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Believe it or not, I had actually planned on doing a post like this someday. I had seen searches for legal manga apps in the site stats search engine (because I did this post most likely), but I struggled on how to explain them. That and general laziness. Well, lazy no more. I recently learned that the New York Times did a video promoting comics on the usual mobile platforms (iPhone, iPad, etc), and…they linked to a not so legal site. Since the barest of research was done to find out if the site they linked to was legal or not, I decided I might as well also do the barest of research and list all the legal manga apps I happen to know about. I bet that there are also publishers in other countries who also have legal apps. You can always let me know what they are either by replying in the comments or sending me detailed info by email (organizationasg at gmail dot com).
So, let’s get started!
MangaBox
Name: MangaBox
How can I read it: Can read the first chapters on the website; download it for your iPhone, iPad, Android
Price: Free!
What you need to know: MangaBox titles do have a limit as to how long they’re up, but aside from that, I covered just about everything MangaBox related on Manga Bookshelf — from things I liked and disliked, to my favorite titles. You can also get opinions from Sean and Jason on the app.
Viz Manga
Name: Viz Manga
How can I read it: Can read it on your PC; can download it to your iPhone, iPad, Android
Price: Has free previews; varies from $6.99-10, may be even more.
What you need to know: With me getting an iPhone, I have seen the light…I like reading manga on my phone. I used it to read Deadman Wonderland. It was pretty interesting to say the least. Single page reading is glorious on it. Anyways, I still question the prices of some of these manga, even though I start to wonder if there are reasons for that price tag.
…Nah, I’ll go with it’s still too expensive.
Kodansha Comics
Name: Kodansha Comics
How can I read it: Download to your iPhone, iPad
Price: Has free previews; varies from $4.99 to more.
What you need to know: To be honest, it felt like it hasn’t been updated in a while, but then I see Fairy Tail volumes and I go, “Ok, never mind.” It seems to read well enough, but whether or not you’ll be paying for a title on the app is up to you.
Comixology
“But Justin some of these titles listed aren’t man–”
“Shutup!”
Name: Comixology
How can I read it: Download to your iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire
Price: For manga, expect it to be in the $4.99-$6.99 range. Or more. Or less.
What you need to know: I actually have not used Comixology. Yes, maybe I should finally get to that. After all, publishers like Seven Seas and Digital Manga Publishing are on it, so…
Weekly Shonen Jump
Name: Weekly Shonen Jump
How can I read it: Download it to your iPhone, iPad, Android
Price: You have to get a subscription to WSJ. You can pay .99c a week or subscribe for a whole year for $25.99.
What you need to know: At first, considering I could access my WSJ manga on the Viz Manga app, I wasn’t sure how useful it would be to have a WSJ app. Then I realized it’s slightly easier to get to just my WSJ issues and nothing else, whereas Viz Manga has all of your manga.
At least that’s how I’m selling it until further notice.
Crunchyroll Manga
Name: Crunchyroll Manga
How can I read it: download it to your iPhone, iPad, Android
Price: Free!…for the latest chapter. You have to get a manga membership ($4.99) to access the entire catalog, with no ads.
What you need to know: Finally, the hottest manga reading site on the block, Crunchyroll. They’ve certainly made their presence felt, both in good ways and bad ways. So far the jury is still out on how they are affecting the various manga publishing markets, but there’s no denying they have the structure and titles to keep people reading.
Now I don’t know if this is a comprehensive list, but if nothing else, this is a good way to get started. If you have any issues with any of these apps, feel free to reply below.
