MangaOwl down and you have no other source of manga to flip through? There are many websites that duplicate a similar manga reading experience to what MangaOwl users are familiar with.
1 – Mangareader
This website has a very pleasing layout that does not hurt the eyes with over dramatic colors or obnoxious advertisements.
It provides the standard free manga reading experience that has a rating system, a premium feeling UI and options for horizontal and vertical reading layouts. It has a vast array of manga.
Unless your favorite manga is from the lost media section of the Japanese comics industry, it’s sure to be in their catalogue.
2 – Mangafox
Mangafox has a very simple layout, no premium-feeling home page or comfortable color themes. However, the site gets the job done for those who just want to read some manga.
It boasts as many manga as every other non-premium site in this list. The UI looks very clean and the site showcases a good catalogue of recommendations on their home page.
3 – Manganato
Manganato is another vast resource similar to Mangaowl for insatiable manga lovers. It has a huge selection of all the manga you can think of, and a general comments section (if you like that sort of thing).
Its UI is bland considering that similar layouts are used on a thousand other manga sites that got struck down for copyright violations.
Despite its dull UI, it does the job as good as any manga site on this list.
4 – Viz Media
Viz Media is the official site of the company which has publishing licenses for many manga including JJBA, One Piece and Dragon Ball.
The layout doesn’t provide much in terms of how many manga it showcases.
Bluntly put, there is a significantly limited number of manga you can read on Viz Media.
If you want a great resource to read manga legally, this is one of the best places to do so.
There are many popular manga options on this online site. But you need to pay in order to get full access t them. However, most of them have a feature that lets you read the latest chapters for free.
5 – Crunchyroll
It’s mostly known for its anime streaming service, but it also boasts a decent selection of legally sourced manga titles.
If you don’t find the manga you’re looking for on Viz Media, then you may find it on Crunchyroll.
The UI that you’re greeted with when you click on the website is not that great. The site pushes all the content to the middle of the page, leaving blank spaces on the sides.
This makes the pages look a little weird, and you have to deal with smaller font as a result.
There is a feature called “Crunchyroll BETA” that you can only access if you sign in.
This will give you the premium version of the UI and makes the site look much better — overall, a nicer way to read manga online on the site as compared to the default layout.
6 – Manga Freak
This is a completely free platform for reading manga online that has a decent enough UI. It doesn’t make you want to click away from the website compared to some of the other alternatives.
The home page isn’t ideal for browsing as it only features around 140 manga options. If you want to discover the latest manga and dip your feet in new genres, then this website isn’t for you.
Also see: 11 MangaPanda Alternatives
However, if you’re the type of person who gets manga recommendations from other people on sites like MAL, then you could use this site quite comfortably.
Users generally ignore the lists showing different genres and just type the name of the manga they want to read in the advanced search bar in order to find it.
7 – Manga Katana
Another Manga Owl wannabe, this website provides an extensive collection of manga material and has a clean looking UI that comes with a dark theme option.
If you don’t know the name of any manga and just want to discover new titles as well as new genres, then this site is a viable candidate.
You can search for a specific category of manga you’re interested in and find quite a massive archive of comics at your fingertips.
8 – Manga Dex
This early access website has a unique UI and has an active Discord server that you can use to interact with the community and staff.
They have a pretty neat selection of manga and Korean webtoons that are also available in other languages other than English.
9 – Webtoon
Webtoon is a completely legal and free website that is home to something different.
Webtoons are web comics that can originate from any country and has a unique storytelling style that is distinct from the manga made in Japan.
This site provides a huge collection of webtoons created by artists from multiple countries. Most of the comics here are colored and have beautiful artwork.
It’s definitely worth checking out if you don’t want to read manga online for a while or if your favorite Shonen title is on break. Many of them are made by indie artists.
Each title is chock full of vibrant colors, unique stories and amazing artwork. It really does open up a new world of content when you feel manga isn’t giving you enough variety (it does happen when you consume one medium for a long time).
10 – Mangatoon
The site may be called Mangatoon, but it has a longer list of manhwa and manhua than manga. An impressive selection of Chinese and Korean comics can be found here.
Conclusion:
Apart from Crunchyroll, Viz Media and Webtoon, all the other sites listed here don’t feature legally sourced content.
So they might get struck down at any time. However, new alternatives to MangaOwl generally pop up almost immediately. Many of these package themselves as sources of user-uploaded content.
A huge portion of the manga industry hasn’t made itself legally available outside Japan. Naturally, there is a limited selection of titles that you can officially access on platforms like Crunchyroll and Viz Media.
Webtoon is free, legal and has a huge selection of indie-made web comics. You won’t find your favorite mangas on it as it does not host manga that’s made in Japan.
