Glossary

Action manga is a broad genre defined by physical conflict, fast pacing, and kinetic art. It spans shonen, seinen, and manhwa, and includes some of the

AniList is a modern anime and manga tracker popular with advanced users for its clean interface, rich data, and open API.

Anime-Planet is one of the oldest anime and manga databases, offering tracking, recommendations, and curated lists.

A manga anthology is a magazine that serializes many different series together, the format where most manga first appears.

A story arc is a self-contained narrative segment within a longer manga — a saga with its own beginning, conflict, and resolution.

What makes the best manga app in 2026 — the features that matter most when choosing where to track your reading.

A chapter is the basic unit of manga publication — a single installment of 15–40 pages released on a regular schedule.

A chapter tracker records exactly which manga chapters you've read so you always know where to pick up next.

Completed Manga is the reading status for series you've finished reading — your personal record of everything you've read to the end.

A completed series is a manga that has finished publishing — the author has ended the story, so you can read it start to finish.

Currently Reading is the status for manga you're actively following — the series you're in the middle of right now.

Doujinshi are self-published manga created by fans or indie artists, often featuring characters from existing series.

Dropped Manga is the reading status for series you've stopped reading and don't intend to finish.

Ecchi is a manga genre featuring suggestive or mildly sexual content without explicit depictions. It is a common element in shonen and harem manga and has a

Fantasy manga is a genre set in worlds with magic, mythological creatures, and extraordinary powers. It dominates manga bestseller lists and overlaps heavily

Harem is a manga genre in which a protagonist is romantically pursued by multiple love interests simultaneously.

A hiatus is a temporary pause in a manga's publication, when new chapters stop releasing for a stretch before resuming.

Horror manga is a genre built on dread, the supernatural, and the grotesque. It is home to some of the most inventive and disturbing storytelling in all of

Isekai is a manga and anime genre where a protagonist is transported to another world. It is one of the fastest-growing genres in manga, light novels, and

Isekai manhwa combines the Japanese isekai genre with Korean manhwa storytelling. It is one of the most-read manhwa categories globally, blending RPG mechanics

Josei is the manga demographic for adult women, featuring more realistic portrayals of romance, career, and relationships than shojo.

Kitsu is an anime and manga tracker with a friendly interface and an active community, often considered alongside MAL and AniList.

Library import lets you bring your existing manga list from another service — like MyAnimeList or AniList — into a new tracker in one step.

Light novels are Japanese prose novels with manga-style illustrations, targeting a young adult audience. Many beloved anime and manga series originate as light

A MAL alternative is any tracker readers turn to instead of MyAnimeList — usually for a mobile-first experience with real push notifications.

Manga are Japanese comics with a distinct visual style, read right-to-left, and published across dozens of genres.

Your manga library is the personal collection of every series you track, organized by reading status and progress.

A manga notification app alerts you when the series you follow release new chapters, so keeping up takes no effort.

A manga reading list is your organized queue of series to read — what you're on now, what's next, and what you've finished.

A manga release schedule shows when new chapters of the series you follow are due — weekly, monthly, or irregular.

A manga tracker is an app or service that records which manga you read, how far you've progressed, and when new chapters release.

A manga tracker app is a mobile app for tracking your manga reading — progress, library, and new-chapter alerts in your pocket.

A mangaka is a manga artist — the creator who writes and draws a manga, often single-handedly producing a weekly chapter.

MangaUpdates is a long-running community database of manga release information, widely used to track which chapters have come out.

Manhua are Chinese comics with a long history dating back to the early 20th century. Modern manhua blends traditional Chinese aesthetics with fantasy and

Manhwa are Korean comics, typically read left-to-right and published digitally as webtoons. Home to megahits like Solo Leveling, manhwa has become a global

Mecha is a manga and anime genre featuring giant robots piloted by humans. From Gundam to Neon Genesis Evangelion, mecha has shaped Japanese pop culture for

Mihon (formerly Tachiyomi) is a popular open-source manga reader for Android, often paired with a separate tracker for progress and alerts.

MyAnimeList (MAL) is the largest and oldest anime and manga tracking database, the reference point most other trackers are measured against.

New chapter alerts notify you the moment a manga you follow releases a new chapter, so you never miss a release.

On Hold is the reading status for manga you've paused but intend to return to later.

A one-shot is a manga story told in a single chapter, complete in itself. One-shots are often where major manga authors got their start and are still used to

An ongoing manga is a series still in publication, releasing new chapters — not yet finished by its author.

Plan to Read is the reading status for manga you intend to start later — your backlog and wishlist in one place.

Push notifications deliver new-chapter alerts straight to your phone the moment a manga you follow updates — no app open required.

Reading progress is how far you've read into a manga series — the exact chapter or volume you've reached and how much remains.

Reading stats turn your manga history into numbers — chapters read, series completed, favorite genres, and reading pace over time.

Romance manga centers on love, relationships, and emotional connection between characters. It is one of the most consistently popular manga genres across all

Scanlation is the fan practice of scanning, translating, and distributing manga online without official authorization.

Seinen is a manga demographic targeting adult male readers, known for complex storytelling, darker themes, and artistic experimentation.

Serialization is the practice of publishing manga one chapter at a time on a regular schedule, usually in an anthology magazine.

Shojo is a manga demographic targeting young female readers, emphasizing emotional depth, romance, and interpersonal relationships.

Shonen is a manga demographic targeting young male readers, typically featuring action, friendship, and coming-of-age themes.

Slice of life is a manga genre depicting ordinary daily experiences without dramatic plot arcs. It is one of the most beloved genres for readers seeking

Sports manga uses athletic competition as the framework for stories about teamwork, rivalry, growth, and passion.

A tankōbon is the collected-volume edition of a manga — the standalone book that gathers serialized chapters into one volume.

A volume is a bound collection of manga chapters — typically 7 to 12 — sold as a single book, the format most readers own in print.

Webtoons are digital comics in a vertical scrolling format, designed for mobile reading. Originating in South Korea, they are now read by hundreds of millions

Boys' Love (BL) is a manga genre featuring romantic or sexual relationships between male characters, created primarily by and for women.

Yuri is a manga genre depicting romantic or emotional relationships between female characters. It ranges from subtle emotional intimacy to explicit romance and