Naver Webtoon’s Japanese service, 'Line Manga,' has achieved the top revenue ranking among Google and Apple comic and novel apps based on the second half of last year.
According to global mobile app research firm Data.ai on the 21st, Line Manga ranked first in revenue among comic and novel apps worldwide on the Apple App Store and Google Play during the second half of last year. It was reported that it also claimed the top position in the non-game app sector of the Japanese app market in both the second half and the fourth quarter.
After reaching first place in the overall app market in Japan in May last year, Line Manga secured the top spot in the comic app market based on the second half and fourth quarter.
During this period, its revenue surpassed Kakao Piccoma. In the last third quarter, Kakao Piccoma's revenue was 124 billion won, while Naver Webtoon’s revenue in Japan was $179 million (259.1 billion won).
The revenue of Line Digital Frontier, which operates Line Manga, grew by 25% compared to last year during the last third quarter. Naver Webtoon noted that this growth was due to hitting all-time high monthly active users (MAU) and paying users, along with balanced growth in advertising and intellectual property (IP) businesses.
In the top 10 Line Manga works last year, among those that ranked in 2023 were "Entrance Mercenary," "Remarried Empress," as well as new titles like "I Thought It Was Just a Common Possession," "Genius Swordmaster of the Academy," "Savior of the New Blood," and "I Am the Only Supreme Transcender."
A Naver Webtoon representative said, "We are connecting various Korean webtoons to Japanese readers, and as a result of our efforts in investing in the Japanese creative ecosystem, we are producing hits in both Korea and Japan, contributing to the growth of the Japanese comic market."
Line Digital Frontier, which operates Naver Weboon's Japanese service, has recently invested in the local electronic comic agency ‘Number Nine Co., Ltd.’ to fast-track the establishment of the Japanese creative ecosystem and secured equity.