VIZ Media has announced 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™. Read on:
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.
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