Manga like 20 Seiki Shounen

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 , Twins , Amnesia , Fugitive , Noir , Foreign , Male Protagonist , Memory Manipulation , Primarily Adult Cast , Historical , Detective , Ensemble Cast , Police , Medicine , Time Skip , Crossdressing , Orphan , Adoption , Suicide , Torture , Gore , Achronological Order , Assassins

PLUTO

Also known as Pluto.

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

In an ideal world where man and robots coexist, someone or something has destroyed the powerful Swiss robot Mont Blanc. Elsewhere a key figure in a robot rights group is murdered. The two incidents appear to be unrelated...except for one very conspicuous clue - the bodies of both victims have been fashioned into some sort of bizarre collage complete with makeshift horns placed by the victims' heads. Interpol assigns robot detective Gesicht to this most strange and complex case - and he eventually discovers that he too, as one of the seven great robots of the world, is one of the targets.



Tags: Seinen , Robots , Artificial Intelligence , Detective , Police , Tragedy , Urban Fantasy , Philosophy , Politics , Foreign , Anti-Hero , Memory Manipulation , Real Robot , Ensemble Cast , War , Noir , Amnesia , Conspiracy , Anachronism , Post-Apocalyptic , Male Protagonist , Cyberpunk , Cult , Suicide , Agender

Billy Bat

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

The story is set in 1949 and follows Japanese-American comic book artist Kevin Yamagata as he draws the popular detective series "Billy Bat" for "Marble Comics." When he learns he may have unconsciously copied the character from an image he saw while serving in occupied Japan, he returns to Japan to get permission to use Billy Bat from its original creator. Upon arriving there, however, he becomes embroiled in a web of murder, cover-ups, and prophecy that all leads back to Billy Bat.

It is soon evident, however, that the truth of Billy Bat's nature is far larger than Kevin could ever guess, spanning millennia and across the world.



Note: Won the Max und Moritz Prize for "Best international Comic" in 2014.

Tags: Drawing , Historical , Politics , Time Manipulation , Philosophy , Conspiracy , Ensemble Cast , Urban Fantasy , Seinen , Travel , Foreign , Achronological Order , War , Primarily Adult Cast , Time Skip , Police , Male Protagonist , Dystopian , Anachronism , Religion , Espionage , Nudity , Terrorism , Ninja , Guns , Swordplay

Asadora!

Also known as Asadora!.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama , Mystery

It's 2020 and Tokyo is on fire! A large, mysterious creature rampages through the city destroying everything in its path. Cut to 1959. We meet a spunky young girl, Asa. As one of 11 siblings, Asa is constantly forgotten. Most people can't even remember her name. So, when she is kidnapped for ransom (by a guy who mistakes her for a doctor's kid), no one bats an eye—not even when a typhoon hits! Now Asa and her kidnapper must work together to survive the brutal storm. But there's more to her kidnapper and this storm than meets the eye.



Tags: Kaiju , War , Time Skip , Aviation , Historical , Natural Disaster , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Seinen , Urban Fantasy , Male Protagonist , Drugs , Athletics

AKIRA

Also known as Akira.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Horror , Psychological , Sci-Fi

Welcome to Neo-Tokyo, built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by a blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, making him a target for a shadowy agency that will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like the one that leveled Tokyo. At the core of the agency's motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear of an unthinkable, monstrous power known only as Akira.



Tags: Dystopian , Cyberpunk , Military , Post-Apocalyptic , Seinen , Tragedy , Super Power , Male Protagonist , Gore , Survival , Delinquents , Philosophy , Body Horror , Drugs , Anti-Hero , War , Cult , Gangs , Motorcycles , Coming of Age , Afterlife , Terrorism , Basketball , Nudity , Reincarnation , Bullying

Happy!

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Sports

One day the Yakuza comes knocking on the door of the orphaned Umino siblings. The oldest brother has gone into hiding after acquiring a huge debt. Afraid for her brother, Miyuki agrees to take responsibility for the loan. The yakuza wants her to become a ho, Miyuki wants to be a tennis pro. Turns out she used to be a very promising player before her parents died. However, becoming a pro is difficult when friends are few and everybody else conspires to make Miyuki's life hell.



Tags: Tennis , Bullying , Ojou-sama , Female Protagonist , Yakuza , Seinen , Tragedy , Love Triangle , Nudity , Fugitive , LGBTQ+ Themes , Foreign , Language Barrier

Old Boy

Also known as Old Boy.

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

Ten years ago, they took him in. He doesn't even know who. And for ten years, he has been confined in a private prison. He doesn't know why. For ten years, his only contact with the outside world has been a television set and the voices of his jail mates. In time, he lost himself. He changed...transformed himself into something else...something hard...something lethal. Suddenly, one day his incarceration ends, again without explanation. He is sedated, stuffed inside a trunk, and dumped in a park. When he awakes, he is free to reclaim what's left of his life...and what's left is revenge.



Includes an epilogue in the final volume.

Tags: Revenge , Noir , Crime , Urban , Suicide , Amnesia , Seinen , Bar , Fugitive , Male Protagonist , Memory Manipulation , School

Dead Dead Demon's Dededededestruction

Also known as Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

The Japan Self-Defense Forces are still looking for a way to combat the alien threat, but so far conventional weapons have had no effect. Maybe it’s time to try something unconventional.

Meanwhile, Kadode Koyama and her best friend avidly track the aliens’ movements on social media and less enthusiastically study for college entrance exams. When the end of the world looms overhead, you learn to take things one step at a time.



Notes:
Winner of the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category.
Includes 1 extra chapter.

Tags: Seinen , Aliens , Female Protagonist , Alternate Universe , Primarily Female Cast , Politics , Military , Time Manipulation , Bisexual , Coming of Age , Dystopian , Denpa , Language Barrier , Philosophy , Tragedy , School , Otaku Culture , Suicide , Anti-Hero , Post-Apocalyptic , Gore , Satire , Cosmic Horror , Yuri , Video Games , Love Triangle

Vagabond

Also known as Vagabond.

Status: Releasing
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 , Fugitive , Heterosexual , War , Outdoor , Ghost , Agriculture , Language Barrier , Nudity , Afterlife , Classic Literature

EDEN: It's an Endless World!

Also known as Eden: It's an Endless World!.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi

In the near future, a large portion of humanity is wiped out by a brutal, new virus that hardens the skin while dissolving internal organs. Those who aren't immune are either severely crippled or allowed to live with cybernetically enhanced bodies. Taking advantage of a world in chaos, a paramilitary force known as the Propater topples the United Nations and seeks world domination. Elijah, a young survivor searching for his mother, travels towards the Andes Mountains with an artificially intelligent combat robot. When he encounters a group of anti-Propater freedom fighters, a maelstrom of unique characters unfolds. Graphic, cyberpunk, and philosophical, Eden is a place where endearing heroes face a constant struggle for survival and violent surprises wait around every corner!

Note: The chapter count included 5 extra stories.

Tags: Foreign , Tragedy , Gangs , War , Anti-Hero , Drugs , Seinen , Post-Apocalyptic , Politics , Primarily Adult Cast , Ensemble Cast , Philosophy , Cyberpunk , Gore , Terrorism , Revenge , Dystopian , Pandemic , Male Protagonist , Guns , Conspiracy , Gods , Alternate Universe , Religion , Travel , Survival , Artificial Intelligence , Environmental , Heterosexual , Prostitution , Military , Coming of Age , Nudity , LGBTQ+ Themes , Class Struggle , Time Skip , Tanned Skin , Age Gap , Acting , Cult , Suicide , Cosmic Horror , Fellatio , Cunnilingus