VIZ Media made a big announcement at New York Comic-Con today: they are discontinuing the print edition of Shonen Jump magazine and replacing it with an online edition. The new digital anthology will be called Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha, and will debut on January 30, 2012. Readers will be able to subscribe to a full year of issues ($25.99) or rent a single issue ($.99) for a one-month period. To ensure that readers can enjoy Alpha on a variety of digital platforms, the anthology will be available through the VIZ iTunes store and through VIZManga.com.
The most exciting feature of Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha will be its timeliness. As VIZ Senior VP Alvin Liu explains, new chapters will be released here in the US just two weeks after their Japanese publication, thus addressing American fans’ perennial complaint about the wait between installments of their favorite series. “Simultaneously publishing an official translation of the most popular comics magazine in the world has been a dream since manga publishing began in North America in the 1980s,” Lu explained. “This is how manga is meant to be read in English – weekly, current, authorized and on the go. Now with WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA, it’s about to happen for real.”
In support of their goal of timely releases, VIZ also announced a second program: Shonen Jump Digitial Warp. Beginning with volume 53 of Naruto and 49 of Bleach, VIZ will be offering digital editions of certain SJ titles, with the goal of closing the gap between the English and Japanese editions. From their press release:
To prepare fans for the debut of WEEKLY SJ ALPHA, VIZ Media is also offering the SHONEN JUMP DIGITAL WARP, a limited collection of digital graphic novel speed-ups that will bring North American readers up-to-date with Japanese releases. In some cases, the digital speed-ups will jump ahead of the print releases in North America.
The move isn’t surprising. VIZ has been aggressively promoting digital manga initiatives, rolling out its iPad app in 2010, and unveiling its web portal VIZManga.com in July 2011. The company also has been experimenting with online serialization of popular titles. Earlier this year, VIZ began publishing three Shonen Jump series online, making new chapters of Bakuman, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, and Toriko available to magazine subscribers in advance of the print editions. (VIZ actually began experimenting with online serialization as early as 2009, publishing new chapters of Rin-ne simultaneously with the Japanese edition, and launching the SigIKKI and Shonen Sunday portals.)
Whether this initiative will have a direct impact on piracy remains to be seen. Younger consumers will undoubtedly mourn the transition to an online-only edition, as it requires a credit card to purchase, while collectors are likely to protest the lack of a tangible object. Both groups complained loudly when Yen Press made a similar decision to discontinue the print edition of its Yen+ anthology in favor of an online version.
Yet the move makes good sense from a business point of view, as the switch to a weekly schedule makes it easier to keep readers engaged with the magazine, offering them regular updates on their favorite series. The introductory rate, too, is attractive: commitment-phobic readers can read a single issue of Alpha for just 99 cents, a painless way to sample a new and untested product. And, of course, the opportunity to read the most recent issue of a favorite series provides fans a legitimate alternative to scanlations.
Now if only VIZ would resurrect Shojo Beat…
My daughter collects them, so I already know she will not be happy when she finds this out. And since we do not buy e-books/e-mags in the house, I guess it’s end of an era for her (and me, since I used to borrow some of her SJ’s now and then).
Best, and keep on blogging.
Hi, Angel! I know your daughter won’t be alone; when Yen Press announced a similar move last year, their blog was inundated with complaints from teenagers who didn’t have credit cards. I hope VIZ comes up with some creative strategies for making the magazine accessible to younger readers, as the content is really meant for them!
RE: credit cards – my VizManga purchases are made through my PayPal account, so a credit card may not be strictly necessary. Aslo, you can get pre-paid Visa cards, etc. at grocery stores which work like gift cards, so it is not an insurmountable problem. And I would assume iTunes gift cards would work for those who have iOS devices.
I’m excited about the transition, since it is becoming increasingly difficult to find physical copies of Shonen Jump in an area where the local Borders (and now Books-A-Million) have closed shop.
Hi, Jenn!
Yes, you’re absolutely right. I’m just thinking about the switch from a thirteen year old’s POV. Gift cards are certainly one way around the problem, but require a level of planning and patience that walking into a store with a $10 in your pocket doesn’t.
Having said that, the project sounds like a really smart way to approach the piracy problem. I’m only sorry VIZ didn’t announce this initiative two years ago — who knows where the manga market might be right now!
People having trouble with payment options aside, that’s definitely a price I can agree with. That’s the first subscription rate I’ve personally seen that’s low enough for me to consider. Heck, that’s low enough that I might just start reading SJ on a whim.
Exactly! VIZ has been a lot savvier about digital pricing than many of its competitors.It will be interesting to see how they handle back issues; I remember that being a big complaint among Yen+ subscribers when Yen Press switched to a digital anthology model.
It’s funny, but the first thing I thought upon reading this was, “Oh PLEASE let this mean they’ll bring back Shojo Beat in any way, shape or form”.
Glad to know I’m not the only one mourning the demise of Shojo Beat! That’s how I discovered titles like Crimson Hero, one of my all-time favorite sports manga.
If you want hard copies of shounen jump magazine just order the japanese editions. I had a small collection of Japanese Shounen Jump magazines until I donated them to the Kumoricon manga library. Digital is fine and all, but I prefer having the book in my hands to flip the pages.