Are you a new manga reader with a substantial TBR (to be read)? Have a list that you want to own, but don’t? A backlog that you HAVE, but have not read?

Welcome to the Religiously Nerdy Crew.

A whole community of collectors, procrastinators and stressed individuals with a passion of owning good, well-known, and lesser known anime and manga. Their collections just sitting and waiting to be watched and read, but instead collecting dust because the newest [insert season here] has been dropped. 

We all want to stay up on those trends. It is very much okay to have a backlog, and there is no shame in it. The question is, how do you make that list smaller when you don’t know where to watch anime or read manga for cheap or for free – LEGALLY? While a variety of ways have been mentioned in a previous article, I’m going to share my favorite hidden secret that I don’t see people talk about much.

The Library.

Yes, my friends. The Library. It’s still at the same spot you left it when you were in school. With a plethora of books just waiting for you to check out. If you’re lucky like me, your library lets you check out up to 50 books at once.

Fifty. Five. Zero. Amazing.

Now let me backup for one moment. Did you ever own a library card, or was it just attached to your school and you roamed for free? Doesn’t matter, because a library card is 100% free to use. They might have odd volumes of what you’re looking for, especially if it’s popular, but the best part is, you can request your library to grab it from another local library. It might take a few days, but hey, it’ll take you one day to read that first volume anyway right?

I promise, a quick Google search will find your nearest library and it’ll be within a few miles of you(if you’re not in the country). 

If you don’t have a library nearby, look for online marketplaces and yard sales. Folks have a lot of books that they don’t read that are just ripe for the pickin’. The places – legal places – with bargain deals are the safest place. Some of those places include RightStuf -the staple of legally discounted anime and manga –Thrift Books, and 2nd and Charles.

Now you may notice, I have said, legal a few times now. Keep that in mind. You want more of your series, popular or not, you want to buy them to support the artist. So those free sites you see scattered over the internet? Avoid them like you avoid someone trying to enter 6 feet of your personal space.

Of course, never bite off more than you can chew when it comes to reading and watching. A lot of the time it can add up even if the books are discounted. An overdue library book can be a couple of dollars if you don’t return it in time!

Don’t just buy the manga. Read the manga!