New MANGA Plus service from Shueisha (global, legal, simul, free, English releases)

CCC

Shueisha just rolled out a new English-language simulpub website/app (called MANGA Plus) that provides the latest chapters of One Piece (and many other Jump titles) for free. Kind of like Viz's recent SJ overhaul? Minus the "vault"? But…
The selling point this time is that it's GLOBAL. Every country in the world except Japan, S.Korea, and China.

Article about it:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2019-01-27/everything-you-need-to-know-about-manga-plus-by-shueisha/.142401 Interview:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-01-27/shueisha-launches-free-global-manga-plus-service/.142634

Pertinent details:
-same ENG translations used by Viz (Stephen's, for OP!), when it's a series Viz already does
-100% simul-release (same day/time as Japan)
-first and last chapters of a given series are free, and you can also purchase digital volumes
-Spanish version coming next month

Website:
https://mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp/#/updates
Android app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.shueisha.mangaplus
iOS app:
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1442476536

Bond en Avant

This came way sooner than I expected, but it's a pleasant surprise!
Now my Malaysian friends won't feel left out.

Captain Krupp

Now Jaiminis Box has no business existing. Im ULTRA happy yet a little sad.

MiyamotoMusashi

@Captain:

Now Jaiminis Box has no business existing. Im ULTRA happy yet a little sad.

Trust me, a lot of people are still gonna use Jaiminis, simply because it releases a scanlation a few days prior than the official release

Jabra

They don't clean the pages? Looks kinda dirty compared to the VIZ site?

Still great that things are developing faster than expected!

Captain M

Anyone got a clue what the One Piece re-edition on the manga list page is? It goes to a 404 page when I click on it, but the regular OP release works fine.

KaizokuJinbei

I like that I'm able to use this on my Fire HD 10 tablet since the Jump app doesn't work on it

Robby

Whoo, way to go Shueisha!

Maybe this is why Viz launched last month despite the headache of holiday scheduling messing things up, instead of just starting in January, in order to get some of the kinks out.

Greg

And so it was, that the sole reason to use scans became, "I'm impatient."

Captain M

At the minute, having only looked at the desktop version of each, I like Viz's version better. It has more full series at the minute, and this new reader does a really awkward thing with some series if you set it to horizontal reading, where the pages don't line up like an open book the way they should, resulting in spreads being split over two pages. It also stops me from setting my browser to fullscreen if I have the reader open, which I guess is to prevent scraping but is still super goddamn frustrating, especially when Viz allows it.

Greg

At the minute

No doubt.

This is a big big new thing. Expect it to be funky.

You know what the best possible thing you could do is? Tell them exactly all of that via feedback. Super important.

MasterKingJC

I did not expect Shueisha to move so quickly on a free digital app that is separate from the Viz one. This must mean the free chapters and subscription initiative has been a roaring success for them.

Kishido

YES… Finally I can use this in my country as well

maxterdexter

This app's reader is worse than the viz one, but the series presentation like the list of updated series is better.

I guess this wasn't made by viz but by shueisha itself right?

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

I dub the wWSJ as worldly weekly shonen jump.

MarcelloF

I can't get the app to work. I get a "Load Error" every time I open it.

Still, it's cool that they're doing this. Feels like Shueisha is getting with the times and found a good way to combat piracy. Hopefully, the available languages expand from beyond English and Spanish. And they change the chapters to the first 3 and latest 3 like the Viz app. Higher quality pages would be nice, too. For both Viz and this Shueisha app.

@Captain:

Now Jaiminis Box has no business existing. Im ULTRA happy yet a little sad.

@Greg:

And so it was, that the sole reason to use scans became, "I'm impatient."

Well, for Jump series at least. there's still other publishers lol. And non-English speakers.

Hekti

That’s really cool!
But the UI is for me in Spanish and I can not find the possibility to change that.
The manga itself is in English though. Just weird

maxterdexter

Hmmm, unless they configured it for "English if english, spanish if not" that is weird. I'm at spain and it downladed as the english version, even if my phone itself is in spanish.

You still can read the first and last 3, only is a little hidden, in any chapter of that series, lightly tap to show the menu and progress bar, and at the top right is the chapter list.

There is a "low res" and "high res" in the options. Try that if you will. Can't find language options in app, so it must be from the store, but again, my store is in spanish as well, so it must be my google profile? NOPE, it is also in spanish! So no idea.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

There is the final step to kill early piracy. Only with the end of the physical magazine the early scans will end, and with that, the revenue will not be enough to support those servers.

Maju

wonder what this means for all those country-wide licensing contracts

maxterdexter

That ammount of legalese is beyond me, but I'd guess centralization of the manga licensing to ease earnings distribution, or this one is only going to be free, and point to each editorial's page/app for archives.

Rivaille

After Japan, France is the biggest manga market but it seems that it is not enough to be considered by the Shueisha…:getlost:
But i’m glad for the Spanish readers.

maxterdexter

Number of countries is what they are going for, the French editorials are way more organized with the volume releases and manga available than the 3-5 Spanish ones in Spain, vs the other 4 in Latam.

They could also have gone with piracy numbers, that precisely because your market is bigger, it is seen as solid enough.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

The biggest manga market, Japanese, was also excluded.

KageKageKing

Do I need to acquire something to get access to previous chapters or something?

maxterdexter

@KageKageKing:

Do I need to acquire something to get access to previous chapters or something?

It looks like this app doesn't have that. I guess a sacrifice to be made to conquer the world, is to do it for free.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

The app showed me an add for a dating site. It had the google format .

Jiguraku is complete, or at least up to 50~.

MajinArekkusu

So now that these chapters are free worldwide are we adjusting the rules or still go with the I gotta read it a couple days earlier excuse and therefore still have threads based on scanlation discussions for one piece etc?

Ike79

Some things I've noted looking around the app:

It only has the first three and the three most recent chapters from Shonen Jump series. The other chapters are said to be non-available right now.
I'm from Japan, HunterxHunter, David and Hinomaru Sumo are available in Manga Plus, but not in Viz's Shonen Jump. Hinomaru has 12 chapters available (1-6 and 221-226)
Catalogue titles also have only three chapters, but a new chapter is said to arrive every Saturday. I imagine they'll do a delayed weekly publication like they do for some series in the Japanese Shonen Jump Plus (they are available worldwide, here's the one for Stardust Crusaders https://shonenjumpplus.com/episode/10834108156636902222). That's probably what they mean by "re-edition". Outside of Shonen Jump stuff, these include Claymore and Tokyo Ghoul.
Some original Shonen Jump Plus titles are also available, a number of them without missing chapters.

Seems like an interesting app, even for those who already have a Viz's.
I don't like its name, though. It makes it look like an illegal knockoff. I would have gone for something like Shonen Jump Global.

maxterdexter

Yeah, the name is a no-no, I guess they wanted to separate themselves from WSJ, but the naming and logo seems like the old android readers.

Hell, my last job called it's products like that "Banking Plus" or the like, so it's extra awkward for me.

Kaizoku_Ou

Double pages are horrible in the web browser. The reader is lighter and better than Viz's when it comes to full screen(but the scan's quality is worse and the double page issues) . I'll try it on my ipad later, maybe it is different than the web version.

.access timeco.

Someone sent this before and I completely disregarded it thinking it was the VIZ thing.

I'm curious, though. If Shueisha can allow anyone anywhere to access it, what keeps VIZ from doing the same?

@MajinArekkusu:

So now that these chapters are free worldwide are we adjusting the rules or still go with the I gotta read it a couple days earlier excuse and therefore still have threads based on scanlation discussions for one piece etc?

There is nothing to adjust to, the forum has been following the release for one month now, not the scanlations. We have one thread for spoilers (which encompass scanlations as well) and one for the thread opened at the release date. The difference is that hopefully now we won't need to spend half the discussion threads arguing about availability.

Ike79

@.access:

I'm curious, though. If Shueisha can allow anyone anywhere to access it, what keeps VIZ from doing the same?

If I had to guess: Viz only bought the rights from Shueisha for English-speaking countries. Meanwhile, Shueisha, being the original publisher, has worldwide publishing rights.

MajinArekkusu

@.access:

There is nothing to adjust to, the forum has been following the release for one month now, not the scanlations. We have one thread for spoilers (which encompass scanlations as well) and one for the thread opened at the release date. The difference is that hopefully now we won't need to spend half the discussion threads arguing about availability.

You're right. Expect to still see people complain that they can't read viz chapters without realizing this new service exists. xD

Robby

@MajinArekkusu:

So now that these chapters are free worldwide are we adjusting the rules or still go with the I gotta read it a couple days earlier excuse and therefore still have threads based on scanlation discussions for one piece etc?

We already pushed for endorsing the official release when Viz made the switch two months ago, including spoiler tags on series before the official day and not releasing the OP chapter officially until then. It was basically a trial period with a chance of going back, but with SHueisha taking this step I think its even more important that we keep trying.

But as long as the majority of the forum prefers the one day earlier bootlegs and discussing spoilers, there's not much else we can do. Taking that away would probably kill the site overnight. Hopefully in time more and more people will switch to supporting the official release, or the bootlegs slow down or something, and we can just go the official route full time. In the meantime, we're encouraging the official as best we can.

@Ike79:

If I had to guess: Viz only bought the rights from Shueisha for English-speaking countries. Meanwhile, Shueisha, being the original publisher, has worldwide publishing rights.

And Shueisha is apparently using the Viz translation so… there's some kind of synergy there.

Candide

Someone knows what this Naruto re-edition they do is?

maxterdexter

Without any deep look at it, I'd say they would republish Naruto a chapter a week for some extra clicks.

Kdom

@MajinArekkusu:

You're right. Expect to still see people complain that they can't read viz chapters without realizing this new service exists. xD

if one puts the link which is available by everyone, they won't complain

andre

@Kdom:

if one puts the link which is available by everyone, they won't complain

They will complain as long as Jaiminisbox and Mangastrema are pushing chapters out 2 days earlier and these chapters aren't being discussed. I've seen some complain because they have to login to see discussion, when they've been able to just browse it all before.

This all makes me wonder if Shueisha and Viz are going to come down hard on scanlators now, which is something they've done a few times in the past. I've appreciated the scans to this point, but a week is a week and that's how long we have to wait, every time, regardless.

CCC

@Robby:

And Shueisha is apparently using the Viz translation so… there's some kind of synergy there.

Except for series that Viz doesn't have licensed, the translation/lettering is outsourced to Media Do (take a look at Hinomaru, say).
It's…not quite the happy synergy it seems.

But still great for consumers

Monquito

@Greg:

And so it was, that the sole reason to use scans became, "I'm impatient."

It's always been tho.

Jabra

Seems I'm blind, where can I buy the backlog on Manga Plus?

The uncleaned pages look really bad, but this is good enough for me if the offer is similiar to Viz'.

Edit: Nvm, I guess it's simply not available (yet?).

Laffitte Doflamingo

Then where will Viz go? Will it eventually be merged / absorbed into this new shonen jump plus service and disappear?

CCC

@Laffitte:

Then where will Viz go? Will it eventually be merged / absorbed into this new shonen jump plus service and disappear?

Nope! Different, separate services for different demos.

The Viz territories get the full "vault" (backlog) for sub ($2/month), and three latest chapters for free.
Shueisha's MANGA Plus gets first + latest chapters for free, and digital volumes for purchase. Not a subscription. Money comes from ads.

People in Viz territories can use one or the other (or both); rest of the world can (legally) use MANGA Plus.

Kdom

@andre:

They will complain as long as Jaiminisbox and Mangastrema are pushing chapters out 2 days earlier and these chapters aren't being discussed. I've seen some complain because they have to login to see discussion, when they've been able to just browse it all before.

there will always be people complaining for whatever reasons. Don't change the subject which was specific to the fact that people had a permission denied when clicking on viz link.
That won't happen anymore

wolfwood must be disappointed, he is not in 3d world anymore

Gamabounta

On iOS it doesn't rotate on horizontal while reading. Am I the only one encountering this issue ?

I wasn't expecting such an offer after Viz. Now I can move to the official schedule, and unsubscribe to a few twitter/youtube accounts that will spoil me with scanlation release…

silver_planet

@Gamabounta:

On iOS it doesn't rotate on horizontal while reading. Am I the only one encountering this issue ?

I wasn't expecting such an offer after Viz. Now I can move to the official schedule, and unsubscribe to a few twitter/youtube accounts that will spoil me with scanlation release…

go to your setting, you can set to read whether in horizontal or vertical mode

Gamabounta

@silver_planet:

go to your setting, you can set to read whether in horizontal or vertical mode

Yeah this setting I found, but it's the scrolling direction. I was searching for a way to read while holding my iOS device in landscape (I feel like my experience is better on phones this way).

wolfwood

@Kdom:

wolfwood must be disappointed, he is not in 3d world anymore

Oh well i'll just have to find something else to be grumpy about.

But this is good news. Neat little app from what i can tell.

Kdom

@wolfwood:

Oh well i'll just have to find something else to be grumpy about.

But this is good news. Neat little app from what i can tell.

yep, i'm also happy. Blue Flag is in the list of the series which were not in Viz and that is great

Seafarer33

That is simply amazing.
Viz was a nice step already, being able to access content without a VPN is even better.
Farewell bootleg scans.

wolfwood

You do get a little touched when you finally do get to be treated like an indoor pet. No more sleeping out in the mud and eating scraps for this dog, i'm finally allowed to snack on the fancy dog food and sleep on the dog bed like all the other global doggies can. Reading OP on my phone over here like some fancy pantsy sir yep yep.

fana

While I'm glad that we get other series translated simultaneously (especially Hinomaru Zumou) I wish Viz would also do them.

I got used to official translations that are better than the scanlations but here FA's translator of Hinomaru Zumou seems way better. Well, I can only hope that they improve in the future.

uniaka ikuzakas

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