Top Drama Manga Recommendations

Chainsaw Man

Also known as Chainsaw Man.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Horror , Supernatural

The name says it all! Denji's life of poverty is changed forever when he merges with his pet chainsaw dog, Pochita! Now he's living in the big city and an official Devil Hunter. But he's got a lot to learn about his new job and chainsaw powers!



Notes:
- Nominated for the 2020 Manga Taisho Award.
- Winner of the 2021 Kono Manga ga Sugoi Award.
- Winner of the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shounen category.
- Winner of the 2021 and 2022 Harvey Award for Best Manga.
- Chapters 1-97 were released in Weekly Shounen Jump from Dec 3, 2018 to Dec 13, 2020. The series resumed from Ch. 98 in Shounen Jump+ on July 12, 2022

Tags: Demons , Tragedy , Urban Fantasy , Dissociative Identities , Male Protagonist , Gore , Body Horror , Psychosexual , Cosmic Horror , Henshin , Female Protagonist , Urban , Monster Boy , Survival , Found Family , Work , Ensemble Cast , Memory Manipulation , Shounen , Coming of Age , Yandere , Cult , Heterosexual , Guns , Assassins , Monster Girl , Human Pet , Revenge , Terrorism , Femdom , Shapeshifting , Slapstick , Meta , Philosophy , Afterlife , Primarily Teen Cast , Nudity , School , Delinquents , Cannibalism , Angels , Necromancy , Amnesia , Mafia , Time Skip , Yakuza , LGBTQ+ Themes , Tsundere , Zombie , Chimera , Motorcycles , Politics , Vore

Jujutsu Kaisen

Also known as Jujutsu Kaisen.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Supernatural

Although Yuji Itadori looks like your average teenager, his immense physical strength is something to behold! Every sports club wants him to join, but Itadori would rather hang out with the school outcasts in the Occult Research Club. One day, the club manages to get their hands on a sealed cursed object. Little do they know the terror they’ll unleash when they break the seal…



Notes:
- Ranked 1st in Japan's Bookstore Employees Top Manga of 2018.
- Nominated for the 25th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2021.
- Nominated for the 65th Shogakukan Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2019.
- Includes one extra chapter.

Tags: Urban Fantasy , Demons , Super Power , Shounen , Curses , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Monster Boy , Youkai , Magic , Martial Arts , Body Horror , Dissociative Identities , Death Game , Gore , Primarily Teen Cast , Battle Royale , Urban , Exorcism , Ensemble Cast , Cosmic Horror , Sadism , Body Swapping , Cult , Philosophy , School , Anthropomorphism , Assassins , Time Manipulation , Swordplay , Amnesia , Nudity , Time Skip , Slapstick

Berserk

Also known as Berserk.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Horror , Psychological

His name is Guts, the Black Swordsman, a feared warrior spoken of only in whispers. Bearer of a gigantic sword, an iron hand, and the scars of countless battles and tortures, his flesh is also indelibly marked with The Brand, an unholy symbol that draws the forces of darkness to him and dooms him as their sacrifice. But Guts won't take his fate lying down; he'll cut a crimson swath of carnage through the ranks of the damned—and anyone else foolish enough to oppose him! Accompanied by Puck the Elf, more an annoyance than a companion, Guts relentlessly follows a dark, bloodstained path that leads only to death...or vengeance.



Notes:
- Volumes 1-5 contain the 16 prequel chapters 0A - 0P.
- Chapter 83 was omitted from Volume 13 due to the author’s request.
- Volume 14 includes “Berserk: The Prototype”.
- Due to the author's passing, starting from Chapter 365, the manga is illustrated by Studio Gaga (Miura's assistants) and supervised by Kouji Mori (a close friend of Miura's).

Tags: Tragedy , Seinen , Revenge , Male Protagonist , Demons , Cosmic Horror , Gore , Philosophy , Found Family , Anti-Hero , Rehabilitation , Swordplay , Travel , Mythology , Magic , War , Survival , Body Horror , Foreign , Gods , Religion , Primarily Adult Cast , Nudity , Politics , Dystopian , Military , Disability , Fairy , Witch , Amnesia , Time Skip , Elf , Coming of Age , Sadism , Torture , Ensemble Cast , Heterosexual , Kaiju , Curses , Achronological Order , Age Regression , Skeleton , Cult , Tomboy , Adoption , Dungeon , Super Power , Kingdom Management , Slavery , Group Sex , Prostitution , Cannibalism , Dragons , Pregnancy , Medieval , Incest , Ships , Monster Girl , Vore , LGBTQ+ Themes , Masturbation , Monster Boy , Mermaid , Fellatio

Shingeki no Kyojin

Also known as Attack on Titan.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery

In this post-apocalyptic sci-fi story, humanity has been devastated by the bizarre, giant humanoids known as the Titans. Little is known about where they came from or why they are bent on consuming mankind. Seemingly unintelligent, they have roamed the world for years, killing everyone they see. For the past century, what's left of man has hidden in a giant, three-walled city. People believe their 50-meter-high walls will protect them from the Titans, but the sudden appearance of an immense Titan is about to change everything.



Note: Includes two extra chapters.

Tags: Dystopian , Anti-Hero , War , Tragedy , Military , Conspiracy , Survival , Philosophy , Kaiju , Shapeshifting , Memory Manipulation , Politics , Revenge , Henshin , Male Protagonist , Monster Boy , Terrorism , Medieval , Post-Apocalyptic , Super Power , Gore , Time Manipulation , Body Horror , Ensemble Cast , Cosmic Horror , Time Skip , Cannibalism , Coming of Age , Slavery , Swordplay , Torture , Shounen , Espionage , Mythology , Amnesia , Tsundere , Kuudere , Class Struggle , Disability , Cult , Dissociative Identities , Drugs , Achronological Order , Transgender , Religion , Heterosexual , Reincarnation , Suicide , Baseball , Acrobatics , Yuri , Primarily Adult Cast

Kimetsu no Yaiba

Also known as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Supernatural

The setting is Taisho era Japan. Tanjirou is a kindhearted young boy who lived peacefully with his family as a coal seller. Their normal life changes completely when his family is slaughtered by demons. The only other survivor, Tanjirou's younger sister Nezuko, has become a ferocious demon. In order to return Nezuko to normal and get revenge on the demon that killed their family, the two of them depart on a journey. From a young talent, an adventure tale of blood and swords begins!



Notes:
- Includes two extra chapters.
- Nominated to the 24th and 25th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.

Tags: Demons , Shounen , Swordplay , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Revenge , Gore , Historical , Afterlife , Body Horror , Rural , Orphan , Time Skip , Coming of Age , Shapeshifting , Travel , Reincarnation , Oiran , Trains , Guns , Crossdressing , Age Regression , Disability , Bisexual , Polyamorous , Youkai , Animals , Religion , Food

Boku no Hero Academia

Also known as My Hero Academia.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy

Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he hasn’t got an ounce of power in him. With no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes, his life is looking more and more like a dead end. Then an encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of them all, gives him a chance to change his destiny…



Note:
- Winner of the 1st Next Manga Award in the Print Category in 2015.
- Nominated for the 8th Manga Taisho Award in 2015.
- Nominated for the 40th Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2016.
- Chapter count includes a bonus chapter included in volume 10 “Tsuyu-chan no Kerokero Nikki“.

Tags: Superhero , Super Power , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Boarding School , Terrorism , School , Urban Fantasy , Cultivation , Coming of Age , Crime , Anti-Hero , Criminal Organization , War , Revenge , Primarily Male Cast , Urban , Tragedy , Politics , Gore , Drugs , Age Regression , Body Horror , Heterosexual , Fugitive , Animals , Guns , Tomboy , Yakuza , Nudity , Yandere , Robots , Memory Manipulation , Rescue , Teacher

Oyasumi Punpun

Also known as Goodnight Punpun.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Slice of Life

Meet Punpun Punyama. He’s an average kid in an average town.
He wants to win a Nobel Prize and save the world.
He wants the girl he has a crush on to like him back.
He wants to find some porn.
That’s what he wants, but what does he get…?



Tags: Coming of Age , Seinen , Tragedy , Philosophy , Denpa , Psychosexual , Suicide , Urban , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Time Skip , Surreal Comedy , Fugitive , School , Gods , Meta , Cult , Work , Nudity , Body Horror , Love Triangle , Religion , Ghost

Vagabond

Also known as Vagabond.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama

At seventeen years of age, Miyamoto Musashi--still known by his childhood name, Shinmen Takezo--was a wild young brute just setting out along the way of the sword.

In the aftermath of the epic Battle of Sekigahara, Takezo finds himself a fugitive survivor on the losing side of the war. Takezo's vicious nature has made him an outcast even in his own village, and he is hunted down like an animal. At this crucial crossroads in Takezo's life, an eccentric monk and a childhood friend are the only ones who can help him find his way.



Tags: Swordplay , Seinen , Samurai , Historical , Philosophy , Travel , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Martial Arts , Tragedy , Survival , Cultivation , Biographical , Gore , Rural , Heterosexual , War , Outdoor Activities , Ghost , Agriculture , Classic Literature , Fugitive , Language Barrier , Nudity , Afterlife ,

Yakusoku no Neverland

Also known as The Promised Neverland.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Thriller

Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn—what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing.



Note: Nominated to the 22nd, 23rd, and 25th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.

Tags: Survival , Primarily Child Cast , Body Horror , Demons , Dystopian , War , Found Family , Guns , Female Protagonist , Shounen , Politics , Coming of Age , Alternate Universe , Travel , Ensemble Cast , Conspiracy , Anti-Hero , Time Skip , Gore , Philosophy , Male Protagonist , Amnesia , Rural , Heterosexual , Augmented Reality , Suicide

Vinland Saga

Also known as Vinland Saga.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama

As a child, Thorfinn sat at the feet of the great Leif Ericson and thrilled to wild tales of a land far to the west. But his youthful fantasies were shattered by a mercenary raid. Raised by the Vikings who murdered his father, Thorfinn became a terrifying warrior, forever seeking to kill the band's leader, Askeladd, and avenge his father. Sustaining Thorfinn through his ordeal are his pride in his family and his dreams of a fertile westward land, a land without war or slavery … the land Leif called Vinland.



Notes:
- Won the Grand Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2009.
- Winner of the 36th Kodansha Manga Award in the General category in 2012.

Tags: Rehabilitation , Historical , Coming of Age , Vikings , Foreign , Philosophy , Seinen , Male Protagonist , War , Revenge , Tragedy , Travel , Found Family , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Slavery , Gore , Time Skip , Swordplay , Ships , Politics , Medieval , Rural , Parenthood , Class Struggle , Anti-Hero , Agriculture , Pirates , Environmental , Religion , Achronological Order , Language Barrier , Heterosexual , Adoption , Mythology , Indigenous Cultures , Nudity , Archery , Wilderness , Tomboy , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes

Tokyo卍Revengers

Also known as Tokyo Revengers.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Romance , Supernatural

Hanagaki Takemichi was once a low-life punk, but after biting off more than he could chew with a gang in middle school, he ran away from his old life. Now that he’s an adult, the gang that once terrorized him has grown into the largest gang in Tokyo, and they’ve started killing people–including his old girlfriend! After learning this news, a mysterious force on a train platform shoves Takemichi right in front of an approaching train. As his life flashes before his eyes, he blinks to find himself transported back to middle school, before he fled from the gang! Now he has the chance to right what went wrong all those years ago. Can he save his girlfriend’s life in the future–and what else might he change if he’s rewriting the past?



Notes:
- Winner of the Shounen Manga category of the 44th annual Kodansha Manga Awards.
- Includes 1 extra chapter.

Tags: Delinquents , Gangs , Time Manipulation , Time Skip , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Revenge , Crime , Shounen , Age Regression , Urban , Ensemble Cast , Motorcycles , Heterosexual , Suicide , Espionage , Love Triangle , Gore , Mopeds , Age Gap , School , Guns , Adoption

Blue Lock

Also known as Blue Lock.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama , Sports

After a disastrous defeat at the 2018 World Cup, Japan's team struggles to regroup. But what's missing? An absolute Ace Striker, who can guide them to the win. The Japan Football Union is hell-bent on creating a striker who hungers for goals and thirsts for victory, and who can be the decisive instrument in turning around a losing match...and to do so, they've gathered 300 of Japan's best and brightest youth players. Who will emerge to lead the team...and will they be able to out-muscle and out-ego everyone who stands in their way?



Note: Winner of the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2021.

Tags: Football , Male Protagonist , Battle Royale , Athletics , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Shounen , Super Power , Anti-Hero , Fitness , Foreign , Augmented Reality , Tragedy , Language Barrier , Suicide

Dandadan

Also known as Dandadan.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Romance , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Momo Ayase strikes up an unusual friendship with her school’s UFO fanatic, whom she nicknames “Okarun” because he has a name that is not to be said aloud. While Momo believes in spirits, she thinks aliens are nothing but nonsense. Her new friend, meanwhile, thinks the exact opposite. To settle matters, the two set out to prove each other wrong—Momo to a UFO hotspot and Okarun to a haunted tunnel! What unfolds next is a beautiful story of young love…and oddly horny aliens and spirits?



Notes:
- Includes 1 extra chapter.
- Nominated for the 15th Manga Taisho Award in 2022.

Tags: Youkai , Urban Fantasy , Ghost , Aliens , Super Power , Shounen , Female Protagonist , Surreal Comedy , Tokusatsu , Male Protagonist , Henshin , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Heterosexual , Gyaru , Shapeshifting , School , Body Horror , Love Triangle , Exorcism , Conspiracy , Kaiju , Curses , Gore , Terrorism , Super Robot , Tragedy , Chuunibyou , Circus , Nudity , Gods , Dissociative Identities , Cannibalism , Tsundere , Bullying , Acrobatics , Amnesia , Suicide

[Oshi no Ko]

Also known as [Oshi no Ko].

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Gorou is a gynecologist and idol fan who’s in shock after his favorite star, Ai, announces an impromptu hiatus. Little does Gorou realize that he’s about to forge a bond with her that defies all common sense! Lies are an idol’s weapon!



Notes:
- Nominated for the 14th and 15th Manga Taisho, the 26th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, the 67th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category and the 46th Kodansha Manga Award.
- Winner of the 7th Next Manga Award in the print category.
- Includes two extra chapters.

Tags: Revenge , Idol , Acting , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Seinen , Reincarnation , Female Protagonist , Twins , Detective , Work , Time Skip , Urban Fantasy , Otaku Culture , Age Gap , Love Triangle , Suicide , Anti-Hero , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Harem , Bullying , Educational , Denpa , Tsundere , Primarily Female Cast , Urban , Pregnancy , Filmmaking , VTuber , Cosplay , Incest

MONSTER

Also known as Monster.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Thriller

Everyone faces uncertainty at some point in their lives. Even a brilliant surgeon like Kenzo Tenma is no exception. But there’s no way he could have known that his decision to stop chasing professional success and instead concentrate on his oath to save peoples’ lives would result in the birth of an abomination. The questions of good and evil now take on a terrifyingly real dimension.

Years later, in Germany during the tumultuous post-reunification period, middle-aged childless couples are being killed one after another. The serial killer’s identity is known. The reasons why he kills are not. Dr. Tenma sets out on a journey to find the killer’s twin sister, who may hold some clues to solving the enigma of the “Monster.”



Tags: Seinen , Conspiracy , Tragedy , Philosophy , Amnesia , Fugitive , Twins , Noir , Foreign , Memory Manipulation , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Detective , Historical , Ensemble Cast , Crime , Police , Medicine , Time Skip , Crossdressing , Orphan , Adoption , Suicide , Torture , Gore , Achronological Order , Assassins , Episodic

20 Seiki Shounen

Also known as 20th Century Boys.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns. This is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world.

For Kenji, a simple convenience store manager who once dreamed of becoming a rock 'n' roll musician, a host of memories from his past come rushing back when one of his childhood friends mysteriously commits suicide. Could this new death be related to the rise of a bizarre new cult that's been implicated in several other murders and disappearances? Determined to dig deeper, Kenji reunites with some of his old buddies in the hope of learning the truth behind it all.



Tags: Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Politics , Seinen , Achronological Order , Dystopian , Fugitive , Conspiracy , Cult , Found Family , Pandemic , Time Skip , Post-Apocalyptic , Terrorism , Male Protagonist , Detective , Philosophy , Cosmic Horror , Female Protagonist , Dissociative Identities , Tragedy , Musical Theater , Historical , Augmented Reality , Police , Robots , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Transgender , Foreign , Time Manipulation , Homeless , Nudity , Twins , Urban , Rock Music , Drugs , Crossdressing

Haikyuu!!

Also known as Haikyu!!.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

A chance event triggered Shouyou Hinata's love for volleyball. His club had no members, but somehow persevered and finally made it into its very first and final regular match of middle school, where it was steamrolled by Tobio Kageyama, a superstar player known as "King of the Court." Vowing revenge, Hinata applied to the Karasuno High School volleyball club...only to come face-to-face with his hated rival, Kageyama! A tale of hot-blooded youth and volleyball from the pen of Haruichi Furudate!!



Notes:
- Winner of the 61st Shogakukan Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2017.
- Chapter count includes 2 extra chapters.

Tags: Volleyball , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Coming of Age , School Club , Primarily Male Cast , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Time Skip , Philosophy , School , Twins

Tokyo Ghoul:re

Also known as Tokyo Ghoul:re.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

In Tokyo, an unchanging despair is lurking. Mysterious man-eating beings, ghouls, run rampant in Tokyo. Living hidden during everyday life, the existence of ghouls, whose true identities are shrouded in mystery, permanently terrorizes Tokyo's residents.

At CCG, the sole institution that investigates and resolves cases related to ghouls, Haise Sasaki has been assigned a certain mission. While dealing with the unruly four problem children known as "Quinx", Haise's days of suffering begin...?!

Note: Includes 1 extra chapter and the one-shot "Tokyo Ghoul: Joker".

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Tragedy , Body Horror , Amnesia , Seinen , Shapeshifting , Dystopian , Philosophy , Gore , Urban Fantasy , Conspiracy , Primarily Adult Cast , Police , Rehabilitation , Ensemble Cast , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Yandere , Suicide , Kuudere , Cosmic Horror , Meta , Crossdressing , Nudity , Mythology , LGBTQ+ Themes , Transgender , Gender Bending

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Steel Ball Run

Also known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 7–Steel Ball Run.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Mystery , Supernatural

Riders from around the world gather in the Wild West for the race of the century! Johnny Joestar, a former jockey paralyzed from the waist down, comes to spectate, and momentarily regains the ability to walk while watching a duel fought by Gyro Zeppeli. Desperate to learn more about this power, Johnny joins the race alongside Gyro and embarks on the most epic and bizarre race to ever cross the American frontier!



Tags: Travel , Super Power , Cowboys , Male Protagonist , Seinen , Conspiracy , Primarily Adult Cast , Disability , Foreign , Alternate Universe , Tragedy , Environmental , Philosophy , Ensemble Cast , Historical , Outdoor Activities , Terrorism , Primarily Male Cast , Gore , Crossdressing , Desert , Guns , Coming of Age , Body Horror , Nun , Trains , Espionage , Acting , Dinosaurs , Gambling , Time Manipulation , Nudity , Delinquents , Shapeshifting , Curses

Sinui Tap

Also known as Tower of God.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery

What do you desire? Money and wealth? Honor and pride? Authority and power? Revenge? Or something that transcends them all? Whatever you desire—it's here.



Tags: Super Power , Ensemble Cast , Full Color , War , Conspiracy , Travel , Male Protagonist , Magic , Tragedy , Cultivation , Dungeon , Time Skip , Politics , Space Opera , Martial Arts , Anti-Hero , Memory Manipulation , Battle Royale , Kemonomimi , Philosophy , Artificial Intelligence , Criminal Organization , Trains , Terrorism , Gore , Afterlife , Meta , Primarily Adult Cast , Long Strip , Necromancy , Slavery , Found Family , Female Harem , Goblin , Creature Taming , Time Manipulation