Manga like Cowboy Bebop

Trigun Maximum

Also known as Trigun Maximum.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Sci-Fi

Much of the damage attributed to "Vash" is caused by the activities of bounty hunters who are after the 60,000,000,000$$ (sixty billion "double dollars") reward on Vash's head for the destruction of a city called July. Vash does not clearly remember the destruction of July, and only wants "love and peace", as he puts it; though he is a gunfighter of inhuman skill, he uses his weapons only to save lives wherever he can.

As the series progresses, more is gradually learned about Vash's mysterious history and the history of the human civilization on Gunsmoke, the desert planet the series is set on. The series is often humorous in tone, but at the same time it involves very serious character development and especially in later episodes it becomes quite emotionally intense. Vash is occasionally joined by a priest, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, who is almost as good a gunfighter as Vash himself, and later is targeted by a band of assassins known as the Gung-Ho Guns for reasons which are mysterious at first.

Trigun evolves into a very serious discussion of the nature of morality, posing questions such as: What is the nature of morality? Can we judge different moral codes? If a person is forced to betray their moral code, does that betrayal invalidate that moral code, and can the person still try to live up to that moral code? Can the person find redemption from their wrongs, and if so, how?



Originally serialized in 102 chapters, condensed then to 96 in the tankoubon release. Vol.8 contains 2 extra chapters: “FREED BIRD”; Young King Ours 1999-09, 10.

Tags: Dystopian , Guns , Steampunk , Male Protagonist , Aliens , Seinen , Post-Apocalyptic , Twins , Assassins , Cosmic Horror , Religion , Philosophy , Super Power , Body Horror , Desert , Primarily Adult Cast , Crime , Gore , Environmental , Tragedy , Space , Transgender , Dissociative Identities , Eco-Horror

Trigun

Also known as Trigun.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Sci-Fi

Much of the damage attributed to "Vash" is caused by the activities of bounty hunters who are after the 60,000,000,000$$ (sixty billion "double dollars") reward on Vash's head for the destruction of a city called July. Vash does not clearly remember the destruction of July, and only wants "love and peace", as he puts it; though he is a gunfighter of inhuman skill, he uses his weapons only to save lives wherever he can.

As the series progresses, more is gradually learned about Vash's mysterious history and the history of the human civilization on Gunsmoke, the desert planet the series is set on. The series is often humorous in tone, but at the same time it involves very serious character development and especially in later episodes it becomes quite emotionally intense. Vash is occasionally joined by a priest, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, who is almost as good a gunfighter as Vash himself, and later is targeted by a band of assassins known as the Gung-Ho Guns for reasons which are mysterious at first.

Trigun evolves into a very serious discussion of the nature of morality, posing questions such as: What is the nature of morality? Can we judge different moral codes? If a person is forced to betray their moral code, does that betrayal invalidate that moral code, and can the person still try to live up to that moral code? Can the person find redemption from their wrongs, and if so, how?



Note: Includes three extra chapters.

Tags: Guns , Steampunk , Male Protagonist , Dystopian , Primarily Adult Cast , Fugitive , Religion , Shounen , Desert , Crime , Post-Apocalyptic , Super Power , Tragedy , Space

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:
Includes the one-shot "Sayonara ga Chikai no de" (For Our Farewell Is Near)
Includes the one-shot "Assassin's Creed: Valhalla x Vinland Saga"
Includes two extra chapters.
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 , Found Family , Tragedy , Travel , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Slavery , Time Skip , Gore , Swordplay , Ships , Politics , Class Struggle , Religion , Medieval , Rural , Parenthood , Anti-Hero , Agriculture , Pirates , Environmental , Marriage , Indigenous Cultures , Adoption , Language Barrier , Mythology , Archery , Nudity , Transgender , Achronological Order , Wilderness , Tomboy , Biographical

Uchuu Kyoudai

Also known as Space Brothers.

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

Two brothers looked to the starry skies as children and made a promise ... Now, in the year 2025, the younger brother, Hibito, is carrying his out. He is an astronaut who has been selected as a crew member for mankind’s first long-term base on the moon. Meanwhile, the older brother, Mutta, has just been fired from his job and is unemployed, but decides to trust himself just one last time. A text message from Hibito sends him applying to be an astronaut too and shooting for the stars …



Notes:
Nominated for the 2nd and 3rd Manga Taisho Award
Won the 56th Shogakukan Manga Award
Won the 35th Kodansha Manga Award in the General Category.

Tags: Space , Educational , Seinen , Work , Ensemble Cast , Astronomy , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Iyashikei , Foreign , Tragedy , Aviation , Time Skip , Episodic , Nudity

Lupin III

Also known as Lupin the 3rd.

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

This is the first time Monkey Punch's original, classic series has been published in the U.S. International man of mystery and master thief extraordinaire, Lupin III comes from a long line of high stakes bandits, all committed to stealing from the rich and giving to themselves. Fortunately, Lupin tends to avoid robbing society's virtuous and, instead, targets some pretty shady characters.

Of course, he partners with some pretty shady characters as well: Daisuke Jigen is an ex-mafia hit man who carries himself with a somber demeanor, his trademark black fedora tilted forward to hide his eyes. Goemon Ishikawa is a cipher-like swordsman with samurai-ish overtones who mysteriously fades in and out of Lupin's exploits. Fujiko Mine is the object of Lupin's affections, but, since she is a thief herself, the duo's romance more than occasionally clashes with their competition for big scores.

The global police force, Interpol, and in particular the tenacious Inspector Zenigata, long to capture Lupin and his gang. Zenigata's relationship with the eponymous master thief is a complicated one, characterized by mutual respect laced with utter disdain. The two have even worked together when it's served both their interests, but they understand that when the crisis ends, they must resume their former wariness and animosity toward each other.



Note: Chapter count is based on the Power Comics edition from Futabasha from 1975-76 which combines the original run of the manga (94 chapters, 1967-1969) and the New Adventures series (35 chapters, 1971-1972).

Tags: Seinen , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Fugitive , Slapstick , Meta , Guns , Nudity , Psychosexual , Mahjong

Planetes

Also known as Planetes.

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

Haunted by a space flight accident that claimed the life of his beloved wife, Yuri finds himself six years later as part of a team of debris cleaners on a vessel called the Toy Box charged with clearing space junk from space flight paths. The team consists of Hachimaki, a hot shot debris-man with a sailor's affinity for the orbital ocean; Fee, a chain-smoking tomboy beauty with an abrasive edge; and Pops, a veteran orbital mechanic whose avuncular presence soothes the stress of the job.



Note: Includes two extra chapters.

Tags: Work , Space , Philosophy , Environmental , Seinen , Politics , Tragedy , Family Life , Educational , Terrorism , Heterosexual , Iyashikei , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Time Skip , Episodic , Nudity

Lupin 8-sei

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy

Lupin VIII is a cancelled animated series that was produced in 1982. The remains of the project were released in 2012 with a voiceless pilot, and selected animated scenes with 6 scripts.The 6 scripts were adapted into a manga series and collected in a volume in 1982.

Tags: Shounen , Male Protagonist , Space

The Big O

Also known as The Big O.

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

The official comic adaptation of Bandai's Cartoon Network hit, a stylish "manga meets film noir" story which goes BEYOND the plot of the TV series! Paradigm City is the city of amnesia--40 years ago, SOMETHING happened that wiped out the memories of the residents, forcing them to recreate their culture from scattered fragments. In this world only 40 years old, Roger Smith is a negotiator--a go-between for police, citizens and criminals in high-risk diplomatic situations. But something else survives from the forgotten past. They are the MegaDeuses--giant robots created by the city's former inhabitants, or perhaps by the forgetful citizens themselves. When crime and madness strike, Roger Smith brings the guilty to justice with the giant robot called THE BIG O.



Tags: Noir , Real Robot , Robots , Seinen , Foreign , Butler

Koukaku Kidoutai

Also known as The Ghost in the Shell.

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

Deep into the twenty-first century, the line between man and machine has been inexorably blurred as humans rely on the enhancement of mechanical implants and robots are upgraded with human tissue. In this rapidly converging landscape, cyborg superagent Major Motoko Kusanagi is charged to track down the craftiest and most dangerous terrorists and cybercriminals, including "ghost hackers" who are capable of exploiting the human/machine interface and reprogramming humans to become puppets to carry out the hackers' criminal ends. When Major Kusanagi tracks the cybertrail of one such master hacker, the Puppeteer, her quest leads her into a world beyond information and technology where the very nature of consciousness and the human soul are turned upside down.



Tags: Cyberpunk , Artificial Intelligence , Dystopian , Politics , Cyborg , Robots , Philosophy , Gore , Police , Crime , Female Protagonist , Urban , Guns , Primarily Adult Cast , Seinen , Heterosexual , LGBTQ+ Themes , Nudity , Bisexual

Golgo 13

Also known as Golgo 13.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Mystery , Thriller

In 1991, UN inspectors found the incomplete Project Babylon--a cannon capable of hurling a shell 600 miles. In 1995, the Clinton administration learns of a second, hidden Iraqi supergun--now operational, and with a much, much longer range... There are only two options to destroy the supergun: send in an airstrike--or send in Golgo 13! Then, flash back to 1979 on the streets of San Francisco, where a hit-and-run accident intersects with a mob boss's terror that he is G13's next target... Plus excerpts from the File 13 dossier revealing the secrets of his personal data, false identities, alias, and more!



Tags: Seinen , Assassins , Historical , Crime , Foreign , Guns , Gekiga , Episodic , Politics , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Nudity