comico to Shut Down January 6, 2027, With Eligible Purchases Moving to Mecha Comic

Japanese digital manga service comico will officially shut down on January 6, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. JST. Operator NHN comico announced the decision on August 17, 2026 and outlined a multi-stage wind-down stretching across the next several months.

The platform will not disappear immediately. Coin sales and new registrations will stop first, followed by manga sales and rentals. Users will then retain a limited window to read previously purchased works before comico itself closes and an application-based bookshelf migration to Mecha Comic begins.

Quick Summary

• Service: comico
• Type: Digital manga / webtoon service
• Operator: NHN comico Corp.
• Announcement scope: Japanese comico service
• Closure announced: August 17, 2026
• Final shutdown: January 6, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. JST
• Original launch: October 2013
• Operating period: More than 13 years
• August 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. JST: Distribution of new releases ends
• August 31: Rental-content updates end
• August 31: Coin sales end
• August 31: New member registration ends
• September 28, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. JST: Manga sales end
• September 28: Rentals end
• After September 28: Rental Gauge and tickets become unusable
• September 29–January 6: Previously purchased works remain readable from the comico bookshelf
• January 7–April 30, 2027: Bookshelf migration application period
• Migration destination: Mecha Comic / めちゃコミック
• Automatic migration: No
• Application instructions: Planned for September 2026
• Primary eligibility: Work must be registered under “Purchased” by September 28 at 11:59 p.m. JST
• Additional eligibility: The same title must be available on Mecha Comic
• Rights requirement: Publisher and rights-holder permission is required
• Every purchased title guaranteed to transfer: No
• Migration deadline: April 30, 2027
• Unused paid coins: Eligible for refund applications
• Refund period: January 7–April 30, 2027
• Used paid coins: Not part of the refund process
• Detailed refund procedure: To be announced before shutdown
• Specific reason for closure: Not disclosed
• Key service format: Vertical scrolling and full-color manga
• Global downloads: More than 30 million including POCKET COMICS, according to NHN comico
• Japanese downloads: 23 million as of May 2023
• Store catalog: More than 60,000 works according to NHN comico

Official Announcement and Closure Visual

The Shutdown Will Happen in Three Major Stages

NHN comico is winding the service down gradually rather than disabling everything on the final day.

The first major cutoff comes on August 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. JST.

Distribution of new releases, rental-content updates, coin sales, and new member registrations will stop at that point. Existing users will still be able to access functions that have not yet been discontinued.

The second cutoff arrives on September 28 at 11:59 p.m. JST, when both manga sales and rentals end.

Rental Gauge and tickets will also become unusable after that deadline.

Purchased works already stored in the user's bookshelf remain accessible afterward, providing a final reading period through January 6, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. JST.

At that point comico itself shuts down and content can no longer be accessed through the service.

Purchases Will Not Automatically Transfer to Mecha Comic

The most important part of the announcement for paying readers is the planned bookshelf migration to Mecha Comic.

NHN comico is preparing a system that allows qualifying purchases to remain accessible after comico closes. It is not, however, an automatic transfer of every title users have ever purchased.

First, the work must be registered in the user's comico Purchased bookshelf as of September 28, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. JST.

The same title must also be carried by Mecha Comic.

Finally, the relevant publisher and rights holder must approve the transfer.

Those conditions mean some purchased titles may not qualify. The initial announcement does not yet provide a complete title-by-title eligibility list.

Migration Applications Run From January Through April

The bookshelf migration period is currently scheduled for January 7 through April 30, 2027.

Users will need to actively submit a migration application during that period.

Detailed instructions are expected to be announced in September 2026, giving readers several months to understand the process before comico closes.

The requirement to apply is important: simply leaving an account untouched will not automatically preserve the bookshelf.

NHN comico warns that users who do not complete the required procedure within the migration window will no longer be able to rely on comico for access after the service has shut down.

Readers with large paid libraries will also need to check which individual titles have both a matching Mecha Comic release and the necessary rights-holder approval.

Unused Paid Coins Can Be Refunded

NHN comico is also preparing a refund process for unused paid coins remaining when the service closes.

Applications are scheduled for the same January 7–April 30, 2027 period used for bookshelf migration.

Paid coins that have already been spent are not part of the refund procedure.

The company has not yet published the full step-by-step process. It says those details will be provided through the official comico website before the January 6 shutdown.

Coin sales themselves end much earlier, on August 31, preventing users from adding new paid balance during the final months of operation.

Anyone with remaining paid currency will therefore want to keep access to their account information and follow the final notices published around the shutdown.

Game Ad

Crownhold

More Than 13 Years of Vertical, Full-Color Manga

comico launched in Japan in October 2013, during an earlier period of smartphone-native digital manga.

A core part of its identity was full-color manga designed for vertical scrolling, rather than treating a phone primarily as a screen for conventional page-by-page layouts.

The platform also let readers comment on works and provided posting functions through which creators could publish their own manga.

NHN comico says comico and its global POCKET COMICS operation surpassed 30 million cumulative downloads worldwide, while the Japanese service reached 23 million domestic downloads in May 2023.

Its store was also described as carrying more than 60,000 works, combining original titles with manga supplied by major publishers.

Several comico properties later expanded beyond the digital platform. NHN comico's corporate history identifies ReLIFE as its first title to receive a collected print edition in 2014, followed over the years by adaptations and expansions into television drama, film, stage productions, anime, and games.

NHN comico Has Not Given a Specific Reason for the Closure

The official closure statement does not identify one specific business factor behind the decision.

NHN comico does not cite user numbers, profitability, operating costs, strategic restructuring, or another concrete commercial reason as the cause.

Instead, the announcement focuses on thanking readers for discovering works through comico and supporting the platform throughout its operation.

That means there is currently no basis for confidently attributing the closure to a single financial or strategic issue.

What is clear is that access is being wound down in stages rather than cut off immediately, with a post-shutdown period reserved for bookshelf migration and paid-coin refunds.

The August 17 announcement specifically concerns the Japanese comico service. Its wording should not be used on its own to infer the status of other services.

Why This Matters

1) comico was an early major home for smartphone-native vertical manga

It promoted vertical scrolling and full-color presentation more than a decade ago, before those formats became as commonplace across today's webtoon ecosystem.

2) Paid libraries do not disappear the moment sales end

Sales stop in September, while readers keep a final window to access purchased titles on comico before the January shutdown.

3) Rights availability determines what can migrate

A purchase alone is not enough. Mecha Comic availability and publisher or rights-holder approval are also required.

4) Users need to take action after the shutdown

The January 7–April 30 period is critical because bookshelf migration and paid-coin refunds require applications rather than simply happening in the background.

Service Information

Additional confirmed information currently includes:

• comico is operated by NHN comico Corp.
• the Japanese service launched in October 2013
• it has been available through iOS, Android, and the Web
• vertical scrolling and full-color manga are defining service features
• original manga has been regularly published on the platform
• readers can leave comments on works
• creator-posting features have been offered
• the store has been described as carrying more than 60,000 works
• Japanese downloads reached 23 million in May 2023
• comico and POCKET COMICS have been described as exceeding 30 million cumulative global downloads
• the closure announcement was published on August 17, 2026
• coin sales and new registrations stop August 31
• manga sales and rentals stop September 28
• Rental Gauge and tickets become unusable after September 28
• Purchased works remain readable through January 6, 2027
• the service closes January 6 at 11:59 p.m. JST
• bookshelf migration runs January 7–April 30
• migration instructions are expected in September 2026
• only eligible titles can migrate
• a matching title must exist on Mecha Comic
• publisher and rights-holder approval is required
• unused paid coins can be submitted for refunds
• refund applications run January 7–April 30
• detailed refund instructions will be announced before closure
• no specific reason for the shutdown has been disclosed
• full details are available through the official comico closure notice
• the service remains accessible through the official comico website
• the migration destination is Mecha Comic
• service updates are posted through comico Official on X

Closing

comico's shutdown will bring more than 13 years of one of Japan's earlier major vertical, full-color manga services to an end. Its wind-down begins in earnest on August 31, continues with the end of sales in September, and concludes with the complete shutdown on January 6, 2027.

Readers with purchased titles should make sure their eligible library is registered under Purchased by the September 28 cutoff and watch for the migration instructions due in September. Qualifying works can then be submitted for transfer to Mecha Comic from January through April 2027, while unused paid coins will have a separate refund application process during the same period.