For Harsh Sharma, discovering manga was a little like falling down a rabbit hole. He started with Naruto around 2008-09, after watching its anime adaptation. Soon, he found himself exploring stories that had no animated versions.&nbsp;
Nearly two decades later, the reader who once struggled to access the medium has a Crunchyroll subscription and a wish list of physical volumes he would love to own.
&ldquo;I have been a nerd since being a nerd was a bullyable offense in schools,&rdquo; he says. The fact that manga and anime have since found a larger audience makes him happy. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very happy to see that I have lived long enough and the world has turned long enough to make all those things that were considered uncool back then heavily in trend.&rdquo;
<img title="For Vibha Rao, a comics artist and Webtoons ambassador, licensed platforms offer a way to support creators while helping readers discover work." src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/nov/Manga-readers-b_1794706397_s.jpg" alt="For Vibha Rao, a comics artist and Webtoons ambassador, licensed platforms offer a way to support creators while helping readers discover work." width="1280" height="720" />For Vibha Rao, a comics artist and Webtoons ambassador, licensed platforms offer a way to support creators while helping readers discover work
That audience is now getting another way to read. Sites like Manga Plus, Toonsutra, and Manga Plaza have made access easier in the last few years. But more recently, Crunchyroll launched its digital manga service in India in October. For a platform where fans already watch anime, bringing more than 250 English-language manga titles to its app and website, means it&rsquo;s growing to be a one-stop for fans. The catalogue includes The Apothecary Diaries, Bungo Stray Dogs and Delicious in Dungeon.
The timing, says Akshat Sahu, General Manager, Asia and MENA at Crunchyroll, reflects an existing reading habit. A recent NRG study commissioned by the company found that 81 per cent of Indian anime fans surveyed read digital manga at least monthly, while 56 per cent read weekly. &ldquo;This launch responds to an existing habit and demand,&rdquo; he says.
But making manga available is one thing. Getting readers to pay for it, return to it regularly, and perhaps discover comics made in India is another. &nbsp;In India, Crunchyroll&rsquo;s manga access is included in its Ultimate Fan membership, priced at Rs 299 a month or R999 annually. Manga Plus offers plans for Rs 95 per month and &nbsp;Rs 390 per month or around Rs 399 per month depending on region-specific tiers. Toonsutra has a free-to-read model for select chapters only.&nbsp;
<img title="Harsh Sharma; Khushi Jain and Rhyan Aneev" src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/nov/Manga-readers-c_1794706475_s.jpg" alt="Harsh Sharma; Khushi Jain and Rhyan Aneev" />Harsh Sharma; Khushi Jain and Rhyan Aneev
Rhyan Aneev, a literature student who writes about manga and anime on Substack, first encountered the medium at MCUBE Library in Bandra, where he found volumes of Bleach and One Punch Man. Today, he largely reads online, using Manga Plus and the official Shonen Jump platform to follow new releases.
&ldquo;A lot of manga can go up to like dozens of volumes, and one volume doesn&rsquo;t cover a lot of material,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;So, generally, I read online.&rdquo; The economics of collecting manga can be daunting. Sharma would love to own physical volumes, but, as he puts it, &ldquo;The real life economics kind of burst the bubble.&rdquo; Instead, he buys select editions to preserve panels that have stayed with him long after he finished reading.
For Khushi Jain, a media and communications professional, access has been just as unpredictable. She moved from anime to coloured comics from China and Korea, and then to manga, initially relying on apps that were later removed from the Play Store. Unofficial websites and fan translations became alternatives, though even those could disappear without warning. &ldquo;You never know when they get banned,&rdquo; she says, recalling a manga-reading site she used. &ldquo;It used to be devastating because where do you read?&rdquo;
Jain is unsure whether she will now pay for a subscription, particularly when she might read one or two manga in a day. &ldquo;With models where we have to pay for every chapter, it&rsquo;s expensive.&rdquo; Her experience captures the dilemma facing licensed platforms. Readers want reliable access, but their willingness to pay depends on the catalogue, pricing, and how much they read. Unofficial sites can offer a wider selection, including titles without official English translations, but bring their own problems. Aneev points to intrusive advertisements, viruses, and the ethical questions around piracy.
The physical experience has its own appeal. Jain has read manga at Leaping Windows in Andheri, where readers can enjoy printed volumes without buying an entire series. Manga&rsquo;s traditional right-to-left reading direction and panel layouts can also feel different on a screen. Aneev, however, prefers digital reading when the interface works well.
For Vibha Rao, a comics artist and Webtoons ambassador, licensed platforms offer a way to support creators while helping readers discover work. &ldquo;Webtoons allows artists to publish comics and build an audience, with advertising and other monetisation options available to eligible creators,&rdquo; she says.
Rs 999 The annual cost of Crunchyroll&rsquo;s manga access&nbsp;
<h2>Making room for Indian stories</h2>
<img title="Vishwesh Shetty says readers have returned for successive chapters of Qissa&rsquo;s comics, even with months between releases" src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/nov/Manga-readers-e_1794706349_s.jpg" alt="Vishwesh Shetty says readers have returned for successive chapters of Qissa&rsquo;s comics, even with months between releases" />Vishwesh Shetty says readers have returned for successive chapters of Qissa&rsquo;s comics, even with months between releases
Could the growing popularity of Japanese manga also create space for Indian comics? Vishwesh Shetty, founder and writer at Qissa Comics, believes there is an audience, though it is still developing.
&ldquo;No one is actually searching for Indian manga, but there is a novelty factor that there are people in India who are creating manga,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;There are a lot of people who want to support it.&rdquo;
<img src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/nov/Manga-readers-d_1794706370_s.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
&ldquo;Some readers are curious about Indian creators working in a manga-inspired format; others are parents looking to introduce children to comics, sometimes with nostalgia for titles they grew up reading,&rdquo; he says, adding that turning initial curiosity into a sustainable reading habit remains difficult.
Japanese manga benefits from established production systems, with specialised teams able to release chapters frequently. Independent Indian creators often work with smaller teams and limited budgets. &ldquo;In India, it&rsquo;s like it takes two, three months for us to complete one chapter,&rdquo; Shetty says, &ldquo;Artistes may be freelancing across projects, while writers and illustrators coordinate around other commitments. Without predictable revenue, hiring a larger team is difficult.&rdquo;
He says readers have returned for successive chapters of Qissa&rsquo;s comics, even with months between releases. The bigger challenge, he believes, is reaching people beyond the existing comics community.
Digital platforms could help bridge that discovery gap. Comics artist Vibha Rao says Webtoons lets artistes publish work, receive comments, and build relationships with readers. She has also noticed more people buying comics at Comic Con in recent years, though independent artistes still have to work hard to market themselves.
Shetty would like to see platforms like Crunchyroll create a dedicated section for Indian manga. The platform already has an audience of anime fans, many of whom may not know that Indian creators are making comics in a manga-inspired style.
&ldquo;If there is a specific curated section in Crunchyroll that is called Indian Manga, then it will give us a lot of exposure,&rdquo; he says.
Rao believes Indian creators need more than visibility to build a sustainable industry. &ldquo;We really need a guild or a support system,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;We have a lot of talent. We have a lot of stories. We just need someone to support us.&rdquo;
For Manga reader Harsh Sharma, the appeal of Indian manga lies in the possibility of seeing familiar cultural references rendered in a visual language he has loved for years. He recently began reading A Soul&rsquo;s Contract, an Indian manga-style title, and is curious to see how the medium develops.
&ldquo;If we start to explore this art form with our regionality, I think we&rsquo;ll have our own inside jokes that we will not have to learn to understand. We&rsquo;ll know them in plenty,&rdquo; he says.

After years of struggling with unofficial sites, new digital manga services promise easier access to Japanese comics. But can a growing readership guarantee sub

Manga readers ko aur mangta

Two leaves and a bud

After years of struggling with unofficial sites, new digital manga services promise easier access to Japanese comics. But can a growing readership guarantee subscriptions?

Manga readers ko aur mangta

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