Two manganese porphyrin complexes, manganese tetraphenylporphyrin chloride (MnTPP-Cl) and manganese octaethylporphyrin chloride (MnOEP-Cl), exhibit distinctive spectral features of metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) when dissolved in dichloromethane, characterized by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the Mn L-edge and N K-edge. The metal-ligand orbital mixing that mediates the MLCT is analyzed with the help of density functional theory/restricted open-shell configuration interaction singles calculations. On the basis of experimental and theoretical analyses, the distinctive MLCT is argued to originate from alteration of the porphyrin outer ligands: phenyl groups in MnTPP-Cl and ethyl groups in MnOEP-Cl.