UlasanAnime.com – The author felt compelled to write a post following a similar title after reading another article, acknowledging that their reaction might be somewhat automatic. They preface their thoughts by stating they are not an academic in manga studies but wish to offer their personal perspective.
The author was among the early subscribers to JManga when it first launched, maintaining their subscription for several months. At the time, the manga selection appeared promising, despite the limited number of titles available. They explored the free content and sampled various titles that caught their interest.
Ultimately, the author canceled their subscription primarily due to the limited number of books they would have purchased given the price and availability. They explain this decision as a balance between cost and their strong attachment to specific manga series. For instance, they would reconsider subscribing if JManga were to release “Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya Zwei,” especially before its anime adaptation. They note that, like many JManga customers, they purchased “Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru,” though they tend to overlook the yuri and BL genres.
The author doesn’t view JManga as a failed endeavor due to its limited selection and other issues. Instead, they see it as an ongoing solution to a persistent problem. The critical question, in their opinion, is how this solution can achieve profitability, efficiency, and effectiveness. They express a desire for genuine criticism on this aspect, rather than the repetitive discussions about copyright and scanlations. While acknowledging that JManga won’t replace scanlations, they believe it offers a viable alternative that hopefully avoids the cumbersome processes and high costs associated with other digital manga platforms.
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The author reiterates that JManga still has significant room for improvement.
A major practical drawback of JManga is its requirement for a PC-based reading experience. While tablets are increasingly popular, and iPads might serve as a viable alternative, the lack of an offline mode makes it impractical for the author most of the time. They prefer reading manga on the go rather than sitting at a computer. Furthermore, the manga browser on their phone (a Galaxy Nexus) struggles with proper zooming unless the desktop version of the site is used, resulting in a poor browsing experience. While acknowledging that manga might not be ideally suited for phone screens, the author finds the current experience to be fundamentally non-functional.
In conclusion, the author suggests that unless one is interested in soft-subbed English/Japanese manga or is extremely dedicated to specific titles, there is little reason to subscribe to JManga currently. They concede that JManga might hold some value for users who prioritize legal access and are content with reading on a desktop or a compatible device like an iPad. Ironically, the author finds that services like Crunchyroll, which function well across a wide range of devices, are more impressive examples of what can be achieved shortly after their initial launch.
