Japanese manga giant Shueisha moves hit titles behind paywalls, signalling the end of free online content for Chinese fans

Digital content has been moving behind paywalls, fuelled by a rising middle class with money to spend as well as more government attention to IP rights. Revenue generated from paying anime users grew from US$2.8mil in 2012 to an estimated 7bil yuan in 2019. — SCMP

The days of Chinese manga and anime fans enjoying free online content have largely come to an end as publishers explore ways to monetise their Chinese fan base.

Japanese manga giant Shueisha has asked its Chinese partners – Tencent, Bilibili and iQiyi – to put six blockbuster franchises, including One Piece and Yu-Gi-Oh!, behind paywalls starting next month, according to social media posts by the Chinese companies.