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Following recent announcements by Shueisha of their intent to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) features into their MangaPlus platform, fans weren’t quite sure of what to expect. While many different theories were put forth by fans, it seems that Shueisha has decided to begin using AI to typeset their translated manga which is published on the site.
Although this seems like an innocent and respectable enough choice by Shueisha and the MangaPlus team, many fans immediately raised issues with the decision. One of the key reasons why fans are so disappointed in the choice is that the final product looks vastly inferior to those that are typesetted by actual human beings.
Now, fans are discussing the merit of Shueisha’s cost-saving choice considering what the final product for MangaPlus looks like. They are also expressing concerns over similar future AI uses. A major worry amongst the most dedicated of manga fans is that official volumes will also end up using an AI typeset, which ironically will make a quality-guided purchase inferior to what it once was.
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Shueisha’s use of AI typesetting in MangaPlus sparks concern for dedicated and casual manga readers alike
While fans were aware of Shueisha and MangaPlus’ decision to implement AI for some time, the result of this choice first gained traction online thanks to @RukasuMHA on X. @RukasuMHA (Rukasu) is best known as one of the lead series leakers for author and illustrator Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia series, primarily focusing on publishing summaries of each issue.
Typesetting refers to the actual placement of translated words and phrases within the constraints of an original speech bubble for a manga series. It’s a significant aspect of manga translation and localization due to the stylistic differences in the Japanese and Latin alphabets. The apparent first series to use AI typesetting based on Rukasu’s tweet is Rugby Rumble, written and illustrated by Daisuke Miyata.
As highlighted in Rukasu’s tweet, it’s clear that an AI did the typesetting for Rugby Rumble due to Orange Inc. being credited for the lettering in the series. After a quick search, fans will find that Orange Inc. is primarily focused on implementing AI tools in manga localization. Unfortunately, it seems that goal still has a long way to go based on this first outing.
One of the two major problems fans are pointing out is how jarring the font looks for Orange Inc.’s AI typesetting as opposed to traditional font choices for localized manga. The second stems from the fact that, in some speech bubbles, the text actually eclipses the constraints of the original speech bubble. While these may seem like minor details, they can be quite jarring to casual and hardcore manga readers alike who are used to a certain look for localization.
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