Manga like Usogui

LIAR GAME

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

Wishing she would live up to the ideal, Kanzaki Nao's father named her thusly for “honesty”. Nao has more than lived up to her father's wishes--even exceeding them and earning the label of "a foolishly honest girl". This makes Nao the least qualified candidate for the high stakes 'Liar Game', where winning requires deceiving the opponent out of their money and losing means receiving massive debt. However, that doesn't stop a box containing a hundred million yen in cash and a card informing her of her participation in the game from arriving at her doorstep, nor does it stop her from being promptly tricked out of the entire sum of money. Upon hearing that a genius swindler, responsible for the bankruptcy of a major corporation, is being released from jail, Nao goes to the swindler, Shinichi Akiyama, to enlist his help. With that, the two are drawn into the dark, greed-filled, and deceptive world of the Liar Game.

Tags: Gambling , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Cult , Ensemble Cast , Death Game , Transgender , Bullying , Conspiracy , Coming of Age

Batuque

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sports

The story of a middle school girl trying to find herself in the confusion of adolescence.

Skateboard-loving Ichiri Sanjou, nicknamed "Icchi," may look like a normal energetic kid, but whenever she sees the full moon, she is hit with a wave of emotion she cannot comprehend.

The series revolves around her learning the Afro-Brazilian martial art of Capoeira.

Tags: Martial Arts , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Seinen , Mafia , Revenge , Crime , Adoption , Ghost , Historical

Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji

Also known as Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Thriller

Ne'er-do-well Kaiji Itou's shiftless existence is suddenly rattled by a visit from the yakuza. Burdened by debt and resentment, Kaiji is coerced into gambling for his worthless life. As the stakes grow higher and the rules become increasingly more bizarre, Kaiji must finally take the future into his own hands!



Note: Won the 22nd Kodansha Manga Award for general manga in 1998.

Tags: Gambling , Seinen , Survival , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Death Game , Card Battle , Yakuza , Class Struggle , Tragedy , Nudity

Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji: One Poker-hen

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Thriller

Kaiji and Kazuya face off against each other in a high-stakes game of "One Poker," a modified version of standard poker. Kazuya sets forth a gamble of 2,000,000,000 yen! How will Kaiji survive?!

Chapter count for this arc is 101-254 in the original tankoubon.

Tags: Poker , Gambling , Card Battle , Death Game , Survival , Seinen , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast

Akagi: Yami ni Oritatta Tensai

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological

While mahjong is a game that is often played with family and friends, it is also a game that is played in the darkest corners of society. Nangou is a compulsive gambler who has accumulated debt over three million yen. In a last ditch attempt to clear his record, he decides to wager his life on a game of mahjong with the mafia. Unfortunately, as the game progresses, Nangou only moves further from the prize and closer to death.

When all hope seems lost, the game parlor is suddenly intruded upon by Shigeru Akagi, a young boy on the run from the police. Desperate to turn the game around, Nangou hands the game over to Akagi after teaching him a few of the rules. The mafia can only smirk as Akagi sits down to play. However, they soon come to learn that Akagi is a natural born gambler. An imposing figure who does not fear death. One who is destined to become a legend.



Tags: Gambling , Mahjong , Death Game , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Seinen , Primarily Male Cast , Kaiju , Anti-Hero , Yakuza , Tsundere , Time Skip , Historical , Afterlife , Gods , Demons , Board Game

Tomodachi Game

Also known as Tomodachi Game.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological

Play a game that costs a lot of money with your best friends! The key to clearing the game is "don't doubt your friends." However, one betrayal raises suspicion, and the game becomes a psychological warfare! Money or friends?

The ultimate intellectual game manga that shakes people's hearts has been born!



Note: Includes 3 extra chapters.

Tags: Anti-Hero , Death Game , Male Protagonist , Battle Royale , Survival , Crime , Tragedy , Revenge , Shounen , Yandere , Ships , Snowscape , Torture , Gambling , LGBTQ+ Themes , Adoption , Card Battle , Ensemble Cast , Prison , School , Gangs , Poker

Hanma Baki

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sports

Baki trains for the the final showdown between him and his father.

Tags: Martial Arts , Shounen , Gore , Boxing , Cultivation , Demons , Primarily Male Cast , Dinosaurs , Crime , Military , Cannibalism ,

One Outs

Status: Finished
Genres: Psychological , Sports

The story begins when Hiromichi Kojima, the star batter of the fictional Lycaons in Japan's Pacific League, heads to the southern Japanese island of Okinawa to train and bring himself out of a slump. There, he meet Tōa Tokuchi, a 134-kmph (83 miles per hour) pitcher and the undisputed king of a gambling form of baseball called "One Out." At Kojima's urging, Tokuchi signs up with the Lycaons under an unusual contract: he gets 5,000,000 yen (about US$46,000) for every out he pitches, but loses 50,000,000 yen (US$460,000) for every point he gives up.

Notes:
- The main story was completed in 168 chapters with 19 volumes on 2006-10-19. An additional side story Giwaku no All Star Sen Hen (疑惑のオールスター戦編) was serialized from 2008-2009 and published as volume 20 of the series.
- Chapter count includes an additional chapter included in the 7th volume.

Tags: Seinen , Baseball , Gambling , Anti-Hero , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Philosophy

Imawa no Kuni no Alice

Also known as Alice in Borderland.

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

Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future feels like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.

Note: Chapter count includes 22 side story chapters.

Tags: Tragedy , Death Game , Survival , Philosophy , Battle Royale , Amnesia , Gore , Urban , Male Protagonist , Afterlife , Gambling , Alternate Universe , Anti-Hero , Shounen , Isekai , Dystopian , Primarily Adult Cast , Revenge , Guns , Heterosexual , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes , Martial Arts , Gods , Drugs , Parkour , Mahjong , Nudity , Outdoor Activities

Yu☆Gi☆Oh!

Also known as Yu-Gi-Oh!.

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

10th grader Yugi spent most of his time alone playing games--until he solved the Millennium Puzzle, a mysterious Egyptian artifact! Possessed by the puzzle, Yugi becomes Yu-Gi-Oh, the King of Games, and challenges evil-doers to the Shadow Games--weird games with high stakes and high risks! These graphic novels contain new stories not seen in the anime, including the origin of Yugi and his friends!



Notes:
The Viz Media release split the series into three parts with separate chapter/volume counts. "Yu-Gi-Oh!" includes volumes 1-7, "Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist" includes volumes 8-31, and "Yu-Gi-Oh!: Millennium World" includes volumes 32-38.
The final chapter of Viz Media's "Yu-Gi-Oh!" was moved from its final volume to the first volume of "Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist."

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Card Battle , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Mythology , School , Gambling , Death Game , Urban Fantasy , Primarily Child Cast , Bullying , Dragons , Primarily Teen Cast , Reincarnation , Gods , Magic , Amnesia , School Club , Adoption , Torture , Desert , Gore