Coamix

The origin: leaving Shueisha to protect the license

To understand Coamix, one must go back to the relationship between Tetsuo Hara and his editor Horie Nobuhiko. The two men had worked together since Hara’s early days at Jump; it was Horie who had accompanied him on Hokuto no Ken from the first page to the last chapter, followed by Hana no Keiji in the 1990s. When Horie decided to leave Shueisha at the turn of the 2000s, Hara did not want to remain alone in a large publishing house that did not necessarily understand his way of working.

Tetsuo Hara would later summarize the company’s reason for being in an interview: he was afraid that Hokuto no Ken would gradually disappear due to a lack of editorial oversight. His goal in founding Coamix was to make Hokuto no Ken a work that lasts a hundred years.

The founding in 2000

Coamix was founded on June 14, 2000 in Kichijoji, Tokyo. The founders were Horie Nobuhiko as CEO, Tetsuo Hara as author-shareholder, mangaka Tsukasa Hojo (City Hunter), Tsugihara Ryuji, voice actor Kamiya Akira, the original voice of Kenshiro in the anime, and Negishi Tadashi. The initial capital was contributed in equal shares by Horie, Hara, and Hojo, at one million yen each. The publishing house Shinchosha acquired a 33.4% stake with 2.8 million yen.

The location in Kichijoji was no accident; it is a neighborhood in Tokyo where many creators and mangakas live. The company’s name comes from the contraction of “Comics” and “Animation.”

Early publications and Comic Zenon

Coamix’s first publication was the Weekly Comic Bunch, launched in May 2001 with Shinchosha as distribution partner. The magazine hosted the series that continued the Hokuto no Ken universe, including Sōten no Ken, the prequel featuring Kasumi Kenshiro in 1930s China. The Weekly Comic Bunch ceased publication in August 2010.

In October 2010, Coamix launched Monthly Comic Zenon, its monthly magazine that quickly became the home of all series tied to the Hokuto no Ken universe. It is in its pages and on its website Zenon Henshubu that Sōten no Ken Regenesis, Zakoban, Seikimatsu Drama Satsuei-den, and the Amiba isekai are published. The name Famicom Shinken, the video game section of the Weekly Shonen Jump from 1985 to 1988, had incidentally been partly named after Hokuto Shinken, a sign of the franchise’s deep cultural influence.

The guardian of the Hokuto no Ken license

Coamix’s most important role with regard to Hokuto no Ken is rights management. It is Coamix that holds the exploitation rights for the franchise covering new manga editions, adaptations, and merchandise. All new editions of the manga published since 2002 are Coamix editions, including the Ultimate edition and the Zenon Comics DX collection.

Coamix also oversees video game adaptations and new animated productions, such as the 2026 anime produced by Warner Bros. Japan, over which Coamix exercises editorial oversight. In 2019, the franchise’s cumulative revenues across all adaptations exceeded 218 million US dollars, placing Hokuto no Ken at 17th worldwide among the most profitable entertainment franchises.

Coamix today

In 2026, Coamix is a mature company with several parallel activities. In addition to manga publishing, the company manages Gallery Zenon in Tokyo, an exhibition and dining space inaugurated in March 2024 after renovation. The company has also been involved in training projects in Kumamoto, notably a partnership with a public high school to create a manga curriculum.

Its catalog has expanded well beyond Hokuto no Ken, with historical series such as Ikusa no Ko and Maeda Keiji Kabuki Tabi, and titles spanning various genres published in Comic Zenon and on Zenon Henshubu.

Sources: Coamix (official), Wikipedia FR