Top Biographical Manga Recommendations

Vagabond

Also known as Vagabond.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama

At seventeen years of age, Miyamoto Musashi--still known by his childhood name, Shinmen Takezo--was a wild young brute just setting out along the way of the sword.

In the aftermath of the epic Battle of Sekigahara, Takezo finds himself a fugitive survivor on the losing side of the war. Takezo's vicious nature has made him an outcast even in his own village, and he is hunted down like an animal. At this crucial crossroads in Takezo's life, an eccentric monk and a childhood friend are the only ones who can help him find his way.



Tags: Swordplay , Seinen , Samurai , Historical , Philosophy , Travel , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Martial Arts , Tragedy , Survival , Cultivation , Biographical , Gore , Rural , Fugitive , Heterosexual , War , Outdoor , Ghost , Agriculture , Language Barrier , Nudity , Afterlife ,

Chikan Otoko

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance

Based off a real story which was posted on 2ch, Molester Man is the story of how Molester Man is mistaken for a stalker by Miss Understanding, and how they overcome their personal challenges while slowly growing closer to each other.

Notes: Includes chapters 14.5 and 21.5

Tags: Male Protagonist , Meta , Heterosexual , Primarily Adult Cast , Love Triangle , Biographical , Seinen , Work , Parody , Tomboy , Nudity

Ningen Shikkaku

Also known as No Longer Human.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Psychological

Mine has been a life of much shame.

I can’t even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being.

Plagued by a maddening anxiety, the terrible disconnect between his own concept of happiness and the joy of the rest of the world, Yozo Oba plays the clown in his dissolute life, holding up a mask for those around him as he spirals ever downward, locked arm-in-arm with death.

Osamu Dazai’s immortal—and supposedly autobiographical—work of Japanese literature, is perfectly adapted here into a manga by Junji Itou. The imagery wrenches open the text of the novel one line at a time to sublimate Yozo’s mental landscape into something even more delicate and grotesque. This is the ultimate in art by Itou, proof that nothing can surpass the terror of the human psyche.



Tags: Tragedy , Philosophy , Classic Literature , Nudity , Seinen , Suicide , Biographical , Family Life , Primarily Adult Cast , Drugs , Body Horror , Urban Fantasy

Kouishou Radio

Also known as PTSD Radio.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Horror

From giving a lock of hair as a token to a loved one to shaving one's head as an act of penitence, hair is a powerful symbol across the world. This is the thread that connects the chilling tales in this horror anthology that follows the victims of Ogushi-sama -- a sinister god that carries away the dead.

Tags: Achronological Order , Gods , Episodic , Seinen , Body Horror , Cosmic Horror , Biographical , Historical , Rural , Urban , Bullying

Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi

Also known as The Elusive Samurai.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure

Set in feudal Japan in between the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, our hero Houjou Tokiyuki is a boy on the run that history all but forgot! When the Kamakura shogunate is overthrown by Ashikaga Takauji, Tokiyuki's family and standing are viciously taken away from him, and he must flee to the far reaches of the land to survive and seek out his revenge!



Tags: Samurai , Shounen , Historical , Surreal Comedy , War , Ninja , Archery , Fugitive , Urban Fantasy , Male Protagonist , Swordplay , Anachronism , Gore , Suicide , Primarily Male Cast , Found Family , Primarily Child Cast , Tragedy , Religion , Ghost , Scat , Time Skip , Body Horror , Gods , Spearplay , Disability , Biographical , Tomboy , Demons

Yomawari Sensei

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

The author, a high school teacher, recounts his 12 years on "night patrol" in Yokohama City, where he comes face to face with youth dealing with issues ranging from self-mutilation to drug abuse.

Tags: Rehabilitation , School , Tragedy , Non-fiction , Philosophy , Teacher , Biographical , Episodic , Seinen , Male Protagonist

Buddha

Also known as Buddha.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Psychological , Supernatural

Osamu Tezuka’s vaunted storytelling genius, consummate skill at visual expression, and warm humanity blossom fully in his epic volumes on Siddhartha’s life and times. Tezuka evidences his profound grasp of the subject by contextualizing the Buddha’s ideas; the emphasis is on movement, action, emotion, and conflict as the prince Siddhartha runs away from home, travels across India, and questions Hindu practices such as ascetic self-mutilation and caste oppression. Rather than recommend resignation and impassivity, Tezuka’s Buddha predicates enlightenment upon recognizing the interconnectedness of life, having compassion for the suffering, and ordering one’s life sensibly. Philosophical segments are threaded into interpersonal situations with ground-breaking visual dynamism by an artist who makes sure never to lose his readers’ attention.



Note: Won the Bungei Shunju Manga Award in 1975 and the Best U.S. Edition of International Material for the Eisner Award in 2004 and 2005.

Tags: Philosophy , Historical , Foreign , Religion , War , Biographical , Rehabilitation , Tragedy , Revenge , Gods , Male Protagonist , Slavery , Shounen , Anachronism , Crime , Environmental , Nudity

Ad Astra: Scipio to Hannibal

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Psychological

This is the story of two of the greatest military commanders in history: the Roman Publius Cornelius Scipio and the Carthaginian Hannibal. The story follows the two of them from their early life on. Hannibal is initially shown as a strangely silent infant, who seemed like the gods forgot to put a soul in his little body. However, he soon begins to speak in a way that shows his remarkable abilities. Hannibal and Scipio are driven enemies, and their struggle shaped an era.



Tags: Military , Historical , Seinen , Foreign , War , Revenge , Politics , Tragedy , Animals , Survival , Primarily Adult Cast , Biographical , Time Skip

Aoi Horus no Hitomi: Dansou no Joou no Monogatari

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

This manga tells the story of Hatshepsut, a woman who reigned successfully over Egypt for many years. The story begins when she is a young woman, marrying her half-brother Thutmose II and thus ensuring his rise to Pharaoh. Hatshepsut is a woman with a strong will, who is not going to accept the restrictions others might try to place on her as a woman.

Tags: Historical , Seinen , Female Protagonist , Royal Affairs , Tomboy , Biographical , Politics , Arranged Marriage , Crossdressing , Slavery , Desert , Gore , Gods , Incest , Nudity , Swordplay , Heterosexual

Waga Tousou

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

A manga adaptation of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Tags: Autobiographical , Historical , War , Biographical , Military , Politics , Male Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Anthology

Reiri

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama

In the Sengoku Period (1579), there is a young woman who has lost everything, and dedicated herself to seeking strength and a death on the battlefield.

Reiri once lived happily with her family, until the day soldiers came by after a battle. Her father, mother and brother sacrificed themselves in order for her to survive. She was only saved with the intervention of Okabe Tanpa no Kami, who had been sheltering in the village. In his service, she grew and learned to fight well, chasing her goal of a death in battle. However, her path to death may not be as short and straight as she hopes.

Tags: Historical , War , Female Protagonist , Suicide , Seinen , Tomboy , Rehabilitation , Biographical , Crossdressing , Samurai , Swordplay , Tragedy , Nudity , Heterosexual , Coming of Age , Assassins , Gore , Martial Arts , Archery , Guns

Fushigi no Kuni no Bird

Also known as Isabella Bird in Wonderland: Unbeaten Tracks in Japan.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Adventure , Slice of Life

British adventuress Isabella Bird journeys to Japan in 1878 and becomes the first Westerner to travel to many remote locations, heading northward towards Hokkaido to study the aboriginal Ainu people.

A true story based on the book "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan".

Tags: Historical , Educational , Travel , Foreign , Seinen , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Biographical , Nudity

Pur

Also known as Grass.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

Grass is a powerful anti-war graphic novel, offering up firsthand the life story of a Korean girl named Ok-Sun Lee who was forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese Imperial Army during the second World War — a disputed chapter in 20th century Asian history.

Notes:
Included short story: Ro Salpyeoboneun Ilbongun 'Wianbu' (로 살펴보는 일본군 '위안부') by Myeong-Suk Yun.
Nominated to the Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2020.

Tags: Biographical , Historical , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , War , Slavery , Rural , Military

1 Litre no Namida

Also known as 1 Litre of Tears.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

The manga is based on a dramatic tragedy diary written by Aya Kito, published shortly before her death. The diary, a true story based on her own life, was originally written in first person. It is about a girl coping with her teenage life along with a degenerative disease. She keeps a diary of not only what she does but how she feels and the hardships she must endure. Initially, the diary's purpose was for Kito to chronicle impressions she had about how the disease was affecting her daily life. As the disease progressed, however, the diary became Kito's outlet for describing the intense personal struggles she underwent in coping, adapting, and ultimately trying to survive her disease. As she notes in one entry, "I write because writing is evidence that I am still alive."



Tags: Female Protagonist , Biographical , Tragedy

Hattatsu Shougai to Issho ni Otona ni Natta Watashitachi

Also known as My Brain is Different: Stories of ADHD and Other Developmental Disorders.

Status: Finished
Genres: Slice of Life

This intimate manga anthology is about the struggles and triumphs of individuals learning to navigate daily life with a developmental disorder. The comics follow the stories of nine people, including: a junior high dropout finding an alternate path to education; a former "troublesome" child helping kids at a support school; a so-called problem child realizing the beauty of his own unique quirks; and a man falling in love with the world with the help of a new medication. This inspiring volume illustrates their diverse anxieties and finding self-empowerment in a world not quite built with them in mind.



Tags: Educational , Disability , Autobiographical , Biographical , Rehabilitation , Non-fiction , Hikikomori , Anthology , Suicide , School

Gekiga Hitler

Also known as Shigeru Mizuki’s Hitler.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

Seventy years after his death, Adolf Hitler remains a mystery. Historians, military tacticians, and psychologists have tried in vain to unravel his complex motivations for leading Germany into the Holocaust and World War II. With Shigeru Mizuki's Hitler, the manga-ka (Kitaro, NonNonba, Showa: A History of Japan) delves deep into the history books to create an absorbing and eloquent portrait of Hitler's life.

Beginning with Hitler's time in Austria as a starving art student and ending with a Germany in ruins, Shigeru Mizuki's Hitler retraces the path Hitler took in life, coolly examining his charismatic appeal and his calculated political maneuvering. The Munich Beer Putsch, Hitler's ascent to chancellor, the sudden death of his half-niece Geli, the Battle of Stalingrad, his relationship with Eva Braun, and his eventual demise: all are given equal attention in this thorough and compelling biography.

In Mizuki's signature style, which populates incredibly realistic backgrounds with cartoony people, Japan's most famous living cartoonist has created an overview of Hitler's life that is as fascinating as it is informative.



Tags: Historical , Military , Politics , Biographical , Foreign , Seinen , War , Primarily Adult Cast , Suicide

Sensou wa Onna no Kao wo Shiteinai

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama

In The Unwomanly Face of War, Alexievich chronicles the experiences of the Soviet women who fought on the front lines, on the home front, and in the occupied territories. These women—more than a million in total—were nurses and doctors, pilots, tank drivers, machine-gunners, and snipers. They battled alongside men, and yet, after the victory, their efforts and sacrifices were forgotten.

Tags: Primarily Female Cast , War , Historical , Biographical , Foreign , Military , Seinen , Female Protagonist , Episodic

Daigakusei no Ore ga Itoko no Onnanoko wo Shiawase ni Suru made

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

This story is based on Mogami-sensei's wife's experiences, with some fiction mixed in. She is the story composer and planner.

She shows up at his door all battered and bruised, barely stringing two words together.

What could have happened to her at home, that she had to flee to him?

Tags: Rehabilitation , Female Protagonist , Biographical , POV

Henjin Henkutsu Retsuden

Status: Finished
Genres:

This title explores the lives of several famous eccentrics and bizarre personages. From exceedingly violent baseball great Ty Cobb; to the mystery Lady Winchester who believed non-stop and nonsensical building of her house would protect her from vengeful spirits; the healthy but deadly infectious Typhoid Mary; bizarre and fickle 70's promoter Kou Yoshio; and the misunderstood, neurotic electricity great Nikola Tesla. [MAL]

Tags: Biographical , Seinen , Historical , Episodic , Anthology , Hikikomori , Baseball , Denpa

Yume no Shizuku, Kin no Torikago

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

Beginning of 16th century, Alexandra was captured by slave traders in Ukraine during one of their many raids. When the traders arrived in Greece to sell the female slaves, a young handsome man named Mateus bought her and promised to give her true freedom. He hired countless teachers, scholars, and palace ladies to train her into the one perfect woman of her time. Mateus's kindness has caused Alexandra to deeply fall in love with him, and she secretly wishes to be his concubine. But cruel fate! Mateus has already promised her to his best friend, who is Suleiman the Great, Emperor of the Ottoman Empire! Mateus promised Alexandra of true freedom, but where is freedom when she is in another man's harem and can only look at the one she loves from afar?

Not willing to endure this agony, Alexandra promises herself that one day, she will free both of them from their bird cages. But Mateus is the Grand Vizier, a power only second to the Emperor himself. So Alexandra must become the most influential concubine in order to have any hope—which also means bearing Suleiman's son. However, Suleiman already has a son by another concubine, and this woman is determined to keep her son as the only prince and only heir.

Thus begins the story of a slave that becomes the story of one of the greatest empresses of all time, Alexandra, the woman who would one day be known as Roxelana, Empress of the Ottoman Empire.

Tags: Historical , Josei , Politics , War , Kingdom Management , Biographical , Coming of Age , Parenthood , Female Protagonist , Foreign , Slavery , Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Royal Affairs , Unrequited Love , Arranged Marriage , Assassins , Class Struggle , Crime , Espionage , Maids , Marriage , Time Skip , Revenge , Nudity , Female Harem