Shrine Comics – Indie Manga Reading App
A manga reading app for an indie publisher, with rewards for reading, creator tips and a premium pass for early chapters.
- Industry
- Platforms
- iOS, Android, Web
- Store category
- Entertainment
- Country
- Australia
- Built with
- WordPress
- MySQL
The project
Shrine Comics is an indie manga publisher that releases creator-owned series from artists around the world. Its iOS and Android app makes every title free to read, with regular chapter updates and early access for subscribers. Readers earn XP and coins as they read, spend coins in a gacha shop to collect stickers and avatars, and use stickers in the comments. They can tip creators, buy a $0.99 subscription or a Founders pack, and top up coins, with purchases going towards paying the creators.
The challenge
- Indie manga creators need a home for their series and a way for readers to pay them directly.
- Free reading alone does not keep readers coming back between chapter releases.
- Readers lose their place across long series and miss new chapters of the titles they follow.
What we built
- A mobile reader with horizontal swipe or vertical scroll, bookmarks and chapter downloads.
- Series subscriptions that notify readers when a followed title updates.
- A reward loop of XP, coins and achievements, with a gacha shop for stickers and avatars and duplicate tickets to trade in.
- Monetisation through creator tips, a monthly subscription, a Founders pack and coin top-ups.
Screens
Key features
Two reading modes
Readers choose horizontal swipe or vertical scroll for each series.
Early access chapters
Subscribers read new chapters before they go public.
Series subscriptions
Following a series sends a notification when a new chapter drops.
Gacha shop
Coins earned by reading buy pulls for stickers and avatars, with duplicates traded for missing items.
Creator tipping
A Tip Creator button on each series page sends support to the artist.
Stickers in comments
Collected stickers can be used in chapter comments.
