Sometimes I feel compelled to write an update article on a topic I previously covered if I learn about said update naturally, even if the actual update is very shallow or small. It feels disingenuous in a way to say “eh there was a follow-up aspect to the story but fuck it who cares”. However, today I have come with an update so small, so fucking pointless, that I don’t intend to cover this app any further regardless of what future “improvements” Square Enix makes. For those out of the loop, which I assume is many considering how dead this app is already, Square launched a manga reading app globally called Manga Up! that was immediately met with harsh criticism in the West on release due to massive amounts of black bar censoring combined with a microtransaction-fueled experience system in order to unlock chapters to read. After a gigantic amount of backlash online from potential readers, Manga Up! decided to take the reins themselves and do an update. I will provide you with the glorious statement below.
And there you have it. We’ve solved the case baby, as the black bars have been replaced with blurring and shading techniques. I do note that it says suggestive content has been restored completely, only leaving explicit content to be censored. My question is though, who is determining this line between the two? What are we considering suggestive? Because previously completely normal shit like knees, shoulders, jeans, and swimsuits were censored under the previous version. Are we cool with those now? While clearly a step in the right direction, this update still leaves a lot to be desired in my mind and I can’t imagine it makes up for the horrendous launch that this app faced. Considering that its Twitter currently has a measly ~2,400 followers combined with their posts garnishing less than 50 likes every time I’d say this shit is dead on arrival over here anyway. Even if they really are relaxed in determining what is suggestive and what is explicit and only censor when absolutely necessary to not get the app pulled from app stores and other countries, you’re still going to be dealing with the XP system. But hey, enjoy your free 300 XP baby. Nothing like unlocking a chapter or two ahead of schedule.
How am I suppose to WAIT to unlock chapters of this masterpiece?
As I said I think even if Square continues to allow the app to update and become more consumer-friendly, any ounce of hype or following this product collected appears to have dwindled away so I don’t think it’s worth covering. In some ways this is a win that they couldn’t get away with the horrendous amount of censorship they started with, and in other ways this is pretty pointless because nobody cares anymore. Hopefully this will serve as a lesson for other companies trying to enter the manga distribution space: censoring knees is going too far… or something like that. Did you hear about this app’s disastrous launch? Have you ever checked it out? Will you try it out now that a lot of censoring has supposedly been removed? Who am I kidding, I doubt it, but feel free to leave a comment below anyway!
