some manga titles on their platforms.

The titles in question are:

• A Sign of Affection
• Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card
• Drifting Dragons
• EDENS ZERO
• Fairy Tail
• Farewell, My Dear Cramer
• Fire Force
• In/Spectre
• Space Brothers
• That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
• The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm
• The World of Summoning
• To Your Eternity
• Toppu GP
• UQ HOLDER!
• Wave, Listen To Me!

For Crunchyroll the last deadline is given to be January 31 before the removal of those titles whereas to Azuki the date is January 16.

Whereas, previous simulpub titles will be removed from Azuki on January 31.

The titles on Azuki that are getting affected are:

• A Sign of Affection Chapters 20ex-32
• Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Chapters 50-69
• Drifting Dragons Chapters 57-78
• EDENS ZERO Chapters 132-222
• Space Brothers Chapters 377-395
• The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm Chapters 20-54
• The World of Summoning Chapters 1-11
• To Your Eternity Chapters 147-165.2
• Toppu GP Chapters 29-79
• Wave, Listen to Me! Chapters 65-86

Azuki confirmed to another anime and news site, Anime News Network that other chapters, including early non-simulpub chapters of some of the series listed as well as non-simulpub series, will remain on the service.

Crunchyroll also received a statement from Kodansha officials about the change in policy.

They said, “Due to forthcoming changes in Kodansha’ simulpub distribution program, we are suspending simulpub updates until further notice. For now, the best way to keep up with your favorite series will be by following the collected volumes. We at Kodansha are deeply sorry to those of you who have kept up-to-date through the simulpub format, and while we can’t divulge any details at the moment, we have exciting announcements to make about simulpubs in the coming months.”

Kodansha USA was the first publisher that Azuki collaborated with, making the most popular titles of Japanese publisher’s available for on-demand viewing. This was followed by tie-ups with Glacier Bay Books and Star Fruit Books, which gave Azuki access to their selection of their critically acclaimed indie manga, and then an exclusive partnership with Los Angeles-based manga publisher, Kaiten Books.

 Azuki, created by KiraKira Media Inc., debuted on June 28, 2021, on iOS, Android, and web browsers.

Select chapters with advertisements are available to free users. Customers can also purchase a subscription for US$4.99 that allows them to read manga without advertising. Each chapter includes comment threads for registered user conversations.

Source: Crunchyroll, Azuki (Email Correspondence) & Blog