Have you always been curious about Japan's black-and-white comics? Had your fill of Marvel and DC and want to see what else is out there? This guide will show you where to start and how you can read manga affordably and conveniently.
I'll help you find the best type of manga for your interests and tastes, teach you how to read and appreciate the visual medium, and recommend a tool for reading digital versions of your first picks.
Quick List
If you're familiar with manga and just need a great website for free manga, check out my best sites below:
- MangaDex: Totally free with a massive collection across all genres and age groups. My number one recommendation!
- MangaFire: Over 30,000 titles and a very user-friendly reading experience.
- Hoopla: Needs a library card, but otherwise free with plenty of great titles.
- Viz: Provides one of the largest digital manga collections at just $2 monthly.
- Libby: Great for free manga and ebooks, Libby is an excellent resource for free reading material.
How to Choose Your First Type of Manga
Even if you can't name a single manga, you've probably heard of Dragon Ball. The world-famous martial arts sensation with its spiky-haired heroes started as a manga created by the late Akira Toriyama. Most popular anime, like Naruto, Bleach, and Attack on Titan, began as black-and-white cells in serialized publications before they hit the television screen.
You could easily start with any of the icons mentioned above, but I'd rather you find something that suits your tastes. Manga is beautiful because it has something for everyone, regardless of age, taste, and life experiences.
Let's list the main manga categories, for starters.
1. Shonen
Shonen is probably the most popular type of manga, and it's primarily made for teenagers and older boys. But you don't need to follow this outdated classification as Shonen is consumed by every type of person worldwide.
To put Shonen manga's popularity into perspective, let's look at some sales figures:
- One Piece: 516,566,000 copies sold
- Dragon Ball: 300,000,000 copies sold
- Naruto: 250,000,000 copies sold
Shonen manga can get a bit violent occasionally with its epic fights, but the inspirational messages and moral lessons taught make this category so wonderful. That and unforgettable heroes like Goku, Naruto, and Izuku, who constantly overcome monstrous challenges and always smile after a chaotic battle.
Image source: Flickr
The vibrant and energetic division is also bursting with genres. Slam Dunk is about an underdog basketball team, Naruto follows the adventures of a young ninja, and One Piece takes you on an endless voyage with a plucky pirate crew.
Some of the best Shonen manga include:
2. Shojo
This type of manga focuses on young and teenage girls, the feminine version of Shonen. Shojo manga is instantly recognizable thanks to its colorful, floral covers with young female characters.
Image source: GoodFon
But to say that Shojo is just a bunch of cutesy fantasies would be a disservice. Many Shojo titles are praised for their coming-of-age themes and convincing challenges girls face at school, home, and relationships. Shojo's themes also vary wildly, with Nana pushing the boundaries with challenging themes and Cardcaptor Sakura being almost entirely harmless and sweet.
You've probably heard of Sailor Moon or would recognize its main character, Usagi Tsuniko, with her long blonde pigtails. Other standout works in the Shojo world include:
3. Seinen
Seinen is the way to go if you're looking for something more mature with challenging themes. This manga type is geared towards adult men over 18 years of age. Its works are often violent and dark, with protagonists that fit the anti-hero category rather than Shonen's morally upstanding champions.
Image source: DeviantArt
Seinen is also perfect if you're a fan of masterful art and writing. Works like Kastsyhiro Otomo's Akira and the late Kentaro Miura's Berserk feature jaw-dropping, ultra-detailed art and mind-bending stories.
Like Shonen, Seinen has a fantastic range of settings. Akira (sci-fi) takes place in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, Berserk (fantasy) unfolds in a dark Medieval Europe, and Vagabond (history, martial arts) is set in feudal Japan. If you prefer well-told drama and intrigue over swords and samurai then Naoki Urasawa's Monster is ideal.
Some of the leading Seinen titles include:
4. Josei
Josei is the feminine counterpart to Seinen, dealing with grown-up situations (both fantastical and relatable) that women are more likely to appreciate than men. Romance is a common theme in Josei manga, but not in a sweet and idealized way.
Image source: GoodFon
Josei protagonists often have complex relationships with their love interests and may struggle with their professional and personal lives. But Josei authors also love taking their heroines on wild adventures, like with Paradise Kiss.
Of course, there are plenty of relaxing, funny, and sentimental Josei titles if you're looking for something unchallenging but fully developed. Some of my favourite Josei works include:
Where to Get Manga Free and How to Read It
You've delved into the type of manga that tickles your fancy and has your finger on an amazing-looking title. Now, how do you get your hands on a copy?
The obvious route would be to visit your local bookstore or games shop. But the sad reality is that manga is expensive, especially if you live in a country far away from Japan. That's where the digital medium comes in, particularly PDFs.
My favorite manga website is MangaDex, but plenty of other safe sites have huge collections. Check out our MangaDex tutorial below:
Let's break it down:
- Step 1: Use the search bar in the top-right corner and enter your manga title.
- Step 2: Choose your manga from the list.
- Step 3: Click the "Start Reading" button at the top of the manga's page.
- Step 4: Select your language.
- Step 5: Click on the right side of the page to turn to the next one.
- Step 6: To adjust your settings, click the "Menu" button at the top of the page.
How to Read Manga
Finally, you have your manga ready to read, and you're about to jump into a whole new world of action, romance, and drama. But how do you read these Japanese comics?
With a physical copy, you'll start at the right side of the book (what is the back cover in Western books) and then read the left side page from right to left (unlike Western comics, which are read left to right).
How to Read Manga PDFs
If you managed to get your hands on some manga PDFs, we've got the perfect way to read them in true comfort and style with PDF Reader Pro.
Once you've downloaded PDF Reader Pro for Windows or Mac, you can open and read your manga instantly.
Step 1: Open your manga PDF
Click on "Open Files" and select your manga on your device.
Image source: PDF Reader Pro
Step 2: Set your "Page Display" settings
Click on "Page Display" at the far right of the toolbar. You can now customize your reading experience as needed:
- Display Mode: Choose between a single-page display or multiple. You can even read your manga in "Slideshow" mode.
- Scroll Type: Decide whether you'd like a "Continuous Scroll" or "Page Breaks".
- Split View: You can have a vertical or horizontal "Split View" if you would like to refer to other pages as you read.
- Rotate: Change the orientation of a page. This is especially helpful for viewing large panels across two pages in a horizontal orientation.
- Themes: Choose between Light, Sepia, Dark, Reseda, and more themes.
Image source: PDF Reader Pro
