TOKYO, Japan (April 8, 2024) –To celebrate the start of the televised anime series Black Butler: Public School Arc, SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. (“the Company”) will make several chapters of the English translation of Black Butler, the original manga on which the series is based, available free of charge for a limited time on the global version of its MANGA UP! manga reading app. Volumes 1 through 14 of the manga can be read for free from April 7 (8:00pm PDT) until April 16 (7:59pm PDT).

Another addition to the global version of MANGA UP! is a new subscription plan called VAULT PASS. The existing payment model will also remain, but for a flat monthly rate of $4.99, the VAULT PASS unlocks more than 10,000 chapters that previously required a wait time or individual payment. With this service, several completed series will offer unlimited reading on all chapters. 18 volumes of “Black Butler” will also be available with VAULT PASS, and the Company plans to make a portion of future installments available via the plan as well.

Black Butler coming to the global version of MANGA UP!
SQUARE ENIX serves manga readers outside of Japan with the global version of its MANGA UP! manga app. The global version launched in July 2022 and had been downloaded more than one million times as of October 2023. The app provides English translations of popular ongoing manga series like Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, My Happy Marriage, and The Apothecary Diaries with the goal of delivering Japanese titles to international readers as quickly as possible.

To welcome the addition of Black Butler to the lineup of global MANGA UP! titles, chapters based on content up leading up to the first episode of the new anime series, Black Butler: Public School Arc, will be made free for a limited time. This allows readers to enjoy the source material just as the anime series is getting started. The Company plans to make future installments, which are being published in print in the Monthly G Fantasy magazine, available on the app at the same time as the Japanese versions.

The anime series Black Butler: Public School Arc will be on air and streaming starting in April 2024.

■VAULT PASS
The global version of MANGA UP! requires the use of one of three currencies to unlock a chapter: Free daily UP, bonus XP, and purchasable COIN. Subscribing to VAULT PASS allows unlimited reading of chapters that can be unlocked using UP (chapter availability will depend on the individual title). Over 10,000 chapters of 200+ series will be unlocked while subscribed, including some series that are all-you-can-read from start to finish.

■A selection of available titles
Subscribers who want to read chapters other than those available on VAULT PASS will have to wait a set number of days or access them using UP, or use XP or COIN to read them immediately, as has been the case to date. VAULT PASS subscriptions are available for a flat monthly rate of $4.99. Please refer to the app for further details.

MANGA UP! (Global version)

About Square Enix Co., Ltd.
Square Enix Co., Ltd. develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX®　and TAITO® branded entertainment content around the world. The Square Enix group of companies includes a global network of leading development studios and boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property, including: FINAL FANTASY™, which has sold over 185 million units worldwide; and DRAGON QUEST®, which has sold over 88 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS®. Square Enix Co., Ltd. is a Japan-based, wholly owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.

More information on Square Enix Co., Ltd. can be found at https://www.jp.square-enix.com/