It has never been easier to start reading manga, as more and more titles are being localized every month, with some chapters landing in America within hours of them hitting Japanese newsstands. However, even with these advancements, things are still not perfect, and there are many stumbling blocks that new fans must overcome when starting to explore the medium. But Viz Media’s manga site and its associated Viz Manga and Shonen Jump apps do a fantastic job of helping people overcome these hurdles, meaning that other distributors should follow its lead.
One of the best things about the Viz site is how it offers free chapters of many of the most popular, currently-running titles. For most Shonen Jump and ongoing series, the newest three chapters and the first three are free to read. Giving users a massive treasure trove of manga to sample and enjoy.
What the Viz Site Does Right
Also, each series has its own dedicated page. On this page is a link to the Viz Manga or Shonen Jump app sign-up page, allowing users to subscribe to read the rest of the series. There is also a link to a dedicated page for each of that manga’s volumes and each volume page has links to storefronts that allow readers to buy physical or digital copies of that volume as well as links to the other currently available books.
Plus, at Anime Expo 2023, Viz Media confirmed that both the Shonen Jump service and the Viz Manga service will be expanding to contain even more titles, with the latter including manga that spans a wide variety of genres, including Shojo romance and horror. Meaning that it will serve many demographics, including ones that are often overlooked by American manga distributors.
Why Viz’s Website Is Great for New Fans
The Shonen Jump and Viz Manga services do a fantastic job of helping newcomers get into manga. One of the site’s best parts is the free chapters, as this allows people curious about manga to dip their toes into the medium without paying upfront. Plus, three chapters are the perfect amount for a free sample, as it gives just enough of the story to grab your interest and get you invested in the world and its characters, allowing you to learn if the manga is something you want to read before buying it. This is great as people tend to be more adventurous when things are free, as they don’t have to worry about wasting money on something only to discover they don’t like it. Plus, the free chapters allow curious readers to do the digital equivalent of window shopping, as they can scroll through the site or app and try anything that catches their eye.
This window shopping effect is even better due to the variety of content Viz Media offers, as by allowing people to sample anything that catches their eye, curious manga readers will have the chance to step out of their comfort zone and try a new genre, leading to fans developing a greater appreciation for the medium as a whole.
Also, the free chapters make it easier for shows to grow via word of mouth. The lack of initial investment means that some readers might try a series after hearing about it from a friend or social media, leading to more manga readers and a healthier long-term fandom. This word-of-mouth effect is further helped by the fact that most ongoing titles on the site feature countdowns to when the next chapter launches, helping generate hype and discussion as the fandom comes together to count down the days until the next chapter lands.
On top of this, the website’s layout intuitively guides people through reading and buying a series. The more clicks that are needed to do something, the more likely a user is to give up part way through and not do it, especially when the task involves spending money. The Viz site streamlines the reading and buying process, so within a handful of clicks, a user can go from a free chapter to a volume’s page and then go directly to a storefront where they can buy a digital or physical copy. And, as the bottom of the page has links to the manga’s other volumes, readers can quickly grab the whole story without having to search for each one individually, further streamlining the process.
Also, if a manga is part of a larger franchise, like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, the overview page organizes volumes by sub-series. Making it easy to see where that specific part of the series fits into the larger franchise, making it easy to understand what you need to read without having to search for a fan-made reading list or an online guide, making getting into long-running series feel much less intimidating.
Viz’s manga website and apps do a great job of making manga more accessible to the masses. Thanks to its intuitive layout, free samples, and sheer range, it removes many roadblocks that stop people from getting into manga. It allows people to start reading whatever they like, in the format they want, as fast as possible, making the whole process feel effortless. This ease of use means that Viz’s manga offerings sidestep the issues many American comics have, where readers can’t work out where to start with a series or what they need to buy. Because of this, more distributors should look at what Viz does and try to apply it to their distribution chains, as the easier it is to read manga, the bigger the community will become.
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