Manga like Shoukoku no Altair

Otoyomegatari

Also known as A Bride's Story.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

A Bride’s Story tells the tale of a beautiful young bride in nineteenth-century Asia. At the age of twenty, Amir is sent to a neighboring town to be wed. But her surprise at learning her new husband, Karluk, is eight years younger than her is quickly replaced by a deep affection for the boy and his family. Though she hails from just beyond the mountains, Amir’s clan had very different customs, foods, and clothes from what Karluk is used to. As the two of them learn more about each other through their day-to-day lives, the bond of respect and love grows stronger.



Note: Won the Prix Intergénérations ("Intergenerational Award") at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2012 and the 7th Manga Taishou award in 2014.

Tags: Ensemble Cast , Marriage , Historical , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Travel , Seinen , Foreign , Arranged Marriage , Iyashikei , Indigenous Cultures , Desert , Environmental , Family Life , Age Gap , Educational , War , Cohabitation , Rural , Matchmaking , Military , Food , Religion , Unrequited Love , Language Barrier , Twins , Archery , Nudity , Animals , Female Harem , Polyamorous , LGBTQ+ Themes , Large Breasts

Magi

Also known as Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic.

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

Deep within the deserts lie the mysterious Dungeons, vast stores of riches there for the taking by anyone lucky enough to find them and brave enough to venture into the depths from where few have ever returned. Plucky young adventurer Aladdin means to find the Dungeons and their riches, but Aladdin may be just as mysterious as the treasures he seeks. Together with the djinn Ugo and his friend Alibaba, Aladdin sets out to find his fortune in the depths of the endless dunes…



Tags: Magic , Foreign , Conspiracy , War , Politics , Royal Affairs , Criminal Organization , Class Struggle , Male Protagonist , Time Manipulation , Memory Manipulation , Shounen , Time Skip , Dungeon , Philosophy , Slavery , Economics , Revenge , Gods , Ensemble Cast , Pirates , Desert , Swordplay , Dystopian , Reincarnation , Cultivation , Spearplay , Dragons , Food

Arslan Senki

Also known as The Heroic Legend of Arslan.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Supernatural

In the prosperous kingdom of Pars lies the Royal Capital of Ecbatana, a city of splendor and wonder, ruled by the undefeated and fearsome King Andragoras. Arslan is the young and curious prince of Pars who, despite his best efforts, doesn’t seem to have what it takes to be a proper king like his father. At the age of 14, Arslan goes to his first battle and loses everything as the blood-soaked mist of war gives way to scorching flames, bringing him to face the demise of his once glorious kingdom. However, it is Arslan’s destiny to be a ruler, and despite the trials that face him, he must now embark on a journey to reclaim his fallen kingdom.



Tags: Historical , War , Military , Foreign , Politics , Male Protagonist , Found Family , Royal Affairs , Religion , Swordplay , Gore , Slavery , Revenge , Primarily Male Cast , Archery , Shounen , Desert

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 , Found Family , Travel , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Slavery , Time Skip , Gore , Swordplay , Ships , Politics , Class Struggle , Medieval , Rural , Parenthood , Anti-Hero , Agriculture , Pirates , Environmental , Religion , Indigenous Cultures , Achronological Order , Adoption , Language Barrier , Mythology , Archery , Nudity , Wilderness , Tomboy , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes

Kingdom

Also known as Kingdom.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama

Xin is a war orphan in a poor village in the kingdom of Qin. He has big dreams of becoming a great general, and when his best friend’s life is cut short by political machinations, Xin sets off to find a deposed ruler and help restore his place on the throne, while working his way up through the ranks of the Qin kingdom’s army to do what no one has ever done before—unify China.



Tags: Military , Historical , War , Ancient China , Politics , Royal Affairs , Male Protagonist , Seinen , Coming of Age , Swordplay , Tragedy , Foreign , Gore , Primarily Male Cast , Assassins , Fugitive , Heterosexual , Conspiracy , Ensemble Cast , Body Horror , Archery , Spearplay , Time Skip , Torture , Crossdressing , Nudity , Magic

Gunka no Baltzar

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama

Glory is won over the roar of cannon fire. Peace exists simply as a time to prepare for the next battle. In a nation with superb military power, Bernd Baltzar advanced quickly through the ranks. However, his career now takes a sudden turn when he is reassigned to being the military advisor in a neighboring allied nation with little military power and a lack of civilian support of firearms. Will Major Baltzar be able to win the hearts and minds of both the soldiers and civilians in this country?



Tags: War , Military , Seinen , Politics , Guns , Crossdressing , Tragedy , Gore , Nudity

Tenmaku no Jaadugar

Also known as A Witch's Life in Mongol.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama

In the harem of the Khan, wisdom is beauty.

The time: the thirteenth century. The place: Yeke Mongol Ulus, the greatest empire the world has ever known. The woman: Fatima, hailing from Persia, where medical technique and scientific knowledge have been perfected beyond all precedent.

Fatima's desire for a stage where she can put all her knowledge to work has brought her to the palace of the Mongols, where she falls under the wing of Töregene, the sixth wife of Ögedei, the second Great Khan—a mighty woman with complicated feelings about the direction of the empire. These two women are the axle upon which the politics of the palace, and soon the very world, will turn...



Notes:
Ranked 1st in the Women's Division of Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2023 guidebook.
Ranked 5th in the 16th Manga Taisho Awards in 2023.
Ranked 5th in the 17th Manga Taisho Awards in 2024.
Winner of the Overseas Work Award at the 2024 Bucheon International Comics Festival.
Nominated for the Best New Manga category at the 2025 American Manga Awards.
Winner of the Grand Prize in the Comic Division at the 55th Japan Cartoonists Association Awards in 2026.

Tags: Historical , Female Protagonist , Foreign , Josei , Revenge , Espionage , Biographical , Kingdom Management , Indigenous Cultures , Slavery , War , Educational , Desert , Royal Affairs , Military , Politics , Tragedy , Arranged Marriage , Orphan , Conspiracy , Time Skip , Travel , Religion

Ad Astra: Scipio to Hannibal

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

This is the story of two of the greatest military commanders in history: the Roman Publius Cornelius Scipio and the Carthaginian Hannibal. The story follows the two of them from their early life on. Hannibal is initially shown as a strangely silent infant, who seemed like the gods forgot to put a soul in his little body. However, he soon begins to speak in a way that shows his remarkable abilities. Hannibal and Scipio are driven enemies, and their struggle shaped an era.



Tags: Military , Historical , Seinen , Foreign , War , Revenge , Medieval , Politics , Tragedy , Animals , Survival , Primarily Adult Cast , Biographical , Time Skip , Religion

Chi. Chikyuu no Undou ni Tsuite

Also known as Orb: On the Movements of the Earth.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

In the fifteenth century, claiming that the Earth revolves around the sun was a heresy that could get believers burned at the stake. Child prodigy Rafal is introduced to the truth about the universe by his mentor, and then must flee when the Inquisition comes to mete out "God's justice." With only a peculiar pendant to guide him, will Rafal discover his master's research, and can he and other believers set the world alight?



Notes:
Winner of the 26th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2022.
Nominated for the 14th and 15th Manga Taisho Award, placing 2nd and 5th respectively.
Placed 10th in the 7th Annual Next Manga Award.
Nominated for the 67th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2021 in the General category.
Ranked 2nd in the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (Male Readers Division).

Tags: Historical , Astronomy , Seinen , Foreign , Conspiracy , Fugitive , Tragedy , Religion , Philosophy , Medieval , Ensemble Cast , Torture , Time Skip , Gore , Primarily Male Cast

Baraou no Souretsu

Also known as Requiem of the Rose King.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Supernatural

Richard, the ambitious third son of the House of York, believes he is cursed, damned from birth to eternal darkness. But is it truly fate that sets him on the path to personal destruction? Or his own tormented longings? Based on an early draft of Shakespeare's Richard III, Aya Kanno’s dark fantasy finds the man who could be king standing between worlds, between classes, between good and evil.



Tags: Historical , Classic Literature , Boys' Love , Tragedy , War , Medieval , Shoujo , Foreign , Mixed Gender Harem , Ghost , LGBTQ+ Themes , Philosophy , Royal Affairs , Bisexual , Male Protagonist , Revenge , Politics , Anti-Hero , Love Triangle , Age Gap , Nudity , Witch , Swordplay , Amnesia , Inseki , Incest , Time Skip , Transgender , Assassins , Cheating