Shueisha continues to experiment with AI, but not just for manga translation. Recently, Shueisha launched the Manga Plus Universe community, which uses AI translation to help readers connect.
This new platform was launched as a website that features discussion topics for a selection of manga titles. AI is used to translate comments in various languages.
All You Need to Know about Manga Plus Universe
Manga Plus is Shueisha’s official online manga distribution platform, and it’s where international fans can read the latest chapters of popular ongoing Jump titles such as One Piece and Boruto officially.
Now, Shueisha has launched a community platform similar to an online forum where fans can talk about the latest developments and their theories for 15 ongoing Manga Plus titles.
AI translation is used so that users who comment in different languages can still understand and interact with each other.
The platform supports the following languages: English, Japanese Spanish, Indonesian, Portuguese, Russian, French, Thai, and Vietnamese.
Of course, as AI translation is used for the various comments, the results aren’t perfect. From the looks of it though, this hasn’t stopped fans from communicating with one another.
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Official List of Manga Included in Shueisha’s New Community Platform
While Manga Plus has a bevy of ongoing titles, Manga Plus Universe only has discussion threads for 15 manga. The current lineup includes:
- Kindergarten Wars
- Oshi no Ko
- Chainsaw Man
- Magilumiere Co. Ltd.
- MARRIAGETOXIN
- Dandadan
- Blooming Love
- 'Tis Time for "Torture," Princess
- Red Cat Ramen
- Kaiju No. 8
- Make the Exorcist Fall in Love
- Spy x Family
- Shibatarian
- You and I are Polar Opposites
- 2.5 Dimensional Seduction
The current lineup represents Manga Plus’ popular titles such as Spy x Family and Dandadan, though the big Weekly Shonen Jump series such as Jujutsu Kaisen don’t have threads of their own.
One possible reason is that this platform will be open only for a limited time.
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Manga Plus Universe Will Be Open for Only a Month
The Manga Plus Universe platform is live now, though it will only be open until May 13, 2024. It’s not clear if all the discussion threads will be removed and deleted after the 13th.
Given that it’s open only for a limited time, this is likely a test to see if there’s enough demand for a new manga discussion platform such as this.
If it does succeed, we may see it return as a permanent service in the future.
What do you think of Shueisha’s new discussion forum? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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