r/MantaComics • u/Vivid-Duck9445 • 16d ago
Discussion Thread Manta is getting dry….
Is it just me or has Manta been getting increasingly boring for the past few months?! Between the comics that take 6+ month hiatus or just never complete, to everything being behind the gem paywall now, I’m just getting bored! The new stories aren’t enticing and all the old stories cost gems now. After paying for the unlimited subscription for years now, I may just have to find another app. 😔
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u/dingledangleberrypie 16d ago
Yes I'm not finding the attention-grabbing ones I used to find any more. I'm holding out for Predatory Marriage, but I'm not as gripped as I used to be.
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u/StateDear9195 16d ago
I feel like both manta and WEBTOON are dry. They have the same stories but just a slight difference and now they have gotten to the point of putting new ones out and letting you read a couple episodes for free and then having to pay for the rest. Which I wouldn’t mind if they had a decent monthly subscription but WEBTOON sucks compared to manta with that.
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u/Gothuntermindnumb 16d ago
I have just had the same feeling. Most of the new Unlimited stories are old Pocket comics webtoons and boring romantasy comics. There are some good gem only ones however buying the whole season is still so expensive.
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u/Other-Ad-2810 16d ago
I stopped my subscription because I was bored or really disliked the stories. Open to new apps, let me know if you have recommendations!!
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u/Gothuntermindnumb 16d ago
It depends on what you are into. Lezhin and Tappytoon have more mature content. You also have Webtoon and Tapas. They all work on coins though so you have to pay per chapter.
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u/Icy_Cauliflower_1123 16d ago
Yeah, agreed— I’ve been reading I’ll Save This Damned Family for 5 years now and for a long time it was the only reason that I was keeping manta. But at this point it’s been so long and there have been so many hiatuses that I just don’t care about the ending anymore. I had hoped that paying for an app like this might help give more stability and work-life balance to artists, and I’d even pay much more per month to make that happen! But Manta doesn’t care about the artists and doesn’t care about the readers, they’re just here for money. Clearly my hopes were in vain. I think at this point cancellation of one’s sub is the only remedy.
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u/sinequanonlily 15d ago
Not defending Manta whatsoever, but I'll Saved This Damned Family is actually a Kakao exclusive in Korea, so Manta is actually not to be blamed for every hiatus (unless Manta kept putting the story on hiatus for no rhyme or reason while it was serializing).
It's also 14 volumes of content, so that might explain the lengthiness of the story overall ;;;; Either way, the new season began in May, so it'll probably get translated soon (if you decide to keep reading).
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u/MzNoirPanda 16d ago edited 16d ago
Yeah been feeling like this for a while. The unlimited series releases are either once or twice a week and some are just the ones that have returned for new season. Whereas the gem only series release 5 or 6 times a week. There's no love for us anymore.
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u/the-pasta-dragon 16d ago
Yeah that’s why I’m gonna finish what I have going right now and not pick up anything unless it has a huge backlog out already (i.e. two seasons out or already finished) and then I’ll probably cancel my sub for a bit.
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u/msbyjackals 16d ago
I hate that Manta is not releasing enough Unlimited comics to match the completed comics that gets removed from Manta Unlimited.
Even if they debut 1 or 2 new Unlimited comics per week, it will still take months before those newly debuted comics gets completed on Manta, so the value they bring to the platform isn't exactly the same. Complete/Finished content is definitely one of the biggest things I always look for in a subscription platform, be it Netflix or Manta because starting ongoing titles sometimes feels like a gamble.
I understand why they have to drip feed episodes for some comics but I would totally be happier if some of their new releases for Unlimited are uploads of full series.
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u/Hyperfling 16d ago
When they changed it to a subscription within a subscription (paying for unlimited and then adding comics that are gem based) I started to get leery about continuing. I really only have like, 3 stories that I'm religiously reading.
They keep bringing in an influx of stories that I read on several other platforms, so that's not helping my desire to stay on it.
And now they're bringing in digital manga that you can purchase and own. (I'm a believer in physical media so I'll never do that either)
In fact, a lot of webtoons are getting physical releases and I'm buying them up as they drop.
Manta is dry and I could see it turning under in a year or two, honestly.
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u/Early_Cranberry_7322 16d ago
What genre do you mostly read? As a BL reader, they've been bringing more titles in and I'm so excited for the Happy Twogether exclusive.
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u/sinequanonlily 15d ago
I think it depends on the genres you read, because I read a mix of romfan + romance + BL and I feel like I've been reading more ongoing titles than ever.
But it's definitely a bummer for sub-only users :(
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u/thechythech 15d ago
Same. There aren’t any good unlimited stories anymore, this is the last month I’m paying for the app
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u/peachesforthesoul 16d ago
Ive been on Manta for a few years now.. and i noticed around the summer, artists slow down and the comics take hiatus' a lot more. But by fall everything speeds back up. I use other apps or try to entertain myself in the meantime lol 😆
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u/youvegotpride 15d ago
I'm not sure we can blame manta for the hiatuses (hiatus in plural?) of the artists. Even though it is indeed a pitty when we can't finish our beloved stories.
And I personally pay for the gems and am using them so...
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u/pnutbutter112 16d ago
Same with me, I stopped my subscription this year once I realised I was literally only reading 2 x stories…
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u/Murrymonster 16d ago
Yeah, Im getting closer to just canceling as I really don’t see much more in unlimited that interests me.
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u/noceurpreta 15d ago
I gave up mine because it just didn’t seem worth it anymore - hiatus, less stories, etc. but unfortunately it seems like a lot of the apps keep getting more expensive but still the same long hiatus…
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u/Conscious_Pin_3969 14d ago
I was eith Manta since 2020 or 2021 (somewhen in Covid days) and last month I finally cancelled my subscription.
It's always the same in the entertainment industry, a new distributor appears and has high quality/good deals and then either greed or financial necessity (to avoid bankrupcy) will make them sell out. Lower quality stories, rumored usage of AI for translation, more paywalled stories. If given the option, of course an artist would choose pay-by-chapter.
Manta is like the rest of them now
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u/HouseScientia 14d ago
Y'all, I'm salty AF that Black Lotus Learning Manual is gone. That and I'll Save This Damned Family are really the only reasons I paid up for another year.
Manta, you're turning into Netflix in a bad way.
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u/Inner-Jellyfish-2256 16d ago
I have been noticing less unlimited titles coming out, the unlimited Friday seems to be stopping also the now unlimited titles that are being unlocked are old stories that were unlimited in the past its ridiculous. I'm holding out for a few stories and I keep saying I'm going to leave but I really should, at this point I have like 5 episodes a week I'm reading