Viz Media announced a surprising change this morning via the NYAF and Twitter that they’ll be launching a new weekly digital manga version of Shonen Jump with Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha. It will become the official digital release of Weekly Shonen Jump as seen in Japan according to the feed. Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha will be available on VizManga.com & apps for $.99/mo and $25.99/year starting Jan.30, 2012. The digital release will have installments of Bakuman., Bleach, Naruto, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, One Piece, and Toriko but will be two weeks after their print debut in Japan’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.
According to ANN, “Viz will also offer Shonen Jump Digital Warp — an accelerated digital release of select manga titles to bridge the gap between the latest English graphic novels in print and the latest Japanese installments print. For example, Shonen Jump Digital Warp is starting from Naruto volume 53 now. (Viz published the print version of Naruto volume 52 last month.)”
After the first three months of digital publication, the print edition of Shonen Jump in the US will end with an April dated farewell issue.
VIZ Media, the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in the North America, announces the countdown to the launch of WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA (WEEKLY SJ ALPHA), a weekly serial anthology of some of the most popular manga series in the world: BAKUMAN｡, BLEACH, NARUTO, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, ONE PIECE, and TORIKO. The first issue of WEEKLY SJ ALPHA goes on sale January 30, 2012, and will be available through VIZManga.com and the VIZ Manga apps for iPhone™, iPod™ touch and iPad™.
Each new digital issue of WEEKLY SJ ALPHA brings manga fans in North America the latest chapters of their favorite series only two weeks after it debuts in Japan’s massively popular WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP Magazine. Currently, Japanese releases are often several months to years ahead of North American print titles; WEEKLY SJ ALPHA eliminates the delay in unprecedented fashion.
“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,” said Alvin Lu, Senior Vice President & General Manager. “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.”
WEEKLY SJ ALPHA will be made available through an annual membership that provides access to 48 weekly issues for 52 weeks for just $25.99. Single issues of WEEKLY SJ ALPHA can be read for a four-week rental from the time the reader purchases it for only $0.99. Each issue, once received on one device, can be read on all other enabled devices through the easy-to-use integrated VIZ Manga app and website.
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 SHONEN JUMP DIGITAL WARP will begin with NARUTO Volume 53 (available now) and BLEACH Volume 49 (coming soon).
As more fans migrate to the digital WEEKLY SJ ALPHA edition, VIZ Media plans to phase out the print edition of SHONEN JUMP Magazine. The popular, one-of-a-kind monthly magazine led the rapid growth of the manga market for much of the last decade and was VIZ Media’s flagship publication since it launched in 2003. The farewell April 2012 issue hits newsstands March 2012.
For more information on WEEKLY SJ ALPHA and exclusive subscriber offers, please visit ShonenJump.viz.com or VIZManga.com.
wow -_-