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[WIP/Release] ds_mangaman - Turning the Nintendo DS into the Ultimate Vertical Book-Style Manga Reader!

Hwongfish · 2026-06-09T00:33:11+00:00

Hi everyone! I’ve always felt that the Nintendo DS is criminally underrated when it comes to being a dedicated manga-reader. Think about it: it has two screens built right into the form factor, one of them has a precise (not quite most of the time though) touchscreen, and when you rotate the console 90 degrees counter-clockwise, it perfectly mimics the ergonomics of holding a real physical tankobon (manga volume). When held vertically, the D-pad sits perfectly on the bottom, and the shoulder keys (L/R) are in the ideal position for switching chapters. Plus, the touchscreen can be used to magnify for reading the text or inspecting details. Such interactions are the ultimate form factors that modern smartphones just can't match. To prove this, I built ds_mangaman — an open-source, highly optimized homebrew manga viewer for the NDS/NDSL. Download and learn how to build in Github release: :teach::teach::teach: GitHub Repository: https://github.com/hwfish-error408/ds-mangaman :grog::grog::grog: Looking for Contributors! The compiler engine and core state machine are now fully functional and running smoothly on real hardware and emulators (like melonDS). However, I want to take this project further and could really use the community's help! I’m looking for developers, testers, and retro-enthusiasts to help with: A, Implementing a cleaner UI/Main Menu. B, Adding Bookmark support (saving states to SRAM/FAT .sav). C, Further optimizing the DMA memory copy speeds during page and chapter transitions. Feel free to download the source, check out the build pipeline, test it on your flashcarts, and open Issues or Pull Requests on the GitHub repo! Let's make the NDS the ultimate retro manga machine.

Thread starter trinest
Start date Jan 8, 2007
Views 1,737
Replies 6

trinest

Well-Known Member

Newcomer

Level 2

Jan 8, 2007

it just accured to me...if you realy wanted to, because both use the same thingo, you can make your own?

digital_sin

Well-Known Member

Member

Level 1

Jan 8, 2007

what?

Kurai

Well-Known Member

Member

Level 2

Jan 8, 2007

o.O say what?

4saken

Retired Ace Attorney

Member

Level 2

Jan 8, 2007

I think you mean R4, and no, probably not

. Unless you own the factory

trinest

Well-Known Member

Newcomer

Level 2

Jan 8, 2007

No not make the cards, but the firmware...and make it better...GAHHHHHHH

Propionation

Well-Known Member

Newcomer

Level 1

Jan 8, 2007

Make firmware? You still aren't making any sense...

Veho

The man who cried "Ni".

Former Staff

GBAtemp Patron

Level 65

Jan 8, 2007

Well, you can make a flashcard yourself, but it would be huge and heavy, hard work, and in the end, more expensive than the "original".

As for the firmware, yes, you can rewrite the firmware of anything with an upgradeable firmware; take the GBAMP CF for example. One of the first flashcards to allow homebrew, thanks to Chishm completely rewriting the firmware. You can do this yourself with the R4 or M3, but it requires l33t h4x0rZin' 5ki11Z.