Manga Nova, Mangas.IO, Piccoma: three apps for reading manga and webtoons online

Manga publisher Ki-oon has just launched its free online reading platform Manga Nova. An opportunity to get interested in different manga and webtoon reading platforms such as Mangas.io and Piccoma.

Japanese comics are a real phenomenon in France, which is considered the second country for manga. In 2023, 40 million copies were sold in France, according to data from the GfK institute. The development of digital reading also reinforces this trend. Moreover, readers are increasingly fond of webtoons (also called smartoons), and comics optimized for reading on phones.

Manga Nova, Mangas.IO or Piccoma are among the applications that allow you to read manga and webtoons legally online, with or without a subscription, on your phone, tablet or computer. Each has its own specialty and therefore offers different things.

Manga Nova, your universe at your fingertips for free

This is the latest legal online manga reading platform to emerge. It was launched on February 4th by Ki-oon Publishing. Unlike other applications of the same genre, Manga Nova is completely free. “You must see it as a great free online magazine. We are not a Netflix manga. There won’t be 300 series. It’s not the goal“, explains Ahmed Agne, editorial director and co-founder of AC Media (Ki-oon, Lumen, Mana Books).

There are currently 13 licenses available, mostly from Ki-oon editions, but other series will be added soon, especially those published by Mana Books. Manga Nova offers free access to the beginning of certain titles (old or newer) and the latest chapters simultaneously with Japan. Among the available titles we find blockbusters such as Jujutsu Kaisen AND My hero academyas well as series like Akane Banashi AND Kindergarten wars.

The app is not just an online reading platform. “Since it’s 100% free and ad-free, we’ve ensured that there’s a growing community there“, insists Valentin Grot, manager of the Manga Nova project.”We decided to mix mobile games into the application. This means that much of the content will be free, and access to some will be restricted. To unlock them, you will need to participate in daily, weekly and event missions. Every time users have fun on the platform, they will unlock Nova currency. This currency will be useful for unlocking chapters, customizations (trophies, avatar frames). So, every time a user interacts with the platform, they are rewarded.“

Mangas.io, the “Netflix of manga” in France

THE “Manga Netflix”, that’s what Mangas.io, launched in 2020 by Frenchman Romain Régnier, wants to become. Currently, the platform offers about 250 series, or several thousand titles, and has signed contracts with about thirty publishers. Its aim is to offer a legal online offer “practical and dense enough that piracy no longer makes sense to readers“, explains Roman Régnier. In addition to manga and webtoons, Mangas.io wants to introduce Taiwanese manga, T-manga, more than ten of which are already available on the app.

Mangas.io is available for a monthly subscription of €6.90 per month or €69.90 per year.”There is a lot of interest in reading subscription manga“, assesses Romain Régnier, founder and CEO of Mangas.io who sees it as a “complement” to “traditional” reading. It is also “an alternative to piracy“very present in online manga reading, we will counter this phenomenon.”develop simultrad“, so French readers can read the last chapter of their manga at the same time as the Japanese.

With more than 200 000 registered in France, Mangas.io wants to become a multilingual application. To begin with, it wants to develop in European markets, with Germany, Spain and Italy as primary targets. Recently, Mangas.io also boarded the TGV inOuï trains, offering free about fifty titles from its catalog on the on-board wifi portal.

Piccoma, “paradise for manga”

Launched in France in March 2022, Piccoma has over 1 million manga and webtoon readers in France. It is also the main partner of Japan Expo. “Piccoma’s mission in France is to discover manga, webtoons that come from all over the world, but also to promote niches“explains Hyung-Rae Kim, Chief Executive Officer of Piccom Europe, at Yatta, on Mouvo.

The Korean platform offers more than 800 different series, titles published by French publishers, but also numerous smartoons (webtoons) and manga, exclusively in digital format. “We bring works we believe in“, insists Hyung-Rae Kim. The first chapters of all series are free, so readers can experience them, but then you have to pay to get more. “We need a coherent legal offer where we can find works we like“, explains Hyung-Rae Kim.

The economic model is “freemium”: every reader can read an episode for free every 23 hours, but if they want more they have to pay. At Piccoma, we don’t talk in euros, but in “coins”. You buy packs of coins and spend them on each episode you want to read. “Piccoma is not famous, but the works are, such as Solo Leveling, and the fact that we offer manga and webtoons. We’ve noticed that young readers come a lot through webtoons rather than manga.“, says Hyung-Rae Kim.

If you are a webtoon fan, don’t miss Delitoon and Naver Webtoon and Webtoon Factory. If you prefer comics, you can also turn to Izne, which also offers comics, manga and webtoons.