Manga like Cowboy Bebop

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 3 extra chapters.

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

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

Vinland Saga

Also known as Vinland Saga.

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

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.



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

Uchuu Kyoudai

Also known as Space Brothers.

Status: Releasing
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 , Astronomy , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Foreign , Tragedy , Aviation , Time Skip , Episodic , Iyashikei , 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/volume counts follow the Tokyopop volume releases, which had a chapter count based on the 1989 Chuokoron-shinsha volumes.

Tags: Seinen , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Fugitive , Slapstick , Meta , Guns

GREY

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

The world is covered in wastelands that are dotted with numbered "Towns." All Towns are supervised by computers called "Little Mamas" (nodes conected to the world governing super-computer called "Big Mama"); the underprivileged live in the slums and are referred to as "People." One can only become one of the privileged "Citizens" by joining the army and fighting the other Towns' forces, as the Towns are continually at war with one another. Combatants earn 50 credits per mission, plus 30 credits for every enemy killed. Once the total reaches 1000, the fighter's class is increased by one category (starting at F, then going to E, D, C, B and making one's way up to A). The A class guarantees a transfer to the idyllic, legendary "City."

Citizens have numerous advantages over People: in addition to getting out of the ghetto, they do not worry about being beaten up, raped or otherwise victimized. It's this advantage that leads Grey's lover, a girl known as "Lips," to become a Citizen. Her death leads Grey to join the army as well and follow her dream of getting to the City by sheer force of will. Grey soon earns the nickname "Grey Death" for his tenacity on the battlefield and ability to survive when the rest of his comrades are killed. He only accepts orders that keep him alive, and will not kill the resistance fighters that fight against the Town system because they are not worth any points. Sullen and cocky, Grey exists only to survive and kill, in that order.

Grey's sense of loyalty gets him into trouble when he finds out that his field commander, a man that saved his life many times, is lost in the African sector. He abandons Town 303 to go look for him. Along the way, he discovers who and what the resistance fighters are, why the Towns are all different in both military might and how they are run, and what the true secret of "Big Mama" is.
source: wikipedia

Tags: Shounen , Male Protagonist , War , Post-Apocalyptic , Robots