Top Anti-Hero Manga Recommendations

Chainsaw Man

Also known as Chainsaw Man.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Horror , Supernatural

The name says it all! Denji's life of poverty is changed forever when he merges with his pet chainsaw dog, Pochita! Now he's living in the big city and an official Devil Hunter. But he's got a lot to learn about his new job and chainsaw powers!



Notes:
- Nominated for the 2020 Manga Taisho Award.
- Winner of the 2021 Kono Manga ga Sugoi Award.
- Winner of the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shounen category.
- Winner of the 2021 and 2022 Harvey Award for Best Manga.
- Chapters 1-97 were released in Weekly Shounen Jump from Dec 3, 2018 to Dec 13, 2020. The series resumed from Ch. 98 in Shounen Jump+ on July 12, 2022

Tags: Tragedy , Demons , Urban Fantasy , Dissociative Identities , Male Protagonist , Psychosexual , Gore , Body Horror , Cosmic Horror , Coming of Age , Henshin , Urban , Monster Boy , Female Protagonist , Survival , Found Family , Work , Memory Manipulation , Ensemble Cast , Shounen , Anti-Hero , Heterosexual , Cult , Politics , Guns , Assassins , Yandere , Femdom , Monster Girl , Human Pet , Revenge , Shapeshifting , Terrorism , Meta , Surreal Comedy , Slapstick , Philosophy , Primarily Teen Cast , Super Power , Afterlife , Nudity , School , Cannibalism , Delinquents , Angels , Necromancy , Amnesia , Time Skip , Yakuza , Mafia , Tsundere , LGBTQ+ Themes , Zombie , Chimera , Denpa , Motorcycles , Yuri , Vore

Na Honjaman Level Up

Also known as Solo Leveling.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

In a world where awakened beings called “Hunters” must battle deadly monsters to protect humanity, Seong Jin-U, nicknamed “the weakest hunter of all mankind,” finds himself in a constant struggle for survival. One day, after a brutal encounter in an overpowered dungeon wipes out his party and threatens to end his life, a mysterious System chooses him as its sole player: Jin-U has been granted the rare opportunity to level up his abilities, possibly beyond any known limits. Follow Jin-U’s journey as he takes on ever-stronger enemies, both human and monster, to discover the secrets deep within the dungeons and the ultimate extent of his powers.



Note: Includes 22 extra chapters.

Tags: Dungeon , Male Protagonist , Super Power , War , Full Color , Magic , Necromancy , Urban Fantasy , Gods , Primarily Adult Cast , Politics , Demons , Post-Apocalyptic , Video Games , Foreign , Tragedy , Memory Manipulation , Anti-Hero , Time Manipulation , Bullying , Estranged Family , Long Strip , Age Regression , Heterosexual , Assassins , Chimera , Language Barrier , Time Skip , Snowscape , Marriage , Ensemble Cast

Berserk

Also known as Berserk.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Horror , Psychological

His name is Guts, the Black Swordsman, a feared warrior spoken of only in whispers. Bearer of a gigantic sword, an iron hand, and the scars of countless battles and tortures, his flesh is also indelibly marked with The Brand, an unholy symbol that draws the forces of darkness to him and dooms him as their sacrifice. But Guts won't take his fate lying down; he'll cut a crimson swath of carnage through the ranks of the damned—and anyone else foolish enough to oppose him! Accompanied by Puck the Elf, more an annoyance than a companion, Guts relentlessly follows a dark, bloodstained path that leads only to death...or vengeance.



Notes:
- Volumes 1-5 contain the 16 prequel chapters 0A - 0P.
- Chapter 83 was omitted from Volume 13 due to the author’s request.
- Volume 14 includes “Berserk: The Prototype”.
- Due to the author's passing, starting from Chapter 365, the manga is illustrated by Studio Gaga (Miura's assistants) and supervised by Kouji Mori (a close friend of Miura's).

Tags: Tragedy , Seinen , Revenge , Male Protagonist , Demons , Cosmic Horror , Gore , Found Family , Philosophy , Anti-Hero , Travel , Rehabilitation , Mythology , Swordplay , Magic , War , Survival , Body Horror , Religion , Foreign , Gods , Primarily Adult Cast , Curses , Nudity , Fairy , Military , Politics , Disability , Time Skip , Amnesia , Torture , Witch , Elf , Coming of Age , Sadism , Dystopian , Heterosexual , Ensemble Cast , Kaiju , Skeleton , Achronological Order , Cult , Age Regression , Tomboy , Medieval , Adoption , Dungeon , Super Power , Kingdom Management , Slavery , Pregnancy , Prostitution , Cannibalism , Group Sex , Dragons , Incest , Monster Girl , Ships , LGBTQ+ Themes , Vore , Monster Boy , Mermaid , Masturbation , Fellatio

Shingeki no Kyojin

Also known as Attack on Titan.

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

In this post-apocalyptic sci-fi story, humanity has been devastated by the bizarre, giant humanoids known as the Titans. Little is known about where they came from or why they are bent on consuming mankind. Seemingly unintelligent, they have roamed the world for years, killing everyone they see. For the past century, what's left of man has hidden in a giant, three-walled city. People believe their 50-meter-high walls will protect them from the Titans, but the sudden appearance of an immense Titan is about to change everything.



Note: Includes two extra chapters.

Tags: Dystopian , Anti-Hero , War , Philosophy , Tragedy , Military , Conspiracy , Survival , Kaiju , Shapeshifting , Memory Manipulation , Politics , Revenge , Henshin , Male Protagonist , Monster Boy , Terrorism , Steampunk , Post-Apocalyptic , Super Power , Gore , Time Manipulation , Body Horror , Ensemble Cast , Cosmic Horror , Time Skip , Cannibalism , Coming of Age , Slavery , Swordplay , Shounen , Torture , Espionage , Mythology , Medieval , Amnesia , Tsundere , Kuudere , Class Struggle , Disability , Cult , Dissociative Identities , Drugs , Achronological Order , Primarily Adult Cast , Transgender , Religion , Heterosexual , Reincarnation , Suicide , Baseball , Acrobatics , Yuri

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 , Tragedy , Ships , Politics , Fugitive , Crime , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Military , Slapstick , War , Terrorism , Time Skip , Lost Civilization , Slavery , Post-Apocalyptic , Anachronism , Primarily Adult Cast , Gods , Swordplay , Mythology , Religion , Animals , Environmental , Gangs , Espionage , Anti-Hero , Prison , Anthropomorphism , Primarily Male Cast , Skeleton , Samurai , Cyborg , Henshin , Adoption , Food , Medicine , Robots , Mermaid , Assassins , Drugs , Guns , Battle Royale , Revenge , Meta , Board Game , 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 , Episodic

Oyasumi Punpun

Also known as Goodnight Punpun.

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

Meet Punpun Punyama. He’s an average kid in an average town.
He wants to win a Nobel Prize and save the world.
He wants the girl he has a crush on to like him back.
He wants to find some porn.
That’s what he wants, but what does he get…?



Tags: Coming of Age , Seinen , Tragedy , Philosophy , Denpa , Suicide , Psychosexual , Urban , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Time Skip , Surreal Comedy , School , Fugitive , Gods , Meta , Cult , Work , Nudity , Body Horror , Love Triangle , Religion

Boku no Hero Academia

Also known as My Hero Academia.

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

Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he hasn’t got an ounce of power in him. With no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes, his life is looking more and more like a dead end. Then an encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of them all, gives him a chance to change his destiny…



Note:
- Winner of the 1st Next Manga Award in the Print Category in 2015.
- Nominated for the 8th Manga Taisho Award in 2015.
- Nominated for the 40th Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2016.
- Includes one extra chapter.

Tags: Superhero , Super Power , Urban Fantasy , Shounen , Boarding School , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Terrorism , School , Conspiracy , Coming of Age , Crime , Criminal Organization , War , Anti-Hero , Revenge , Urban , Primarily Male Cast , Tragedy , Rescue , Politics , Gore , Body Horror , Drugs , Animals , Heterosexual , Fugitive , Tomboy , Guns , Age Regression , Yakuza , Robots , Nudity , Memory Manipulation , Yandere , Teacher

Vinland Saga

Also known as Vinland Saga.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama

As a child, Thorfinn sat at the feet of the great Leif Ericson and thrilled to wild tales of a land far to the west. But his youthful fantasies were shattered by a mercenary raid. Raised by the Vikings who murdered his father, Thorfinn became a terrifying warrior, forever seeking to kill the band's leader, Askeladd, and avenge his father. Sustaining Thorfinn through his ordeal are his pride in his family and his dreams of a fertile westward land, a land without war or slavery … the land Leif called Vinland.



Notes:
- Won the Grand Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2009.
- Winner of the 36th Kodansha Manga Award in the General category in 2012.

Tags: Rehabilitation , Historical , Coming of Age , Vikings , Foreign , Philosophy , Seinen , Male Protagonist , War , Revenge , Tragedy , Travel , Found Family , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Slavery , Gore , Time Skip , Swordplay , Ships , Politics , Medieval , Rural , Parenthood , Class Struggle , Anti-Hero , Agriculture , Pirates , Environmental , Religion , Indigenous Cultures , Achronological Order , Adoption , Language Barrier , Mythology , Nudity , Archery , Wilderness , Tomboy , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes

Yakusoku no Neverland

Also known as The Promised Neverland.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Thriller

Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn—what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing.



Note: Nominated to the 22nd, 23rd, and 25th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.

Tags: Survival , Primarily Child Cast , Body Horror , Demons , Found Family , Dystopian , War , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Guns , Shounen , Politics , Travel , Alternate Universe , Ensemble Cast , Philosophy , Time Skip , Conspiracy , Anti-Hero , Gore , Prison , Male Protagonist , Amnesia , Rural , Heterosexual , Augmented Reality , Suicide

Blue Lock

Also known as Blue Lock.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama , Sports

After a disastrous defeat at the 2018 World Cup, Japan's team struggles to regroup. But what's missing? An absolute Ace Striker, who can guide them to the win. The Japan Football Union is hell-bent on creating a striker who hungers for goals and thirsts for victory, and who can be the decisive instrument in turning around a losing match...and to do so, they've gathered 300 of Japan's best and brightest youth players. Who will emerge to lead the team...and will they be able to out-muscle and out-ego everyone who stands in their way?



Note: Winner of the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2021.

Tags: Football , Male Protagonist , Battle Royale , Athletics , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Shounen , Super Power , Anti-Hero , Fitness , Foreign , Augmented Reality , Tragedy , Language Barrier , Suicide , Revenge

HUNTER×HUNTER

Also known as Hunter x Hunter.

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

Gon might be a country boy, but he has high aspirations. Despite his Aunt Mito's protests, Gon decides to follow in his father's footsteps and become a legendary Hunter. The Hunter hopefuls begin their journey by storm-tossed ship, where Gon meets Leorio and Kurapika, the only other applicants who aren't devastated by bouts of seasickness.

Having survived the terrors of the high seas, Gon and his companions now have to prove their worth in a variety of tests in order to find the elusive Exam Hall. And once they get there, will they ever leave alive...?



Tags: Shounen , Super Power , Cultivation , Ensemble Cast , Travel , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Tragedy , Urban Fantasy , Revenge , Chimera , Assassins , Politics , War , Anti-Hero , Battle Royale , Death Game , Crime , Philosophy , Gangs , Coming of Age , Gore , Conspiracy , Lost Civilization , Martial Arts , Video Games , Ships , Card Battle , Mafia , Animals , LGBTQ+ Themes , Time Manipulation , Demons , Amnesia , Cannibalism , Kemonomimi , Transgender , Virtual World , Reincarnation , Asexual

[Oshi no Ko]

Also known as [Oshi no Ko].

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

Gorou is a gynecologist and idol fan who’s in shock after his favorite star, Ai, announces an impromptu hiatus. Little does Gorou realize that he’s about to forge a bond with her that defies all common sense! Lies are an idol’s weapon!



Notes:
- Nominated for the 14th and 15th Manga Taisho, the 26th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, the 67th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category and the 46th Kodansha Manga Award.
- Winner of the 7th Next Manga Award in the print category.
- Includes two extra chapters.

Tags: Revenge , Acting , Idol , Tragedy , Reincarnation , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Twins , Detective , Female Protagonist , Work , Urban Fantasy , Time Skip , Otaku Culture , Age Gap , Female Harem , Love Triangle , Suicide , Anti-Hero , Primarily Teen Cast , Heterosexual , Bullying , Urban , Denpa , Educational , Tsundere , Primarily Female Cast , Filmmaking , Pregnancy , Incest , VTuber , Cosplay

Fire Punch

Also known as Fire Punch.

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

Orphaned siblings Agni and Luna, like the Ice Witch who cursed their world, are two of the “blessed,” humans who hold special abilities. However, not all who are blessed are friendly, and after another of their kind attacks Agni and decimates the orphans' village, Agni fights to survive, vowing revenge.



Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Tragedy , Suicide , Dystopian , Revenge , Philosophy , Cult , Anti-Hero , Super Power , Survival , Religion , Body Horror , Torture , Meta , Gore , Male Protagonist , Cosmic Horror , Filmmaking , Acting , Snowscape , Time Skip , Coming of Age , Cannibalism , Incest , Transgender , Slavery , LGBTQ+ Themes , Gods , Surreal Comedy , Urban Fantasy , Memory Manipulation , Denpa , Politics , Amputation , Shounen , Heterosexual , Orphan , Psychosexual

Sinui Tap

Also known as Tower of God.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery

What do you desire? Money and wealth? Honor and pride? Authority and power? Revenge? Or something that transcends them all? Whatever you desire—it's here.



Tags: Super Power , Ensemble Cast , Full Color , War , Conspiracy , Travel , Male Protagonist , Magic , Tragedy , Cultivation , Time Skip , Politics , Space Opera , Martial Arts , Anti-Hero , Dungeon , Memory Manipulation , Battle Royale , Kemonomimi , Philosophy , Artificial Intelligence , Criminal Organization , Trains , Terrorism , Gore , Afterlife , Meta , Primarily Adult Cast , Long Strip , Necromancy , Slavery , Found Family , Female Harem , Goblin , Creature Taming , Time Manipulation

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 , Tragedy , Urban Fantasy , Crime , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Gods , Espionage , Primarily Male Cast , Time Skip , Shounen , Memory Manipulation , Demons , Amnesia , Politics , Cult

Jigokuraku

Also known as Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Mystery , Supernatural

Gabimaru the Hollow is one of the most vicious assassins ever to come out of the ninja village of Iwagakure. He’s ruthlessly efficient, but a betrayal results in him being handed a death sentence. He has only one hope—in order to earn his freedom, he must travel to a long-hidden island and recover an elixir that will make the shogun immortal. Failure is not an option. On this island, heaven and hell are just a hair’s breadth away.



Tags: Survival , Samurai , Philosophy , Mythology , Ninja , Ensemble Cast , Anti-Hero , Gore , Tragedy , Historical , Gods , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Eco-Horror , Assassins , Swordplay , Body Horror , Battle Royale , Gender Bending , Shounen , Nudity , Arranged Marriage , Heterosexual , Super Power , Travel , LGBTQ+ Themes , Amnesia , Crime , Yandere , Religion

Dorohedoro

Also known as Dorohedoro.

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

In a city so dismal it's known only as "the Hole," a clan of Sorcerers have been plucking people off the streets to use as guinea pigs for atrocious "experiments" in the black arts. In a dark alley, Nikaido found Caiman, a man with a reptile head and a bad case of amnesia. To undo the spell, they're hunting and killing the Sorcerers in the Hole, hoping that eventually they'll kill the right one. But when En, the head Sorcerer, gets word of a lizard-man slaughtering his people, he sends a crew of "cleaners" into the Hole, igniting a war between two worlds.



Note: Includes 23 side stories titled "Extra Evil" and the side story "The Lizard Head and the Magic Whistle."

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Magic , Ensemble Cast , Anti-Hero , Amnesia , Seinen , Revenge , Dystopian , Body Horror , Gore , Monster Boy , Surreal Comedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Demons , Urban Fantasy , Curses , Time Manipulation , Super Power , Henshin , Gangs , Cosmic Horror , Body Swapping , Nudity , Animals , Anthropomorphism , Zombie , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Cyberpunk , Gender Bending

Houseki no Kuni

Also known as Land of the Lustrous.

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

In a world inhabited by crystalline lifeforms called The Lustrous, every unique gem must fight for their way of life against the threat of lunarians who would turn them into decorations. Phosphophyllite, the most fragile and brittle of gems, longs to join the battle. When Phos is instead assigned to complete a natural history of their world, it sounds like a dull and pointless task. But this new job brings Phos into contact with Cinnabar, a gem forced to live in isolation. Can Phos’s seemingly mundane assignment lead both Phos and Cinnabar to the fulfillment they desire?



Note: Nominated for the 8th Manga Taisho in 2015.

Tags: Philosophy , Tragedy , Anthropomorphism , Seinen , Religion , Anti-Hero , Shapeshifting , Cosmic Horror , Body Horror , Post-Apocalyptic , Time Skip , Revenge , War , Amnesia , Agender , Reincarnation , Dissociative Identities , Ensemble Cast , Space , Asexual , Aliens , Swordplay , Robots , LGBTQ+ Themes , Suicide , Politics , Gods , Work , Nudity

Hurejasik

Also known as Bastard.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Romance , Thriller

High school life is hard enough, but it’s even harder for Seon Jin. A sickly disabled boy, Jin might as well be invisible. No one ever pays attention to him, except for the bullies who prey on him for being weak. Jin, however, keeps a very dark secret—there’s a serial killer in his house…and it’s his father!



Note: Includes one extra chapter.

Tags: Crime , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Gore , Bullying , Anti-Hero , Full Color , Coming of Age , Disability , Noir , Heterosexual , Delinquents , Suicide , Philosophy , Memory Manipulation , School , Assassins , Amnesia , Long Strip

Homunculus

Also known as Homunculus.

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

Nakoshi Susumu, age 34, is living out of his car. Between spending his days with the homeless and his nights in his vehicle, he has little to his name–but not so little that he’ll agree to be the subject of a scientific experiment. An unnerving medical student is stalking him and offering to pay Nakoshi a significant sum to test trepanation: the ability to draw out a sixth sense by drilling into the skull. Nakoshi refuses. When Nakoshi’s beloved car is towed, though, he finally agrees to cash and the operating table. At first, the experiment seems to bear no fruit, and Nakoshi’s life is unchanged. That is, until Nakoshi realizes his vision has warped in his left eye…showing him the twisted homunculus inside every human.



Tags: Philosophy , Seinen , Psychosexual , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Denpa , Amnesia , Anti-Hero , Gore , Body Horror , Homeless , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes , Masturbation , Crossdressing , Heterosexual , Economics , Class Struggle , Urban , Suicide