Shōnen Jump+

Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump reached a peak weekly circulation of 6.53 million copies in the 1990s, though its readership has since steadily declined as a result of the broader decline of the print media industry. In response, Shueisha turned towards digital distribution in an attempt to reach out to a wider audience.[3]

A free digital edition of Weekly Shōnen Jump was issued as a result of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, after shipping and distribution lines were affected by the disaster. Issuing the digital magazine was difficult at that time because of different work flows from issuing printed version. In 2012, Shueisha launched the online bookstore app Jump Book Store, which enjoyed mild commercial success and became an inspiration for Shōnen Jump+.[4]

In 2013, Shueisha launched the online manga platform Jump LIVE. Although the app was downloaded over 1 million times in three weeks, the editorial department found it contained too much content and it was difficult to distinguish between free and paid content. Shueisha would ultimately discontinue the platform. Nevertheless, the experience of launching an online platform helped the company for the coming Shōnen Jump+.[5][6]

Shōnen Jump+ was launched on September 22, 2014 with more than 30 manga series, some of which were transferred from Jump LIVE, including ēlDLIVE and Nekoda-biyori. The digital version of Weekly Shōnen Jump can be purchased in Shōnen Jump+ at 300 yen per issue or 900 yen per month.[1][7]

Compared to Weekly Shōnen Jump, titles published in Shōnen Jump+ are subject to laxer editorial restrictions around explicit content. According to Shuhei Hosono, the chief editor of Shōnen Jump+, the number of weekly active users increased from 1.1 million to 1.3 million between April and May 2016; Hosono noted that the increase was catalyzed by the release of Fire Punch and World's End Harem, which both contain depictions of sex and violence not permitted in Weekly Shōnen Jump.[8] Starting from 2017, Weekly Shōnen Jump began serializing works made by manga artists who previously published their series on Shōnen Jump+, such as Taishi Tsutsui's We Never Learn, Tatsuki Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man, and Tsurun Hatomune's Mitama Security: Spirit Busters.[9]

2019 was a year of breakthrough for the platform.[10] Spy × Family, which was a new series in 2019, attracted many users to the app, especially female users. After it began serialization, the proportion of female users increased by 5% while 60%-65% were male.[11] Astra Lost in Space received an anime adaptation and Eren the Southpaw received a TV drama adaptation in 2019; both are original titles of Shōnen Jump+. Moreover, its original titles started to win big awards.[10] Astra Lost in Space won the 12th Manga Taishō Award, becoming the first web comic to do so.[12]

Manga Plus, a global version of Shōnen Jump+, was launched on January 28, 2019. An international edition of Shōnen Jump+ was first proposed in 2017 as a means to appeal to non-Japanese audiences; the app is offered in English and Spanish.[3] Also in 2019, Shueisha produced Marvel × Shōnen Jump+ Super Collaboration, a collaboration series with Marvel Comics composed of seven one-shots written by various Weekly Shōnen Jump artists including Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Kazuki Takahashi.[13] In December 2020, Deadpool: Samurai started serialization on the same platform after the one-shot in October 2019.

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some titles in Shōnen Jump+ have been published on a modified schedule.[14] A website namely "Jump Digital Labo" (ジャンプ・デジタルラボ) was launched by the editorial department of Shōnen Jump+ in July 2020, for recruiting proposals of digital development.[15] Kaiju No. 8, which has been serialized since July 2020, has gained 30 million page views in October 2020, becoming the fastest Shōnen Jump+ manga to do so.[16]

On December 14, 2020, it was announced that the second part of Chainsaw Man, previously the first part of which has been serialized on Weekly Shōnen Jump, will be serialized on Shōnen Jump+.[17]