Shueisha Launches Subscription Plans for MANGA Plus App

Shueisha is launching a subscription plan for MANGA Plus, dubbed MANGA Plus MAX. The prices differ based on the regions user come from and include two options. It’s worth noting that it’s not clear how the pricing tiers will affect the First Read Free program that allows users to read every manga for free once if using the mobile app. The promotion was supposed to last until January 2023, but still exists. The pricing tiers for MANGA Plus MAX subscription include:

• Standard Plan – Access to 80 currently serialized works and more than 6000 chapters
  • 1.99$ in US, Canada, Germany, Thailand, Canada, etc.
  • 0.99$ Indonesia, Philippines, India, etc.
• Deluxe Plan – Unlimited access to over 15,000 chapters from 190 works (includes completed series)
  • US$4.99: U.S.A., France, Germany, Thailand, Canada, etc.
  • US$3.99: Indonesia, Philippines, India, etc.

Both plans are ad-free; it seems like the current free plan is staying for newest releases. The Standard Plan covers ongoing titles, and includes One Piece, Chainsaw Man, 【OSHI NO KO】, My Hero Academia, and Jujutsu Kaisen among others, while the Deluxe Plan also offers completed titles such as Naruto, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, and BLEACH in the Deluxe Plan. There is around 80 currently ongoing titles on the MANGA Plus app and 110 completed. The full list of countries and the price breakdown is not available yet.

The completed titles now offer preview chapters for free (usually the first three), but most chapters are still available without subscription for ongoing series (Jujutsu Kaisen, for example is still fully free). However, if you read the chapters previously they are now paywalled, as evident with Chainsaw Man:

MANGA Plus by Shueisha is online manga platform and app that was launched in January 2019. It offers free and legal reading options for manga fans worldwide and publishes chapters for ongoing series on the same day as in Japan. It contains numerous Shueisha titles. Chainsaw Man was the first manga on the platform that surpassed 1 million reads. In August 2022 they partnered with MediBang to launch a manga submission platform for artists.

Anime Corner reached out to Shueisha regarding the region-based pricing and the First Read Free availability.

Source: Press Release
© Shueisha