How To Read Manga: Your 101 Guide | Book Riot

But there’s also a more mechanical difference: manga isn’t read the same way you’d read a comic. Traditionally, Japanese text was written in vertical columns which were read from top to bottom, and then right to left. Nowadays, you’ll find that horizontal writing is also common and that is written from left to right in most instances.

Most manga are read right to left, meaning that if you open a manga volume the way you would a comic written in English, you’ll be reading the ending. (I don’t recommend this, you’re likely to spoil yourself). Instead, start at the top right-hand corner and work your way across, then go down the page. It’s pretty simple once you get started and you’ll get the hang of it in no time.

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Types of Digital Manga

Unfortunately, logistics like the costs of printing, shipping, and distributing translated manga mean that it takes time for new volumes to release worldwide. To circumvent this, there have been some digital releases – though not all digital releases are created equal! There are two main types of digital manga that you’re likely to come across: the official release and fan translations (also known as scanlations).

Scanlations are created by fans who take the original Japanese manga and scan it to their computers, remove the Japanese text, and insert translations in another language. The completed volume is then uploaded online. While scanlations are usually faster, and can be the only way of gaining access to a manga that hasn’t been greenlit for official translation, they do infringe copyright and are unfortunately illegal.

Official releases, on the other hand, support the original creator. They’re also usually higher quality because the people involved are working from master files rather than scanned versions of printed volumes. They’re also often more accurate since the translators have access to the manga’s creator to discuss intention and ambiguity.