Webcomic App Review - Manta
This is a pretty underrated/overlooked app. Overlooked no more!
So if you weren’t aware, I’ve been doing a miniseries of reviews of some apps I use to read digital manga/manhwa. This is the third app (of six) I’m going to be talking. This time is Manta.
Confession time. I had never heard of this app. Then again most of the apps in this series (except for Webtoons) I had never heard of before until the rabbit hole I fell into this year. I actually discovered this app because of a YouTube Manhwa recap channel.
There was an intriguing story I was watching a recap video for. I couldn’t help but be curious if this story was available anywhere I could read. Lo and behold! Google showed me Manta. What do I think of this app? Keep reading!
What is Manta?
Manta is owned and created by Ridi Corporation. Like the other platforms in this series, the parents company is a publisher that focuses on manhwa/manga. They may also publish light novels as well. Ridi apparently also produces some webtoons for their content. As far as I can tell the others in the series don’t do this. Or perhaps they do in the original Korean version of the apps, but not in the international one. At the very least that is the case here with Ridi/Manta.
Manta appears to be the international equivalent of the original Ridi app. Based on reviews I see on Google Play, it looks like you can use the Ridi app outside of South Korea. However the content is mostly in Korean so you’ll have a hard time if you’re not fluent in the language. So Manta is strictly webcomics and novels. Also the content they release are the works they publish themselves in South Korea.
Like with Lezhin (read my review here), you can get some spicier content. Though it looks like you can still access it through the app without the loophole method I mentioned with Lezhin. However if you’re not that sort of content, there are plenty of other options.
Cost
I have to say this app is the most unique one (except for maybe Webtoons) because unlike the other apps in this series, you have a really different system for payment. Unlike the other apps, Manta is subscription based pretty similar to the ten streaming platforms you probably have.
You can sign up to Manta Unlimited. As an American, I pay $4.99/mo or $49.90/year and get access to all the webcomics they have to offer. You also have the ability to purchase web novels.
You might be thinking, “Hey I thought you said this is a subscription service?” I did. However please notice I said access to all the webcomics. I never said their web novels. The webcomics apparently can and do get taken out of circulation (what do you know… it IS like Netflix). However the web novels can be purchased and you can download and keep them.
Another interesting thing to note is that the web novels are only available on the app and not accessible on the website. This is another fascinating difference between this app and its competitors. There is a currency system with the web novels and you buy gems.
It seems that the conversion rate is 10 gems/$1. They do have a one-time starter pack offer of USD$0.99 for 10 gems+ 25 bonus gems. To be fair this isn’t a bad deal because the lower gem bundle is $2.99 for 30 gems. The other bundles you get bonus gems. The most expensive one is $39.99 for 400 gems+ 40 bonus gems. Which then give you a rate of 11 gems/$1.
The price varies, but based on the novels I’ve seen, each book ranges from 30 to 40 gems a volume. So that basically means you’d have to spend the equivalent of $3-4 a volume.
My personal thoughts
I can’t lie. If you were to tell me, “I can only pick one or two of these six apps. Which one should I be getting, Liz?” my honest answer would be to pick this one. Why?
The two things that I pointed out earlier are the real selling points. You save a LOT of money reading the webcomics on here. Most of the other apps (except for Webtoons to a degree) basically make you pay for each chapter you read after the first couple ones. On Manta, you pay one flat fee per month or annual.
Also when you buy the web novels, you can download and keep them. Not all of the other apps even have novels. On top of that you either can’t download or you only get limited time access offline. I’ll explain about those in the other reviews when I get to them. Even the pricing for the web novels isn’t all that bad. The light novels I buy as ebooks generally range anywhere from USD$6.99 to $8.99. Now granted these Manta novels aren’t necessarily as fancy by including additional material. Still I say they’re pretty good value for what you pay for.
The one negative is that unfortunately the webcomics potentially disappear. That would be annoying if it happens to be a title you like a lot and wish to read over and over again. Then again there’s plenty of content on there. So maybe you’ll have plenty of other stories to read that will help fill that hole.
Have you tried Manta? If not would you consider it? Leave a comment below!