Manga like Ikigami

Freesia

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological

Freesia is set in an alternative Japanese society that is at war, and has passed a law legalizing retaliatory killings. If somebody kills your loved one, you are legally sanctioned to kill, or hire someone to kill, the victimizer. The manga is set around a character who works for a firm that specializes in these retaliatory killings.



Tags: Seinen , Guns , Assassins , Anti-Hero , Dystopian , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Denpa , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Gore , Nudity , Work , Revenge , Politics , Meta , War , Crime , Military , Amnesia , Suicide

Bokurano

Also known as Bokurano: Ours.

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

One summer, fifteen kids innocently wander into a nearby seaside cave. There they meet a strange man who invites them to play an exciting new video game. This game, he explains, pits a lone giant robot against a horde of alien invaders. To play the game all they have to do is sign a simple contract. The game stops being fun when the kids find out the true purpose of their pact.



Note: Includes one extra chapter.

Tags: Cosmic Horror , Tragedy , Philosophy , Ensemble Cast , Alternate Universe , Denpa , Seinen , Primarily Child Cast , Super Robot , Politics , Anti-Hero , Adoption , Urban , Death Game , Battle Royale , Military , Gore , Bullying , Dystopian , Body Horror , Age Gap , Nudity , Aviation , School Club

Shiyakusho

Also known as Death Office.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Slice of Life , Supernatural

All guests are gods.
The Death Office exists on the border of the mundane world and the afterlife. All the deceased visit this office, whether it be deaths from suicide, murder, illness, accident... Innocent people go to heaven. Guilty people go to hell. Or... Are there any wishes that persist after death? These are soul-stirring conversations with the dead.



Tags: Afterlife , Episodic , Seinen , Tragedy , Work , Philosophy , Gore

Yomawari Sensei

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

The author, a high school teacher, recounts his 12 years on "night patrol" in Yokohama City, where he comes face to face with youth dealing with issues ranging from self-mutilation to drug abuse.

Tags: Rehabilitation , School , Non-fiction , Tragedy , Philosophy , Teacher , Biographical , Episodic , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Suicide , Adoption , Bullying , Drugs , Crime , Criminal Organization , Autobiographical , Prostitution , Disability

20 Seiki Shounen

Also known as 20th Century Boys.

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

Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns. This is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world.

For Kenji, a simple convenience store manager who once dreamed of becoming a rock 'n' roll musician, a host of memories from his past come rushing back when one of his childhood friends mysteriously commits suicide. Could this new death be related to the rise of a bizarre new cult that's been implicated in several other murders and disappearances? Determined to dig deeper, Kenji reunites with some of his old buddies in the hope of learning the truth behind it all.



Tags: Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Seinen , Politics , Dystopian , Achronological Order , Conspiracy , Cult , Fugitive , Pandemic , Time Skip , Post-Apocalyptic , Terrorism , Found Family , Male Protagonist , Detective , Philosophy , Cosmic Horror , Dissociative Identities , Tragedy , Historical , Musical Theater , Female Protagonist , Police , Robots , Augmented Reality , Urban , Rock Music , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Nudity , Transgender , Time Manipulation , Homeless , Foreign , Twins , Drugs , Bowling , Crossdressing

Himitsu: Top Secret

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

It's the 2060s, and Japan has perfected the "MRI System," a piece of neurotechnology that, when given the brain of a person who died within the past 48 hours, can analyze the visual memories contained within; even being able to give scientists a look into what the deceased saw in their final moments. Needless to say, this is a highly regarded – and greatly feared – method that has been placed under stringent restrictions and is only authorized for use by a special police unit, Section Nine, for the investigation of baffling or high-profile crimes.

Aoki Ikkou is a talented newbie who has just been assigned to Section Nine. He initially has qualms about delving into people's most private moments and analyzing their darkest fears and fantasies, but as he settles in with his teammates and warms up to his boss, the highly intelligent Maki Tsuyoshi, he becomes more and more competent at his job.

Though quick to develop pride in his career, Aoki still struggles to balance his family relationships and love life with his demanding workload, further complicated when he's drawn into the dark past and murky circumstances surrounding the outwardly cool and self-controlled but internally tormented Maki.

Note: Won an Excellence Award for manga at the 15th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2011.

Tags: Tragedy , Police , Episodic , Shoujo , Detective , Primarily Male Cast , Crime , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban , Conspiracy , Gore , Espionage , Suicide , Nudity

Fool Night

Also known as Fool Night.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

The earth of the distant future is covered in thick clouds, and the sun no longer shines. Plants wither, and oxygen is thin. To fight extinction, humankind has developed a technology that turns humans into plants, providing a small amount of oxygen. Is this process sustainable? Is it ethical? Toshiro Kamiya must consider these questions as he’s faced with a difficult choice—save his family or save himself.

Kamiya is at the end of his rope. His mother is ill, and his job barely pays for her medication, much less food. With few options left, he considers the life-changing process of transfloration. Ready to give his body up for a payday, Kamiya is about to explore the limits of society’s waning humanity.



Tags: Eco-Horror , Seinen , Post-Apocalyptic , Dystopian , Class Struggle , Primarily Adult Cast , Tragedy , Urban , Body Horror , Male Protagonist , Espionage , Work , Politics , Female Protagonist , Cult , Urban Fantasy , Police , Suicide

Kakutoshi no Yume

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

In his second collection of short stories, Mohiro Kitoh recounts the tragic fates of people living in a half-futuristic, half-fantasy city whose inexorable structural decay seems to be mirrored in its citizens’ hearts.

The complete edition published in 2024 included a new episode, "The Lees of Elementary Particles". From June 12 to June 30 of the same year, the original drawing of this work was on display at the manga exhibition Shibuya in Tokyo.

Tags: Seinen , Primarily Child Cast , Anthology , Nudity , Flat Chest , Orphan , Clone , Dystopian , Police

DEATH NOTE

Also known as Death Note.

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

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?



Tags: Detective , Police , Anti-Hero , Urban Fantasy , Tragedy , Crime , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Gods , Primarily Male Cast , Espionage , Time Skip , Shounen , Memory Manipulation , Demons , Amnesia , Politics , Cult

Skyhigh

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Psychological , Supernatural

All souls of those murdered arrive at the Gate of Grudges. Izuko, keeper of the Gate of Grudges, presents each soul with three choices: pass through the Gate of Grudges to heaven and be reborn, refuse to admit death and remain as a ghost on earth, or haunt and kill one person and then proceed to hell and eternal suffering. What does each soul choose and why?

Tags: Seinen , Crime , Afterlife , Ghost , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Episodic , Revenge , Suicide , Nudity