What Is Mihon? The Story Behind the App (and Tachiyomi)

If you ask manga readers on Android what app they use, one name keeps coming up: Mihon. It's free, open-source, has no ads, and packs more features than most paid readers. But a lot of people finding it today are asking a simple question — what is Mihon, and where did it come from? The answer involves the most famous manga app that ever existed: Tachiyomi.

So, what is Mihon?

Mihon is a free, open-source manga reader for Android. You install extensions for the sources you read from, browse manga, webtoons, and comics inside the app, and manage everything in a library with categories, filters, and automatic backups.

What makes it different from most reader apps is the combination: it's completely free with zero ads, the code is public on GitHub so anyone can audit it, and the feature set is enormous — a deeply customizable reader (vertical or horizontal, themes, OLED-friendly dark modes), offline downloads, and progress tracking that syncs with MyAnimeList, AniList, and MangaUpdates. The latest stable version is 0.20.4, available from the official download page.

In short: it's the app people recommend when someone asks for "the best free manga reader for Android."

The Tachiyomi story

To understand Mihon, you need to know about Tachiyomi. Tachiyomi was the manga reader app on Android for years — beloved, open-source, and used by millions. Then in January 2024, its lead developer announced the project was being discontinued, following a request from the Korean publisher Kakao. Development stopped, the extension ecosystem splintered, and users were left wondering what would happen to the app on their phones.

Mihon is the continuation. It was started by developers from the original Tachiyomi team, forked from the same codebase, and has been actively developed ever since. For Tachiyomi users, the transition was deliberately smooth: Mihon can import your old Tachiyomi backup, so your library, categories, and reading history come along.

That's the simple version of a messy chapter in manga-app history — and it's also why Mihon inherited such a large, loyal community overnight. The app didn't have to prove itself from zero; it picked up where the most trusted name in the space left off.

What Mihon actually does for you day to day

Let's talk about the practical side, because features lists don't tell you what an app feels like to use.

Your library, organized your way. Add series to your library and sort them into categories — "reading," "plan to read," "favorites," whatever fits. Filter by unread chapters, downloaded chapters, or tracked services. When you get a new phone, restore a backup file and everything comes back.

Sources through extensions. Mihon itself doesn't include manga sources — you add them as extensions from repositories you trust. This separation is actually a strength: sources update independently of the app. We have a full extensions guide that explains which repositories to use and which to avoid.

A reader that adapts to you. Most people read in vertical mode on a phone, but the app supports horizontal paging too, plus zoom, rotation lock, page layout options, and reading themes. Set it up once and forget about it.

Tracking that updates itself. Link your MyAnimeList or AniList account and Mihon updates your lists as you read — no manual logging. Our library and tracking walkthrough shows the setup.

Is it really free? What's the catch?

There isn't one, at least not in the way people usually mean. Mihon is free because it's an open-source community project, not a business. There are no ads, no premium tier, no locked features. Development is volunteer-driven, funded by donations from users who want it to keep improving.

The honest caveats are practical ones: it's Android-only, it's not on the Google Play Store (you install the APK directly — see our safe installation guide), and it's a reader for sources you choose rather than a licensed content store. If you want a quick sense of how it compares to the alternatives, the Mihon vs other readers comparison is a fair starting point.

The bottom line

Mihon is the successor to Tachiyomi and the current standard for free manga reading on Android: open-source, ad-free, endlessly customizable, and backed by an active community. If you're still on an old discontinued build of Tachiyomi, switching over is the single most sensible upgrade you can make.