The various manga companies and publishers have established a digital distribution market for their works in Japan for quite some time. Still, it is only in recent years that we have witnessed their increasingly widespread diffusion abroad, such as with Manga Plus, Manga Up, etc.
Online apps and websites like Manga Plus and Manga Up also provide various advantages for users. Fans can read the English-translated manga officially at a very low cost (sometimes free). Still, the popularity of pirate websites keeps going up. It looks like the manga publisher Shuiehsa will launch a new feature to get more people to use these official means of reading manga.
According to a tweet published by the reputable WSJ manga account, the Shonen Jump+ app has enabled a new feature allowing readers to send “fan letters” to support their work. Fans can submit their letters using Google Forms.
Shonen Jump Plus is the Japanese version of Manga Plus, also owned by Shueisha. The feature of sending fan letters has not yet been added to Manga Plus, but fans could expect an update soon; considering how much anime and manga medium has grown worldwide, authors of different manga would love the opinion of fans residing outside of Japan.
Of course, the editorial department will review fans’ letters first before handing them out to the manga authors. Considering the hate comments that mangaka’s have received in the past, there are bound to be some negative letters that the author shouldn’t see.
Furthermore, the comments and feedback in the fan letters could be used in future advertisements of the mangas, too, as long as the user agrees that manga companies can share his/her opinion to the public.
It should be remembered that the “fan letter” feature is only available in Japan for now. Hopefully, this feature will be implemented soon to the Manga Plus app, and worldwide manga fans will be able to send “fan letter” as well.
