Top Assassins Manga Recommendations

Chainsaw Man

Also known as Chainsaw Man.

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

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 , Necromancy , Magic , Urban Fantasy , Gods , Creature Taming , Primarily Adult Cast , Long Strip , Politics , Demons , Post-Apocalyptic , Video Games , Tragedy , Foreign , Memory Manipulation , Anti-Hero , Time Manipulation , Age Regression , Heterosexual , Assassins , Chimera , Estranged Family , Language Barrier , Time Skip , Bullying , Snowscape , Marriage

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.
- Includes one extra chapter.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 , Primarily Adult Cast , Crime , Urban Fantasy , Found Family , Konbini , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Gangs , Guns , Shounen , Espionage , Dissociative Identities , Conspiracy , Gore , Heterosexual , Triads , Mafia , Acting , Slapstick , Urban , Prison , Tragedy , Super Power , Survival , Motorcycles , Gambling , Crossdressing

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 , Philosophy , Suicide , Memory Manipulation , School , Assassins , Amnesia , Long Strip

Kingdom

Also known as Kingdom.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama

Xin is a war orphan in a poor village in the kingdom of Qin. He has big dreams of becoming a great general, and when his best friend’s life is cut short by political machinations, Xin sets off to find a deposed ruler and help restore his place on the throne, while working his way up through the ranks of the Qin kingdom’s army to do what no one has ever done before—unify China.



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

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 , Aliens , Gore , Tragedy , Death Game , Urban , Guns , Battle Royale , Cosmic Horror , Philosophy , Nudity , Heterosexual , Ensemble Cast , Super Power , Terrorism , Large Breasts , Vampire , Assassins , Trains , Clone , Female Harem , Youkai , Dinosaurs , CGI , Age Gap , Anti-Hero , Crime

Soul Eater

Also known as Soul Eater.

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

Maka is a scythe meister, working to perfect one particular scythe until it is good enough to become Death's Weapon -- the weapon used by Shinigami-sama, the spirit of Death himself. As if that wasn't unusual enough, her scythe is a demon scythe called Soul Eater, which can change form from a scythe to a human-looking boy. In order to make Soul Eater powerful enough to be Death's Weapon, he must eat the souls of 99 humans and 1 witch. Along the way, the two of them face many different challenges, including a cat witch named Blair (who happens to have a thing for Soul) and a teacher who's been turned into a zombie (and wants him to join her!). Her fellow students, like the shadow ninja weapon meister named Black Star who always needs to be the center of attention, aren't much help, either. It'll be a miracle if Maka even survives, let alone manages to make Soul Eater into the Death Scythe.



Note: Includes four extra chapters.

Tags: Ensemble Cast , Magic , Shounen , Henshin , Super Power , Female Protagonist , Gods , Guns , Witch , Shapeshifting , School , Swordplay , Male Protagonist , Twins , Foreign , War , Agender , Nudity , Travel , Urban Fantasy , Philosophy , Coming of Age , Human Experimentation , Alternate Universe , Assassins , Tragedy , Zombie , Werewolf , Body Horror , Urban , Gender Bending , Kemonomimi , Nekomimi , Tanned Skin , Unrequited Love , Space , Martial Arts , Heterosexual

Shuumatsu no Valkyrie

Also known as Record of Ragnarok.

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

The story begins when the gods call a conference to decide the 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 , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Cultivation , Gore , Samurai , Wrestling , Assassins , Cheerleading , Nudity

Gachiakuta

Also known as Gachiakuta.

Status: Hiatus
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: Ensemble Cast , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Dystopian , Revenge , Post-Apocalyptic , Super Power , Survival , Tragedy , Class Struggle , Urban Fantasy , Cosmic Horror , Urban , Assassins , Gods , Adoption , Body Horror , Guns , Primarily Male Cast , Love Triangle , Werewolf

Iphagyongbyeong

Also known as Teenage Mercenary.

Status: Hiatus
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: Full Color , Kuudere , Male Protagonist , Family Life , Military , School , Guns , Assassins , Martial Arts , Bullying , Yakuza , Tragedy , War , Heterosexual , Long Strip , Anti-Hero , Terrorism , Mafia , Revenge , Motorcycles

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 seven extra chapters 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

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

Bungou Stray Dogs

Also known as Bungo Stray Dogs.

Status: Hiatus
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 , Fugitive , Male Protagonist , Classic Literature , Tragedy , Primarily Male Cast , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Seinen , Work , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Philosophy , Found Family , Criminal Organization , Anti-Hero , Terrorism , Orphan , Conspiracy , Assassins , Gods , Vampire , Suicide , Guns , Monster Boy , Gore , Swordplay , Shapeshifting , Police , Torture , Sadism , Circus , Time Manipulation , Tsundere , Animals

Pick Me Up!

Also known as Pick Me Up.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

1-Star heroes are just fodder for learning a boss' attack patterns. That was Seojin Han's philosophy when playing the notoriously difficult game Pick Me Up. But after being transported into the game as one of those 1-star heroes, he's got no choice but to rise in rank and defeat the player controlling him and his party. Can a gacha game character hope to defeat a player akin to being his god?



Tags: Survival , Video Games , Isekai , Death Game , Full Color , Male Protagonist , Kingdom Management , Tragedy , Long Strip , Magic , Gore , Swordplay , Anti-Hero , Assassins , Goblin