Top Anachronism Manga Recommendations

ONE PIECE

Also known as One Piece.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy

As a child, Monkey D. Luffy was inspired to become a pirate by listening to the tales of the buccaneer "Red-Haired" Shanks. But his life changed when Luffy accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit and gained the power to stretch like rubber...at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, still vowing to become the king of the pirates, Luffy sets out on his adventure...one guy alone in a rowboat, in search of the legendary "One Piece," said to be the greatest treasure in the world...



Tags: Pirates , Travel , Found Family , Shounen , Ensemble Cast , Super Power , Ships , Tragedy , Politics , Fugitive , Crime , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Military , Slapstick , War , Terrorism , Time Skip , Anachronism , Board Game , Lost Civilization , Slavery , Post-Apocalyptic , Primarily Adult Cast , Cultivation , Gods , Swordplay , Mythology , Religion , Animals , Environmental , Gangs , Espionage , Anti-Hero , Prison , Anthropomorphism , Primarily Male Cast , Skeleton , Samurai , Cyborg , Henshin , Adoption , Meta , Food , Medicine , Robots , Mermaid , Assassins , Drugs , Guns , Battle Royale , Revenge , Dragons , Amnesia , Monster Girl , Desert , Surreal Comedy , Oiran , Time Manipulation , Kemonomimi , Demons , Memory Manipulation , Ninja , Transgender , Zombie , Trains , Aliens , Clone , Centaur , Dinosaurs , Gender Bending , Angels , Shapeshifting , Bar , Female Protagonist , Body Swapping , Curses , Arranged Marriage , Artificial Intelligence

SPY×FAMILY

Also known as SPY x FAMILY.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

The master spy codenamed <Twilight> has spent his days on undercover missions, all for the dream of a better world. But one day, he receives a particularly difficult new order from command. For his mission, he must form a temporary family and start a new life?! A Spy/Action/Comedy about a one-of-a-kind family!



Notes:
- Includes 2 "Extra Missions" and 11 “Short Missions”.
- Nominated for the 24th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2020.
- Nominated for the 13th and 14th Manga Taisho Award in 2020 and 2021.
- Nominated for the 44th Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2020.

Tags: Family Life , Espionage , Found Family , War , Assassins , Surreal Comedy , Work , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Adoption , Fake Relationship , School , Aliens , Politics , Orphan , Shounen , Heterosexual , Marriage , Super Power , Slapstick , Guns , Ensemble Cast , Episodic , Parenthood , Parody , Foreign , Terrorism , Hikikomori , Satire , Iyashikei , Urban , Historical , Anachronism , Tsundere , Urban Fantasy

BLEACH

Also known as Bleach.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Supernatural

Ichigo Kurosaki has always been able to see ghosts, but this ability doesn't change his life nearly as much as his close encounter with Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper and member of the mysterious Soul Society. While fighting a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans who display psychic energy, Rukia attempts to lend Ichigo some of her powers so that he can save his family; but much to her surprise, Ichigo absorbs every last drop of her energy. Now a full-fledged Soul Reaper himself, Ichigo quickly learns that the world he inhabits is one full of dangerous spirits and, along with Rukia— who is slowly regaining her powers— it's Ichigo's job to protect the innocent from Hollows and help the spirits themselves find peace.



Note: Includes the 12-chapter “Turn Back The Pendulum” side story and 8 extra chapters.

Tags: Shounen , Swordplay , Super Power , Ghost , Male Protagonist , War , Ensemble Cast , Afterlife , Tragedy , Urban Fantasy , Conspiracy , Large Breasts , Philosophy , Primarily Teen Cast , Coming of Age , Henshin , Exorcism , Heterosexual , Anachronism , Primarily Male Cast , Time Skip , Gods , Delinquents , Body Horror , Marriage

NARUTO

Also known as Naruto.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Supernatural

Before Naruto's birth, a great demon fox had attacked the Hidden Leaf Village. A man known as the 4th Hokage sealed the demon inside the newly born Naruto, causing him to unknowingly grow up detested by his fellow villagers. Despite his lack of talent in many areas of ninjutsu, Naruto strives for only one goal: to gain the title of Hokage, the strongest ninja in his village. Desiring the respect he never received, Naruto works towards his dream with fellow friends Sasuke and Sakura and mentor Kakashi as they go through many trials and battles that come with being a ninja.

Tags: Shounen , Ninja , Revenge , Coming of Age , Found Family , Super Power , Male Protagonist , Martial Arts , War , Tragedy , Orphan , Kaiju , Time Skip , Necromancy , Cultivation , Philosophy , Magic , Henshin , Anachronism , Animals , Heterosexual , Travel , Love Triangle , Demons , Espionage , Aliens

Yeokdaegeum Yeongji Seolgyesa

Also known as The Greatest Estate Developer.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy

When civil engineering student Su-Ho Kim falls asleep reading a fantasy novel, he wakes up as a character in the book! Su-Ho is now in the body of Lloyd Frontera, a lazy noble who loves to drink, and whose family is in a mountain of debt. Using his engineering knowledge, Su-Ho designs inventions to avert the terrible future that lies in wait for him. With the help of a giant hamster, a knight, and the world’s magic, can Su-Ho dig his new family out of debt and build a better future?



Note: includes 12 extra chapters.

Tags: Surreal Comedy , Anachronism , Male Protagonist , Economics , Slapstick , Isekai , Kingdom Management , Anti-Hero , Royal Affairs , Demons , Long Strip , Full Color , Politics , Parody , Magic , Rural , Angels , Found Family , Agriculture , Butler , Dragons , Animals , Cult , Zombie , Reincarnation , Swordplay , Military , Necromancy , Chimera

Dragon Ball

Also known as Dragon Ball.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Dragon Ball follows the adventures of Son Goku from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven mystical orbs known as the Dragon Balls, which can summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. Along his journey, Goku makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom also seek the Dragon Balls for their own desires. Along the way becoming the strongest warrior in the universe.

Part II of Dragon Ball is also known as "Dragon Ball Z" in North America.

Note: Chapter count includes 519 regular chapters and 1 extra. (Volume 33's "Trunks: The Story").

Tags: Martial Arts , Shounen , Travel , Super Power , Male Protagonist , Cultivation , Time Skip , Aliens , Henshin , Coming of Age , Cyborg , Afterlife , Anachronism , Tragedy , Magic , Gods , Adoption , Military , Shapeshifting , Nudity , Robots , Meta , Rural , Dragons , Dissociative Identities

PLUTO

Also known as Pluto.

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

In an ideal world where man and robots coexist, someone or something has destroyed the powerful Swiss robot Mont Blanc. Elsewhere a key figure in a robot rights group is murdered. The two incidents appear to be unrelated...except for one very conspicuous clue - the bodies of both victims have been fashioned into some sort of bizarre collage complete with makeshift horns placed by the victims' heads. Interpol assigns robot detective Gesicht to this most strange and complex case - and he eventually discovers that he too, as one of the seven great robots of the world, is one of the targets.



Tags: Seinen , Robots , Artificial Intelligence , Detective , Police , Tragedy , Politics , Memory Manipulation , Philosophy , Anti-Hero , Foreign , Post-Apocalyptic , Real Robot , Ensemble Cast , Conspiracy , Amnesia , War , Noir , Anachronism , Cyberpunk , Urban Fantasy , Male Protagonist , Cult , Suicide , Agender

Kuroshitsuji

Also known as Black Butler.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Fantasy , Mystery , Supernatural

In Victorian era Europe, a young boy loses everything he once held near and dear to a vicious plot. In his moment of death, he strikes a deal with a demon: his soul, in exchange for revenge. Ciel Phantomhive is now the head of the Phantomhive corporation, handling all business affairs as well as the underground work for the Queen of England. His new partner is a demon butler, Sebastian Michaelis, whose prowess as a butler is only surpassed by his strength as a demon.

The story follows the two along with their other servants, as they work to unravel the plot behind Ciel's parents' murder, and the horrendous tragedies that befell Ciel in the month directly after.

Tags: Demons , Revenge , Tragedy , Crime , Historical , Butler , Anti-Hero , Orphan , Male Protagonist , Twins , Royal Affairs , Foreign , Cult , Detective , Shounen , Steampunk , Magic , Found Family , Circus , LGBTQ+ Themes , Mythology , Maids , Assassins , Travel , Medicine , Zombie , Fugitive , Anachronism , Transgender , Crossdressing , Boarding School , Estranged Family , Musical Theater , School , Torture , Swordplay , Witch , Disability , Idol , Urban Fantasy

Billy Bat

Also known as Billy Bat.

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

It’s 1949 Los Angeles, and Kevin Yamagata, a Japanese American comic book author, is drawing his bestselling character, Billy Bat: a quick-witted detective who is, unsurprisingly, a cartoon bat. Everything is going well for Kevin until he discovers an unfortunate truth: He may have unintentionally plagiarized his beloved character from a drawing he once saw in Japan. Devastated by the news, Kevin returns to war-torn Japan to find the drawing’s original artist . . . but the character’s origins turn out to be far older and more perplexing than he had ever imagined.



Note: Won the Max und Moritz Prize for "Best international Comic" in 2014.

Tags: Drawing , Historical , Time Manipulation , Seinen , Conspiracy , Philosophy , Politics , Ensemble Cast , Urban Fantasy , Travel , Foreign , Achronological Order , War , Time Skip , Primarily Adult Cast , Police , Religion , Male Protagonist , Dystopian , Ninja , Guns , Swordplay , Anachronism , Espionage , Nudity , Terrorism

Vanitas no Carte

Also known as The Case Study of Vanitas.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Supernatural

Rumors revolving around The Book of Vanitas, a clockwork grimoire of dubious reputation, draw Noé, a young vampire in search of a friend's salvation, to Paris. What awaits him in the City of Flowers, however, is not long hours treading the pavement or rifling through dusty bookshops in search of the tome. Instead, his quarry comes to him...in the arms of a man claiming to be a vampire doctor! Thrust into a conflict that threatens the peace between humans and vampires, will Noé cast in his lot with the curious and slightly unbalanced Vanitas and his quest to save vampirekind?



Tags: Vampire , Tragedy , Historical , Steampunk , Primarily Adult Cast , Medicine , Conspiracy , Bisexual , Shounen , Anti-Hero , Male Protagonist , Revenge , Religion , Foreign , Twins , Suicide , Urban Fantasy , Philosophy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Curses , Ensemble Cast , Alternate Universe , Time Manipulation , Amnesia , Anachronism , Boys' Love , Detective , Assassins , Yuri , Acting

Gintama

Also known as Gin Tama.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Sci-Fi

The samurai didn't stand a chance. First, the aliens invaded Japan. Next, they took all the jobs. And then they confiscated everyone's swords. So what does a hotheaded former samurai like Sakata "Gin" Gintoki do to make ends meet? Take any odd job that comes his way, even if it means losing his dignity.



Included Bonus Chapters:
Volume 1: Dandelion (One-shot).
Volume 2: Shirokuro (One-shot).
Volume 24: 13 (One-shot).
Volume 38: Bankara-san Ga Tooru (One-shot).
Volume 41: Special Lesson.

Tags: Found Family , Samurai , Parody , Meta , Swordplay , Male Protagonist , Aliens , Philosophy , Shounen , Episodic , Tragedy , Space , Historical , Anachronism , Ensemble Cast , Time Skip , Police , War , Dystopian , Fugitive , Robots , Ninja , Ghost , Homeless , Assassins , Crossdressing , Idol , Shrine Maiden , LGBTQ+ Themes , Body Swapping , Gender Bending , Judo , Drawing , Gangs , Female Harem , Dissociative Identities , Afterlife , Amnesia , Cult , Military , Reincarnation , Nekomimi , Conspiracy , Politics

Madan no Ichi

Also known as Ichi the Witch.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy

In this world, witches must hunt down their magic! Deep in the forest, the terrifying king of magic and the strongest witch are locked in deadly combat. But suddenly, a young boy joins the fray. His name is Ichi and he is just a hunter. But he has the power to flip the magic world upside down in this magic hunting fantasy epic!



Note:
- Winner of the Tsugimanga 2025 Award in the Print Manga Category.

Tags: Magic , Witch , Male Protagonist , Found Family , Shounen , Anachronism , Demons , Primarily Female Cast , Matriarchy , Anthropomorphism , Henshin , Tanned Skin , Cosmic Horror , Pregnancy

Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä

Also known as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

Humanity, in its hubris, has precipitated a devastating environmental disaster. Flourishing industrial civilizations have been swallowed up by the Sea of Corruption, an enormous forest of fungi releases a miasma of poisonous spores into the air. Nausicaa, a compassionate young princess, and her allies battle to heal a wounded world and its inhabitants...



Note: Won the 26th Seiun Award for Best Comic (1995).

Tags: Environmental , Post-Apocalyptic , Lost Civilization , War , Philosophy , Survival , Female Protagonist , Military , Aviation , Cult , Eco-Horror , Dystopian , Politics , Religion , Kaiju , Anachronism , Tanks , Ghost , Magic , Slavery , Tragedy , Travel , Calligraphy

Ragna Crimson

Also known as Ragna Crimson.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy , Mystery

In this action-packed dark fantasy, humanity lives under the threat of annihilation by immensely powerful dragons. The dragon hunter Ragna embarks on a revenge-fueled quest to eliminate that threat once and for all!



Tags: Time Manipulation , Dragons , Tragedy , Shounen , Magic , Swordplay , Male Protagonist , Post-Apocalyptic , Gender Bending , Revenge , Clone , Guns , Anachronism

Drifters

Also known as Drifters.

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

First he pitted the Catholic church against vampires, Nazis and Great Britain, bathing London in a flood of blood. But Hellsing creator, Kohta Hirano still had something crazy up his sleeve when he created his new series, Drifters.

Imagine a world of magic, full of elves and hobbits and dragons and orcs. Inside this world of magic and wonder there is a great war being waged, using warriors from human history as chess pieces in a bloody, endless battle. Hirano’s new concept gathers famous warriors throughout history and puts them on both sides of good and evil, and then turned them loose in a bloody melee of madness.



Note: Nominated for the 4th and 5th Manga Taishou Awards.

Tags: War , Seinen , Historical , Isekai , Samurai , Elf , Anti-Hero , Magic , Swordplay , Satire , Guns , Archery , Dragons , Anachronism , Demons , Male Protagonist

Fangkai Nage Nüwu

Also known as Release that Witch.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy , Romance

A modern-day engineer is transmigrated to a different world... where he becomes a prince.
His surroundings remind him of medieval Europe, but it's not quite the same.
In this world, witches actually exist, and they have real magic powers! Magic powers... that can be used as a productive force!
The witches must be saved. Their powers must be liberated!
We must open our map, fight off demons, solve the conspiracy, and climb the tree of technology!



Tags: Witch , Kingdom Management , Magic , Politics , Male Protagonist , Full Color , Isekai , Economics , Lost Civilization , Medieval , Anachronism , Primarily Adult Cast , Demons , War , Military , Female Harem , Heterosexual , Yuri

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Also known as Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy

Nozomu Itoshiki is depressed. Very depressed. He's certifiably suicidal, but he’s also the beloved schoolteacher of a class of unique students, each charming in her own way: The stalker. The shut-in. The obsessive-compulsive. The girl who comes to class every day with strange bruises. And Kafuka, the most optimistic girl in the world, who knows that every cloud has a silver lining. For all of them, it's a special time, when the right teacher can have a lasting positive effect on their lives. But is that teacher Itoshiki, a.k.a. Zetsubou-sensei, who just wants to find the perfect place to die?



Tags: Satire , Teacher , Philosophy , School , Ensemble Cast , Meta , Parody , Primarily Female Cast , Anachronism , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Suicide , Tragedy , Dissociative Identities , Ghost , Hikikomori , Tanned Skin , Otaku Culture , Female Harem , Politics , Shounen , Drawing

SHIORI EXPERIENCE: Jimi na Watashi to Hen na Ojisan

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Music

Shiori was once a guitarist in a light music club in high school, but her first live performance was dashed when her brother ran away from home with a lot of debt to become a musician in Tokyo.

A decade later, Shiori is now a high school teacher, leading a boring, uneventful life and paying off the debt... till she runs into the ghost of none other than a famous guitarist Jim-you-know-who.

A story of a 27-year-old woman on her way to a music legend begins here.

Tags: Band , Ghost , School Club , Seinen , Coming of Age , Teacher , Female Protagonist , Tomboy , Anachronism , Rock Music , Delinquents , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast

Yomi no Tsugai

Also known as Daemons of the Shadow Realm.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy

In a remote mountain village under the watchful eyes of two stone guardians, the young Yuru contentedly lives off the land while staying close to the only family he has left—Asa, his precious twin sister. Asa, meanwhile, carries out a mysterious “duty” on behalf of the village while locked in a cage. Why is Asa a prisoner? And what other secrets does Yuru’s otherwise idyllic home hide?



Note: Won 2nd place in the 2023 Next Manga Award in the Print Manga Category.

Tags: Shounen , Twins , Youkai , Anachronism , Urban Fantasy , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Archery , Rural , Tragedy

Ore to Akuma no Blues

Also known as Me and the Devil Blues: The Unreal Life of Robert Johnson.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Drama , Horror , Music , Mystery , Psychological

Legend has it that if you take your guitar and stand at a crossroads at the witching hour, the devil will appear. He’ll grab your instrument, play a song, and hand it back to you. You’ll walk away an expert bluesman, but you’ll have to pay the price: your immortal soul.

The year is 1929. Deep in the Mississippi Delta, a young man named RJ dreams of becoming a bluesman. RJ is a simple farmer who can barely play guitar, but when he takes a midnight stroll, his life is forever changed. A phantasmagoric reimagining of the life of legendary blues great Robert Johnson, Me and the Devil Blues follows the journey of a man who really did sell his soul to the devil. Why not come along for the ride?



Note: Won the 2009 Glyph Comics Awards in the Best Reprint Publication category.

Tags: Seinen , Historical , Body Horror , Male Protagonist , Musical Theater , Foreign , Travel , Anachronism , Demons