New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on June 14, 2022) follows:

Note: MangaOwl is an illegal website that distributes content without permission from authors. PiunikaWeb isn’t associated with MangaOwl or any alternatives to it. The report below is solely surrounding its closure.

If you like reading Manga, you must have heard about MangaOwl at some point in time. It is a website where people can read manga for free but isn’t legal and results in authors not being paid for their work.

That said, with an extensive collection of manga titles obtained illegally, and an ad-free reading experience it became a go-to destination for some individuals.

MangaOwl-down-not-working-for-many

However, many MangaOwl users are now reporting that the website is down or not working at the moment (1,2,3,4,5).

Some initially thought it was a problem on their end and tried resetting their internet connection, clearing browser cache, and deleting cookies but nothing seems to help.

Many are expressing their frustration on social media platforms like Twitter. Here are some reports from MangaOwl users for whom the website is down or not working.

MangaOwl-down-not-working
Source

God I thought i was the only one.. i was about to cry when i cant access cuz mangaowl is literally part of my everyday life lol (i aint proud but im a pathethic neet so pls understand) and all of those books i read so i just bookmarked them.. i dont remember the name so if this really shutdown, well im fcked
(Source)

MANGAOWL IS DOWN WHYYY, its said on up and down radar, its up tho, i wonder if this is a pldt problem or the whole website is just down 😭
(Source)

At the time of writing, we did not come across any official word from MangaOwl on the matter. It’s likely that the website has been taken down due to it promoting pirated content.

As always, we will be keeping an eye out for more information and update this space accordingly so make sure you stay tuned to PiunikaWeb.

Update 1 (June 14)

06:05 pm (IST): One of our readers has pointed out that MangaOwl changed its website from mangaowl.net to mangaowl.to. So this could be a reason why the website is not opening.

Update 2 (June 15)

10:14 am (IST): A user has shared a screenshot of their conversation with Vyvymanga support where they said that the MangaOwl website will be back up soon. Here’s the full statement by Vyvy.

Vyvymanga-support-mangaowl-website
(Source)

Update 3 (June 16)

08:57 am (IST): In a previous update, we mentioned that MangaOwl replaced ‘.net’ with ‘.to’. However, this isn’t the case as ‘MangaOwl.to’ is not affiliated to MangaOwl websites as pointed out by several individuals.

mangaowl-down-not-working
(Source)

We regret any confusion that it may have caused.

Update 4 (June 17)

10:39 am (IST): One of our readers suggested that users can restore their bookmarks on Vyvymanga, another illegal alternative to MangaOwl.

Thanks for the tip: Wolfgang Bichler!

Update 5 (June 20)

09:57 am (IST): According to alleged chatter on the MangaOwl Discord channel, ‘Owl-san’ went on a break and directed users to Vyvymanga as an alternative. However, there’s no information on the length of this ‘break’.

Thanks for sharing the info in the comments, Funanya Okafor!

Update 6 (June 21)

09:15 am (IST): It seems MangaOwl users may have to finally let go of hopes for the service coming back as the owner allegedly announced that MangaOwl is shutting down completely and isn’t just on a break.

This information was shared via reader in the comments section below who claims that the announcement was made on the Discord server. The details haven’t been verified independently.

Thanks for the info, Luna Li!

Update 7 (June 22)

09:30 am (IST): Those who checked out Vyvymanga are reporting that they are being signed into the site with other users’ accounts.

Also, in some cases, users aren’t able to sign in via their own accounts.

Click/tap to enlarge image below:

vyvymanga
Comment posted on Vyvymanga

Update 8 (June 23)

10:22 am (IST): Here’s the screengrab of the official announcement on Discord that says that the website is shutting down.

MangaOwl-shutting-down
(Source)

Update 9 (June 24)

09:37 am (IST): Here are some paid and legal alternatives users can check out to entertain themselves and help their favorite authors as well:

– Crunchyroll

– Shonen Jump

– ComicWalker

– ComiXology

Update 10 (June 30)

10:58 am (IST): GenManga and Book Walker are the two legal alternatives to MangaOwl that users can check out. Legal websites are reliable and less likely to shut down randomly.

Update 11 (July 1)

10:52 am (IST): Users have started a petition on Change.org where they are appealing to bring back MangaOwl.

However, the irony is that they are signing a petition to bring back an illegal website. And thus it’s likely we wouldn’t see anything to come of it.

Update 12 (July 4)

01:47 pm (IST): VIZ is another legal alternative to MangaOwl that users can checkout to read their favorite manga.

Update 13 (July 5)

10:55 am (IST): eManga is another legal alternative for MangaOwl. However, it is a paid website and users will have to pay for every title separately.

Update 14 (July 6)

12:33 pm (IST): If you are looking for a legal alternative to MangaOwl, then you can check out Mangamo. Apart from the website, it also offers an app which is available on both Android and iOS.

Update 15 (July 8)

05:34 pm (IST): Comixology is another legal alternative to MangaOwl that comes from Amazon. However, you’ll have to pay separately for each title.

Update 16 (July 12)

04:51 pm (IST): A case study by DeepSea highlights how illegal websites such as MangaOwl are able to monetize piracy.

Also, they have come across an evidence which reveals that there is a common owner between MangaOwl and Chessmoba.us. Read more on that here.

Update 17 (July 13)

04:31 pm (IST): J-Novel Club is another legal alternative to MangaOwl where users can read their favorite mangas for free.

Update 18 (July 15)

03:44 pm (IST): Manga Planet Library is another legal alternative to MangaOwl that users can checkout to read their favorite manga.

Update 19 (July 18)

09:54 am (IST): According to a report, two Manga publishers are now looking into legal action against the top piracy sites on the internet.

And this could be the reason why MangaOwl was suddenly shut down. More on that here.

Update 20 (July 19)

01:43 pm (IST): Crunchyroll subscription prices have been reduced in 95 countries. So, users who are looking for a legal alternative to MangaOwl can check it out.

Update 21 (July 20)

04:01 pm (IST): MangaOwl clones are now popping up with different URLs such as mangaowl.sbs.

However, we recommend that you shouldn’t trust these websites with your personal info as they aren’t completely secure.

Update 22 (July 21)

04:39 pm (IST): According to fresh reports on Twitter and Reddit, another manga website — Mangasee — is currently down or not working for many.

06:42 pm (IST): The recent outage with Mangasee appears to have been resolved as we haven’t come across any fresh user reports on Twitter.

Update 23 (July 25)

10:16 am (IST): Manga Club is another legal alternative to MangaOwl. So, users can check it out to read mangas for free.

Update 24 (July 28)

06:40 pm (IST): Square Enix has launched its manga app called Manga Up for English speaking users. And this is another legal alternative to MangaOwl. It is available on both Play Store and App Store.

Update 25 (August 16)

12:56 pm (IST): Meta Quest 2 users can try the new VR Manga app that takes manga reading to a whole new level. This is another great alternative to MangaOwl. More on that here.

Update 26 (December 28, 2022)

12:56 pm (IST): Vyvymanga users have taken to Twitter to report (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) that the website is down and not working. According to users, they get an HTTP 500 error when visiting the site.

People fear that the website is suffering the same fate as MangaOwl.

Update 27 (December 29, 2022)

09:12 am (IST): Some Vyvymanga users are reporting (1, 2) that the website is back up and running.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Outage Section so be sure to follow them as well.

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.

Anurag Chawake
1373 Posts

My fascination with technology and computers goes back to the days of Windows XP. Since then, I have been tinkering with OS, mobile phones, and other things. When I am not working on anything, you will find me enjoying video games on some Discord server.

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