Shonen Jump Subscription

[PiratesPensSteelers]

Is it worth getting?

I've never really looked through one, but I'm looking at a cheap way of getting Manga. Is the magazine basically a collection of different Manga Titles in chapter as opposed to buying them a book store in a Volume collection?

[Inkthinker]

Yep, that's about it. Each volume usually has anywhere from 2-5 chapters of an ongoing series, and they stay just ahead of the graphic novel releases. Right now the lineup is:

Naruto (about a year behind the Japanese release, they're jsut getting into Pain's attack on Konoha)
One Piece (which I think is going to do the same big skip as Naruto in a bit, here, so that they're closer to the current chapters, but right now they're winding up the Alabasta Arc)
Ultimo (some godawful hybrid by Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei, the artist behind Shaman King. I do not like it much)
Yu Yu Hakusho
Bleach (just started rolling the Hueco Mundo Arc)
Tegami Bachi
and Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

So you get around 350 pages for about $5 retail, and much less at subscription prices. It's pretty much the best deal in comics, presuming you like a majority of the titles. I'm into about 5 out of the 7, so it works out well for me, but I really wish they'd ditch Ultimo. I'm just not feeling it.

[Hitokiri]

You're going to be annoyed then Ink as Ultimo is progressing in the English SJ rather than the Japanese JS magazine. And I doubt they'd get rid of it after only four or five chapters. Maybe 10 or so given it's a monthly series and if it doesn't catch on.

[PiratesPensSteelers]

I think I might consider it then.

[KandouErik]

Last year I got a Full Year subscription to Shonen Jump. I was very into reading Manga, and I wanted to see other Manga as well, without breaking my bank account buying a lot of Manga. In addition to good series like Naruto and Bleach, they also have other Manga you might not have tried, but are nontheless fun: like Slam Dunk - a sports Manga I would never have bought myself, but turned out to be an entertaining read.

So Shonen Jump is a good deal for getting the most Manga exposure.

As for saving money - the individual books are always a good deal. You might not be able to buy all the volumes or a book, but most are avaible on-line all the time, so you can buy them at your own pace.

The major reason I didn't renew my Shonen subscription was because the issues started to pile up on me. I have several issues I simply haven't gotten to yet - as there is a lot of content to read through. It's a good deal just to get the experience of the magazine, though.