While Shueisha’s Jump+ is among the leading online manga platforms in Japan, the publisher is setting its sights on expanding to vertical manga. Recently, Shueisha announced Jump Toon, an upcoming platform for webtoon-style manga titles.
To go along with the announcement, Shueisha also revealed a new manga award that is aimed at discovering talented artists, with the winner getting a contract to get their work serialized on the platform.
Right now, there are no details yet on what titles will be published there, though this service is expected to compete with established webtoon platforms.
Webtoon vs. Manga Explained
Manga is different from Western comics in that they are read from right to left. But aside from this difference (and the fact that manga is usually used for Japanese works), manga and comic books don’t differ heavily in terms of the format.
Meanwhile, webtoons are different as this comic format is read vertically. Though originally, webtoons had a more standard comic format, which changed with the advent of computers and smartphones.
Because of this, many comic platforms in South Korea changed to a vertically scrolling format.
While webtoons are made all over the world, these comics originated in South Korea. And until now, many of the biggest webtoon platforms in the world are from Korea.
In general, webtoons are made in Korea and have a vertical format. Meanwhile, manga titles are Japanese and have a right-to-left reading format.
Of course, there are exceptions, as there are Korean manhwa released in a manga-like format.
And now, Shueisha is expanding with a webtoon format service.
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Shueisha Expands Into Webtoon-Style Manga With Jump Toon
Jump Toon was announced by Shueisha earlier today via the service’s new website as well as its official Twitter account.
For now, there aren’t many details yet about the service, including titles that will be released there. Though a new manga award was announced.
Titled the Jump Toon award, this contest will allow budding artists to get a chance to have their work serialized on Jump Toon when the service goes live.
The award’s Grand Prize will also come with a JPY 1 million (around USD 7,000) prize.
Among the judges of the contest is Shueisha editor Takanori Asada, who has worked on hit titles such as One Piece and Bleach.
Jump Toon is set to release in Japan sometime in 2024. For now, there’s no word yet on whether an English version will be launched as well.
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Source: Jump Toon website, Anime News Network
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