Manga Rock (Best Manga Reader) Review

I've reviewed quite a few manga reading apps in the past. For the last several months I've settled down with one I find to be quite amiable to all my needs. Unless Manga Meow or Manga MF have had significant updates in the past year or so and fixed some of the problems I had with them that I'm unaware of, I'm sticking with alternatives that work. Disk space is an important concern after all. If I've firmly planted my feet down, Manga Rock must be good right?

Firstly, I'd love to mention that that little subtitle in the post headline is not my choice of words but the actual name of the app. And yeah I'm willing to agree that it's currently my app of choice and has been for quite some time for several reasons. It's certainly not without its flaws but unless you purchase your manga individually from valid sources it's the best way to download from a variety of online services directly.

Admittedly the reading shelf isn't as pretty as Manga Meow but it gets the job done.

Small Screen / Big Screen:
I like to read manga on my phone when I have a free moment but the iPhones screen isn't so good with magazines or visual media unless you love zooming and scrolling. However reading manga in landscape in a never-ending scroll is seamless and enjoyable. Your manga list is easy to sync by creating an account which transitions your reading list across devices effortlessly which is a great touch.

Reading Settings:
There are a variety of ways to read manga digitally dependant on the users preferences and other apps didn't offer this kind of freedom. Manga Rock allows you to read in page form (left to right or right to left) or in a never ending scroll from top to bottom. When you get to the end of a chapter, it automatically loads up the next and you can keep going. The experience isn't clunky and the flow of reading manga is one of the reasons why I keep coming back.

The current view is of the reading interface for the iPad version in landscape.

Recommendations:
When you get up to date on a certain manga, something magical happens. Manga Rock advises other titles you might like. And surprisingly the selection is on the nose. I've expanded my reading list based on these ideas and I've got a healthy backlog of titles to browse at any given time. If I want to stream it directly from the internet or download it (which I usually have some titles on disk in case of internet blackout spaces in the day) I can add it to the relevant section easily.

Quick Downloads:

Sometimes I'll add titles to my favourites (my reading list) or some I can easily add to my downloads list which it'll zip through and obtain them for reading later on my iPad or iPhone. Usually I'd just leave these on any other app, but in Manga Rock it's amazingly slick. It's quite a shallow feature sure, but if you have an hour before leaving and realize that you're all caught up, this becomes a positive from experience.

 

Sources:

Almost every online source for reading Manga is here. MangaFox, MangaReader, MangaEden, MangaHere are just the tip of the surface with many more languages as well making this the one stop manga shop. It's impossible to NOT find what you're looking for through a comprehensive search.

Chapter lists, unread appear white while highlighted blue ones are already read

Customizable:

I said before that you can customize the reading interface but it's the little intricate controls that make it something huge as reading manga that I do on a daily basis a manageable task. You can put a cap on downloadable data, auto download the next chapter and delete the previous when read to save on space.

 

With all my praise it should be considered perfect then. Not entirely. The interface has a bit of a learning curve and a strong Android flavour that takes getting used to. But once you know what each symbol means and how to get around this problem reverses itself. However then I'd develop a grudge over the finicky reading interface. I'd jump back and forth between chapters for simply tapping the screen a little too low and I'd have to scroll back. Tapping the centre of the screen in reading mode is supposed to bring up the menu but there's a bit of a lag or trick to doing it which never fails to irritate.

 

I have a lot of love and respect for what this app can and does that I feel comfortable with it and it'll take a lot for me to jump ship.

 

 

 

 

 

7 comments:

  1. yeah, impossible to not find, unless its a popular manga, then its not even listed.
    and i paid for it. pisses me off. they leave that detail out, the not having the most popular manga.

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    1. Indeed, it's annoying you can't get stuff as Death Note or One Piece, but for the other 99% it's great, so I'm glad I bought it.

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  2. You can get all manga on here. I use this app to read One Piece all the time. You just have to change the manga source.

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  3. You can get all manga on here. I use this app to read One Piece all the time. You just have to change the manga source.

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  4. Honestly, MangaRock is my go to app and/or website to read manga. Unlike most manga websites, it does not have many ads and does not contain viruses. What I really like about it is that you can download the manga with wifi or whatever and you can read it later without needing wifi. I also like how it contains manga that you can't find on other manga websites (take Barajou no Kiss for example).

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  5. I have found awesome Manga Websites list. You can read here

    ReplyDelete