Kadokawa Aims to Break Away From Isekai Overemphasis After Profit Drop
Kadokawa's shift away from isekai signals a strategic pivot after a severe profit decline, but the genre's continued success elsewhere suggests the problem may be internal rather than market-driven.
Reporting from 1 sources: Magmix.
Kadokawa announced the end of its monthly magazine Da Vinci and early retirement recruitment after a 51% drop in operating profit. The publisher stated it had overemphasized isekai works and is restructuring, though isekai remains profitable for other publishers.
Kadokawa will end the print edition of its monthly magazine Da Vinci with the November 2026 issue, the publisher announced. Starting in June, it will also recruit early retirement for employees aged 45 or older with a certain rank and at least five years of service. The moves follow a 51% drop in operating profit for the fiscal year ending March 2026, despite revenue growing to about 282.9 billion yen. Kadokawa said it had overemphasized isekai works and is proceeding with restructuring. Activist shareholder Oasis continues to push for the removal of CEO Takeshi Natsuno.
However, isekai works remain profitable for other publishers. Overlap reported high profits in the second quarter of the fiscal year ending August 2026, with revenue of about 4.1 billion yen and operating profit of 1.2 billion yen. TO Books, which had a hit with Water Magician in 2025, posted revenue of 8.249 billion yen and net profit of 947 million yen. The genre's continued success elsewhere suggests Kadokawa's issues may be internal rather than a market-wide decline.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.