It’s hard to deny the ever-increasing influence that Shonen Jump has had on the anime industry. The company known as Shueisha is responsible for the publication that has introduced so many anime and manga examples that an entire genre has been named for the organization. Dragon Ball, One Piece, Hunter x Hunter, Naruto, and countless others have helped Shonen Jump become the biggest manga compilation in the world and it seems as though the app, Shonen Jump+, has also been seeing some major growth lately.
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Weekly Shonen Jump first began as a physical publication in 1968, introducing readers to countless anime series that have become staples in the industry. In 2014, Shueisha decided to leap from print to digital with Shonen Jump+, which compiles quite a few mangas of its own including the likes of Spy x Family, Kaiju No. 8, Dandadan, and Hell’s Paradise to name a few. It should come as no surprise to see that Shueisha has included a digital format to allow readers all over the world to read some of their favorite Shonen manga, as North American comic publishers have done the same in recent years. Marvel and DC Comics for example have Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe Infinite, which allow readers to subscribe to access quite a few comics printed by both outlets.
Shonen Jump+ Success
As it stands, Shonen Jump+ has an average of around 2.6 million daily users, 6.7 million weekly users, and 11 to 12.5 million monthly users. So far, there have been 22 million downloads for the app itself, showing how popular manga has become over the world since the digital platform arrived in 2014. In a breakdown of these statistics, the current Editor-in-Chief Hosono Shuhei celebrated the success of the outlet while also noting that Spy x Family’s continued success is allowing for an even bigger breadth in terms of readership.
While stalwarts such as My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball Super, and One Piece continue to release new chapters regularly, there are definitely new movers and shakers that are looking to carve out a place for themselves as part of Shonen Jump. As more outlets move further into the digital world, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for manga when it comes to hitting print and the possibility of transferring completely from print to digital. Regardless of what format the manga arrives in, it’s clear that Shueisha will continue having a massive impact on the anime industry moving forward.
