A key part of my ability to read and review so many different types of shoujo manga is tied with my ability to read online.
Licensed Shoujo Manga
I am an avid collector of shoujo manga and in general a huge fan of giving back to artists and creators be it art/books/music/movies whatever it may be. Of course I’m not rich so I understand wanting to spend money in an intelligent way.
Comixology – https://www.comixology.com/
My favourite online reader is Comixology. The reader is clean and really really easy to navigate. It has a huge array of shoujo manga to go through including the Kodansha and Shoujo Beat Libraries.
It’s important to point out that as a Canadian I had a lot of trouble porting over my comixology items to my Kindle Fire. I still can’t bring them over and the shoujo selection on the Canadian Kindle store is non-existant.
Also while their unlimited option may seem enticing, it really means unlimited first volumes. Great for a sampler but useless in the long run.
E-Book Renta! – https://www.ebookrenta.com/
E-Book renta is fabulous if you have a particular affinity for Smut, Yaoi, or really mad Harlequin Romance manga this is a treasure trove.
I find the website difficult to go through but the reader isn’t that bad. They also have a tablet app.
Prices are pretty rough as they are per chapter and while 2$ a chapter doesn’t SOUND that bad it really adds up over time. For one volume it can be around 20$.
Book Walker – https://global.bookwalker.jp/
Japanese website that charges in Yen. The website supports a lot of Kodansha series and has A LOT more deals. By far Book Walker is the most affordable spot for licensed deals.
The reader is a bit rough but overall one of my favourites to be honest. I love the one page configuration and scroll options. This website also has an app for tablets.
Publishers Website
Some English Publishers will have their own reader allowing you to read online without having to go anywhere else. One example would be Net Comics.
The only draw back on relying on individual publishers is your library ends up quite scattered across many websites.
Unlicensed Shoujo Manga
Scanlators
Most scanlators will have their own e-readers to combat mass libraries that are in it for the money. They also have more control over their content to remove it if it is licensed. They also can control the quality of their uploads.
The only negative part about relying only on Scanlators is once the scanlator has fallen through all of the books they have scanlated disappear over night.
Mass Readers
Unfortunately it is no long the lawless world of the early 2000’s with 5-10 different massive online libraries. Some predatory and some fan run. It seems only the worst library has managed to survive – Manga Reader and Mangafox.
Mass readers are frowned upon for making money on ads on work other people did. They frequently remove water marks and mess with quality upsetting scanlators.
The only positive effect of mass readers is that all the series are still there. Plenty of series done by scanlators long gone are still around.