Lezhin Entertainment business profile: Kidari Studio's Japan webtoon arm
Lezhin Entertainment licenses and adapts webtoon IP in Japan, yet its own revenue and profit are not separately disclosed.
Published: 2026-08-19. Updated: 2026-08-19.
Short answer: Lezhin Entertainment Inc. is a Japanese subsidiary of South Korean content company Kidari Studio, Inc. It operates the male-oriented webtoon platform Lezhin Comics and the female-oriented platform BeLtoon in Japan, and it engages in platform operation, webtoon distribution, and IP diversification including live-action adaptations. Kidari Studio, Lezhin's parent, reported consolidated 2025 sales of KRW 217.5 billion and operating profit of KRW 12.4 billion. Lezhin Entertainment's standalone revenue and profit are not publicly disclosed.
What Lezhin Entertainment is and who owns it
Lezhin Entertainment Inc. is a Japan-based webtoon platform operator and IP developer. It is a subsidiary of Kidari Studio, Inc., a publicly listed South Korean digital content company. Lezhin Entertainment runs Lezhin Comics, a male-oriented webtoon platform launched in 2015, and BeLtoon, a female-oriented platform launched in 2022.
In addition to platform operation, Lezhin Entertainment is involved in IP development. It has provided over 380 original webtoons to Japanese digital bookstores such as Piccoma, LINE Manga, Mecha Comic, Comic Cmoa, DMM Books, and Fliptoon. In 2024, it established Shinano Lab Studio to develop webtoons from novels and print IPs, and it is creating a new manga format for short-form video platforms.
Lezhin Entertainment and anime
Lezhin Entertainment's anime activity comes through IP adaptation rather than in-house animation production. A notable example is the anime Elise the Surgeon, co-produced with KADOKAWA and MAHO FILM, which was released in the first quarter of 2024 and originated from a Lezhin webtoon IP. The company describes this as a case of high-quality IP expansion under a One-Source Multi-Use model.
The company has also partnered with COL JAPAN, a subsidiary of Chinese digital publisher ChineseAll, to produce anime short dramas using AI-assisted light animation. This collaboration combines Lezhin's IP development experience with COL JAPAN's AI animation technology.
Parent company financial context
Because Lezhin Entertainment is a subsidiary, its financials are consolidated into Kidari Studio's results. Kidari Studio reported consolidated 2025 sales of KRW 217.5 billion and operating profit of KRW 12.4 billion, a 466% year-on-year increase that marked a turnaround to profitability. Net income for the period was KRW 6.5 billion.
Within Kidari Studio's 2025 performance, domestic platforms Bomtoon and Lezhin Comics grew sales by more than 15% year on year, North American platform Lezhin US recorded KRW 25 billion in payments, and Japanese platform BeLtoon JP surpassed 1 million cumulative subscribers and more than doubled payments year on year. These figures refer to platform performance across Kidari's brands, not to Lezhin Entertainment Inc. alone.
Standalone figures not available: Kidari Studio reports consolidated results, not separate financial statements for Lezhin Entertainment Inc. This article therefore reports parent-company figures and notes where they include other Kidari platforms.
Ownership and investor background
Kidari Studio is listed on the Korea Exchange. In January 2022, ByteDance invested KRW 48 billion in Kidari Studio and Lezhin Entertainment, with KRW 24 billion going to each. The investment was intended to support content production studios in China and Japan and to expand IP-based NFT initiatives.
Kidari Studio operates more than a dozen platforms under brands such as Lezhin, Bomtoon, and Delitoon across nine language regions. Lezhin Entertainment represents the Japan-focused piece of that network.
Strategy and market position
Lezhin Entertainment's strategy in Japan is to build gender-targeted webtoon platforms and to convert successful titles into publishing, live-action, animation, and short-form content. The company benefits from Kidari Studio's content pipeline and translation infrastructure, but it competes with larger platforms such as WEBTOON Entertainment's LINE Manga and Kakao Entertainment's Piccoma.
The company's ability to grow its anime-related revenue depends on the hit rate of its webtoon catalog and the success of adaptations. Because it does not publish standalone revenue, its financial scale relative to Japanese anime distributors cannot be precisely measured.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Lezhin Entertainment?
Lezhin Entertainment Inc. is a subsidiary of Kidari Studio, Inc., a South Korean publicly listed digital content company.
What platforms does Lezhin Entertainment operate?
Lezhin Entertainment operates Lezhin Comics, a male-oriented webtoon platform, and BeLtoon, a female-oriented platform, in Japan.
Does Lezhin Entertainment report standalone revenue?
No. Lezhin Entertainment's results are consolidated into Kidari Studio's financial statements. Kidari Studio reported 2025 consolidated sales of KRW 217.5 billion.
What anime has Lezhin Entertainment been involved with?
Lezhin Entertainment's IP was adapted into the anime Elise the Surgeon, co-produced with KADOKAWA and MAHO FILM. It has also partnered on AI-assisted anime short dramas with COL JAPAN.