On Thursday (6/8), Japanese publisher Shueisha officially announced the global launch of their digital manga platform Manga Million. The service is available in more than 100 languages, including Tagalog, English, French, Spanish, and Mandarin.
Around 400 manga titles are available on the platform, including major series such as ONE PIECE, Naruto, Bleach, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and SPY×FAMILY. For a limited time, all of the manga can be accessed without an account. However, the publisher has not yet revealed how long this period will last.
The platform’s concept came from Shueisha’s 100th anniversary celebrations, according to Shuhei Hosono, Editor-in-Chief of MANGA Plus and the project’s creator. The project’s goal was to eliminate the language barriers that have traditionally prevented readers from around the world from enjoying manga.
“The project began with a simple question: what if we marked Shueisha’s 100th anniversary by translating one million pages of manga into 100 languages? As we developed the concept, we also saw it as a way to address the language barriers that still prevent many readers around the world from accessing manga. We hope that Manga Million, an unprecedented translation initiative spanning 100 languages and one million pages, will spark new discoveries and connections between readers and Japanese manga,” stated Hosono in Shueisha’s press release.
Shueisha also stated that no artificial intelligence (AI) technology was used in the translation process. The translation is done in collaboration with international licensing partners.
The Indonesian Anime Times | Source
