Manga fans have more access to official, licensed manga than ever before. Scanlation groups still exist, but they’re no longer the only option for simulpubs when it comes to English translations. Best of all, publishers have priced access to their work competitively. By doing so, fans across the world have legal means to read their favorite titles while indirectly voting for the licensing of more works with their money.
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Shueisha,Kodansha,Square Enix, and more big-time Japanese publishers have released official apps dedicated to their titles. Aside from easy access, their format lets fans discover titles they may have missed before. Newly published manga can also earn new readers more easily through these nifty apps.
10MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA
Shueishais the largest publishing company in Japan, and a publisher with titles that are now ubiquitous with the word “manga”.One Piece,Dragon Ball,Naruto,andBleachare just some of the titles that brought this billion-yen company worldwide acclaim. Although it remains focused on domestic dealings, they launchedMANGA Plusas the global counterpart of their Japan-exclusive app,Shonen Jump+.
ThroughMANGA Plus, fanscan read the first three and last three titles of currently serialized work in:
As of 2023, simulpubs of manga under severalShueishaimprints were made available through the app.
9Shonen Jump Manga & Comics
For $2.99 a month, manga fans can access the entireShonen Jumplibrary, with caveats, on their app. Publication rights across different countries may restrict access to a few beloved titles. But there’s no shortage ofstand-out mangainWeekly Shonen Jump’s vault of more than 15,000 titles.
LikeMANGA Plus,Shonen Jumpallows fans to read the first three and last three chapters of any title. They can unlock every chapter in-between through a subscription. Fans can even download up to 100 chapters for offline reading.
Shonen Jumpalso offers a seven-day free trial for fans who want to see what they can access before paying.
8Viz Manga
Viz Medialaunched a premium subscription service for its manga platform afterShonen Jump’s overwhelming success. Priced at $1.99 a month,Viz Manga’snew service was created to promote legal and official avenues for fans to support their favorite manga. If fans are not enticed by the low price,Vizhopes titles slated for simulpub and its archives will.
Among these simulpub titles is thenew seriesGokurakugaiand fan favoriteKomi Can’t Communicate.Legendary mangakaRumiko Takahashi’songoing seriesMaowill also be on the app, along with her entire back catalogue.
7Crunchyroll Manga
Crunchyrollis primarily known for its streaming platform, but it has long offered official translations of major series. Since 2013, the digital manga platform hosts titles fromFutabasha, Kodansha, Kadokawa Shoten,andShonen Gahoshafor worldwide readers. Titles with physical or digital editions published by other companies are not available on the platform.
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What makesCrunchyrollunique is its library.Shonen Jump, MANGA Plus,andViz Mangashare many titles, butCrunchyrollcarries a few esoteric manga that can’t be found on other platforms. ACrunchyrollsubscription also grants access to its anime library.
6BOOK☆WALKER
Kadokawa’sofficial online bookstorehas been around since 2005, but it took another decade before its English version found any stability. The wait was worth it, as the platform gave English readers a one-stop platform to purchase both manga and light novels.
On their website,Kadokawastates thatthey sell “over a million e-books from over 1,200 publishers” onBookWalker, and have plans to expand their offerings. The store itself normally has incredible sales for both English translations and Japanese-language versions of their titles.
5INKR
INKR Comicshas roots in what most publishers attempt to eliminate in launching official apps. Pirated manga aggregatorMangaRockwas axed to establish the company.INKR Comicsnow legally localizes and distributes manga, and splits revenue with publishers and content creators.TokyoPopandKadokawaGempak Starzare among their partners.
The now-legal entity also offers new comic creators a chance to publish their work on the platform. Its self-service CMS platform gives any creator who is approved for their service to “package, publish, and monetizetheir content”.
4K MANGA
Kodansha’snewly-launched appfor the U.S. simulpubs the massive manga publisher’s titles as they come out in Japan. K Manga also has 400 titles available for fans on launch.Blue Lock, Ya Boy Kongming,along with finished titles such asAttack on TitanandGhost in the Shellis up for American fans.
The publisher’s decision to use credit systems to unlock chapters was initially controversial. Despite this,Kodanshahas received enough support to launch the service as planned.Kodanshaalso offers economic coin packages for fans on a budget.
3WebComics
WebComicscarries Japanese, American, Korean, and Chinese titles that can only be read completely on its mobile platforms. Almost every title on the platform can be classified under romance, Boy’s Love, and Girl’s Love. Every manga, manwha, webtoon, and comic is full-colored. Novels are also available in-app.
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What’s notable about the platform is it has separate tabs for regular titles and original works.WebComicsgive complete beginners a place to improve as they create and receive compensation for it. Aspiring creators can look up their guidelines onWebComics' official site.
2Manga Up!
Square Enixis largely known fortheir excellent videogames. Yet fans may not know that it had a manga publishing arm as far back as 2003. Originally owned byEnix Corporationbefore its merger withSquare,Ganganis the mother publisher ofFullmetal Alchemist, The Case Study of Vanitas, Soul Eater, and other influential titles.
Manga Up!provides international audiences access to over 200 titles including exclusives. Favorites likeMy Dress-Up DarlingandThe Apothecary Diariesare present alongside new translations such asI Lost My Adventurer’s License, but It’s Fine Because I Have an Adorable Daughter Now.
1Mangamo
Kodansha, TOPPAN, Comic Smart, North Star Pictures, and 15 other publishers to date have partnered withMangamoto release titles. In spite of being a startup, it has an in-house editorial team, directly licenses manga from publishers, and translates them into English.
