On March 30, the new official Japanese manga app named Manga Flip launched in the US. The app is developed by Amazia, a Japanese company famously known for launching the app Manga BANG! in Japan, which boasts over 20 million downloads according to the company’s official site.
Amazia is also the company that operates our very own Tokyo Anime News! With that in mind, I thought it would be good to check out the new Manga Flip app right at launch and write about the experience in an article here. FYI, I’m an anonymous writer who has been writing for Tokyo Anime News since its launch last year, based in the US. I’m an anime/manga fan that’s able to give an American user perspective.
First things first. Manga Flip is a free app now available to download both on the Apple Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices. I was relieved to learn that. Sometimes great apps start off only available on one or the other, leaving out a massive number of potential users from the get-go. That's not the case with Manga Flip.
I’m an Android user these days, so my experience is based on running the app on my Android device.
The app interface seems simple and easy to use. There are already 8 different manga titles to read for free with more on the way soon. It’s actually a “freemium manga app,” which means all chapters are free. New chapters come out weekly, and there’s a handy release calendar in the app menu to keep up with upcoming release dates.
While there are manga of different themes available on the app, like romance and action, its big focus is isekai or reincarnation stories. And as stated in the Manga Flip’s description, all of the manga are original Japanese works produced in-house by Amazia.
The first title I tried out is called Dungeon Battle Royale by Coko Nagihashi. The cover art and name is what appealed to me. The entire chapter loaded on my phone immediately. Scrolling pages was smooth, no load time. And the art is definitely high quality, with pro-level inking and shading, as you can see in my screenshot.
I won’t spoil the story, but I will say it’s right up there with current isekai anime I’m enjoying. At least so far. Dungeon Battle Royale and the other titles in Manga Flip are all translated into English. The English grammar is natural, so I’m guessing Amazia makes sure to have good translators.
The next manga I tried is titled Robustness, both written and illustrated by Yoshikyuki Satou. It’s set in ancient Greece. Again, the art seemed professional quality. Lots of sweet fighting in this one. I felt it was more of a shounen manga in this way.
If you enjoy a particular manga, you can use Manga Flip’s “Like” system, where you can click on a heart near the title’s description. You can see how many others also hearted the title.
So far my experience with Manga Flip is great. I recommend downloading it if you love manga!
