MyAnimeList Co., Ltd (MyAnimeList) announced on Thursday that the company plans to issue new shares, increasing its capital by a total of 1,200 million yen (approximately US$11.33 million). Japanese publishing companies Kodansha Ltd. (Kodansha), SHUEISHA Inc. (Shueisha), Shogakukan Inc. (Shogakukan), and MyAnimeList parent company MEDIA DO Co., Ltd. (Media Do) will collectively implement a third-party allotment and underwrite half of this amount.

MyAnimeList plans to invest the funds obtained from the third-party allotment to accelerate expansion of its platform, and will focus on accessibility for new and returning users, increasing information exchange, strengthening connections between users and Japanese content holders, and improving site performance. The company's immediate plans to achieve these goals include implementing infrastructure changes to increase speed and support advanced UI/UX features, multi-language support for databases and user lists, iOS and Android application improvements, and user communication tool enhancements.

Digital content distributor Media Do acquired MyAnimeList in January 2019, and since then the anime and manga database and social networking website's userbase has grown from approximately 10 million monthly active users to approximately 18 million in over 230 countries. MyAnimeList's content database includes over 250,000 entries added and maintained by users, with over 375,000 associated reviews and recommendations.

Kodansha is the largest publisher in Japan. It was founded in 1925 and currently publishes Weekly Shounen Magazine, Nakayoshi, and Monthly Afternoon, among others. Kodansha's manga titles are published in English by subsidiary Kodansha USA.

Shogakukan was founded in 1922 and publishes a variety of media including manga, literature, non-fiction, and DVDs. Manga magazines published by the company include Weekly Shounen Sunday, Big Comic, and Betsucomi.

Shueisha was established as Shogakukan's entertainment-related subdivision in 1925, but became an independent company the following year. It is perhaps best known for its Jump line of manga magazines, which includes Weekly Shounen Jump, Weekly Young Jump, and Jump SQ.

Source: Press Release