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Kadokawa's Da Vinci Literary Magazine to End Publication After 32 Years

Kadokawa announced on Tuesday that its Da Vinci magazine about the literary world is ceasing publication, with its November issue shipping on October 6 as its final issue.

The magazine's sister website Da Vinci Web will continue running, and Kadokawa plans to continue releasing content and developing the website. The company noted the dramatic changes in the current publishing marketplace and the diversification of how readers take in news and information.

Media Factory, which was the publishing arm of the employment and human resources company Recruit, launched Da Vinci in April 1994. Kadokawa acquired Media Factory in 2011, and the Media Factory subsidiary company continued publishing the magazine until Media Factory was merged into Kadokawa in 2013. After that, Kadokawa continued publishing the magazine under the Media Factory brand.

The magazine focused on literary subculture, and particularly focused on both general literature and literary genres and types popular with young adults, which included manga and light novels, and itself published some manga, short stories, and serialized stories. The magazine also covered news in related media, such as film or television adaptations of novels, anime (both adaptations and original anime popular with young adults), musicians within subcultures, and essays. The magazine frequently published essays, roundtable discussions, and special features on creators, often focusing on sex and eroticism in modern art.

Every year, the magazine publishes a "Book of the Year" list every December, which includes the magazine editorial staff's top pick of 30 manga books of the year.

Sources: Kadokawa, Comic Natalie