Manga like Jun: Shotaro no Fantasy World

Kono Yo no Owari e no Tabi

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Horror , Psychological

Every morning a man wakes up, gets dressed, and heads to work, returning home in the evening to go to sleep. Feeling suffocated by the mundanity and repetitiveness of life, the man takes a detour on his way to work one day. But after being swept up in a tide of piracy, cannibalism, and bizarre religious sects the man starts to wonder: was his boring old life so bad after all?

Tags: Denpa , Cosmic Horror , Philosophy , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Cannibalism , Survival , Gore , Travel , Dystopian , Language Barrier , Nudity , Slavery , Heterosexual , Primarily Adult Cast , Cult , Foreign

Ultra Heaven

Also known as Ultra Heaven.

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

In a world where all feelings are artificial and where everyone is a potential drug addict, nothing is really changed: the excess is near at hand and very few substances are considered dangerous and put under a strict control by a hygiene office which has full power on the drug addicts who are in extreme condition.

The main character is Kabu, a little peddler and heavily addicted. Used to any kind of hallucinogenic trip, he is able to feel
the happiness through the ecstasy of the drug, while at the same time hypocritically hating who gave birth to the society that forced him the excess. After an overdose caused by mixing two incompatible drugs, he spends his days looking for stimulants until the encounter with an enigmatic man who offers him a new kind of illegal substance: Ultra Heaven.
From that moment, his incredible journey begins, where dreams and reality are fused in an undivided world, causing him hysterical and joyful reactions and unrestrained pains.

But what really is Ultra Heaven and who's really behind it? Who is the guru who is promoting the meditation as a powerful way to influence the whole universe surrounding us exploiting the quantum theory?

With the help of a special amplifier helmet, Kabu starts a trip into the deep and hidden layers of his conscience, diving into a nightmare he would never discover...

Tags: Seinen , Drugs , Male Protagonist , Dystopian , Primarily Adult Cast , Philosophy , Alternate Universe , Cyberpunk , Nudity , Tokusatsu

Asteroid

Status: Finished
Genres: Psychological , Sci-Fi

Take me to the end of the world... said Blaise Cendrars.
Come on, I'll take you, says Keiichi Koike.
He takes you on a trip through time and space to the end of the world that is also but the beginning of it all...

Background:
An unfinished, text-less narrative that was first published in Gekkan Agama between 1989 and 1991. The first two chapters were then re-published in Art Publisher's Error magazine in 2000, after which the first eleven chapters re-appeared in the initial three issues of MHz magazine published by Magazine Five in 2006. The manga was never collected and released in a tankoubon.

Tags: No Dialogue , Mythology , Travel

Palepoli

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Psychological , Supernatural

Palepoli goes beyond the framework of standard four-panel manga and views its structure in new ways. Actually, Furuya knew nothing of conventional manga styles and methods when he started Palepoli. As a result, he created something that bore little similarity to other manga.

Note: A portion of Palepoli (26 pages) was featured in Secret Comics Japan by VIZ Media on July 6, 2000.

Tags: Meta , Surreal Comedy , Parody , Seinen , 4-koma , Gore , Body Horror , Nudity

Plastic Girl

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Slice of Life

"My eyes were covered by Daddy so I wouldn't know the way. My mouth was gagged and my ears were plugged by Mommy so I would hear and speak no evil. Daddy forbade me from smiling so I wouldn't have dreams and hopes. Mommy spawned me...so I would bear all her sins."

Tags: Full Color , Female Protagonist , Nudity , Body Horror , Gore , Tragedy , Cosmic Horror

Kurayami Dance

Status: Finished
Genres: Horror , Mystery , Psychological

Undertaker by day, biker by night, Kaido Wataru dreams of one day riding at an unsurpassed speed. But the moment he finally reaches 300 kmh, a terrible accident sends him into a 3-year coma. When Wataru awakes, he finds that the Japan he once knew is long gone. Now followed by an otherworldly creature and equipped with a mysterious transplanted eye, Wataru embarks on his very own road movie...

Kurayami Dance is a manga based on the original draft for Shadows of the Damned, which was a loose adaptation of Kafka’s The Castle.

Tags: Seinen , Anti-Hero , Suicide , Dissociative Identities , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Time Skip , Surreal Comedy , Meta , Male Protagonist , Assassins , Motorcycles , Revenge , Afterlife , Bullying , Time Loop

Aoi Mangakyou

Status: Finished
Genres: Music , Slice of Life

Aoi Mangakyou (青いマン華鏡)
Ishinomori is riding on a train to Sendai when he sees a boy near him with a blue kaleidoscope. Reminded of how he used to like them, he asks the boy to borrow it. With a glimpse, he begins to understand what made him the mangaka he is...
Boku no Norakuro (ボクののらくろ)
An essay manga where Ishinomori discusses the impact Norakuro left on him in the post-war period.
Karakou Monogatari (カラ公ものがたり)
The story of the life of a little crow who is nursed and taken care of by a group of siblings against all odds.
Boku no Heya ni wa Beethoven no Death Mask ga Atta (ぼくの部屋にはベートーベンのデス・マスクがあった)
Ishinomori reminisces about his relationship with Beethoven and music, as well as his time at Tokiwa-sou with Fujio Akatsuka.
Tokiwa-sou no Charumera (トキワ荘のチャルメラ)
Ishinomori and Akatsuka (as Akamori and Ishizuka) once more star as the focus, this time covering their experiences with the changing times, highlighted with the advent of instant ramen.
Tokiwa-sou Monogatari (トキワ荘物語)
A silent reflection of Ishinomori's memories at the legendary apartments.
Ogawa no Medaka (小川のメダカ)
Further along in time, Ishinomori is now a father of two. Concerned about his sons' wellbeing, he tries to instill values in them by having them appreciate nature.
Tezuka Osamu-shi no Itta Hi (手塚治虫の逝った日)
A short manga in which Ishinomori thinks back to many things regarding Tezuka—and what him and the rest at Tokiwa-sou best knew him for.
Kaze no You ni… …Se wo Hashirisugita Mushi (風のように…　…背を走りすぎた虫)
After Tezuka has passed, Ishinomori assesses his interactions and relationship with Tezuka, as well as considering what it means to have a present and future without him.

Tags: Philosophy , Autobiographical , Anthology , Drawing , Classical Music , Classic Literature

Garden

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Horror , Psychological , Sci-Fi

"Garden" is a collection of Furuya Usamaru's “indie” shorts that were published in Comic Cue, Manga Erotics and GARO respectively. The title is obviously a reference to Hieronymus Bosch’s famous triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights, with the first story being a homage to said painting. The other stories range from absurd comedies to fantasy to horror. It’s a very eclectic mixture, but make no mistake: artistically, Garden might just be Furuya’s most accomplished work after The Music of Marie.

Tags: Seinen , Tragedy , Body Horror , Religion , Cosmic Horror , Gore , Anthology , Ero Guro ,

Ryuujin Numa

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Supernatural

Compilation of six Ishinomori's one-shots published between 1957 and 1964.

The stories are collected in the following order:
Ryuujin Numa [ 龍神沼 ]; (1961)
Yoru wa Sen no Me wo Motteiru [ 夜は千の目をもっ ]; (1962)
Mizuiro no Hoshi [ 水色の星 ]; (March 1962)
Kiri to Bara to Hoshi to [ きりとばらとほしと ]; (1962)
Kaigara no Yousei [ 貝がらの妖精 ]; (1964)
Ryuujin Numa no Shoujo [ 竜神沼の少女 ]; (1957)


Tags: Anthology , Rural , Shoujo , Vampire , Gods , Dragons

Nekojiru Manju

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Psychological

What's cuter than two kittens that have only one desire: to discover the world and the many surprises in it...? But the tale quickly turns into a nightmare when the true nature of these evil creatures is revealed. With an unique sense of cynicism and wickedness, Nekojiru creates an inherently cruel and absurd universe where the two kittens transform their environment into a huge playground.

Tags: Parody , Fairy Tale , Animals , Seinen , Gore