Bro, your backlog is embarrassing. Don't lie.
It's April 2026 and there's legitimately never been a better time to be a manga/webtoon reader — the medium is in a golden era right now. Whether you're chilling between anime seasons or you're tired of waiting weekly for your favourite show, the source material is right there. Legal, often free, and absolutely built different.
Here are Aimirul's April 2026 picks — the titles you should actually be reading this month, with where to legally read them in Malaysia.
🔥 Can't-Miss Reads This Month
1. Blue Lock — Manga is Ahead and It's INSANE
If you're watching the anime, you already know Blue Lock is one of the best sports manga ever written. But here's the thing: the manga is currently several arcs ahead, and what's happening right now makes the anime look like the prologue.
Without spoiling anything — Isagi's evolution feels genuinely earned, the matches are drawn with insane energy, and there's a recent chapter where I had to put my phone down and stare at the ceiling for five minutes.
If you've only been watching the anime, the manga is basically a cheat code to see where this is all going. Read from where the anime left off — you won't regret it.
Where to read: MANGA Plus (free, Shueisha official) — mangaplus.shueisha.com
Current status: Ongoing | Chapters: 300+
2. Dandadan — The Most Fun You Can Have Reading Manga
If you watched Dandadan Season 2 and thought "this anime is completely unhinged" — wait until you read the manga. The anime is actually somewhat restrained compared to what Tatsu Yukinobu gets away with in the source material.
Dandadan is: supernatural aliens, yokai folklore, cursed testicles, teenage romance that hits you in the chest, and some of the most chaotic fight choreography in manga right now. It sounds like a mess. It is a mess. It's brilliant.
The current manga arc is in territory the anime won't reach for a while, and it genuinely surprised me where the story has gone emotionally. This is a top-3 manga running right now, no contest.
Where to read: MANGA Plus (free, official) | Viz Media (EN)
Current status: Ongoing | Chapters: 170+
3. Kaijuu No. 8 — Summer Anime Hype Is Real, Catch Up Now
Summer 2026 brings Kaijuu No. 8 Season 2, and if you haven't finished the manga arc that covers where Season 2 picks up, now is the time. The Shinogi arc hits different when you know the full context.
Kafka Hibino remains one of the most compelling protagonists in modern shonen — a 32-year-old janitor-turned-monster-soldier with a self-deprecating humor that masks real emotional depth. The fights are spectacular in manga form, and the art during kaijuu transformations is proper cinema.
Don't sleep on this. It's about to get VERY loud when the Summer season starts.
Where to read: MANGA Plus (free, official)
Current status: Ongoing | Chapters: 110+
4. Sakamoto Days — Action Comedy Perfection
The anime adaptation is finally confirmed, which means now is your window to read the manga before it gets spoiled everywhere. Sakamoto Days follows a former world's greatest assassin who retired, got married, got fat, and now runs a convenience store — and obviously gets pulled back in.
The combat choreography is genuinely among the best in manga today. Yuuto Suzuki draws action like he's animating it in his head first. The buddy-cop chemistry between Sakamoto and Shin (the telepath sidekick) carries the whole thing, and the villain designs are fire.
This is the kind of manga you read and immediately want to tell someone about. Very shareable, very rewatchable arc structure.
Where to read: MANGA Plus (free, official)
Current status: Ongoing | Chapters: 190+
📱 Webtoon Picks (Reading on Your Phone)
5. Solo Leveling — Reread the Manhwa While the Anime Airs
Yes, the Season 2 anime is airing. Yes, you should also be reading the manhwa. The art in the original Solo Leveling webtoon — especially the Monarch War arc — is legitimately some of the most beautiful work in the medium. Full colour, cinematic splash pages, character designs that go HARD.
Sung Jin-Woo's power escalation makes way more sense when you've read the full manhwa, and there are emotional beats that even a good anime adaptation can't fully replicate. The final act of Solo Leveling is one of the best conclusions in manhwa history.
Where to read: WEBTOON app (EN, official) | webtoons.com
Current status: Completed ✅ | Chapters: 179 + side stories
6. Wind Breaker (Nii Satoru) — Gang That's Actually About Protecting Things
This one keeps gaining new readers because the anime finally broke it out globally. Wind Breaker follows Sakura Haruki — elite street fighter, convinced he's above everyone, gets humbled by a gang that fights to protect their town.
What makes it special is the underlying theme of community and what it means to fight for something rather than against everyone. The art is rough-and-tumble in the best way, and the later arcs genuinely deliver on the character groundwork.
Malaysian fans especially love this one — the underdog group protecting their neighbourhood hits close to home.
Where to read: WEBTOON (EN) | Comico
Current status: Ongoing
💡 Where Malaysian Fans Can Read Legally
| Platform | Price | Best For | |---|---|---| | MANGA Plus (Shueisha) | Free | Shonen Jump titles (One Piece, Blue Lock, Dandadan, Sakamoto Days, Kaijuu No. 8) | | WEBTOON | Free (with ads) / Paid coins | Korean manhwa (Solo Leveling, Wind Breaker, Noblesse) | | Viz Media | Free (3 latest) / US$1.99/chapter | Same titles as MANGA Plus, alternative | | BookXcess | Physical purchase ~RM20-40/vol | Physical collector copies — check MidValley, IOI City | | Kinokuniya | Physical purchase ~RM30-60/vol | Japanese import volumes (nicer editions) | | Shopee/Lazada | ~RM15-35/vol | Budget physical copies, check seller ratings |
Pro tip: MANGA Plus is genuinely free with no VPN needed in Malaysia. Shueisha went hard on global piracy by just making the real thing free. Use it.
TL;DR: What to Read This Month
| Pick | Genre | Vibe | Where | |---|---|---|---| | Blue Lock | Sports | Mind-bending football strategy | MANGA Plus | | Dandadan | Supernatural/Comedy | Absolutely feral, you'll love it | MANGA Plus | | Kaijuu No. 8 | Action/Shonen | Get ahead of Summer anime | MANGA Plus | | Sakamoto Days | Action/Comedy | Best new action manga | MANGA Plus | | Solo Leveling | Action/Fantasy | Manhwa masterpiece, completed | WEBTOON | | Wind Breaker | Street/Fighting | Community-core, hits different | WEBTOON |
Every month I'm going to be dropping these picks — rotating titles as new arcs kick off and seasonal anime make their source material relevant again. If there's a manga or webtoon you want me to cover, hit me up.
Now close your browser and go read something. Backlog's not going to clear itself.
— Aimirul