Recently, manga and anime have gained popularity all over the world. Many people prefer to watch their favorite anime on websites like Crunchyroll and Netflix. In contrast, many want to read their hearts out through manga because they don’t want to wait years for the second season. While old series like Naruto, Death Note, Dragon Ball, and HunterX Hunter are over, many popular and new seasonal anime titles like Demon Slayer, JJK, and Solo Leveling take about a year or two before a new season comes out. For this reason, most anime fans tend to read the manga of their favorite series, as it can often take years for the anime to catch up with the manga of a franchise.
If you’re like me or every other anime fan and can’t wait for your favorite anime to come back, it’s a good idea to start reading. It’s always a good idea to read the manga so you can catch up on the plot. Then, when the anime finally comes out, you can enjoy the stunning animation and fight choreography with your friends again. The hardest part is finding the best place to read all your favorite manga. Often, mangakas publish their manga on different platforms based on genre, which makes it very difficult for the consumer.
Earlier, we had curated the best Manga sites without annoying ads. In this blog, we will introduce you to all the Android and iOS apps that you can use to read your favorite manga, whether Shounen, Seinen, Isakai, or Shojo. Let’s start with the most popular apps for reading manga in our list. Then, we will turn to some hidden gems.
Table of Contents
Shonen Jump Manga and Comics
Shonen Jump is one of the oldest apps you can use to read your favorite manga. Shonen Jump belongs to Viz Media, a major platform for the distribution of anime and manga in Japan. The Shonen Jump app covers all titles in the Shounen genre. You can read the most popular titles, such as Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, and Hunter X Hunter here. The best thing about the Shonen Jump app is the Shounen genre itself. This has the most titles in a particular genre.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The app does a simul-release of the manga. | The app’s user interface feels old and very inconsistent. |
| All the Shounen Jump Titles are available to read. | There are only Shounen titles available to read. |
| The App costs just 1.99 USD/ month. | |
| Most recent chapters are available to read for free. | |
| The app is available on all mobile platforms (iOS, iPad OS, and Android). |
VIZ Manga
VIZ Manga is something like the father of all manga apps. This statement may sound bizarre at first, but that is the case. VIZ Media is a company based in the USA. It distributes and licenses Japanese anime, manga, and films. Because of this, VIZ Media has the largest collection of all Japanese manga, from genres like shounen and seinen to isakai and shoujo. VIZ has them all, and there are thousands of titles for you to choose from and read. The best thing about the VIZ app is that you can read free previews of the paid volumes. This little feature helps you make the right decision whether to invest in the manga or not.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Simul-release of manga chapters. New chapters available immediately from Japan. | Laggy User Interface on Android. |
| Affordable pricing ($1.99/month) with most recent chapters available for free. | Not available in some regions globally. |
| Available on all major mobile platforms (iOS, iPad OS, and Android). | |
| Free previews for paid content enable informed decisions. | |
| Contains titles from various genres, not limited to Shounen Jump. | |
| Supports offline downloading. |
Manga Plus by SHUEISHA
Manga Plus is the best app for people who jump right into manga since their favorite seasonal anime will take time to come back until the new season. Manga Plus is basically a free app that gives you a one-time free read of each chapter. That is if you don’t want to read a chapter more than once. You don’t have to pay. If you want to read something more than once, you can subscribe to Manga Plus Max. There are two subscription levels. One allows you to read all ongoing manga that have not yet been completed and are in the continuation phase. The other allows you to read all manga currently available in the app.
It is an official service controlled by Shueisha, a Japanese publisher that works with mangakas all over Japan. Manga Plus is probably the most popular app for all otakus, as it contains the most titles, and you can read them for free. It works all over the world, and a Manga Plus Max subscription is very cheap. It’s also the only app on the list that works with Apple Silicon Macs. So, if you have a device with an M1 chipset or higher, you can also read your favorite manga on laptops or desktops.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Simul-release of manga chapters. New chapters available immediately from Japan. | Manga Plus Subscription is not considered worth it. |
| Available on all major mobile platforms (iOS, iPad OS, Android) and Apple Silicon Macs. | Reading any chapter for free is limited to once. |
| Essentially free if you want to read any chapter once. | |
| No ads in the User Interface. | |
| Smooth-running app on iOS and Android. | |
| Supports multiple languages like English, Spanish, and Deutsch. |
MangaToon Manga Reader
MangaToon is a new app and website that supports new authors and creators. The main advantage of this app is that you can create and write your own stories. If there is a story you want to share with the world, this is the app for you. When we looked at the app from a reader’s perspective, it was filled to the brim with interesting stories that you would love to read. As a reader, you can explore different genres, such as action, adventure, comedy, and romance. But there are neither popular titles nor popular stories.
We love this app, and it gives new writers a chance because it could be a goldmine if you are a hobbyist reader or a bookworm. If you want to read all the stories faster and learn a new reading technique, you should try their bionic reading feature.
Manga Toon is a solid app if you are looking for new stories or want to write a story as an author. The app also supports many languages, such as English and Indonesian. We recommend you give it a try.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The app is available on all mobile platforms (iOS, iPad OS, and Android). | There are a lot of ads both on the website and the mobile app. |
| It brings new stories almost daily. You will never get bored. | There are multiple features for which logging in is necessary. |
| It is free to use. | |
| The app supports new creators and writers. | |
| The app is well made, we did not face any major bugs, and it is easy to use. |
Kotatsu: Manga Reader
Kotatsu is a hidden gem with some complications. First of all, it’s only available for Android, but it’s an open-source app that we’ve also included in our list of best Android apps not available on Google Play Store. The app is very feature-rich and includes all the popular titles, including Shounen titles like Naruto, JJK, and Bleach, as well as Seinen titles like Berserk. Compared to other apps in this list, Kotatsu offers some unique features, such as online manga tracking and even integration with My Anime List. The app also offers synchronization across multiple devices.
Let’s talk about some complications with the app. The lack of a proper iOS app is one of those problems; other problems with Kotatsu include things that should not be known or visible everywhere. So take it as you should.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The app is easy to use, and the UI is user-friendly. | Not having an iOS app is a major downside. |
| There are tons of popular titles from all genres. | The app is not for everyone to use, as some elements should not be visible everywhere. |
| The app is Open Source. | The app could be annoying to use sometimes as it tends to update the manga collection in the background. |
| Supports unique features like integration with MAL (My Anime List). |
WEBTOON
Webtoon is arguably the best-made and designed app on our list of the best apps for reading manga on Android and iOS. It’s also one of the most popular apps on Android and iOS. There’s good content for everyone and something from every genre. It doesn’t matter if you like action, comedy, romance, a slice of life, or fantasy. Webtoon has something for everyone. You can filter the stories according to your preferences, and these stores are updated regularly.
But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. There are no trending or popular titles. The only two we’ve seen that are gaining popularity are Lore Olympus and True Beauty. The app also supports new creators. And the popularity that some of these webtoons have gained recently is pretty good, in our honest opinion.
You’re sure to enjoy Webtoon’s in-app content, so let’s talk about some of the pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The app works great. | There are no hits or very popular titles. |
| There is some really good original content. | The app will remind you to log in again and again. It quickly becomes frustrating. |
| Probably the best place for you if you enjoy Webtoons. | |
| The content is regularly updated. |
Mangamo
Just like the other manga reading apps on our list, Mangamo is a great manga reading app available for both iOS and Android. You can read 4 chapters every day for free, and if you want to unlock all titles, you have to pay a small fee of around 4.99 USD/month to access all titles and chapters. Mangamo caters to a wide audience with very popular series like Attack on Titan, Blue Lock, and Record of the Ragnarock and lesser-known but great titles like Date of a Marriage and Sign of Affection.
It’s a great app with almost 300 to 400 titles to choose from, and the best part is that new titles are added regularly to increase the number of options for readers. The app doesn’t display pop-up ads or any other advertisements, which is a plus in our opinion. Mnagamo is a lesser-known app, and we think you should give it a try, at least the free version.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A new app with some popular titles and a rapidly growing catalog of titles. | While the catalog is increasing, there are only around 300-400 titles to choose from. |
| The free tier is well worth it, as you get 4 free chapters to read every day. | The subscription is pretty much higher than all other platforms in this list. |
| The app is well-made, and there are no ads in the UI. |
