Shōnen Jump is best read on an ancient tablet with no distractions

On my bedside table, a shitty tablet is displayed. The glass protector has long, thin cracks as well as fan-made stickers. Haikyuu!Place the battery on your back. The battery takes over 24 hours to charge fully and it can’t keep a charge well while doing basic tasks. It’s buggy, slow, and struggles to stream video. It has an outdated version of the Android operating system and can’t even download certain apps. It’s roughly six years old at this point, and its tech is fraying. Despite all that, I think it’s one of my favorite pieces of tech I own.

That’s because it’s been one of the most stable sources of entertainment for me since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it may not have the versatility of an iPad, it’s become my go-to piece of tech because it allows me to do one thing extremely well: read manga on the Shōnen Jump app. Together, the shitty tablet and Shōnen Jump make for a powerful combination stronger than Goku himself.

Shōnen Jump, the popular Japanese manga magazine, has a subscription service where you can read titles digitally for $1.99 a month. You can download or load up to 100 chapters each day online. It is not easy to reach the limit of 100 chapters per day, according to my experience. Shōnen’s library swells with titles ranging from staples like One Piece Naruto,Check out these popular TV shows. Jujutsu KaisenAnd My Hero Academia.

For me, reading on the Shōnen Jump app started as a way to connect with old interests in a new way. So I returned to the Shonen Jump app and started reading again. BleachI had only seen the anime as a teenager. I saw a happier ending, as the anime had not adapted the finale arc. To my surprise, Tite Kubo, the creator, announced a second series. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, less than a year after I completed the manga, but I’m still glad I read it.)

Image: MAPPA

BleachIt was only the beginning. I continued to rip through manga for decades. One PieceOver 1,000 chapters are available in the mangaka Eichiro Oda alone. Mangaka Eichiro Oda first published chapter one in 1997. It was my first time reading a manga on my tablet. The beginning was difficult. One PieceIt might be intimidating but it was actually quite enjoyable knowing what I was reading every night. I’ve now read the entirety of the series that’s been released so far.

I’m waiting for One PieceIt was easy to read more pages before I picked it up again. But, other series have their charms. I enjoyed the gory and hilarious smash hit. Chainsaw ManTatsuki Fujimoto and his devastating, emotional manga Rewind. There’s Jujutsu KaisenHis Shibuya Arc, which is still unanimated yet), whips absolutely. Spy x Family got an anime release on April 9, but the manga is one of the most enjoyable and entertaining reads in several years — inside or outside the medium. The Shōnen Jump app has become a practical and enjoyable addition to my regular media diet.

This tablet can be used to enjoy all of these great adventures. Sure, it can’t play games, but it has more than enough juice to load the pages or download the chapters. Even its lack of computing power brings an unanticipated treat: The tablet doesn’t run Discord well and I didn’t download Twitter, so I now have a dedicated reading tablet where I’m not constantly bombarded with notifications. A huge plus for me was the fact that it came free. My younger brother owned it, but he stopped using it when the charging problems began.

Ana Diaz

I won’t lie. I’m not toting this sucker all over town. Even though the battery can keep a charge for several days, it takes forever to recharge. Also, you need to prepare in advance by downloading the reading if you won’t have access to reliable internet. However, it’s there when I need it. I’ve taken it to read on six-hour road trips and have torn through years of a story in one sitting. It feels great too, since it’s not too heavy and is much lighter and easier to hold than a standard iPad from the latest line. Plus, I like that I don’t need to worry about protecting it since it’s beat up already.

It’s nothing fancy and I usually just leave it plugged into the wall and sitting on my bedside table. But that’s fine! The shitty tablet is a valuable part of my evening routine. It has allowed me to re-discover manga and have helped me discover new passions. So now, when I run into people who are interested in manga or grew up watching anime, I always ask if they’ve considered getting a shitty tablet.