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

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, Sung Jinwoo, 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: Jinwoo has been granted the rare opportunity to level up his abilities, possibly beyond any known limits. Follow Jinwoo’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: Chapter count includes a prologue and 21 side stories.

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

Jujutsu Kaisen

Also known as Jujutsu Kaisen.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Supernatural

Although Yuji Itadori looks like your average teenager, his immense physical strength is something to behold! Every sports club wants him to join, but Itadori would rather hang out with the school outcasts in the Occult Research Club. One day, the club manages to get their hands on a sealed cursed object. Little do they know the terror they’ll unleash when they break the seal…



Notes:
- Ranked 1st in Japan's Bookstore Employees Top Manga of 2018.
- Nominated for the 25th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2021.
- Nominated for the 65th Shogakukan Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2019.

Tags: Urban Fantasy , Super Power , Demons , Shounen , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Monster Boy , Youkai , Martial Arts , Magic , Body Horror , Dissociative Identities , Gore , Death Game , Primarily Teen Cast , Cosmic Horror , Battle Royale , Ensemble Cast , Urban , Body Swapping , Sadism , Philosophy , School , Cult , Surreal Comedy , Anthropomorphism , Assassins , Slapstick , Time Manipulation , Swordplay , Time Skip , Nudity , Femboy , Transgender , Exorcism , Curses

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 , Male Protagonist , Ships , Fugitive , Conspiracy , Crime , Military , Politics , War , Terrorism , Slapstick , Post-Apocalyptic , Time Skip , Primarily Adult Cast , Cultivation , Prison , Lost Civilization , Anachronism , Dystopian , Gods , Slavery , Swordplay , Environmental , Large Breasts , Gangs , Mythology , Animals , Espionage , Religion , Anti-Hero , Cyborg , Adoption , Assassins , Skeleton , Samurai , Drugs , Meta , Kemonomimi , Anthropomorphism , Medicine , Henshin , Battle Royale , Robots , Food , Guns , Revenge , Desert , Dragons , Mermaid , Amnesia , Oiran , Monster Girl , Time Manipulation , Angels , Memory Manipulation , Trains , Centaur , Ninja , Zombie , Female Protagonist , LGBTQ+ Themes , Dinosaurs , Gender Bending , Aliens , Transgender , Clone , Body Swapping

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

HUNTER×HUNTER

Also known as Hunter x Hunter.

Status: Releasing
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 , Urban Fantasy , Revenge , Tragedy , Assassins , Philosophy , Chimera , Battle Royale , Death Game , Anti-Hero , Politics , Crime , Gangs , Coming of Age , Martial Arts , Gore , Conspiracy , Lost Civilization , Ships , Video Games , Card Battle , War , Mafia , Animals , Full Color , LGBTQ+ Themes , Demons , Time Manipulation , Transgender , Virtual World , Amnesia , Reincarnation , Cannibalism , Samurai , Asexual , Kemonomimi

MONSTER

Also known as Monster.

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

Everyone faces uncertainty at some point in their lives. Even a brilliant surgeon like Kenzo Tenma is no exception. But there’s no way he could have known that his decision to stop chasing professional success and instead concentrate on his oath to save peoples’ lives would result in the birth of an abomination. The questions of good and evil now take on a terrifyingly real dimension.

Years later, in Germany during the tumultuous post-reunification period, middle-aged childless couples are being killed one after another. The serial killer’s identity is known. The reasons why he kills are not. Dr. Tenma sets out on a journey to find the killer’s twin sister, who may hold some clues to solving the enigma of the “Monster.”



Tags: Seinen , Conspiracy , Tragedy , Philosophy , Twins , Amnesia , Fugitive , Noir , Foreign , Male Protagonist , Memory Manipulation , Primarily Adult Cast , Historical , Detective , Ensemble Cast , Police , Medicine , Time Skip , Crossdressing , Suicide , Achronological Order , Adoption , Assassins , Torture , Gore

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 the prologue.

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

SAKAMOTO DAYS

Also known as Sakamoto Days.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy

Taro Sakamoto was the ultimate assassin, feared by villains and admired by hitmen. But one day...he fell in love! Retirement, marriage, fatherhood and then... Sakamoto gained weight! The chubby guy who runs the neighborhood store is actually a former legendary hitman! Can he protect his family from danger? Get ready to experience a new kind of action comedy series!



Tags: Assassins , Family Life , Crime , Found Family , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Gangs , Guns , Shounen , Konbini , Mafia , Espionage , Triads , Slapstick , Gore , Conspiracy , Super Power , Heterosexual , Survival , Motorcycles , Dissociative Identities , Crossdressing , Gambling , Acting

Kingdom

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama

Millions of years have passed since the times of legends, when the worlds of man and gods were still the same. In these times it was the desires of man that moved the world. It is the period of the 500 year war: the Era of Warring States. Kingdom is the story of a young boy who grew into a great general and all the trials and bloodshed that led him there.

Tags: Military , Historical , War , Politics , Royal Affairs , Male Protagonist , Ancient China , Seinen , Swordplay , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Foreign , Heterosexual , Gore , Primarily Male Cast , Fugitive , Conspiracy , Body Horror , Assassins , Spearplay , Time Skip , Torture , Archery , Ensemble Cast , Crossdressing , Magic

Shuumatsu no Valkyrie

Also known as Record of Ragnarok.

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

The story begins when the gods call a convention to decide whether to let humanity live or die, and settle on destroying humanity. But a lone valkyrie puts forward a suggestion to let the gods and humanity fight one last battle, as a last hope for humanity's continued survival. 13 gods will fight against 13 human champions in one-on-one battles to decide whether humanity lives or dies.

Tags: Gods , Mythology , Death Game , Survival , Historical , Super Power , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Cultivation , Gore , Wrestling , Samurai , Assassins , Cheerleading

GANTZ

Also known as Gantz.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Ecchi , Horror , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Tokyo teens Kei and Masaru are killed by a subway train but awaken in a room with an ominous black orb that gives them weapons, suits and orders. Fighting bizarre alien monstrosities in a deadly game, will they win their freedom or die for the final time?



Tags: Survival , Seinen , Gore , Aliens , Tragedy , Death Game , Urban , Guns , Cosmic Horror , Nudity , Philosophy , Super Power , Ensemble Cast , Heterosexual , Terrorism , Vampire , Assassins , Female Harem , Youkai , Dinosaurs , CGI , Trains

Ansatsu Kyoushitsu

Also known as Assassination Classroom.

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

Meet the would-be assassins of class 3-E: Sugino, who let his grades slip and got kicked off the baseball team. Karma, who’s doing well in his classes but keeps getting suspended for fighting. And Okuda, who lacks both academic and social skills, yet excels at one subject: chemistry. Who has the best chance of winning that reward? Will the deed be accomplished through pity, brute force or poison...? And what chance does their teacher have of repairing his students’ tattered self-esteem?



Note: Includes 7 extras and the one-shot "Tokyo Department Store War Journal".

Tags: Teacher , Assassins , School , Primarily Child Cast , Shounen , Ensemble Cast , Satire , Tragedy , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Otaku Culture , Time Skip , Aliens

Iphagyongbyeong

Also known as Teenage Mercenary.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama

At the age of eight, I-Jin Yu lost his parents in a plane crash and became stranded in a foreign land, forced to become a child mercenary in order to stay alive. He returns home ten years later to be reunited with his family in Korea, where food and shelter are plenty and everything seems peaceful. But I-Jin will soon learn that life as a teenager is a whole other feat of survival. With only one year of high school left, I-Jin must master new tactics to maneuver his way around the schoolhouse battleground. Can he survive a year of high school? Or rather, will the school be able to survive him?



Tags: Kuudere , Full Color , Male Protagonist , Family Life , Military , School , Guns , Martial Arts , Bullying , Assassins , Tragedy , Anti-Hero , Yakuza , Heterosexual , War , Terrorism , Mafia

Akame ga Kill!

Also known as Akame ga KILL!.

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

Teenage country bumpkin Tatsumi dreams of earning enough money for his impoverished village by working in the Capital--but his short-lived plans go awry when he's robbed by a buxom beauty upon arrival! Penniless, Tatsumi is taken in by the lovely Miss Aria, but just when his Capital dreams seem in reach yet again, Miss Aria's mansion is besieged by Night Raid--a team of ruthless assassins who targets high-ranking members of the upper class! As Tatsumi is quick to learn, appearances can be deceiving in the Capital, and this team of assassins just might be...the good guys?!



Note: Volumes 5 and 8 each contain a bonus chapter.

Tags: Assassins , Shounen , Tragedy , Anti-Hero , Gore , War , Swordplay , Male Protagonist , Super Power , Heterosexual , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Yandere , Love Triangle , Henshin , Kuudere , Crime , Time Manipulation , Military , Conspiracy , Female Harem , Tsundere , Nekomimi , Guns , Dragons , Youkai , Alchemy , Transgender

Bungou Stray Dogs

Also known as Bungo Stray Dogs.

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

Having been kicked out of the orphanage, a despairing young man by the name of Atsushi Nakajima rescues a strange man from a suicide attempt--Osamu Dazai. Turns out that Dazai is part of an armed-detective agency staffed by individuals whose supernatural powers take on a literary bent!



Tags: Urban Fantasy , Detective , Super Power , Mafia , Crime , Male Protagonist , Classic Literature , Fugitive , Seinen , Primarily Male Cast , Tragedy , Work , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Orphan , Anti-Hero , Philosophy , Terrorism , Conspiracy , Gore , Assassins , Suicide , Vampire , Monster Boy , Police , Guns , Swordplay , Torture , Circus , Sadism , Time Manipulation , Tsundere , Shapeshifting , Found Family

Kuroshitsuji

Also known as Black Butler.

Status: Hiatus
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 , Male Protagonist , Orphan , Twins , Royal Affairs , Foreign , Cult , Shounen , Steampunk , Magic , Detective , Found Family , Circus , Mythology , Maids , Assassins , Travel , LGBTQ+ Themes , Medicine , Zombie , Fugitive , Crossdressing , Transgender , Anachronism , Boarding School , School , Musical Theater , Torture , Witch , Disability , Swordplay , Idol , Estranged Family

Gachiakuta

Also known as Gachiakuta.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy

A boy lives in a floating town, where the poor scrape by and the rich live a sumptuous life, simply casting their garbage off the side, into the abyss. When he’s falsely accused of murder, though, his wrongful conviction leads to an unimaginable punishment—exile off the edge, with the rest of the trash. Down on the surface, the cast-off waste of humanity has bred vicious monsters, and to travel the path to vengeance against those who cast him into Hell, a boy will have to become a warrior…



Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Revenge , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Super Power , Survival , Dystopian , Urban Fantasy , Tragedy , Assassins , Primarily Male Cast , Class Struggle , Body Horror , Adoption , Guns

Baekjakgaui Mangnaniga Doeeotda

Also known as Lout of Count’s Family.

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

Kim Rok-Su has one life motto: “Let’s not get beat up.” But after dozing off somewhere midway through the novel “Birth of a Hero,” he wakes up as Cale Henituse - one of the minor villains in the novel who gets the beating of a lifetime from soon-to-be hero Choi Han. Only time will tell how much longer he has before that dreadful encounter. Can Kim Rok-Su change the course of this story so he can enjoy a long and lavish life free of the soon-to-be hero?



Note: Includes a prologue.

Tags: War , Isekai , Found Family , Politics , Male Protagonist , Magic , Super Power , Full Color , Anti-Hero , Dragons , Historical , Ensemble Cast , Swordplay , Royal Affairs , Elf , Terrorism , Assassins , Twins , Shapeshifting , Kemonomimi , Nekomimi , Animals , Butler

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 , Shounen , Anti-Hero , Male Protagonist , Revenge , Religion , Foreign , Twins , Ensemble Cast , Alternate Universe , Suicide , Time Manipulation , Amnesia , Anachronism , Detective , Assassins , Acting