Manga Plus is bringing a huge change for its users who now have the option to buy subscription tiers, increasing the amount of content available.
The manga publishing giant Shueisha has just launched a subscription program for their signature international manga reading app Manga Plus, which also publishes titles serialized on Weekly Shonen Jump. The new service is called Manga Plus Max and has two subscription tiers, each offering different perks. This change aims to make manga more accessible globally, according to the editorial department of Shueisha.
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Manga Plus was launched in 2019 as the first-ever attempt by Shueisha to promote manga globally. Starting with 50 manga, the library grew as time went on and in 2021 the content became accessible in many more different languages such as Thai, Indonesian, and Russian. However, the actual availability of content remained limited by a strict publishing license. With few exceptions, chapters of a manga could be read only once, and the series currently serialized only made the three latest chapters available.
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Manga Plus Finally Introduces Subscription Plans
With the new version of Manga Plus, there are two tiers offered: the Standard Plan and the Deluxe Plan. Standard Plan is priced at $1.99 monthly for the USA, Canada, and other Western countries, while the Deluxe Plan comes at $4.99, but price will vary depending on the region. Both tiers will be ad-free, but the Standard Plan offers unlimited access to all currently serializing manga such as My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, and One Piece. The more expensive Deluxe Plan extends this to all ongoing and completed manga, including classics such as Naruto, Bleach, and Dragon Ball. Both tiers are only available for titles in English, and the Standard Plan comes with the first month free.
Whether the series will be available to download has not been made public. Manga Plus is available both on mobile and web, but the subscription is exclusive only to mobile. Readers are still able to access limited chapters for free without a subscription in the exact same way they have done until now, and it is unlikely that this feature will be axed in the near future, as it has given Manga Plus its huge audience of 6 million monthly readers. Hopefully, this change will also have a positive impact on the fight against piracy, reducing the demand for illegal scans.
Western Fans Can Finally Access All The Manga Content They Want
Shueisha has launched this project after kick-starting the NEXTWAVE campaign, which saw a new lineup of series from young promising authors begin serialization on Weekly Shonen Jump. This upgrade of Manga Plus comes as welcome news to many Western fans who wished to access more chapters of their favorite manga, which were not otherwise available outside of the United States (with the Shonen Jump app from Viz Media). This is also a way for fans to show concrete support for their favorite series, their authors, and the publishing company that brings them worldwide. Manga and anime are only becoming more and more popular internationally, and with Manga Plus finally becoming a subscription-based app, the availability and diffusion of the media will surely increase even more.
Source: Manga Plus.
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