Episodes 5-10 minutes long offered for free; overseas release also planned

DeNA president Isao Moriyasu announced at the G1 Venture conference in Tokyo that due to the success of its Manga Box app, which allows users to read manga for free via smartphone or tablet, it will be launching a new app titled Anime Box, which will revolve around the same principles. The app will allow users to watch anime episodes five to ten minutes long at no charge.

In order to support the app, the company plans to lengthen series that gain popularity, and sell them in physical packages. The app will also be supported by advertisement media. There are plans to offer Anime Box outside of Japan.

Since Manga Box began service in December, the app has had over 3.7 million downloads. The English version of the app also launched in December, with over 20 titles available for English-speakers to read for free. Some of the manga featured on Manga Box are being published simultaneously in both English and Japanese, and the app is available on the iTunes store and on Google Play in 140 countries and regions around the world. DeNA also plans to add more languages to the app in the future.

Update (April 2016): DeNA told ANN that DeNA's CEO "did say it would be nice if we also had Anime Box in addition to Manga Box, but it was only a 'would be nice' idea rather than an actual plan."

Thanks to Liam for the news tip

Source: The Tokyo IT Newspaper