Since manga magazine "Shonen Jump" stopped its print production, the title has now gone digital. But does it stack up to its previous print edition?
This week was the digital launch of the magazine, which featured popular manga titles such as "One Piece," "Bleach," and "Yu-Gi-Oh!" among others. With this first issue, we are given a variety of new titles -- "One Punch Man," about a superhero who saves people for fun, "Nisekoi," about a mobster's son who finds himself in an arranged marriage but is searching for the girl he made a promise to ten years prior, and "Cross Manage," a sports title about lacrosse,
The first difference you notice between this format and the print format is the print schedule. Where the print edition was on a monthly schedule, the digital version is on a weekly schedule, coinciding with the Japanese print schedule of the magazine. This could satisfy many fans who didn't like the wait between issues.
The other thing you notice is that it's subscription based. Although they have a free preview issue on the site (called a Starter Pack), the subscription is $25.99 per year, which includes access to 48 weeks of issues, special Yu-Gi-Oh! cards each season (which were originally featured in the print edition), and other exclusives such as one-shot manga and other digital gifts.
With the focus on the weekly magazine as opposed to the monthly titles, "Shonen Jump" can allow for smaller titles to get an audience since they no longer have to print three chapters of a particular series in a monthly magazine.
If you like "Shonen Jump" titles, this could be a great deal for you.
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