Scanlation sites' shut down boosts Manga Plus views

The heated discussions regarding the scanlation sites shutdown are far from over. Manga readers all over the world have divided reactions and feelings towards this issue. While many claim that the era of scanlations will never end, some people observe the positive impact of these shutdowns.

A Twitter user recently posted a table showing the increase in views in MangaPlus following the shutdown of some big scanlation sites. As expected, there are varied reactions to this post. Some people say that this increase is good for the industry, while others argue that fan translations are still better and will never die.

Is the increase in views significant?

The data in those tables posted on Twitter came from the views recorded on the MangaPlus website and the app. The creator of the table turns our attention to the difference in the number of views in the last two weeks of December.

FYI it was also about this time that mangastream permanently shutdown their website. Jaiminisbox also made a bold move on December 18, 2019, by giving up all their projects from Shonen Jump magazine. According to Jaiminisbox’s official announcement, this marks a new era in the manga industry.

The result shows a general increase of 80% in views on major titles on MangaPlus. If you ask me, this increase is quite significant. Currently, these numbers are based on views. But sometime in the future, they may be translated into sales.

All views increased except for One Piece

In contrast to the vast increase in views on multiple titles, One Piece’s views on MangaPlus appear to have decreased. The decrease is only 3%, but this still implies a negative effect of the recent issue.

This was surprising as majority of One Piece community heavily relied on Jaiminisbox for raw scans of the manga. However, many One Piece fans believe that the shutdown of big scanlations sites will not stop the scanlation business. In contrast, One Piece aficionados think this opens a new era of scanlations.

A One Piece lover, who runs a very helpful One Piece guide website has written a lengthy article expressing his feeling towards the situation. According to him, scanlations of One Piece chapters will never cease due to MangaPlus’ low-quality work and problematic platform.

He further argues that many fans appreciate scanlations more for their more accurate representations.

What will happen to the manga industry now?

The manga industry has been around since the late 1900s. Since then it grew to be a billion-dollar industry with constantly increasing readers all over the world. I believe the manga industry will continue to grow globally.

It is now evident especially with the One Piece series’ increasing popularity, creating multiple collaborations with big companies including Sketchers.

We cannot expect scanlators to stop doing what they do. Scanlation business is just like the mythical creature Hydra. Even if we stop them, many others will follow in their stead. However, this does not mean the end of the manga business.

Many people who patronize manga scanlation sites also patronize paid legal platforms at the same time. This is how they know and compare the differences. I guess what the legal manga platforms can do now is just improve the quality of their work and service.

NOTE: For more One Piece-related stories, readers may route here.
Image credits: MangaPlus /Viz Media/ Funimation/ Onepiece.fandom

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.