Kadokawa's Da Vinci Magazine to End Publication After 32 Years
The closure of a 32-year-old print magazine that bridged literary fiction, manga, and anime reflects the accelerating shift of Japanese media consumption away from physical periodicals toward web-based platforms.
Reporting from 2 sources: Anime News Network, Anime Anime.
Kadokawa announced on May 26 that its Da Vinci magazine will cease publication with its November 2026 issue, shipping on October 6. The magazine, which covered literary subculture, manga, anime, and voice actor topics, has been published since April 1994, when it was launched by Recruit's publishing arm Media Factory. Kadokawa acquired Media Factory in 2011 and continued the magazine under the Media Factory brand after a 2013 merger. The company cited dramatic changes in the publishing market and the diversification of how readers consume information as reasons for the closure. The sister website Da Vinci Web will continue operating, and Kadokawa plans to develop the site further. Over its run, the magazine featured covers including My Hero Academia, One Piece, and Fate/Grand Order: Camelot - Wandering; Agateram with voice actors Mamoru Miyano and Maaya Sakamoto. It also published an annual Book of the Year list each December, which included the editorial staff's top 30 manga picks.
The magazine frequently published essays, roundtable discussions, and special features on creators, often focusing on sex and eroticism in modern art, according to Anime News Network. The announcement on Kadokawa's official website stated that the magazine has "evolved its editorial features with the times over 32 years since its founding, consistently fulfilling its role of conveying the joy of books, and striving to create new encounters between readers and works."
Anime Anime reported that the decision to cease publication is due to "the dramatic changes in the publishing market in recent years and the diversification of readers' information consumption styles. Going forward, we will mark a milestone in its role as a print medium, and inherit and develop the editorial capabilities and brand cultivated so far to the next stage." Kadokawa said on its website, "We will inherit the spirit and role that the magazine 'Da Vinci' has cherished, and by leveraging the mobility unique to the web, we will strive to provide even more enriched content."
The magazine itself published some manga, short stories, and serialized stories, and covered news in related media such as film or television adaptations of novels, anime, musicians within subcultures, and essays. Anime Anime noted that the magazine's covers also included "My Hero Academia" with Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo, and Shoto Todoroki, and "One Piece" with the scene of Luffy and Shanks.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.