Deep Dive Analysis - Manga Providers/Publishers (K Manga v Manga Plus v Manga UP!)

Last time in DDA, we talked about K Manga. In today's chapter of DDA, I would like to talk about the good, the bad, and the reason why you should use this app rather than the illegal one.

Let's start by talking about the publishers/providers themself.
You already know K Manga. It was Kodansha.
Manga Plus is a manga provider by Shueisha, and Manga UP! is by Kadokawa.

As to what Manga Plus and Manga UP! offer. Let me summarise each publisher in one word.
Manga Plus is "Shonen".
Manga UP! is "Light Novel Adaptation".
... Wait, that's three...

Let me be clear, I don't know any other manga providers other than these three. You might know others, but these are the only three I know. If you commented, "How about Webtoon?", "How about Bookwalker?"
Those are different!

Webtoon is Korean. I know they released a lot of manga lately, but as far as I know, that app has always been Korean-centric/Manhwa.
Bookwalker is indeed Japanese, but you have to remember, folks, they also provide comics. You don't know about that, do you?

I read Disney Alice in Wonderland and Disney Descendants in that app; I'm pretty sure those are USA IPs. Heck, I even saw a list of Disney stuff in the app. Based on this knowledge, I won't count Bookwalker as one in this chapter.
So, yeah, we'll be talking about those two in another chapter, but for now, we'll talk about these three.

First off, Manga Plus!
Everyone knows it, everyone loves it! It literally has a lot of the most iconic anime that people have ever known. One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, DanDaDan, Chainsaw Man, Witch Watch, Bleach, Naruto, Spy X Family, and many more. You name it!

Let's talk about it!
- This is the cheapest option of them all because not only can you read any manga for free (if you catch up with the series you read), but it also gives you the option of a subscription. They offer two subscription options.
These are standard Plans that cost Rp 15.000 per month (I think that translates to 1 dollar per month) and Deluxe Plans that cost Rp 61.000 per month (This one probably translates to about 3 dollars).

What is the difference?
The standard lets you read the ongoing manga without being locked. You see, this app lets you read for free... if you catch up. If you're not, the middle chapters of the first three and the latest updated three are locked. Well, unless you want to spend time watching ads.
The Deluxe version is the same, but you can read finished titles. For example, my favorite manga from Manga Plus that finished airing are Hokkaido Gals is Adorable, You and I are Polar Opposite, and Magilumiere. You can't read it for free. You can't read those if you're only buying the standard plan subscription.

- Up next, the landing page.
Manga Plus' landing page/home is ugly. I have talked about it on the K Manga DDA, but let's talk about it more here.

You see, when you first boot up the Manga Plus app, you, of course, will meet with some pop-up ads. It's your standard shit.
But when you close those and see the home page, you'll see a banner and... Latest Updates?
Wait, so you're telling me you give the newcomer the updated manga first? Not the whole manga? Because when I click one of those covers, you put me on the latest chapter of the manga, not the read list of it.
Let me be real with you here: who has had the same first experience as me when you boot up Manga Plus? Because I was clueless as fuck when I was greeted with that landing page.

I mean, yes, there is a banner that can guide me, but that was small compared to the updated cover. Again, it is trash. I hate that first experience of the home page.

- Tabs!
The second tab is Hot. Honestly speaking, I always skipped this tab. I don't care about ranking. The same goes with K Manga. Why do you need a dedicated tab for recommendations? It is weird.
Then, the third tab is the Browse tab. Now, this is my shit! I like that in this tab, you have two sub-tabs: Discover and Titles.

In the Discover sub-tab, you have a banner that highlights some manga, then below that are events and highlights manga.

As the time I write, the current event is a free read to catch up to the latest chapter for newcomers. Hey, look at that, what a coincidence.

As for the highlight manga at the time of my writing, it is the new weekly series called "Hero Girl and the Demon Lord Call it Quits". The highlights are comments from other author about their first impression of that new manga. It's always cute seeing those.

Below those, there are Manga Preview, and then line-ups of manga in different categories.

Then the second sub-tab, Titles, is what I said in the K Manga DDA. This is how you show you have a massive manga library! In this sub-tab, you have another sub-tab too. They are Ongoing, Completed, and One-shot. I don't think I need to explain those, right?

The next tab on the list is Creators.
Wait, hold on a minute! They have Canvas (Webtoon feature) in Manga Plus, too! Oh, heck yes! That's awesome!
I'm just going to skip this one. This tab needs to be compared with Webtoon. I will be writing it in the near future.

Last but not least, My Shelf.
This tab is just your typical tab, where you'll find every manga you ever read and clicked favorite on. In this tab, you'll also see the settings menu on the top right of the tab. In there, you'll find your Profile and others, like your subscription plan and language setting, etc.

- Profile.
I have to admit it, brothers. This is trash, too. I'm sorry.
Look, I have a bad experience with this. You see, when I first used the app, I thought it would be saved whenever I changed my phone. Oh, boy, how wrong I was. This app doesn't have a save cloud. That means your previous profile will be the app forever, forcing you to use another name when you use a different device.

I have no idea what in the world is the system here is, but this is frustrating. Webtoon has it! Manga UP! has it. Heck K Manga has it. So, why the fuck doesn't Manga Plus have it! You have one job, and you screw my account with this junk. I have made 3 DIFFERENT PROFILES! Even though I still have the same Google account saved in the app to restore my subscription plan.

- Manga page
Okay, I know this is not significant. It's most definitely a nitpick, but I have to talk about it. When you read a manga, do you have the urge to read the comment in the middle of reading because you wanted to see if any other readers react to that scene specifically? Yeah, good luck opening the comment section.

It is one of, if not the WORST, times of my life. Like holy hell, it's frustrating to click it. I found out that it only works on certain pages, and it's not all. I have no idea why that's a thing, like what?

Not only that, I also find it amusing that this app doesn't have a bookmark. If you accidentally close a manga, welp, back to the beginning, boys. You have to render all of the pages again.

Oh, one last thing. This is also frustrating. Wouldn't it be a world-changing experience if you could seamlessly change chapters easily? Welp, this app doesn't have one. You want to go to the next chapter? Finish the chapter first! Oh, you want to re-read the chapter before? Well, you have to close the chapter you read first and then choose the other chapter you want to see.

That's all for Manga Plus.

Let's move on to Manga UP!
I think this is an underdog among the three. They have some good titles, but not too many. I can only name Fullmetal Alchemist, Re: Zero, My Dress-Up Darling, and The Apothecary Dairies.

But there are still many manga that have been adapted to anime, too!
Like, Talentless Nana, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, Horimiya, Angel Next Door, and Black Butler.

It's not the best of all three, but it is still held dear to my heart. I've been loving reading manga from here! So, let's talk about it.

- Okay, now. I know I said I love this app, but let's get real here first!
The system here is... very questionable.
You see, this app is like a game! You have THREE "collectible". No, I'm not joking.

You have UP points that are always updated at 7 AM and 7 PM. This is your way to read for free.

Then you have XP points. This is an event point where you can get it whenever you reach a certain threshold of manga, or you can get it when you read one chapter of a new manga. You can also get these points by buying Coin Point.

Lastly, it's the Coin Point. This is gained by buying it with real money.

BUT WAIT! There is more.
They implemented this system in 2023~24, somewhere in those years, I forgot. They added Vault Pass. It's a subscription plan. It costs you Rp 79.000 per month (about 5 dollars). That... was a lot, especially when you realize it didn't include ALL titles.

- Landing Page!
I love them. It looks clean!
You have your typical banner, then you have manga recommendations, then the updated manga where you'll be on the readlist when you click them, and then other things at the bottom.

Also, I love that the genre on this tab will change whenever you read something. For example, if you read Fullmetal Alchemist, that genre will change to Action, Dark Fantasy, and Media Tie-ins (Manga that has anime). I love that detail

- Before moving into tabs, I have talked about the aesthetic. Because, my goodness, out of the three, I love this one the most. It felt soooo unique, whereas Manga Plus uses a black background with a red header, and K Manga uses a white background with a navy header. Manga UP! doesn't use any headers, and its background color is about denim (#131E3A) to space (#1C2951). I'm not too sure exactly, but it is in line with blue. It looks good.

- Now Tabs!
We've talked about the first tab/landing page; now let's move on to the second one.

"For You" tab.
Believe it or not, this used to be a weekly update tab. I forgot the exact tab name, but this tab used to show you weekly manga updates. This changed! Now it shows you recommendations such as Popular Today and Vault Pass Manga.

I usually skip this tab because of the third tab, the Search tab.

Unlike Manga Plus, Manga UP! makes the search tab too simple. The first thing you see is the genre recommendation, the same one on the Home tab. Then you have the series that are available in the app. It's not the best look because, like I said, it was different than Manga Plus. For some reason, Manga UP! decided to make the list too ordinary. It took up space, and the list became so long that it felt like lazy UI coding.

Next up is the shop.
This is where your inventory is stored. You can choose between buying coins or buying a subscription. I have never experienced becoming a Manga UP! subscriber, so I won't just judge it except for the price tag.

- My Page.
It was simple, not too bad.

The setting page is also here, by the way. They put it at the top-right of this tab.

Here you can find the typical you see in a setting page...
Except for My Comment.

YEEEEES! You heard that right!
I forgot to tell you in the K Manga DDA's chapter that I love revisiting comments I made in whatever apps or websites. K Manga has your comment history as well as Manga UP!. They really did it well, too. I love their take on Comments History.

- Now I will talk about the best and worst things that Manga UP! has that neither Manga Plus nor K Manga has.
I talked about a seamless chapter change in Manga Plus. They have it here. You literally just swipe and bang! You are at the next chapter.
It is so satisfying.

But that also comes with a downside. You see, even though that was a great feature for a manga publisher to have, they had the nerve to do the one thing I hate (I don't know if you guys have the same feeling too, so I hope I can represent it here).

Remember the good 'ol days, when anime was uploaded on YouTube in sections? Yeah, Manga UP! has a lot of manga chapters cut into two to four. Not only did it feel like you were wasting your UP points, but it was also bad for the chapter hype.

I will take an example from my current favorite manga, "Otaku x Gal", and "Let Me Be Single in Peace!"
Otaku x Gal updated a chapter per week...
A chapter? Sorry. I mean, half of a chapter per week.

Yes, you heard me correctly. Isn't that bad? Sure, I get it! It makes the author have more time to develop the newest chapter before release. But are you seriously going to release an unfinished product? I don't know about you, man, but to me, the feeling of reading an unfinished chapter felt really unsatisfying.

Sure, I could wait another week for it to release, but here is the thing! Unlike Manga Plus and K Manga, Manga UP! doesn't have a fixed schedule. People reading manga in this app were dying to know the complete chapter.

I mean, just ask the "Assassin & Cinderella" fandom. (This is currently the most popular manga in Manga UP!) Are they satisfied to wait every week just to read an unfinished chapter? NO!
They always lashed out in the comment section.

Then there is "Let Me Be Single in Peace!"
This manga has about forty pages per chapter. So, they split it into four separate "chapters". And since the manga has almost reached the current airing chapter on the original, the update will be slowed down. And do you want to know how many chapters they update per week now?

One chapter...
Oh, wait, let me rephrase that, 3/4 of last week's full chapter and 1/4 of the newest chapter. I don't know about you, but to me, that is a disgusting schedule.

It wouldn't be long until they're giving this manga the AssCin treatment, of releasing a quarter of a chapter per, don't know when.

In conclusion,
The three have their best and worst.

So, from this knowledge, I will make a comparison.

Monetization: Manga Plus > K Manga = Manga UP!
Landing Page: Manga UP! > K Manga > Manga Plus
Aesthetic: Manga UP! > Manga Plus = K Manga
Manga Titles: Manga Plus > K Manga > Manga UP!
UI: Manga UP! > K Manga = Manga Plus
Scheduling: Manga Plus > K Manga > Manga UP!
Account Management: K Manga > Manga UP! >>> Manga Plus
Feature: Manga UP! > K Manga > Manga
Manga Chapter Management: K Manga = Manga Plus > Manga UP!
Comment Experience: K Manga = Manga UP! > Manga Plus

I think that's it.
Overall, I use all apps with these things in mind. Do I bother painting a manga publisher/provider app better than the others? No, because they are equally bad and good.
I made this DDA for you to judge it yourself. Would you prefer to use just one app or use all of them? That's your choice.

Hope you like this DDA chapter. This is a long one.
And I'll see you next time.

P.S.
I'm well aware that Manga Plus just got updated. They finally make the landing page or home page feel welcoming. Though I don't know why they feel the need to get rid of the banner. That is the one thing that I don't understand.

I mean, they still have somewhat of a banner ad in the middle of the scroll page, so I guess that still works?
Oh, and also, I love how they get rid of their aesthetic red, making the background even more soulless. 😂

Updated comparison
Aesthetic: Manga UP! > K Manga ≥ Manga Plus