NEC BIGLOBE Provides English Manga Through Its Android™ App, Sugoi Books

NEC BIGLOBE Provides English Manga through its Android™ App, SUGOI BOOKS™

SUGOI BOOKS' Original Manga Lineup

Tokyo, April 4, 2011 – NEC BIGLOBE, Ltd. (BIGLOBE), one of Japan's leading internet service providers, announced today the launch of its digital bookstore Android app, “SUGOI BOOKS.”

SUGOI BOOKS launches with a library of more than 100 authentic manga books translated into English. Titles include: “Cat Eyed Girl,” by Kazuo Umezu, the legendary horror manga creator, and “Joan,” by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, another renowned manga artist. This month's SUGOI BOOKS lineup includes original manga based on modern Japanese literature and legends such as “Rashomon,” “Hachiko,” “Portrait of Hell” and “The Setting Sun.” Expanding its manga library to 50,000 books by the end of 2012, SUGOI BOOKS aims to become the largest manga provider for users of smartphones and multimedia devices.

Featured Content:

-Cat Eyed Girl (c)Kazuo Umezu/ SHOGAKUKAN CREATIVE

-Joan (c)Yoshikazu Yasuhiko/ Japan Broadcast Publishing Co., Ltd.

-COMBINATION (c)Sei Leeza/ SHOGAKUKAN CREATIVE

-Psychic File Ogata Katsumi (c)Mayuri Yamamoto/ Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha

SUGOI BOOKS' original manga, based on modern Japanese literature, are adapted to smartphone dimensions. Pages are perfectly fitted to 3.5 inch and most other displays. (Manga shown: Rashomon.)

SUGOI BOOKS Summary
URL:
Android™ Market:
https://market.android.com/details?id=jp.ne.BIGLOBE.topbooks.us

Available Platforms: Android 1.6 or higher.
BIGLOBE also plans to release the SUGOI BOOKS app for iPhone/iPad, Symbian, and BlackBerry.

Payment method: PayPal.

BIGLOBE's digital bookstore aims to reach a total of 1 billion yen in sales by the end of 2012 by: increasing its available content with a focus on manga, expanding its business into additional devices and countries, and providing additional services such as translation and digitalization.

Manga for Charity – Support for Japan Earthquake Recovery Efforts BIGLOBE has created Manga for Charity to support those affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. BIGLOBE will donate all proceeds from the following titles towards disaster relief efforts until April 28 (JST);

- “Run, Melos!” by Osamu Dazai (300 JPY)
- “Night on the Galactic Railroad” by Kenji Miyazawa (300 JPY)

BIGLOBE would like to extend its sincere sympathy and condolences to all who were personally affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.

Free Manga Giveaway
SUGOI BOOKS is making an introductory offer of select manga available free of charge until April 28, 2011(JST). Please access the SUGOI BOOKS app for details.

About NEC BIGLOBE, Ltd.
NEC BIGLOBE, Ltd. (Established in July, 2006, based in Tokyo) is a member of the NEC group, one of Japan's leading IT companies. The company is one of the largest internet service providers in Japan and offers a variety of networking services, contents and applications, while boasting 22.32 million service users as of the end of December, 2010.
http://www.BIGLOBE.co.jp/en