Jive

Jive Ltd., also known in Japanese as ジャイブ株式会社, was established on May 12, 2003, in Japan. The company was formed as a specialist publisher during a period when Japanese media companies were expanding catalogs across manga, fiction, and other character- and genre-driven formats. Its headquarters were in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Jive’s publishing activities included both magazines and book labels. Among the magazines associated with the company were Comic Rush, Kurimoto Kaoru The Comic, Hint?, and Langkose. These titles indicate an editorial focus broader than a single manga demographic: the portfolio included serialized comics, adaptations or related works connected with established fiction properties, and other entertainment-oriented periodicals. Jive also issued books through several named labels. CR Comics served as a manga imprint, while the Jive TRPG Series addressed tabletop role-playing game publishing. Colorful Bunko and Purefull Bunko represented paperback-oriented fiction lines. The company’s ownership changed relatively soon after its founding. In 2004, Jive sold its stock to Poplar Publishing. The change gave Poplar an ownership position in the publisher while Jive continued to be identified as a separate publishing company and maintained its own catalog of magazines and imprints. The available reference does not provide details about the purchase price, the precise shareholding structure, or operational changes following the transaction. A second ownership transition took place in 2019, when Media Do Holdings acquired Jive’s shares. Media Do is associated with digital content distribution and publishing infrastructure, making the transaction relevant to the broader shift in Japanese publishing toward electronic books and digitally managed content. However, the available material does not specify whether Jive’s editorial operations, staff, or imprints were merged into Media Do, nor does it establish the extent to which its earlier magazines remained active. Jive’s historical identity is therefore that of a Japanese specialist publisher whose catalog combined manga periodicals, collected comics, fiction paperbacks, and tabletop role-playing products. It is not the American music label or another unrelated business using the name Jive. The authoritative subject for this entry is the Japanese publisher identified by the disambiguated Wikipedia title “Jive (publisher).” Public references available for this dossier do not identify a founder, executive leadership roster, financial performance, or a definitive current status, so those fields remain unspecified.

• 2019

  Media Do Holdings acquires Jive

  [1]Jive (publisher)en.wikipedia.org

  Media Do Holdings acquired Jive’s shares, bringing the publisher into the Media Do group.

• 2004

  Shares transferred to Poplar Publishing

  [1]Jive (publisher)en.wikipedia.org

  Jive sold its stock to Poplar Publishing, changing the company’s ownership shortly after its formation.

• 2003

  Jive is established in Japan

  [1]Jive (publisher)en.wikipedia.org

  Jive Ltd. was established on May 12, 2003, as a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

A Japanese entertainment publisher focused on manga, genre fiction, and tabletop role-playing content, with a portfolio spanning periodicals and specialized book labels.

• Manga magazine

  Comic Rush

  Comic Rush was one of Jive’s named manga magazine properties. It functioned as a periodical platform for serialized comic works and supported Jive’s role in developing and publishing manga content for the Japanese market.

• Comic magazine or manga publication

  Kurimoto Kaoru The Comic

  Kurimoto Kaoru The Comic was listed among Jive’s magazines. The title indicates a comic publication associated with the works or creative world of author Kaoru Kurimoto, although the available reference does not provide publication dates, format details, or a complete bibliography.

• Entertainment magazine

  Hint?

  Hint? was one of the periodicals attributed to Jive. Publicly available material for this dossier identifies the title as part of the company’s magazine portfolio but does not describe its editorial scope, readership, or publication run in detail.

• Magazine

  Langkose

  Langkose was listed among Jive’s magazines. The available source confirms its association with the publisher but does not provide sufficient information to characterize its content, frequency, audience, or later status.

• Manga book imprint

  CR Comics

  CR Comics was a Jive publishing label for collected manga volumes. It extended the company’s magazine and serialization activities into book publishing, although the available reference does not identify its full list of series or the dates of individual releases.

• Tabletop role-playing game books

  Jive TRPG Series

  The Jive TRPG Series was a specialized publishing line devoted to tabletop role-playing game material. Its inclusion in Jive’s catalog shows that the company’s entertainment publishing extended beyond manga and fiction into game-related books and reference works.

• Paperback fiction imprint

  Colorful Bunko

  Colorful Bunko was one of Jive’s paperback-oriented publishing labels. Bunko imprints in Japan commonly use compact paperback formats, and this label formed part of Jive’s fiction and genre-book business, though the source does not document its specific editorial categories.

• Paperback fiction imprint

  Purefull Bunko

  Purefull Bunko was a Jive fiction imprint. It represented the company’s presence in compact paperback publishing alongside its manga magazines, comics label, and tabletop role-playing series. Detailed catalog and operational information is not provided by the available source.

• 2019

  Share acquisition by Media Do HoldingsM&A

  Background

  Jive was an established Japanese publisher with manga, fiction, and tabletop role-playing publications.

  Action taken

  Media Do Holdings acquired Jive’s shares.

  Aftermath

  Jive became associated with Media Do Holdings. The available material does not clarify whether the publisher continued independently, was reorganized, or was integrated into another group operation.

  Source

• 2004

  Share sale to Poplar PublishingM&A

  Background

  Jive had been established only the previous year and operated as a Japanese publishing company with manga, fiction, and related entertainment titles.

  Action taken

  Jive sold its stock to Poplar Publishing.

  Aftermath

  The transaction changed Jive’s ownership, but the available reference does not state the purchase price, percentage acquired, or subsequent organizational changes.

  Source

1. 1Jive (publisher)en.wikipedia.org