A 32-Year Run Comes to a Close
Da Vinci, the long-running entertainment magazine that branded itself as a "book and comics entertainment magazine," is shutting down its print edition after roughly three decades on shelves. Anime Anime reported that the announcement came May 26 via both the magazine's official X account and KADOKAWA's corporate site.
The November 2026 issue — on sale October 6 — will be the last. Founded in April 1994 by Recruit as a book information magazine, Da Vinci later transferred to Media Factory before landing under KADOKAWA's umbrella in 2013, where it has remained since.
Why It Matters to Anime and Manga Fans
While Da Vinci was primarily a literary magazine, its "book and comics" scope meant anime, manga, and voice actors regularly graced its covers and feature pages. Among its most notable anime-adjacent issues: a My Hero Academia feature with Deku, Bakugo, and Todoroki on the cover; a One Piece special featuring the iconic Luffy-and-Shanks scene; and a Fate/Grand Order: Camelot feature with voice actors Mamoru Miyano and Maaya Sakamoto on the cover.
For international fans, Da Vinci occupied a unique niche — a general-audience magazine that treated anime and manga with the same editorial seriousness as literary fiction. Its closure reflects broader trends hitting Japan's print publishing industry.
KADOKAWA's Statement
According to KADOKAWA's official announcement, Da Vinci has spent 32 years evolving its editorial identity while maintaining a consistent mission: connecting readers with new works. The decision to end print publication comes down to what the publisher described as "dramatic changes in the publishing market and the diversification of how readers consume information."
The company framed the closure not as an ending but a transition — the goal is to "inherit and develop the editorial power and brand that Da Vinci has cultivated to its next stage."
Da Vinci Web Lives On
The magazine's companion website, Da Vinci Web, will continue operating. KADOKAWA stated it intends to carry forward the spirit and editorial role of the print magazine through the site, leveraging "the agility unique to web media" to deliver richer content going forward.
This mirrors a pattern seen across Japanese publishing — Comptiq, another KADOKAWA magazine with deep anime ties, went digital-only in recent years. The print-to-web pipeline is now standard for niche entertainment magazines that can no longer sustain physical distribution costs.
Looking Ahead
The final print issue arrives October 6, 2026. Readers who want to grab remaining issues can still find the June and July 2026 editions on sale. Whether Da Vinci Web expands its anime and manga coverage to fill the gap left by the print edition — or scales back to focus on literary content — remains an open question. No specific plans for the web platform's evolution have been announced beyond KADOKAWA's general commitment to continued operation.