Free Comics? Don't Mind If I Do!
You ever want to read a manga, but the website you are using is littered with ads? I often feel the same way. Sometimes I want to read a nice manga without constantly clicking on ads. This tutorial works only for PC/Laptops or android phones/tablets. (If you have a computer + IOS device, you can still read manga on the go, but it requires using the computer first!)I've been using these methods for a year, and it still works for me, however just be aware there are plenty of alternatives. This article was written in October 2022, so it might become outdated.
This requires intermediate knowledge of installing programs
& disclaimer I am a windows user
Part 1: Aquirement
COMPUTERS
For computers, I reccomend downloading a program called "hakuneko." What it does is grab the manga you want off of the website directly, so there aren't any ads. It uses your internet connection, so all it does is have an automated program grab them for you without you having to do it yourself. It can also automatically put them into a variety of formats. It's really good if you want the highest quality possible for doing translations. However, it can only grab stuff from free websites. It automatically has many websites built in.The link to their website is here.
Apparently it works with anime as well, but I haven't tried that, so I wouldn't reccomend it. The app works with or without a VPN, since it only downloads freely accessable images. I highly reccomend it for the broke manga fan.
ANDROID
For android, I reccomend downloading an apk titled "tachiyomi." It is the same as hakuneko, however, it is all contained within your phone. You don't get a choice in format, and you can't read outside of the app very easily, but if you just want to read on your phone, it's perfect for that. It's not very versitile, however because it has picked a very specific use, it excels at it. The app has a large variety of reading formats, but just be aware, manga isn't really meant to be read on a tiny phone screen, so zooming in is often required for legibility.The link to their website is here.
You have to install each "source" seperately, so if you want to read two manga from different websites, you have to download 2 extensions, rather than just the one like hakuneko, however, because of this limitation, it's able to save pretty severely on load time, so I don't mind.
The starter extensions I reccomend are MangaDex and Mangakakalot. Both will pretty much contain everything you want. If the thing you want to read doesn't appear on either of those websites, I'd reccomend looking for the comic on google, seeing what websites it appears on, and then downloading the extensions for those websites in particular. Any websites that show up on the first page of google likely have an extension already!
Part 2: Reading
WINDOWS COMPUTERS
Pretty much anything will do, and it depends on what format you download. Typically I prefer to download either in PDF or image seqence. Hakuneko automatically has a reader built in, but it isn't very good, and is only meant to preview. Because I like pdfs, I don't download anything in particular. What I do reccomend though, and I automatically download to every computer I own is SumaraPDF. It looks old, but it works really really well. Just wish they'd update the icon to be less garish though. Despite the name, it can read every format for comics/books you need, so if you are the type to download your fic (like me-) then you'd probably like this.The link to their website is here.
ANDROID
Again, I'm going to reccomend tachiyomi- without any extensions it can read local files, (files saved to your phone) and the reader is the best I've seen on mobile- it's incredibly flexable with lots of good options. Incase you missed it earlier-The link to their website is here.
IOS
I don't personally have an iPhone, so this is mostly for iPad users, but I use Crunchy from the IOS app store. I tested out several similar apps, and crunchy is the only one that was at least bearable. Honestly I don't know how you IOS users can stand not having shareware/freeware- it's kind of terrifying.The link to their IOS page is here.
