Penguin: CBZ CBR Comic Reader

Manga nobody translated? Local AI on your device translates every speech bubble automatically and paints it back into the balloon. Nothing goes to the cloud.

A comic reader for the books you already own. CBZ, CBR, PDF and EPUB open straight from Files, your Mac, or your NAS — no unpacking, no account, no ads, and no internet needed once a book is on the device. Japanese pages you cannot read? Penguin Viewer translates the speech bubbles on your device and paints the English back into the balloon.

■ Manga and novels in one library

• Drop in CBZ, CBR, CB7 (7z), ZIP, RAR, PDF or an image folder. TXT, MD and EPUB novels land on the same shelf.
• Automatic margin cropping fills the screen with books you scanned yourself.

■ A library in your own folders

• Make folders as you would in Finder, nested as deep as you like, and drag books between them.
• New imports go into the folder you are looking at, dozens at a time, and books move or delete in bulk.
• The folder layout follows you over iCloud. Files are not uploaded, so no iCloud storage is used.

■ Translation that ends on the device

• A speech bubble is read sentence by sentence, translated, and painted back in where the original lettering was. Vertical Japanese is recognized as it is.
• In novels, translate a sentence or a page and read it beside the original, or look up single words.
• Translate a book in advance and pages turn with no wait. Nothing is ever sent anywhere.

■ Read novels your way

• Font, size, line spacing, margins and background change in Text and Layout, live.
• Jump chapters from the contents. Position and bookmarks carry between devices.

■ Your NAS and server library

• Connect over SMB (NAS), WebDAV or OPDS, compatible with Komga and Kavita.
• OPDS-PSE streaming resumes at your page without downloading, so a huge library takes no storage.
• Reading position syncs over iCloud, and server credentials stay in the device keychain.

■ Read it the way you want

• Single page or two-page spread (smart spread), right-to-left binding, single page in portrait.
• Webtoons scroll vertically, or run 120Hz auto-scroll through a binge. Pan sideways while zoomed in.
• Multi-gigabyte volumes turn without stutter, and pinch zoom works in spreads too.
• A night theme blacks out the reader on your schedule, and Mac turns pages from the keyboard.

■ A library that sorts itself

• Smart shelves file books as unread, reading or finished, and ComicInfo groups a scattered series.
• Set grid columns and cover size, sort by recently opened, search by title, author or series.

■ A record that grows as you read

• Reading statistics, streaks and milestones build the habit.
• The reading calendar shows how much you read, iOS widgets show today's, and Face ID locks the app.

■ Local AI Translation Benchmark

• Measure how fast your iPhone, iPad or Mac translates a page of manga. Run it from Translation in Settings.
• The result is a single PVScore. A bigger number means a faster device.
• The results screen is CRT arcade, scanlines and all. Beat your best and NEW RECORD appears.
• Save the score as a PNG card and share it, device name and chip included.
• Enter a nickname of up to 12 characters and see the worldwide PVScore top 500.

■ Honest pricing

• Almost everything is free. The free library holds 30 books, and sharing the app opens 10 more.
• The benchmark and the leaderboard are free, with no limit on runs.
• An unlimited library is one lifetime Pro purchase, not a subscription. No ads anywhere.

■ Privacy by default

• Local first: files, translation, statistics and benchmark results stay on the device. Only a nickname and a score leave, and only when you post to the leaderboard.
• No account, no sign-up, not a single tracking SDK. Open it and read.
• Export your library and reading history, and restore it on a new device.

■ Good to know

• Penguin Viewer does not supply manga or novel content. It reads the files you already own.
• Benchmark scores vary with the device and OS state, and move a little run to run.
• The interface is available in 17 languages.

Requests left in reviews get built quickly. Novel reading came out of one.