It’s better than launch but still rough
Okay, so originally I gave a one star but since then there have been improvements.
1. Offline downloading is now available
2. You can now sort by series and reading progression…mostly
Also, there are some things I like:
Reading is smoother than old the app and the app doesn’t crash like the old one.
You can also just keep reading to go straight to the next volume which makes binging easier
They also do seem to be actively working on improving the app
So why only 3 stars?
1. No bookmarks, no way to mark book as read (which since reading progress was lost from the old app and is not coming back) would have been nice so I don’t have to open and flip through a book to finish it)
2. If you sort by series, you can’t combine it with sorting by reading progression.
3. Light novel images don’t allow you to see the images fullsized or zoom in so, LN images can’t be viewed legibly on mobile devices
4. No bookshelves. Bookshelves were great for curating as well as grouping what you’re actively reading. Just having one big library makes it a pain.
Again though, I am hopeful it will work improve as it’s not the disaster it was at launch
1. Offline downloading is now available
2. You can now sort by series and reading progression…mostly
Also, there are some things I like:
Reading is smoother than old the app and the app doesn’t crash like the old one.
You can also just keep reading to go straight to the next volume which makes binging easier
They also do seem to be actively working on improving the app
So why only 3 stars?
1. No bookmarks, no way to mark book as read (which since reading progress was lost from the old app and is not coming back) would have been nice so I don’t have to open and flip through a book to finish it)
2. If you sort by series, you can’t combine it with sorting by reading progression.
3. Light novel images don’t allow you to see the images fullsized or zoom in so, LN images can’t be viewed legibly on mobile devices
4. No bookshelves. Bookshelves were great for curating as well as grouping what you’re actively reading. Just having one big library makes it a pain.
Again though, I am hopeful it will work improve as it’s not the disaster it was at launch
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Its ok…
‘-‘ i’ll give it 5 stars if its the same aesthetic as the OG bookwalker, I want a organizer and such
Please ‘-‘
Please ‘-‘
Do not use this app update
I brought multiple manga over a year ago and have been struggling for two months since they forced a move to a new app. After all this time I have an empty account all purchases gone and still cannot be recovered, the support team seem stuck on the same process which having done what they asked I cannot redo. If you force people to do something make sure the process works and they don’t loose what they worked to own. 0 stars if I could but I have to select at least one …
That was my original review there were lots of issues for me mainly caused by using a google account in transfer you can’t and have to go through login as email. Modern web browsers however auto login when detecting the option. I thank support for there time on this as frustrating as it was as they had to delete the account three times now I think it’s time to move email addresses
That was my original review there were lots of issues for me mainly caused by using a google account in transfer you can’t and have to go through login as email. Modern web browsers however auto login when detecting the option. I thank support for there time on this as frustrating as it was as they had to delete the account three times now I think it’s time to move email addresses
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Trash, nowhere near as good as the old one
A pointless update resulted in the old app becoming unusable and Japanese language only. The new app is complete and utter trash, and the prices have completely skyrocketed compared to what they used to be.
Tons of series were permanently removed and disappeared, so you might have the first two books, but then you have to switch to yet another app to buy books three onward.
Haven’t bought a single thing since they switched and I never will again, even though I’ve spent well over a thousand dollars on books before this. What a waste.
Tons of series were permanently removed and disappeared, so you might have the first two books, but then you have to switch to yet another app to buy books three onward.
Haven’t bought a single thing since they switched and I never will again, even though I’ve spent well over a thousand dollars on books before this. What a waste.
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Evil
I’m shocked. I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on manga, and I’ve slowly downloaded my files for offline viewing, and arranged into my bookshelf collection.
Now out of nowhere, all my downloads are forcibly deleted, and I’m forced to a new app. And every file must be downloaded one by one again. I don’t even see a bulk download feature.
You cannot trust this company with your money. They have shown they will remove your content and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Now out of nowhere, all my downloads are forcibly deleted, and I’m forced to a new app. And every file must be downloaded one by one again. I don’t even see a bulk download feature.
You cannot trust this company with your money. They have shown they will remove your content and there’s nothing you can do about it.
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Just awful.
What kind of ebook reader closes what you’re reading so it can shove ads in your face when you open the app? Also, how did they manage to make the experience worse from there?
I used to be a pretty good customer. Not any more.
I used to be a pretty good customer. Not any more.
Bad to Moderately Acceptable
Overall worse experience than previous app
1. Cannot read books without internet connection
2. Cannot organize purchased collection by series
3. Cannot see un-purchased sequels to partially owned series
4. Images in light novels don’t scale properly and cannot be properly viewed
Same applies to the web version as well. How exactly does this “serve us better” ?
————-
Adding to previous review:
6/26/26
Updates have so far restored ~60-70% of the functionality of the previous app (now Japan store only).
Sorting your collection by series is now possible, downloads for offline are possible, image scaling seems mostly fine now. The UI isn’t awesome, but the bones are there for tweaking to make it better. Most menus require too many taps on a touch screen to access comfortably.
Biggest issue: no way to see easily see what un-purchased titles are available or soon to be released for series you own. It’s possible to see it from a particular series’s store page, but that’s slow to navigate two. On the previous store you could tell at a glance that a series had a newly released volume available.
Thus I miss that there are new volumes and don’t spend money on them.
1. Cannot read books without internet connection
2. Cannot organize purchased collection by series
3. Cannot see un-purchased sequels to partially owned series
4. Images in light novels don’t scale properly and cannot be properly viewed
Same applies to the web version as well. How exactly does this “serve us better” ?
————-
Adding to previous review:
6/26/26
Updates have so far restored ~60-70% of the functionality of the previous app (now Japan store only).
Sorting your collection by series is now possible, downloads for offline are possible, image scaling seems mostly fine now. The UI isn’t awesome, but the bones are there for tweaking to make it better. Most menus require too many taps on a touch screen to access comfortably.
Biggest issue: no way to see easily see what un-purchased titles are available or soon to be released for series you own. It’s possible to see it from a particular series’s store page, but that’s slow to navigate two. On the previous store you could tell at a glance that a series had a newly released volume available.
Thus I miss that there are new volumes and don’t spend money on them.
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Major downgrade
The previous app was better in almost every way. We can’t make bookshelves to organize our collections into groups, we can’t archive books we no longer wish to see, we can’t delete books from our library we no longer want. Used to love the comfy feel of the old app. The new minimalist setup feels like a major downgrade from what was. I wish I could immigrate my collection and go back to the previous app.
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Great reading experience, But please add a library or bookshelf, organizational feature
I have been a long-time user of the original BookWalker app, and I’m happy to say that after switching to the new app, All of the books I’ve purchased transferred over and I haven’t had any issues reading them.
However, I’ve been purchasing manga through BookWalker for years and have built a very large collection. One feature I loved about the original app was the ability to organize books into custom bookshelves and arrange my library however I wanted.
With the new app, there doesn’t seem to be a way to organize your collection, and if you have a large library like I do, it can be difficult to navigate all of your purchased books.
This app would be a 10/10 for me if it added a digital bookshelf feature that allowed users to organize their purchased books in whatever way works best for them.
However, I’ve been purchasing manga through BookWalker for years and have built a very large collection. One feature I loved about the original app was the ability to organize books into custom bookshelves and arrange my library however I wanted.
With the new app, there doesn’t seem to be a way to organize your collection, and if you have a large library like I do, it can be difficult to navigate all of your purchased books.
This app would be a 10/10 for me if it added a digital bookshelf feature that allowed users to organize their purchased books in whatever way works best for them.
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Horrible app
This app has ruined what made Bookwalker so enjoyable. I no longer feel
Like I am purchasing books in a digital store, for my own personal library. Instead I feel like sales are being shoved down my throat with popups every time I try to use it. Yeah, it sucked that I had to buy manga off the website only, it I would give anything to go back to that instead of this horrible disaster of rebrand. Bookmaker use to be relaxing to purchase from, now it is stressful and bad. Instead of just adding a buy feature for the app, they are now trying to force you to purchase their digital currency instead, which just feels like they are trying to take advantage of us. This makes me wish I had purchased pre with the old app in hopes that this would never have come to be. I only use this app now for Bookwalker as a company, it this global reader app insult.
Like I am purchasing books in a digital store, for my own personal library. Instead I feel like sales are being shoved down my throat with popups every time I try to use it. Yeah, it sucked that I had to buy manga off the website only, it I would give anything to go back to that instead of this horrible disaster of rebrand. Bookmaker use to be relaxing to purchase from, now it is stressful and bad. Instead of just adding a buy feature for the app, they are now trying to force you to purchase their digital currency instead, which just feels like they are trying to take advantage of us. This makes me wish I had purchased pre with the old app in hopes that this would never have come to be. I only use this app now for Bookwalker as a company, it this global reader app insult.
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Over all Fine. One issue I cannot over look
Over all the new app is fine and the think the good and bad even each over out in the broad strokes.
The good:
- it does not take multiple attempts to open the app like the old app sometimes took
-when you have a book open you can click the title to see the other books in the series and open them from there
- seems to load faster than the old app alert from the first time you open a book
The bad:
- no bookshelf or equivalent in the new app
- opens to the store instead of your library, makes a worse user experience as it feels like a storefront first and not an e-reader, the storefront and obnoxious adds should be left for the website
Now this is the one problem that I really cannot overlook, the issues with downloading books. As I’ll be at sea for extended period of time with limited internet I like to download media and barriers to this make ethical consumption all the more difficult and is what drives many to turn to piracy.
That said the issue I am having is that when I select a title and choose to download if sometimes it will get the “Download scheduled” tag and then never download eve after other things are done downloading, sometimes I can just cancel the scheduled download then redo it and it works then but the real bug is that for a some titles it gets stuck with that scheduled download and I cannot even cancel it.
The good:
- it does not take multiple attempts to open the app like the old app sometimes took
-when you have a book open you can click the title to see the other books in the series and open them from there
- seems to load faster than the old app alert from the first time you open a book
The bad:
- no bookshelf or equivalent in the new app
- opens to the store instead of your library, makes a worse user experience as it feels like a storefront first and not an e-reader, the storefront and obnoxious adds should be left for the website
Now this is the one problem that I really cannot overlook, the issues with downloading books. As I’ll be at sea for extended period of time with limited internet I like to download media and barriers to this make ethical consumption all the more difficult and is what drives many to turn to piracy.
That said the issue I am having is that when I select a title and choose to download if sometimes it will get the “Download scheduled” tag and then never download eve after other things are done downloading, sometimes I can just cancel the scheduled download then redo it and it works then but the real bug is that for a some titles it gets stuck with that scheduled download and I cannot even cancel it.
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Inferior to predecessor in almost every way
Can't resize books/series, can't hide title/view cover only, can't make libraries or folders (hope you didn't organise stuff previously), cant even group by purchase period (hope you enjoy scrolling down), can't see unpurchased volumes (wishlist is now favourite because???), previously read? Amnesia, gotta wait to import it from previous app. Why is there 2 tabs for the store??? Download for offline is a thing, yay, why can't I filter to see downloaded? No, no, you can, scroll right on the top bar... The silver lining, scroll reading on manga and more light novel settings for text formatting (dyslexia sucks). Too bad getting to the reading is a chore now.
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Tudo pago
Tudo dentro do aplicativo é pago, apenas o primeiro capítulo é disponibilizado
Response from developer
Hello! We are really sorry for the confusion. We are a webstore, so most of our offered titles are not for free. However we also offer a few free titles.
I can actually read
Downloads still don’t work with anything, but I am able to read much easier as long as I don’t close the app. It does not seem to transfer real well across devices still at beginning of the last chapter you were on. Massive improvement you can display by series and can sort at the same time.
Faster App with offline reading but with room for improvement
Advantages of the new app -> Noticeably faster performance, no restriction of licenses to Bookwalker only, a faster/smoother manga-reading experience, offline mode.
Disadvantages of the new app (version 2.6.26) ->
Ads for new Mangas via outdated pop-ups that you can quickly tap away, outdated UI without Liquid Glass on iOS for the controls, and much more—plus no attractive, modern library design (the old design of the Japanese app, just updated and made smoother?!), nicer animations when flipping pages are missing and the ability to highlight text passages in case you forget where you were.
UX Tips -> Keep in mind that many users remained loyal to Bookwalker & liked it because it didn’t feel like just another soulless e-reader app. Many look the same and often seem like a budget-friendly compromise for the company just to offer users the app alongside the website.
What I really appreciate is the developers’ transparency with the roadmap. Please keep updating it and let us know what to expect. Transparent communication is key <3
Disadvantages of the new app (version 2.6.26) ->
Ads for new Mangas via outdated pop-ups that you can quickly tap away, outdated UI without Liquid Glass on iOS for the controls, and much more—plus no attractive, modern library design (the old design of the Japanese app, just updated and made smoother?!), nicer animations when flipping pages are missing and the ability to highlight text passages in case you forget where you were.
UX Tips -> Keep in mind that many users remained loyal to Bookwalker & liked it because it didn’t feel like just another soulless e-reader app. Many look the same and often seem like a budget-friendly compromise for the company just to offer users the app alongside the website.
What I really appreciate is the developers’ transparency with the roadmap. Please keep updating it and let us know what to expect. Transparent communication is key <3
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Response from developer
Hello. Thank you for your feedback. We apologize for any caused inconvenience. We will share your valuable suggestion to concerned sections so that we will be able to improve our service in the future. Please also make sure to update to our latest version to use our newest added features. We're looking forward to your next visit on BookWalker.
Just use the Japanese version
Delete this app and go back to the Japanese version we had before. Stop trying to sound like moving to this app was anything but a cash grab. The only functional thing is the store, which says where their priorities are.
This kind of greed has lost me as a customer.
This kind of greed has lost me as a customer.
Good for me
Because they got the missing Books I was Looking for
Response from developer
Hello! Thank you for the high rating! We will continue to improve the app so that you can enjoy reading eBooks. We're looking forward to your next visit on BookWalker.
Not good.
I just downloaded the app today and purchased a managa series. I didn’t even get to start using the app or website not wven for one minute. I want my money back $7.92. Such a scam. I bet you will ask for transaction numbers or something. Well scam it is. Since I cannot find anything on the email or website or app. All I have is a screen shot of what I was charged in my email and the transaction in my account. How can I show you the pics to prove to you I got nothing after purchasing them? Please help. Thank you.
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Rushed and ensh***ified
TL;DR:
To sum it up, the user experience for the e-reader is subpar and half baked. I can only assume that some executives decided to put money on the forefront, which would also explain the new micro-transaction system implemented via coins and the effort put into making you purchase books immediately after opening the app (contrary to the JP version, you are now not immediately loaded into the book you have read before closing the app, but into the shop instead). In other words, the app is entirely designed around making the user buy books, not read them. Ensh***ification is real and this app exemplifies just that.
I've been using the JP app since December 2024 and for the fact that BookWalker always had been more of an online bookstore rather than an e-reader, I personally never felt like reading the books in app was a drag. It got the job done and even had a few extra features that elevated the experience from being as bare bones as it could have been.
That being said, I feel like the transfer to this app and everything that encompasses it, such as other licensors and whatnot made the e-reader take a heavy hit quality wise. Disregarding the less than ideal migration process from BookWalker JP to this app, I just feel like the UI became palpably more convoluted. Books have to be downloaded manually now (which is a win for users with low storage space I guess?), but there was nothing that indicates that you're even able to download it. You would assume that the 'downloading...' progress bar that appears on the screen upon opening a book for the first time would indicate that, but you would be wrong obviously. If you actually want do download a book, you would have to press "view details" right below its name (which opens the shop page of said book) and click on the three dots at the top. Why hide a feature that should be enabled by default?
Speaking of features though, bookmarks and marking passages are just gone. I took a look at the roadmap that whoever replies to the reviews prompts you to go and there is no mention of either feature. That's quite the misfortune, because I have actively started marking lines I liked for about a year now and it seems like all of that is negligible? Not to mention that not having bookmarks means I will now be unable to jump between pages without getting lost and also open the book always on the first page of a chapter after not using the app for some time, which means I now have to painstakingly look for the exact page I've been on before I can continue reading. That being said, they also plan on reworking the bookshelf feature via "my collections". The details of that change are quite ambiguous and I am only left to wonder as to what will happen to the cover images you get from purchasing books from certain series.
I just feel so much of this app's e-reader is rushed and poorly thought out, that I honestly can't recommend downloading it at all. At least not if you intend on using the e-reader. There are certainly better alternatives and I definitely plan on switching as well once I finish the last book I want to read.
To sum it up, the user experience for the e-reader is subpar and half baked. I can only assume that some executives decided to put money on the forefront, which would also explain the new micro-transaction system implemented via coins and the effort put into making you purchase books immediately after opening the app (contrary to the JP version, you are now not immediately loaded into the book you have read before closing the app, but into the shop instead). In other words, the app is entirely designed around making the user buy books, not read them. Ensh***ification is real and this app exemplifies just that.
I've been using the JP app since December 2024 and for the fact that BookWalker always had been more of an online bookstore rather than an e-reader, I personally never felt like reading the books in app was a drag. It got the job done and even had a few extra features that elevated the experience from being as bare bones as it could have been.
That being said, I feel like the transfer to this app and everything that encompasses it, such as other licensors and whatnot made the e-reader take a heavy hit quality wise. Disregarding the less than ideal migration process from BookWalker JP to this app, I just feel like the UI became palpably more convoluted. Books have to be downloaded manually now (which is a win for users with low storage space I guess?), but there was nothing that indicates that you're even able to download it. You would assume that the 'downloading...' progress bar that appears on the screen upon opening a book for the first time would indicate that, but you would be wrong obviously. If you actually want do download a book, you would have to press "view details" right below its name (which opens the shop page of said book) and click on the three dots at the top. Why hide a feature that should be enabled by default?
Speaking of features though, bookmarks and marking passages are just gone. I took a look at the roadmap that whoever replies to the reviews prompts you to go and there is no mention of either feature. That's quite the misfortune, because I have actively started marking lines I liked for about a year now and it seems like all of that is negligible? Not to mention that not having bookmarks means I will now be unable to jump between pages without getting lost and also open the book always on the first page of a chapter after not using the app for some time, which means I now have to painstakingly look for the exact page I've been on before I can continue reading. That being said, they also plan on reworking the bookshelf feature via "my collections". The details of that change are quite ambiguous and I am only left to wonder as to what will happen to the cover images you get from purchasing books from certain series.
I just feel so much of this app's e-reader is rushed and poorly thought out, that I honestly can't recommend downloading it at all. At least not if you intend on using the e-reader. There are certainly better alternatives and I definitely plan on switching as well once I finish the last book I want to read.
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Response from developer
Hello! Thank you for your feedback. We apologize for any caused inconvenience. We will share your feedback with our development for future improvements.
Major Downgrade
This is probably the worst implementation of a reading app ever. Considering the original app worked great with great features, this is app just copied the name and none of the usefulness. There’s no more bookshelves, no way to organize by title, genre, format or anything. If you close the app your book disappears intro a random “recents” tab and it doesn’t keep your page or position so you have to search for where you left off. Try to purchase a book from the app you have to buy coins then redeem them for books or just go to the website to get it. I’ve been using the original bookwalker for years and this new “American app” makes me want to abandon it altogether. DO BETTER
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