Manga Got A Chance (マンガごっちゃ)
If you’re missing out on the BookOff or Manga Cafe experience, unable to browse through an extensive collection of manga and read as you please, you might want to check out Manga Got a Chance. Even if you’re lucky enough to live near a BookOff or Manga Cafe, you might be interested in a new mode of manga that’s completely free.
The last time I wrote about finding manga online, I mentioned online 4-panel comics and manga samples. This time around, I’ve learned that there’s just as much variety when it comes to free manga online as there is published manga.
Welcome to Manga Got a Chance (マンガごっちゃ).
A website for amateur and professional manga artists to upload their works for manga fans to read. Not only is it available through PC, but there is also the option to read on your iOS device or Android. At first glance, the website may be a bit intimidating with the amount of choices, but this is a good thing since there’s a chance you’ll find something you like.
One way to find a manga to read is to use the top navigation bar.
You can find the list of genres under 連載マンガ(Serial Manga) and 読み切りマンガ(One Shot Manga). Here are the lists translated:
●連載漫画カテゴリー(Serial Manga Category)
学園(School) | 現代ファンタジー(Modern Fantasy) | ファンタジー(Fantasy) | SF(Science Fiction) | ノンフィクション(Non Fiction) | ホラー・サスペンス(Horror/Suspense) | スポーツ(Sports) | 冒険・アドベンチャー(Adventure) | ダーク(Dark) | ゲーム(Games) | 動物(Animals) | 恋愛(Love) | 格闘アクション(Fighting) | ギャグ・コメディ(Gag/Comedy) | ほのぼの(Heartwarming) | 歴史(History) | 推理・ミステリー(Detective/Mystery) | 日常・生活(Slice of Life) | 業界(Business) | 少年向け(For Boys) | 少女向け(For Girls) | 男性向け(For Men) | 女性向け(For Women) | ボーイズラブ(Boys Love) | 時代劇(Period Drama) | その他(Other)
●読み切り漫画カテゴリー(One Shot Manga Category)
学園(School) | 現代ファンタジー(Modern Fantasy) | ファンタジー(Fantasy) | SF(Science Fiction) | ノンフィクション(Non Fiction) | ホラー・サスペンス(Horror/Suspense) | スポーツ(Sports) | 冒険・アドベンチャー(Adventure) | ダーク(Dark) | ゲーム(Games) | 動物(Animals) | 恋愛(Love) | 格闘アクション(Fighting) | ギャグ・コメディ(Gag/Comedy) | ほのぼの(Heartwarming) | 歴史(History) | 推理・ミステリー(Detective/Mystery) | 日常・生活(Slice of Life) | 業界(Business) | 少年向け(For Boys) | 少女向け(For Girls) | 男性向け(For Men) | 女性向け(For Women) | ボーイズラブ(Boys Love) | 時代劇(Period Drama) | その他(Other)
After choosing a genre, scan through the selection of manga and click on the title of the manga you’d like to read. You’ll see this button when arriving to the manga’s page:
If you’re new to the manga, do not click this button, because it’ll lead you to the most recent chapter. Instead, press ctrl+find and search “この作品のバックナンバーを読む”. This will bring you to the archived chapters of the manga (バックナンバー). The majority of manga will have all chapters available for free. The only exception is with some professional series, such as 琴浦さん, which has not only been published, but also has been turned into an anime.
My favorite manga from this site is 喫茶部へようこそ (Welcome to Our Cafe Club), which is about a girl seemingly bad at everything who is invited to join a secret cafe club most students don’t know about. What I like most about this manga is that while this girl is the protagonist, the manga features an ensemble cast, so the manga goes in depth about the lives of the other characters, not just her life.
I was surprised by the quality of the manga, despite it being available for free online. Which goes to show, not being published through a publisher doesn’t mean the manga isn’t any good. Manga artists with independent manga have control over their own manga, which means they don’t have to listen to an editor telling them to cut out characters they like or take the story in a different direction.
One thing that I learned through getting into 喫茶部へようこそ is that you might want to also check out the artist’s website, which you’ll find next to 著者サイト (Author Site). While Manga Got a Chance only has up to chapter 60 of 喫茶部へようこそ published, the manga artist has uploaded up to 69 chapters on her own website. She uploads them on her own website before releasing them to Manga Got a Chance. She also has bonus content such as side stories, illustrations and 4-panel comics on her website.
The majority of the manga on Manga Got a Chance are not supported with furigana, which can be challenging for beginner and intermediate learners. If you’re a lower level looking to start out with a manga on this website, I recommend one of the manga by 若林稔弥. You can find all her manga on her website here. They are all one shots. I really liked 遠くから君を見てる.
Lastly, if you really like the manga you’re reading, considering sending a tweet to the artist. The manga artist’s twitter feed is also found on the manga page. Here’s the tweet I sent my favorite manga artist:
Have you gotten into an online independent manga? Do you know of any other websites like Manga Got a Chance? Share with us!
Writer and Educator. Learning Japanese using immersion, currently soaking up as many novels and manga as possible in hopes of one day writing her own novel in Japanese. Also because she loves Japanese books.
This is really a great resource. But am I the only one who sees マンガごっちゃ and thinks “Manga Gotcha?”
I was thinking the same thing! Ha.
Will definitely be browsing!
There’s also manga-gai.net which has LOADS of free manga series.
Ooh, nice site! Bookmarking!
This manga already catches my eye: http://manga-gai.net/manga/oyaota/oyaota_index/oyaotaindex.html
That looks adorable just by the cover alone. Then I realized: otaku parents.
So, that makes two of us with early interest.
Cool, this is the first time I’ve seen this from Japan. I know a lot of webcomics from America, some from Europe, and even a couple from Korea, but I didn’t know that Japan had it going on too. That’s great – webcomics are a fantastic medium for comic artists that gives them the most freedom and, if they play their cards right, the most profit. Plus, it has a low barrier of entry for all readers!
Is there a special word they use to refer to these online comic projects? Some equivalent term for “webcomics”? Or is it still just “manga”?
Oh nevermind, they call it “webcomics” too. And while the big English language listing is on topwebcomics, the Japanese one seems to be
http://www.webcomicranking.com/
But I’m too 眠い right now to get through that much Japanese, so someone more advanced than me please poke around and see if there’s a good long list of free Japanese-language net comics on there somewhere. Should be.
Yes, I’ve definitely heard of WebComicRanking (WCR)! 喫茶部へようこそ is listed 22nd on that site. I heard about WCR through 喫茶部へようこそ but never fully explored it myself. Bookmarking to explore it later!
You’ll see three categories of manga being ranked on the navigation bar: オール (All), オリジナル (Original) and パロディ (Parody).
Figured out how to find all the titles of 若林稔弥 in one place on Manga Got a Chance!
http://mangag.com/manga/?tag=若林稔弥
Found a manga on Manga Got a Chance with furigana!
http://mangag.com/manga/?p=25650
I really didn’t think there was one!