How Manhuaus works

Without an account you can read everything that is free. With one you can also follow series, keep your history and notes, comment, write reviews, build collections and get new chapter notifications.

Creating your account

Press Create account, pick a username (3 to 30 characters: letters, numbers, dot, hyphen and underscore), your email and a password of at least 10 characters. Passwords that have already leaked online are rejected: choose one you don't use anywhere else. To log in later you can use your email or your username, and tick «Keep me signed in».

You can also sign up and log in with Google or Discord, no password needed. Under Settings → External sign-in you can link or unlink them at any time.

Verifying your email

When you sign up we send you an email with a link: open it to verify your account. If it doesn't arrive, check «Spam» or ask for another one from the notice at the top of the page. Until your email is verified you can read and follow series, but you can't:

• comment or write reviews

Account settings

In Your account → Settings you change your display name, email and password, choose which parts of your profile are public (everything is hidden by default), turn new chapter notifications on or off and decide which content you want to see.

Security

Forgot your password? On the login screen press «Forgot your password?» and we'll send you a link to set a new one. For extra security, turn on two-step verification: besides your password it asks for a code from an authenticator app on your phone. Keep the recovery codes we give you when you turn it on: they work if you lose your phone.

Deleting your account

At the end of the settings there's «Delete my account». It isn't deleted right away: you have 30 days to change your mind, and simply logging in again cancels it.

Search

It's at the top of the header (on your phone, behind the magnifier). From the second letter it suggests series right away; it searches by title, alternative title and genre. Press Enter or «See all results» for the full list.

The library

The Library holds the whole catalog. At the top you choose the order:

• Recent: series that just got a chapter;
• New: the latest arrivals on the site;
• Most viewed, Top rated and Most followed;
• A-Z: alphabetical.

Genres, tags and authors

Every genre, tag, author or artist on a series page is a link: it takes you to all their series, with the same sorting as the library. The home page also has the genre strip.

The home page

At the top, the featured series. Below, Continue reading (what you read last, to pick up where you left off) and the rows of recent chapters, most viewed, top rated and more. Each row scrolls sideways.

Following a series

Under the cover are the four lists: Read, Following, Pending and Dropped, with how many readers each one has. Tap one to put the series in that list; tap it again to remove it. Everything in your lists is in Your account → Bookmarks, and the bell tells you when a new chapter comes out.

Rating

Tap the stars (1 to 5) to give your score. You can change it any time; the average of all readers shows on the page and sorts «Top rated».

Reviews

In Reviews you read what others think and write your own: a score from 1 to 5, an optional title and the text (100 to 5000 characters). If you give away the story, tick the spoiler box to warn others. For newer series you need to have read at least 3 chapters to review them. If a review helped you, press Helpful.

Publishing your first review of a series earns you experience, and every «Helpful» vote it gets earns a little more.

Adding to a collection

Logged in, the Add to a collection button opens your collections: tick the ones you want the series in. From there you also reach «Manage collections».

Your side in the series

Some series have faction badges (their groups or factions). If the series has them you'll see «Your side in…»: pick yours and it shows next to your name in its comments; tick the option to show it across the whole site if you want to wear it everywhere. The badge ranks up as you read that series (Recruit, Member, Veteran, Elite and Legend), and you can only change it once every 7 days.

Chapters

The chapter list has a search box («Search chapter»), a button to change the order (newest or oldest first) and another to view it as a list or a grid. First chapter and Last chapter take you straight there.

Strip or pages

There are two ways to read: Strip (all pages in a row, scrolling down, like a webtoon) and Pages (one page at a time). Switch with the «Reading mode» selector in the top bar (on large screens) or in Reading settings (the gear). The reader remembers your mode for each series.

Turning pages in Pages mode

The screen is split into three invisible strips:

• tap the left third for the previous page;
• tap the right third for the next one;
• tap the middle to show or hide the bars.

You can also swipe sideways: left goes forward, right goes back. Past the last page the next chapter opens, and before the first, the previous one.

In Strip mode

Scroll down to read. Tap any page to show or hide the bars. With «Hide the bars while scrolling» on (it is by default), the bars move away as you scroll down and come back when you scroll up or reach the very top.

Keyboard

• ← / →: previous and next page in Pages mode; previous and next chapter in Strip mode.
• Escape: closes settings or notes, or leaves immersive mode.
• Any key stops auto-scroll.

Reading settings

The gear opens the settings (close them with the X or Escape):

• Reading mode: Strip or Pages.
• Warm light (less blue light): Off, Soft, Medium or Strong; tints the page a warm tone that's easier on the eyes at night.
• Warm light across the site: the same, on every page, not only in the reader.
• Dim brightness: Off, Soft or Medium; darkens the page without touching your device's brightness.
• Hide the bars while scrolling.

They're saved in this browser and, logged in, to your account, so they follow you to other devices.

Auto-scroll

In Strip mode, the ▶ button in the top bar (or «Start auto-scroll» in the settings, on phones) makes the page scroll by itself. The speed goes from 1 to 5 in the settings. It stops when you touch the screen, use the mouse wheel or press a key, and at the end.

Immersive mode

The Immersive mode button in the top bar hides every bar and puts the reader in full screen (on iPhone it only hides the bars). To see the controls, tap the page (in Pages mode, the middle). To leave, press the button again, press Escape or exit full screen. It stays on when you change chapter.

Notes per page

Logged in, the pencil in the bar («My notes on this chapter») opens your notes: jot down anything you want to remember (up to 2000 characters). With «Remember page» ticked, the note keeps the page you were on. Only you can see them. All your notes are in Your account → My notes, as a notebook.

The bottom bar and the rest

• Previous and Next: the chapter before and after.
• Chapters: the list to jump to any of them.
• Series: back to the series page.

At the top, the thin line shows how far into the chapter you are, and the speech bubble takes you to the comments at the end. The flag is for reporting a problem with the chapter (broken or misordered pages…): it reaches us with the page you were on.

In Your account → History and Your account → My notes you choose how to see them under «How to see it»: Book (or Notebook) or List. It's remembered in this browser. If you don't want your reading saved, turn off «Save my reading history» in your history.

The history book

Closed, the cover shows the covers of what you read last: tap it to open the book. Each read is a page; on large screens you see two at once. To turn pages:

• the Previous and Next buttons;
• the ← / → arrow keys;
• swipe sideways.

The notes notebook

Each note is a sheet in a spiral notebook, and the sheets flip upwards:

• drag up for the next and down for the previous (the sheet follows your finger and finishes by itself past a third, or with a quick flick);
• on a long note, dragging scrolls the text first;
• on the keyboard, ↓ / → next and ↑ / ← previous.

«Sheet 3 of 12» tells you where you are, and each sheet has its «Delete».

Reading them full screen

The book and the notebook open in a layer that fills the screen. Close it with the X («Close the book») or Escape. Where the browser allows it (not on iPhone) there's also a full screen button.

A collection is a named list of series: «Tearjerkers», «My favorite villainesses»… You create them in Your account → Collections:

• Template: start from one of the site's ideas or choose «Free title».
• Title and a short description (up to 500 characters).
• Public: others can see it (and it shows on your profile if your profile allows it). Unticked, it's private and only you see it.

Series are added from their page with «Add to a collection».

How many you can have

Each account can have 1 public and 2 private, with up to 10 series each. Making a collection public is only possible once every 15 days.

Likes and follows

On another reader's collection you can Like it (the heart) and Follow it. The collection also tells you how many of its series you don't follow yet. We let the owner know when someone follows or likes it.

Readers' collections

Under Collections (header or menu) you see the public ones from the whole site, by popular, most followed, most viewed or recent.

The bell in the header (on phones, a red dot on the menu) shows how many unread notifications you have. Open it to see them, «Mark all as read» or «See all notifications», which takes you to Your account → Notifications.

What you get

• Chapters: new chapters of the series in your lists (turn them off in «New chapter notifications»).
• Followers: someone started following you.
• Replies: someone replied to your comment.
• Collection likes and Collection followers.
• Helpful reviews: someone found your review helpful.

You choose

In Your account → Notifications, «What the bell tells you» lets you choose for each type: Bell (adds to the bell's number), Only here (only on the notifications page) or Nothing.

Your public profile is at /u/your-username. Everything is hidden by default: under Settings → Public profile you choose what shows (the series you follow, your latest reads, your collections, your activity, your level and badges, «Reading now»…).

Following other readers

On another reader's profile press Follow (optionally «Anonymously»: they won't know it's you). Their followers and who they follow appear on their profile.

Appearance

In Your account → Appearance you customize how others see you:

• a frame around your photo;
• a profile background and a background for your comments;
• a badge and a title next to your name;
• the history book design and the notes notebook design.

Each item tells you how to get it: «Free», «Has to be earned»…

Profile photo

Upload a JPG, PNG or WebP photo from the appearance page (up to 6 changes per hour).

Experience and level

You earn experience by reading chapters (at a real reading pace, not by flicking through pages), commenting, getting reactions, with your reviews and collections, and by visiting every day. Experience raises your level and rank (Apprentice, Otaku, Fanatic, Sensei, Celestial, Kami). See it in Your account → Level.

Achievements

Some things (reading a lot, keeping a streak, commenting…) unlock achievements. Each one comes with its badge, which you can wear from the appearance page.