Manga like Limbo the King

Sennen Mannen Ringo no Ko

Also known as Apple Children of Aeon.

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

In 1970s Tokyo, Yukinojo is desperate to leave the nest, and so marries into a family of apple farmers in Aomori Prefecture. Doing his best to adapt to life in rural northern Japan and working in the orchards, his marriage takes a turn when he unknowingly feeds a forbidden apple to his wife, Asahi. When this stirs up a panic among the villagers and they refuse to tell him why, Yukinojo must take it into his own hands to get to the bottom of this mystery, and—eventually—challenge an ancient god for his beloved.

Notes:
The chapter count includes 3 extra stories and an epilogue.
Winner of the New Face Award in the Manga Division of the 16th Japan Media Arts Festival.

Tags: Josei , Mythology , Heterosexual , Rural , Tragedy , Environmental , Shapeshifting , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Marriage , Age Regression , Horticulture

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

Fool Night

Also known as Fool Night.

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

In a distant future where the sun no longer shines, Toshiro Kamiya gives up his body to a sinister floral metamorphosis for a payday.

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 floromorphosis. 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 , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Class Struggle , Body Horror , Urban , Espionage , Work , Female Protagonist , Cult

Yasha

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mystery

Arisue Sei is a youth who lives alone with his mother on an outlying island of Okinawa. Though his mother is quiet and fears being conspicuous, they were living happily. But on a certain day, that tranquility is suddenly destroyed. Sei's mother is killed by a group of mysterious men, and he is taken captive. What kind of secret does he have!?

Tags: Shoujo , Conspiracy , Twins , Male Protagonist , Fugitive , Super Power , Primarily Adult Cast , Tragedy , Primarily Male Cast , Crime , Revenge , Terrorism , Pandemic , Politics , Guns , Bisexual , Boys' Love , Medicine , Assassins , LGBTQ+ Themes , Work , Adoption , Orphan

Banana Fish

Also known as Banana Fish.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama

Nature made Ash Lynx beautiful; nurture made him a cold ruthless killer. A runaway brought up as the adopted heir and sex toy of "Papa" Dino Golzine, Ash, now at the rebellious age of seventeen, forsakes the kingdom held out by the devil who raised him. But the hideous secret that drove Ash's older brother mad in Vietnam has suddenly fallen into Papa's insatiably ambitious hands--and it's exactly the wrong time for Eiji Okamura, a pure-hearted young photographer from Japan, to make Ash Lynx's acquaintance...



Tags: Mafia , Tragedy , Gangs , Noir , Conspiracy , Drugs , Primarily Male Cast , Foreign , Primarily Adult Cast , Crime , Male Protagonist , Shoujo , Delinquents , Guns , Revenge , Urban , Adoption , Criminal Organization , Boys' Love , LGBTQ+ Themes , Politics , Bisexual , Cars , Police

Barbara Ikai

Also known as Otherworld Barbara.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Romance , Sci-Fi

Tokio discovers a phantom island named Barbara. Then there’s a mysterious and missing geneticist, an eccentric clergyman, a grieving grandmother granted temporary youth, a psychologist killed by a freak tornado… Hagio offers a sci-fi explanation for these seemingly random paranormal elements, and makes it all matter with believable characters in complex and subtle relationships.



Note: Winner of Japan's Science Fiction Grand Prize award in 2006.

Tags: Josei , Age Regression , Family Life , Cannibalism , Ensemble Cast , Memory Manipulation , Alternate Universe , Aliens , Male Protagonist

Ultrabaroque Deprogrammer

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

Brainwashing. What began as a simple way to influence employees to work their hardest was developed by corporations into a true discipline. Professional "washers" were employed by companies in their struggle to obtain the best and brightest employees, but it got to the point where several companies would send different washers after the same person, each washer overwriting the program from the previous one. At this point a fraction of elite washers broke away and became deprogrammers, people capable of breaking down programs and deconstructing the human mind. However, the very nature of deprogrammers posed a threat to the washers, and the deprogrammers themselves were hardly invincible...

Tags: Seinen , Shounen , Amnesia

Juuza no UIna

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Sci-Fi

Ulna Trop Jonk is a sniper who assumes her first military job on the front line of a remote island. There, the soldiers must fight against a wild village of monstrous aspect.

Note: Won the 21st Japan Media Arts Festival Excellence Award's Manga Division in 2018. Nominated for the 24th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Award.

Tags: Military , Seinen , Snowscape , Primarily Female Cast , Gore , Guns , Yuri , Heterosexual