Glossary
Raw manga (raws)
Raws, or raw scans, are comic pages in their original language with no translation, such as Japanese manga or Korean manhwa exactly as published. Readers use the word for untranslated pages in general, whether they come from a bought e-book, a scanned volume or a capture of a site.
What the word means
A raw is an untranslated page. The word comes from reader communities, where a raw chapter is the original Japanese, Korean or Chinese release before anyone has translated it. It says nothing about where the pages came from: a raw can be a page from a bought e-book or an unofficial copy.
Where untranslated pages legally come from
- Digital editions bought from stores in the original country, many of which sell to readers abroad.
- Publisher apps and sites that publish chapters in the original language, some of them free with ads.
- Printed volumes you own, scanned for your own use.
- Your own work, if you are a creator writing in one language and want a draft in another.
Translating untranslated pages with RuneManga
Translating original-language pages is what RuneManga is for. Add the pages in the WebApp, pick the language you read, and download the translated pages. Use it only on pages you have the right to process, such as licensed work or material you may read for personal use. Some apps draw pages on a protected canvas; the browser blocks the extension from reading those, and RuneManga does not work around that protection.
What makes a good source page
- The largest version available: small text needs pixels.
- Light compression: PNG, or JPG and WebP saved at high quality.
- One page per image, not two pages side by side or stitched strips.
- Straight, flat scans if you scan a printed volume yourself.
Common problems and fixes
- Lines are misread: the page is too small or too compressed. Find a larger copy.
- A scanned page is crooked: straighten it in an image editor before uploading.
Can RuneManga translate untranslated Japanese pages?
Yes. That is its main job: pages in Japanese, Korean, Chinese and seven more languages are translated into the language you pick.
Does RuneManga provide pages to read?
No. It translates pages you add or read elsewhere. It does not host or link to comics.