Viz’s new subscription service will deliver translated manga the same day it’s out in Japan
Viz Media has released a new app and subscription service that will massively expand manga access for English-reading fans, and you can get it right now.
At its start, the Viz Manga service contains digital releases for over 10,000 chapters of manga from across a diverse list of genres, including titles from renowned Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha. Fifteen of those series will be simul-published — accessible to English readers on the same day of release in Japan. Together, the Shonen Jump subscription and the new Viz Manga subscription contain over 25,000 chapters of manga, with “further expansion in the works.”
Viz Media executives are hoping that all that expanded access will put a dent in manga piracy in the English language world.
“We hope that people will gravitate towards a platform where the latest content is free and an affordable subscription allows access to a vast library of chapters,” said Andy Nakatani, senior director of online manga and subscription manga, and Carl Hayes, senior director of consumer acquisition and retention, in a joint statement to Polygon. “All the more so, because users can trust an official platform where they know that the mangaka will get proper recognition for their work. This is really just a first step and we plan to expand in the future on to make even more manga available to more people.”
Manga and anime have long played a central role in defining the tastes of American popular culture. However, interest in manga has soared during the pandemic, as series like My Hero Academia and Chainsaw Mancharted best-seller lists and took over social media platforms like TikTok. In 2021, a representative from Viz Media told Polygon that the company saw “explosive growth” in
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