On Viz’s Weekly Shonen Jump web service, readers can subscribe for access to up-to-the-week translations of the latest Shonen Jump series from Japan, including the following:
- One Piece
- Bleach
- Naruto
- Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration
- Toriko
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
In addition, the site features anime, card game, and video game coverage, as well as links to streaming services where viewers can watch the latest Shonen Jump shows. In addition, the site boasts a (seemingly) lively community of users, eager to post their latest fan-art to compete int he latest contest, event, or give-away hosted by Viz.
That said, it isn’t all puppies and roses. The site’s web design leaves much to be desired, and accessing the manga a reader holds a subscription to isn’t as simple and straightforward a process as it should be. Accessing this content, which should be a straight-forward process, requires accessing an external site from the hub itself. Given the clunky, unwieldy nature of the site, it’s easy to get lost on the way to the content a reader may seek, and the visual design feels like it it was ripped straight from the early ’90s.
At this point, Weekly Shonen Jump is in sore need of a complete redesign and retooling. A little less emphasis on ‘The otaku kids will think this looks cool!’ and a little more ‘Hey, let’s make this site usable’ would do wonders for the overall experience. At the very least, the content itself is certainly worth the price of admission.
