You can now read some of my favorite manga of all time for less than $5 thanks to an unexpected new deal from Final Fantasy's publisher

Art from Black Butler — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix also has an active print publishing division, and its Manga Up! subscription service is home to hundreds of different ongoing and completed manga titles. Now, thanks to a quietly announced new development at the app, you can binge most of them for less than $5 a month.

In a press release mainly announcing that the English language version of Black Butler - Yana Toboso's series about a crime-solving Earl and his demonic butler - is now available on the service, the video game publisher also announced Vault Pass, a new subscription service that offers a cost-effective way of reading the 200+ series available through Manga Up!. There's also a one-month free trial of Vault Pass for new users (with $4.99 auto-renew enabled, so be mindful), just note that your subscription may not take effect immediately.

The Apothecary Diaries — (Image credit: Square Enix)

This is a big change to the way the service has worked until now. Previously, readers were required to use digital currency with which they could purchase individual chapters of their favorite manga. The new monthly $4.99 subscription to Vault Pass allows for unlimited reading of "over 10,000 chapters of 200+ series" including some completed series that "are all-you-can-read from start to finish."

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As well as Black Butler, the service has a strong selection of new titles as well as some old hits. Mystery period piece The Apothecary Diaries, which has inspired one of the year's most enjoyable anime series, is a great read, as is Shinichi Fukuda's cosplay-obsessed (and lightly NSFW) My Dress-Up Darling. The classic Fullmetal Alchemist and Soul Eater are also both available on the service.

Art from Fullmetal Alchemist — (Image credit: Square Enix)

It's worth noting that not every series on Manga Up! will be fully available via Vault Pass. The statement specifies: "Subscribers who want to read chapters other than those available on Vault Pass will have to wait a set number of days or access them using UP, or use XP or Coin to read them immediately." Still, this is a great way to work through many new and completed series, catch up with manga you've fallen behind on, and make some new discoveries.

At a glance, we'd also recommend: completed romance manga Horimiya, cute slice of life The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses, and the historical drama (with a now-airing anime) My Happy Marriage.

You can find out more and sign up to MangaUp! here.

Looking for a new series to read? Check out our list of the 10 best manga of 2023.

Will Salmon is the Streaming Editor for GamesRadar+. He has been writing about film, TV, comics, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he launched the scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for well over a decade. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places too.