Manga like Franken Fran

Black Jack

Also known as Black Jack.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

Among adult readers in Japan Black Jack is Osamu Tezuka’s most popular achievement, and perhaps the most close to the creator’s heart, as Tezuka considered entering the medical field—majoring in medicine in college—before devoting his life to comics. Black Jack is a genius surgeon who never acquired his license due to his clashes with the medical establishment. He is hired out by anyone willing to pay his exorbitant rates and is perceived as a heartless rogue because of his enigmatic nature and antisocial manner. But as readers will soon discover, that is not the whole story.



Note: Won the 1st Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen category in 1977.

Tags: Work , Male Protagonist , Medicine , Episodic , Ghost , Shounen , Philosophy , Tragedy , Drugs , Suicide , Disability , War , Meta

Dorohedoro

Also known as Dorohedoro.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Horror , Mystery

In a city so dismal it's known only as "the Hole," a clan of Sorcerers have been plucking people off the streets to use as guinea pigs for atrocious "experiments" in the black arts. In a dark alley, Nikaido found Caiman, a man with a reptile head and a bad case of amnesia. To undo the spell, they're hunting and killing the Sorcerers in the Hole, hoping that eventually they'll kill the right one. But when En, the head Sorcerer, gets word of a lizard-man slaughtering his people, he sends a crew of "cleaners" into the Hole, igniting a war between two worlds.



Note: Includes 23 side stories titled "Extra Evil" and the side story "The Lizard Head and the Magic Whistle."

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Magic , Ensemble Cast , Anti-Hero , Amnesia , Revenge , Dystopian , Gore , Body Horror , Seinen , Monster Boy , Surreal Comedy , Urban Fantasy , Demons , Primarily Adult Cast , Time Manipulation , Super Power , Cosmic Horror , Gangs , Body Swapping , Curses , Animals , Nudity , Zombie , Cyberpunk , Gender Bending

Petshop of Horrors

Also known as Pet Shop of Horrors.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Horror , Mystery , Supernatural

A smoke-filled alley in Chinatown harbors Count D's Pet Shop. The pets sold here aren't your everyday variety and the Count prides himself on selling Love and Dreams in the form of magical creatures that come with an exclusive contract. But buyers beware. If the contract is broken the Count cannot be held accountable for whatever may happen. A fascinating and macabre look into the very soul of human nature.



Tags: Josei , Animals , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Foreign , Philosophy , Police , Urban Fantasy , Tragedy , Cannibalism , LGBTQ+ Themes , Urban , Boys' Love , Gore , Body Horror , Primarily Adult Cast , Shapeshifting , Drugs , Environmental

Tomie

Also known as Tomie.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Horror , Supernatural , Thriller

Tomie Kawakami is a femme fatale with long black hair and a beauty mark just under her left eye. She can seduce nearly any man, and drive them to murder as well, even though the victim is often Tomie herself. While one lover seeks to keep her for himself, another grows terrified of the immortal succubus. But soon they realize that no matter how many times they kill her, the world will never be free of Tomie.



Notes:
While a collection of mainly independent short stories, Tomie was originally published as Volumes 1 and 2 of the Ito Junji Kyofu Manga Collection. This entry is for the standalone release of Tomie first published in February 2000 with previously unreleased chapter "小指/Little Finger".
Later collections such as the 'Complete Deluxe edition' by Viz combines this and the sequel entry Tomie: Again for a total of 20 chapters.
The short story “Painter” has been adapted in the first part of episode 9 of Ito Junji: Collection.

Tags: Body Horror , Monster Girl , Gore , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Episodic , Male Harem , Yandere , Urban Fantasy , Demons , Nudity , Succubus , Bullying , Cannibalism , School , Shoujo

Shibito no Koe wo Kiku ga Yoi

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Horror , Mystery , Supernatural

Jun Kishida is a sickly high school student who can see dead people. One person in particular is following him around: his childhood friend Ryoko Hayakawa. Even after he uncovered the truth behind Hayakawa's death, she stayed by his side. As he and his classmates get into even more strange and mortally dangerous situations, Hayakawa's spirit quietly aids him.



Included one-shot:
Volume 4: Yumi-chan Kitan

Tags: Seinen , Ghost , Body Horror , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Gore , School , Cosmic Horror , Yandere , Cult , Aliens , Urban Fantasy

Dementia 21

Also known as Dementia 21.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Horror , Mystery

Yukie Sakai is a sprightly young home health aide eager to help her elderly clients. But what seems like a straightforward job quickly turns into a series of increasingly surreal and bizarre adventures that put Yukie’s wits to the test! Cartoonist Kago, who is well known for combining a more traditional manga style with hyper realistic illustration technique, an experimental visual storytelling approach, and outrageously sexual and scatological subject matter, has single-handedly created his own genre: “fashionable paranoia."



Note: Includes the unrelated oneshots "Detective SumoKING" and "Separate."

Tags: Female Protagonist , Surreal Comedy , Episodic , Parody , Meta , Seinen , Body Horror , Family Life , Work , Medicine , Primarily Adult Cast , Super Power , Amnesia , Urban , Philosophy , Aliens , Artificial Intelligence , Death Game , Dystopian , Gambling , Age Gap , Tokusatsu

GANTZ

Also known as Gantz.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Ecchi , Horror , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Tokyo teens Kei and Masaru are killed by a subway train but awaken in a room with an ominous black orb that gives them weapons, suits and orders. Fighting bizarre alien monstrosities in a deadly game, will they win their freedom or die for the final time?



Tags: Survival , Seinen , Gore , Aliens , Tragedy , Death Game , Urban , Guns , Cosmic Horror , Philosophy , Nudity , Heterosexual , Ensemble Cast , Super Power , Terrorism , Vampire , Assassins , Female Harem , Youkai , Dinosaurs , CGI , Trains

Ghost Hunt

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Romance , Supernatural

The decrepit building was condemned long ago, but every time the owners try to tear it down, "accidents" start to happen-people get hurt, sometimes even killed. Mai Taniyama and her classmates have heard the rumors that the creepy old high school is haunted-possibly by ghosts from the Second World War. So one rainy day they gather at the told school to tell ghost stories, hoping to attract one of the suspected spirits.

No ghosts materialize, but Mai and her friends do meet Kazuya Shibuya, the handsome young owner of Shibuya Psychic Research, who's been hired to investigate paranormal activity at the school. Also at the scene are an exorcist, a Buddhist monk, a woman who can speak with the dead, and an outspoken Shinto priestess. Surely one of them will have the talents to solve this mystery!



Tags: Ghost , Shoujo , Detective , Ensemble Cast , Female Protagonist , Demons , Crime , Tragedy , Gods , Body Horror , Male Protagonist , Exorcism , Curses , Shrine Maiden , Gore , Urban Fantasy , Orphan

Doraemon

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

Doraemon, a cat shaped robot which came from the 22nd century in the future, goes back in time in order to help Nobita, a below average lazy kid, to make his life less miserable and improve his descendent's life. With many of Doreamon's gadgets from the future, Nobita's life will never be as the same.

Tags: Kids , Episodic , Robots , School , Primarily Child Cast , Male Protagonist , Shounen

Gekkou Chou

Status: Finished
Genres: Mystery

When you make a wish to the moon, the goddess of butterflies will hear your thoughts — in exchange for a sacrifice the butterfly desires.

Tags: Shoujo , Tragedy