Manta (platform)

Manta is a South Korean digital comics (or webtoons, webcomics, manhwa) platform owned and operated by RIDI Corporation.[1][2] It works with its own in-house studio as well as outside partners to create original digital comics.[3]

This article is about webtoons. For other uses, see Manta (disambiguation).
Manta
Type of site
Digital comics platform
Available inEnglish,Spanish
OwnerRIDI Corporation
Founder(s)Kisik Bae
URLmanta.net
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedNovember, 2020
Current statusActive
logo of manta

Service

Manta is a subscription-based service that allows all members to read unlimited amounts of content on its app at a fixed price. The app is available for Android and iOS devices,[4] and all content can be viewed from its official website.

Manta is known to be the first subscription-based webcomic platform in the market. [5]

Many of Manta's webcomics share the IP with those in Ridibooks, which is Ridi Corporation's domestic (Korean) business. Main titles of Ridibooks such as 'Under the Oak Tree (상수리 나무 아래)', 'Lady Devil (마귀)' are also well known globally through Manta.[6]

The platform now serves both English and Spanish.[7]

History

Manta was founded by Kisik Bae, Founder and CEO of RIDI Corporation, in November 2020.[1][3]

RIDI Corporation initially established its presence in the industry as an e-book publisher, and over time, it expanded into other content domains, with a particular focus on webnovels. Later, RIDI Corporation, with an extensive portfolio of IP it has acquired, started to adapt the stories into digital comic formats. A significant portion of the comics published on Manta are Manta-owned, and they also do collaborate with external partners and license certain series from them.[8]

It was a latecomer in the webcomic industry, but rather than pay-per-episode, Manta was one of the few subscription-based webcomics services available.

4 months after its launch in March 2021, Manta ranked No.1 in US Google play store's cartoon category.[9]

Content

Manta focuses mainly on bringing original stories from RIDI, a Korean digital content platform also owned by RIDI Corporation, into webcomics.[10]

Most of Manta's titles are in the romance genre, with titles including Under the Oak Tree a romance fantasy webcomic based on a web novel by Kim Suji.,[11] Disobey the Duke if you Dare,[12] and Semantic Error, the latter having also been adapted into a live action streaming television series.[13] It also offers stories in other genres including action, thriller, and horror.

The platform also works with third-party IP rights holders to extend existing films and live-action storytelling into webcomics, such as Svaha: the Sixth Finger[14] and A Hard Day.[3]

In the summer of 2022, two volumes of Semantic Error were released as ebooks on Amazon Kindle, marking the series the first of Manta's titles to be published outside its platform.[15] In March 2023, Manta announced that Disobey the Duke If You Dare would become its first title for distribution as printed graphic novels.[16][17]

Userbase

In an Interview, Kisik Bae said the app has reached five million downloads as of April 2022.[10] The number has gone up to eight million in October 2022,[7] then 10 million in March 2023.[18]

See also

References
  1. Choi, Mira (2021-12-06). "Manta is another big Korean name in webtoon scene in North America". Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  2. Koo, Min-ki. "RIDI | Content Platform". The Korea Economic Daily Global Edition. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  3. Frater, Patrick (2022-10-06). "Korean Action Movie 'A Hard Day' Adapted as Webtoon by Manta Comics". Variety. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  4. Im, Geun-ho (2021-03-17). "S.Korean e-book operator eyes unicorn status via successful foray into US". The Korea Economic Daily Global Edition. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  5. "Manta aims to become 'Netflix of webcomics'". The Korea Herald. 2021-08-03. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  6. Hyunjung, Bae (2021-03-12). "Ridi's global webtoon app logs success in North America". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  7. Reul, Katie (2023-01-19). "South Korean Digital Comics Publisher Manta to Offer Spanish-Language Editions". Variety. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  8. "ICv2: ICv2 Interview: Moonseok Jeong, Manta COO & Head of Content | Image 2". icv2.com. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  9. "Korea's Kindle evolves into a content IP provider". Korea Economic Daily. Oct 1, 2021. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  10. Jang, Jinwon (2022-05-23). "RIDI CEO BAE KI-SIK Interview How Korean webcomics platform RIDI emerged as unicorn". Forbes Korea. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  11. Roth, Julia (2022-11-05). "5 Romance Webcomics to Warm You Up This Winter". Geek Girl Authority. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  12. Leung, Hilary (2022-09-15). "Manta Comics Announces Season 2 of Disobey the Duke if You Dare". CBR. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  13. Lawrence, Briana (2022-09-08). "SNEAK PEEK: Fall in Love With Korean LGBTQ Webcomic Semantic Error Season 3". Crunchyroll. p. 1.
  14. Tantimedh, Adi (2022-08-16). "Svaha: The Sixth Finger Webcomic Continues Netflix Movie Story". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  15. "Syndicated Comics". 17 March 2023.
  16. "Syndicated Comics". 17 March 2023.
  17. "Disobey the Duke if You Dare Set as Manta's First-Ever Non-Digital Release". 17 March 2023.
  18. "Manta Announces Its First-Ever Original Action Series, The Superheroes of Class F". CBR. 2023-05-21. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
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