Founded in December 2010 and backed by the 36 publishers of the Japanese Digital Comics Association, JManga was intended to serve as a legal alternative to scanlation sites and online piracy.

JManga's arose from a strategic alliance between Crunchyroll, Inc. (an internet company specializing in streaming East Asian media) and Bitway Co., Ltd (a subsidiary of Toppan Printing and digital comic distributor) in the summer of 2010 to create the world's first legal, global online manga platform.

[1] As originally conceived, local distributors would have a number of choices in how to use the JManga platform, with options ranging from simply using the viewer or app to licensing the entire Crunchyroll online publishing and management suite and rebranding it with their logos and graphics.[2][3][relevant?]

Since the project was first announced, the goal had changed from enabling would-be licensees to start up distribution companies, to simply offering a legal alternative to the numerous scanlation (unauthorized translated scans of Japanese manga) websites that have popped up in recent years.

[11] Further, on July 13, at their panel at San Diego Comic-Con in 2012, native iOS and Android applications were announced for release in October 2012, with the company also unveiling the "Manga Translation Battle", a contest open to amateur and professional alike, organized in collaboration with - and sponsored by - the Japanese Ministry of Cultural Affairs.