Manga a form of Japanese comic, and is widely popular amongst certain audiences. Since the media is mainly prevalent in Japan, they’re quite rare and hard to obtain in the West (or other countries). Fortunately, there are a few places/apps that offer manga to read or download.
Best Manga apps
Although manga has increased in popularity dramatically the West over the last decade, there’s still not an abundance of apps to choose from – however, there are options.
These apps will be specifically for manga – if you want something more general, check out these comic apps. But for now, we’ll go through 5 of the best manga apps or places to download manga in this article.
#5 – Book Walker
Pay per Manga.
Book Walker is a well-known ebook manga site, where you can purchase individually-priced manga. The site offers various content, from light novels to manga of any genre.
Furthermore, you gain coins every time you purchase something. Each coin equates to 1 Japanese Yen, and can later be used as currency to purchase more manga from the site.
This method of downloading manga is quite cost-effective, and is much cheaper than ordering manga from most other shopping sites.
However, the coins do expire 5 months after their purchase date. Therefore, be aware to use the coins when you can, and not waste them.
Overall, the site is a great and cheap way of downloading manga and light novels. You gain something back after every purchase, so you essentially get discounts on future manga you purchase.
#4 – Crunchyroll
Pro version – £6.50/month, £7.99/month, or £79.99/year (subscription).
The app is free to download and use, but most manga chapters are locked unless you have a premium Crunchyroll subscription.
The app isn’t worth using as a free manga app, as only the first few chapters of every manga are unlocked. If you have a premium membership, consider using the app.
Crunchyroll’s manga app has quite a clean UI, and offers a variety of manga to choose from. The manga reader is simple to use, and moves horizontally.
Overall, the app is a simple app for reading manga if you have a Crunchyroll membership. It’s not worth using unless you have a membership, as you’ll only be able to access the first few chapters of a manga.
#3 – Shounen Jump
Pro version – £1.99/month (subscription).
The app is free to download and use, but certain manga chapters are unavailable unless you purchase a subscription.
The subscription is very cheap, so if you enjoy Shounen manga or Shounen Jump, it’s worth investing in.
The app collates Shounen Jump manga, and makes them available as digital manga to read and download.
New chapters are made free each week, which mean that no chapters stay free forever. If you’re a free user, you’ll have to keep up with the chapter releases if you wish to read them.
Overall, if you enjoy Shounen Jump content, you can use the app as a cheaper and more convenient method of reading Shounen Jump. The subscription is very cheap, and the interface is fairly clean and easy to navigate.
#2 – MReader
Free.
Mreader is completely free to use. Ads do pop-up occasionally as you browse the app, but there are no ads when you’re reading manga chapters.
Mreader offers a wide range of manga to read, and has a very nice and efficient reader. The reader allows you to skip or move onto other chapters without having to exit the interface.
This makes for a smooth reading experience. This also means that ads have few chances of popping up.
The reader also moves vertically, which can be preferable to some, although it can take a while to get used to if you’ve been using other manga reader apps previously.
Overall, the app is easy and convenient to use. The ads can be disruptive, but they only appear when you’re not reading manga.
There’s no way to remove the ads, though. This can be frustrating to some, but the ads aren’t very frequent and usually only last a few seconds. It’s still a great free manga app.
#1 – MANGA Plus
Free.
MANGA Plus is a completely free manga app. There are no ads, and no costs involved.
MANGA Plus is a servive, which usually uploads the first three chapters of a manga, and the last three chapters of a manga.
The app is mostly aimed towards readers who avidly follow manga publishing, like the Shounen Jump app does. Fortunately, you can enable notifications, and get alerts when new chapter are uploaded.
The app also offers manga in a range of different languages, such as English, Spanish, and French. This caters to a wider audience than most manga apps.
Overall, the app is completely free with no adverts, which makes for a great manga app. However, it does rely on you keeping up with chapter updates, and only offers the first and last three chapters of a manga usually.
The app is good for non-English speakers, though. So, if you want access to officially translated manga in languages other than English, consider using MANGA Plus.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are a few places where you can read or download manga. You can purchase digital manga online, or you can download a manga app.
Unfortunately, there are only a few manga apps available, so there’s not too many to choose from.
Some apps cost money in order to access the full manga library, but most offer manga for either cheap prices, or for no price. So if you’re looking for a free manga reader app, then there are definitely options.
Other apps rely on you to keep up-to-date with chapter releases, which can be quite stressful. If you wish for a more relaxed reading experience, try to use apps like Mreader as opposed to MANGA Plus.
Manga is still quite niche in the West, so getting access to officially translated manga can be difficult, but there are quite a range of translated manga available currently. Try the apps out according to your preferences, and see if they’re right for you.
