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Kodansha Offers Weekly & Bessatsu Magazine Issues for Free After January 1 Quake

On the evening of January 1, the Noto Peninsula on the Japan Sea side of Japan was struck by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake. Although a month has passed, relief efforts and donations are still pouring in to help those who have been affected by the quake. However, not all the relief is on-site or monetary. Distribution of manga to areas affected by the quake has been difficult, so Kodansha announced on January 30 that it will be offering a handful of its manga magazines free of charge.

While the announcement on the official Twitter account for Weekly Shōnen Magazine was a bit light on the details, the magazine's website elaborates four issues of Weekly Shōnen Magazine (Issues 6-9) and one issue of Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine (the February edition) are available for free on the Magapoke smartphone app. Paperback distribution to the affected areas is rather difficult and as the tweet says, “caused delivery delays”.

Issues 6-8 of Weekly Shōnen Magazine have been available on the app since January 30 and the ninth issue as well as the February issue of Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine became available on February 2. Unfortunately, neither the tweet nor the magazine's homepage has information regarding when the issues will be locked on Magapoke. If you're in Japan and wish to read those issues of Weekly and Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine, now is your chance, but please keep in mind those who don't have access to the paperback versions.

Sources: Weekly Shōnen Magazine's website, and Twitter account (link 2), Comic Natalie