Manga Up!

Manga Up!
Fan art of the online manga (MANGA UP!)
Type of site
Digital manga
Available inJapanese, English
OwnerSquare Enix
URLwww.manga-up.com
global.manga-up.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedJanuary 7, 2017
Current statusActive

Manga Up! (マンガUP!) is a Japanese manga service. Originally launched in January 2017, the service hosts manga series published by Square Enix. The service also serializes original works, many of which are derived from other media. In July 2022, the website launched internationally in English.

History

The service originally launched in Japan on January 7, 2017, with an Android and iOS app and website.[1][2]

An English-language version of the service was launched on July 25, 2022. It featured mostly titles published by Square Enix's manga publishing division, along with series from other publishers that were published by Square Enix in Japan and series that had not been published in English at the time.[3][4]

Serializations

In addition to previously published works, the service also serializes works.[5] Many of these works are adaptations of other media, such as video games, multimedia franchises, and light novels.[6][7][8]

Manga Up! Global titles


Reception

Japanese website Appmedia praised the works and free content of the app.[9] The app was nominated for the 2017 Google Play Awards in Japan.[10] The app has 20 million downloads as of November 2022.[11]

Global

Upon the service's international release, many users criticized its censorship.[12][13] In particular, some critics pointed out that the censorship included knees and elbows.[14][15] Jason Faulkner from GameRevolution also noted that risqué series like My Dress-Up Darling had characters that were mostly obscured. He also felt the censorship was likely done by a machine.[16]

Criticism was also directed at the service's monetization model. Isaiah Colbert of Kotaku unfavorably compared the monetization to microtransactions in video games.[14] Faulkner described the monetization as "nonsensical" and criticized the pricing as overly expensive.[16]

On July 27, 2022, Manga Up! issued a response to the censorship complaints.[17] The response cited censorship policies in non-English countries like Indonesia as the reasoning for the censorship.[14][18] On September 4, 2022, Square Enix announced that all the censorship via black bars had been removed and replaced with less-intrusive censorship methods.[19]

References

  1. ^ スマートフォン向け「マンガUP！」配信開始のお知せ (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  2. ^ 「鋼の錬金術師」など100作品以上が読める！スクエニのマンガアプリ、今冬配信. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. November 14, 2016. Archived from the original on January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  3. ^ Pineda, Rafael (July 25, 2022). "Square Enix Launches English Version of Manga Up! Web Manga Site, App". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  4. ^ Tantimedh, Adi (July 26, 2022). "Manga Up! – Square Enix Launches Global Manga App". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  5. ^ スクエニ発のマンガアプリ配信開始！期間限定で「魔法陣グルグル」全話配信も. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. January 7, 2017. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  6. ^ ゲーム「半熟英雄」コミカライズがマンガUP！で開幕、スマホ向けアプリ化記念. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. June 18, 2017. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  7. ^ スクエニ発プロジェクト「ディアホライゾン」のマンガ、アプリで連載. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. August 5, 2017. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  8. ^ SQEXノベル：スクウェア・エニックスが新ラノベレーベル創刊 ウェブ小説を中心に 「大人のエンタメ、ど真ん中！」. Mantan Web (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. November 6, 2020. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  9. ^ 無料漫画アプリおすすめランキング21選！人気アプリを徹底比較. Appmedia (in Japanese). January 23, 2023. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  10. ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (December 3, 2017). "A3!, Idolm@ster, Bang Dream, Symphogear, More Games Nominated for Google Play Best of 2017". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  11. ^ マンガUP！：マンガアプリが2000万ダウンロード突破 「ガチ感謝祭」実施. Mantan Web (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. November 21, 2022. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  12. ^ スクエニ漫画アプリが黒塗りだらけ 海外版に苦言相次ぐ...運営が釈明「修正避けられなかった」. J-Cast News (in Japanese). July 29, 2022. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  13. ^ 海外版マンガアプリに「黒塗り多すぎ」批判 スクエニ「プラットフォームのポリシー上、不可避だった」. ITmedia (in Japanese). August 2, 2022. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c Colbert, Isaiah (July 28, 2022). "Square Enix Botches New Manga Service With Sex Censorship, Extra Charges". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  15. ^ Peters, Megan (July 28, 2022). "Square Enix's Manga Service Prompts Debate Over Censorship". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Faulkner, Jason (August 5, 2022). "Square Enix's New Manga Up Service Has Awkward Censorship and a Terrible Pay Model". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  17. ^ Davidson, Danica (August 1, 2022). "Square Enix's MANGA UP! Responds to Censorship Concerns". Otaku USA. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  18. ^ Eisenbeis, Richard (July 29, 2022). "Manga Up! Censors Everything from Cleavage to... Knees!?". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  19. ^ @MangaUpGlobal (September 4, 2022). "An update regarding modifcations to artworks on MANGA UP!" (Tweet). Retrieved September 24, 2023 – via Twitter.