It wasn’t too long ago I wrote about how manga serializations are changing in Japan. Since then, several other magazines have been announced they’re ending (Bessatsu Hana to Yume) or changing its format and/or distribution (Comic Ryu). But the use of digital outlets for new talents continue, and Shueisha has decided to step up its efforts to getting new artists and the attention of readers who love to read manga online.
Shonen Jump Rookie has been around since at least 2016. Much like places like pixiv, budding manga creators could upload their works to this site in hopes of eventually being serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. There are also contests on a regular basis for cash prizes. It also paired with the JUMP Paint app in which hopeful artists can practice making digital manga and view lessons from current creators.
Last month, Shueisha made some huge changes to the portal. Jump Rookie, as it’s now known as, includes the following features and changes:
- Mobile apps for browsing
- Open to additional demographics including seinen, shoujo, and josei
- Social network functions including likes/thumbs up, comments, and follows
- 100% ad revenue to creators
The last one is likely of extreme interest to new manga artists looking for their big break. Jump Rookie means that not only Shueisha editors may look at their works, but they can get some sort of revenue from it. As many of you know, ad revenues aren’t always a solid source of income, but it’s probably better than putting up chapters on other art sites.
So how is this new app, anyway?
I downloaded the iOS version onto my iPad, but go here for the Android version.
You do not need an account to browse or to use features like giving a thumbs up or commenting. This is nice, but I hope that it isn’t susceptible to someone(s) flooding the voting and skewing the results. The app does not seem to have any region restrictions either, which is nice.
Anyway, upon opening the app, you will see the latest manga updates by day. If you want to read the newest chapter, you can go right there with a click. You can go to the first chapter in two clicks, otherwise, you can find the author page or the full list of chapters. You can also choose which demographic you want to read (shounen, seinen, shoujo/josei, or all), and the results can be filtered to show all, those with a lot of comments, or those with a lot of thumbs up.
Other sections of the app include seeing the current rankings (daily, weekly, and monthly), a search function, your reading history and notifications, and account settings.
As for the manga themselves, there is quite a range. Some look like rough drafts or outlines while others are full-color productions ready to go to print. Gag manga, manga dealing with medicine, fantasy stories, slice-of-life — Jump Rookie is definitely no longer all classic Jump fare.
However, I hate the vertical scrolling. Maybe it’s just me, but I never get a perfect scroll on these types of things. I prefer tapping just one to get the next page instead of having to adjust to make sure I’m seeing the full page. Some of the samples I read don’t look as if they’re optimized to be read one page at a time though, but I still prefer reading one full page at a time. If they ever want to release their work as a printed or digital book, they’ll have to do some major readjusting.
When you do get to the end of a chapter, you can then comment or whatever before moving on to the next installment.
Also, like most doujin works, there is little furigana, so readers need a more solid grasp of Japanese than if they were picking up a copy of Shonen Jump off the newsstand.
As for the ads themselves, they’re placed at the end of each chapter in a standard square, right above the social interaction features.
All in all, this is not the first time companies have launched such an endeavor (heck, TOKYOPOP has had their various Rising Stars of Manga and POP Comics initiatives), but hopefully Jump Rookie becomes a win-win for everyone. New creators get exposure, editors get a field of talent and easy-to-digest reader responses, and readers get some free entertainment that, at worst, costs them some ad clicks.
Plus, there are some really neat titles in there. Not too many places you can go from stories about crane games to veterinarians in one app. Even if you can’t read it, it’s still neat to browse, and if there’s something you like, you can still show your support in hopes the author and/or the series will go pro.