Tachiyomi Will No Longer be Actively Developed
In a significant development within the digital manga community, Tachiyomi, the widely popular open-source manga reader application for Android, has announced that it will no longer be under active development.
This news has been a jolt to the vast community of users who have relied on Tachiyomi for their daily manga reading experience.
The official announcement came from Tachiyomi's representative, arkon. In a heartfelt message to the community, arkon stated, "Tachiyomi will no longer be actively developed." This decision was made following threats from Kakao Entertainment Corp, leading to the unanimous agreement among core contributors and support staff to cease further development.
In the announcement, arkon reflected on the journey of Tachiyomi, acknowledging the learning and growth experienced while working on the project. The decision to end Tachiyomi's development was not taken lightly, as the project was a hobby for many on the team, developed without financial incentives.
An official statement was made on the Tachiyomi website regarding no longer developing the project:
I'm sad to announce that, with unanimous support from the fellow core contributors and support staff, the core Tachiyomi project will no longer be under active development due to recent events involving Kakao Entertainment Corp's threats to both myself and others that have been involved with the project.
While many will be understandably angry or disappointed in our lack of backbone or perceived selfishness, please understand that this project has merely served as a simple hobby to many of us with no financial incentive and such events have proved unworthy of investing additional time and effort.
Personally, I've learned a lot while working on Tachiyomi:
- Various facets of Android development including its hellscape of rapidly changing languages, libraries, and APIs.
- Considerations when developing an app used by millions of people yet working with very little data on how they use it, and how to shape user behavior in a longer-term more sustainable fashion.
- How to design things to make things accessible to the average, not necessarily tech-literate, user.
No matter what you used Tachiyomi for, I hope it gave you some happier times. I sincerely hope to see a future where content will be more accessible to fans around the world and that creators can truly share their creations in a sustainable and healthy manner for them.
- I want to take the time to thank everybody who has been involved:
- The hundreds of global contributors, including to the app, extensions, website, and translations.
- The volunteers who helped manage/moderate Discord, GitHub, and the social media accounts; you all have ridiculous patience.
- Anybody who submitted feedback or bug reports, helping further improve the project.
And also a huge sorry to anybody who had pull requests that were left open, I was hoping to get to those at some point.
In the upcoming days:
- Our core GitHub repositories will be taken down.
- The official social media accounts will be closed.
- The official Discord server will be repurposed into a general community for those who are interested in staying.
Note that existing installations cannot be affected by us. Anything new called Tachiyomi or claiming to be its successor have no relation to the original developers. Always practice caution when downloading or installing anything from unknown sources.
As always, directly support your favorite content creators if you are in a position to do so.
Thank you,
— arkon
Tachiyomi has been a cornerstone in the manga reading community since its launch in 2014. Its ability to provide access to a wide range of manga and manhwa from various sources, coupled with its user-friendly features like offline reading and integration with tracking services like MyAnimeList, made it a staple for manga enthusiasts.
The app's discontinuation leaves a significant gap in the manga reader market. Tachiyomi was known for its extensive library and customization options, catering to a diverse range of reading preferences. Its closure is a loss to the community that had grown and thrived around it.
The Rise of Mihon
In response to the discontinuation of Tachiyomi, a new project named Mihon has emerged. Announced by an independent community, Mihon is positioned as the spiritual successor to Tachiyomi. It aims to continue the legacy of providing a free, open-source manga reading experience, offering similar features and user interface to that of Tachiyomi.
Mihon's development is a testament to the resilience of the open-source community, showcasing their commitment to maintaining access to manga for fans globally. It represents the ongoing efforts to support free and open-source software in the manga reading sphere.