As I sit here typing this, I’m filled with lots of emotion. Today marks the third-year anniversary of Shrine Comics. Those three years have felt like a lifetime, but at the same time, it’s felt like no time has passed at all. If you had asked me three years ago where I think Shrine Comics would be, I would definitely say we would still be around. But I don’t think I would have been able to guess what we’ve been able to achieve in these three years.

I’m not going to list everything that we have achieved, because I think just opening up our app or going to our website will all speak for itself.

I do, however, want to acknowledge all the people behind the scenes who make all of this possible. Because as much as it sometimes feels that I am doing everything myself, that’s just not the case. As of right now, there are 26 people who make up the Shrine Staff. These include our incredible manga creators who work tirelessly to bring you the best stories they can, our editorial and graphic design staff who work behind the scenes helping shape the future of Shrine, our incredible voice cast for Kotton and Fennel, and the co-founders JKSManga, DeAndre Moffett, and myself who make the big decisions. This number also doesn’t include the talented developers who have worked on our app and future updates that I am excited to share with all.

SHRINE COMICS really is a team effort, and none of this could have ever happened if it weren’t for the wonderful people I have been lucky to surround myself with and who all believe in Shrine Comics’ mission to “evolve the culture of manga”.

This may shock some of you, but SHRINE COMICS isn’t a profitable company, at least not yet. But everyone who is a part of SHRINE COMICS believes in the mission. We want to make more opportunities for manga creators around the world regardless of race, gender identity, or disability. We want to bring people some of the best content they can find online. We want to set a precedent of a healthy work environment where creators don’t get hospitalized to meet crazy deadlines. We want SHRINE COMICS to be the premier publisher of manga content in the whole world.

This year, our third year, we will continue to strive towards all those goals. There are some cool things we are seeing down the pipeline, some which will be more obvious to those reading and some which are just as important but may not be noticed.

Thank you to all the SHRINE staff who made this all possible. I am indebted to you and will continue to work hard so that you get everything you deserve.

Happy 3rd anniversary. Let’s make dreams come true.

Jin