Are there sites where you can read manga (in Japanese) for free? I would like to read 声の形 as I loved the film
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Not legally, so no. Anyone considering mentioning illegal services know that this is against the community guidelines.
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Well, I mean, some libraries do have manga. Bookstores will also often not chase away people who are reading, but it might be against their policy to stay for too long.
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Apparently ebook Japan always has some volumes free for a limited time, but if you’re looking for a specific series then I wouldn’t hold your breath:
Thanks. That is useful. I don’t mind paying (if reasonable).
Are there any sites for ordering hard copies for delivery to the UK (so I can compare prices)?
We are going to Japan in August but I’ve told my wife and daughter that we are traveling very light so not sure I can sneak back 7 volumes of Manga!
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I haven’t bought much myself but I’ve always just used either Amazon.co.jp or CDJapan. I like the latter because they have economy shipping options available, so for me they’re usually cheaper than Amazon.
Don’t forget you might get tripped up by customs though… I’ve never tried ordering over the £15 limit, so perhaps you’d get away with it, but the cost of repeated shipping is less than the handling cost of customs (unless you put in a really big order).
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Ah. That was the site I was trying to remember! I ordered my Genki 2 via that site. Books are zero rated for UK VAT so I wonder whether the £15 limit applies.
くそ！checked site and they have exactly what I want - which is all 7 volumes and for just £20 - but all sold out/no longer available.
Oh, I didn’t think VAT had any association with customs 
maybe it’s time to order all the books!
Gah, that sucks. I’ve had some luck just searching for things on ebay in the past??!
You might want to look into ebooks from Amazon or something. They’re very cheap + there’s kindle unlimited (if you don’t care what you’re reading). Best thing is the fact that you don’t get charged for shipping which pretty much cuts the price by a third.
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Some new editors are also following an “online first” business model where they put online (for free) chapters are they are made (rather than having serialization). Then they sell the 単行本 which will have better editing plus at least one おまけ chapter.
Example: https://comic.webnewtype.com/
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Well I have found 声の形 on Amazon Japan and even managed to create a log in. However now lost as to how I put in a foreign address and credit card details!
Argh, this is gonna be hard to remember, but I think if you just proceed through the checkout process there should be options for that.
I certainly didn’t have too many difficulties.
You can change the interface of Amazon Japan to English if you need to in order to get these things entered. There should be a small globe-like icon in the header bar of the page with JP above it. Hover over that and you should see other language options. If it doesn’t show on hover you can click it too. It’s an option if you get too stuck trying to navigate in Japanese though I do think the check out process is pretty clear so you might not have trouble once you reach that point.
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Thanks. Changed to English and managed to add my address. However when I added it to my cart and went to check out it said the item couldn’t be delivered. I put filter on search for international delivery and it didn’t disappear off the list but doesn’t seem to want to deliver to me!
Hmm, are you buying from Amazon or from a third party? Cos I’ve found that 3rd-party things won’t deliver internationally, usually, so you have to buy ‘proper’ Amazon items.
Kinokuniya Bookstore has some worldwide locations with many in the US: https://www.kinokuniya.com/. They’ll also ship throughout the US. I don’t think they have a presence in the UK though. I just picked up よつばと！ from Kinokuniya on a recent trip to San Francisco.
US site didn’t seem to have it.
Think I will buy them in Japan but then post them to my home address. Lots of good speaking practice opportunities doing that!
Woah, the adventurous option! Good luck!
If you’re anywhere near London, there’s a couple good Japanese culture stores there with extensive manga selection:
- JP Books: jpbooks.co.uk
- Adanami Bookstore: Google Maps
You can try typing the name of the manga + “raw” in Google. Most manga publishers put out their manga for free to read online (like One Punch Man).