Top Delinquents 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

Tokyo卍Revengers

Also known as Tokyo Revengers.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Romance , Supernatural

Hanagaki Takemichi was once a low-life punk, but after biting off more than he could chew with a gang in middle school, he ran away from his old life. Now that he’s an adult, the gang that once terrorized him has grown into the largest gang in Tokyo, and they’ve started killing people–including his old girlfriend! After learning this news, a mysterious force on a train platform shoves Takemichi right in front of an approaching train. As his life flashes before his eyes, he blinks to find himself transported back to middle school, before he fled from the gang! Now he has the chance to right what went wrong all those years ago. Can he save his girlfriend’s life in the future–and what else might he change if he’s rewriting the past?



Notes:
- Winner of the Shounen Manga category of the 44th annual Kodansha Manga Awards.
- Includes 1 extra chapter.

Tags: Delinquents , Gangs , Time Manipulation , Time Skip , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Revenge , Conspiracy , Crime , Shounen , Age Regression , Urban , Ensemble Cast , Motorcycles , Heterosexual , Suicide , LGBTQ+ Themes , Boys' Love , Love Triangle , Espionage , Mopeds , Gore , Age Gap , School , Guns , Adoption

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: Chapter count includes the 12-chapter “Turn Back The Pendulum” side story and 8 extra chapters.

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

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Steel Ball Run

Also known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 7–Steel Ball Run.

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

Originally presented as an unrelated story, this series was later officially declared a part of the JoJo storyline. The series stars Gyro Zeppeli, who uses a set of steel balls that spin incredibly fast, and Johnny Joestar (Jonathan Joestar), a former hot-shot jockey who was crippled by an ambusher and lost his fame and fortune. They race, along with others, in a mad-dash across America for 50 million dollars, reminiscent of The Cannonball Run.



Tags: Travel , Cowboys , Male Protagonist , Super Power , Seinen , Conspiracy , Primarily Adult Cast , Disability , Foreign , Tragedy , Alternate Universe , Environmental , Philosophy , Ensemble Cast , Historical , Terrorism , Nun , Primarily Male Cast , Gore , Outdoor , Crossdressing , Guns , Coming of Age , Desert , Body Horror , Espionage , Trains , Acting , Dinosaurs , Time Manipulation , Delinquents , Gambling , 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 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

SLAM DUNK

Also known as Slam Dunk.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

Hanamichi Sakuragi's got no game with girls--none at all! It doesn't help that he's known for throwing down at a moment's notice and always coming out on top. A hopeless bruiser, he's been rejected by 50 girls in a row! All that changes when he meets the girl of his dreams, Haruko, and she's actually not afraid of him! When she introduces him to the game of basketball, his life is changed forever...



Tags: Basketball , Male Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Shounen , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Delinquents , Philosophy , Rehabilitation , Tragedy

Ajin

Also known as Ajin: Demi-Human.

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

High school student Kei Nagai is struck dead in a grisly traffic accident, but immediately revives to learn that he may not be like every other human. Instead, he may be a mysterious almost immortal being granted not only the powers of rejuvination but the abilities to see super-natural beings. Scared, he runs away, and is aided in his escape from society by his friend. Unfortunately for Kei, the manhunt is on and he will soon be caught within a conflict between mankind and others like him as they prepare to fight a new war based on terror.



Notes:
Includes 13 extra chapters.

- Nominated for the 7th annual Manga Taishou Award.
- Nominated for the Readers Award in the 18th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.
- Nominated for the 38th Annual Kodansha Manga Awards in the Seinen category.
- Nominated for the 40th Kodansha Manga Awards in 2016 in the General category.

Tags: Urban Fantasy , Fugitive , Seinen , Super Power , Terrorism , Crime , Suicide , Gore , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Guns , Anti-Hero , Torture , Military , Body Horror , Philosophy , Urban , Police , Revenge , Shapeshifting , Ghost , Bullying , Tragedy , Delinquents , Drugs , Cars , Satire

Kokou no Hito

Also known as The Climber.

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

On his first day of transferring to a new high school, a loner named Mori Buntarou, is cajoled by a classmate into climbing the school building. Despite knowing that one misstep could send him spiraling to his death, he moves forward, and upon finally reaching the top, Mori experiences a sense of fulfillment. That feeling, which seems to be telling him, "You're alive!" gives birth to an adrenaline for rock-climbing.

Tags: Outdoor , Coming of Age , Seinen , Travel , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Mountaineering , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Survival , Hikikomori , Time Skip , Fitness , Anti-Hero , Suicide , Nudity , Delinquents , School , Dissociative Identities , Foreign , School Club

GTO

Also known as GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Ecchi

Former juvenile delinquent Onizuka finds himself thrust into to role of high school teacher, facing students who behave just as he used to and an administration that doesn't trust him. Using the brash an unorthodox methods he picked up in his youth, Onizuka manages to reach through to his kids and help them with their problems.



Notes:
- Won the 22nd Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shounen Manga.
- The chapter count includes the 7 chapters extra GTO: Great Toroko Oppai♡ (Tomoko's Big Adventures) published in volumes 11 and 12, and one extra published in volume 25.

Tags: Teacher , School , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Work , Male Protagonist , Terrorism , Bullying , Tragedy , Rehabilitation , Delinquents , Nudity , Gangs , Shounen , Age Gap , Family Life , Motorcycles , Dragons , Crime , Revenge , Heterosexual , Yakuza , Detective , Acting , Guns , Police , Espionage , Drugs , Slapstick , Primarily Teen Cast

Mob Psycho 100

Also known as Mob Psycho 100.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Psychological , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Do you or someone you know need an exorcist who works cheap? Reigen's your guy! What's his secret to busting ghosts while keeping prices low? Well, first, he's a fraud, and second, he pays the guy who's got the real psychic power—his student assistant Shigeo—less than minimum wage. Shigeo is an awkward but kind boy whose urge to help others and get along with them is bound up with the mental safety locks he's placed on his own emotions. Reigen knows he needs to exploit Shigeo to stay in business, yet for better or worse he's also his mentor and counselor. And he also knows whenever the normally repressed kid's emotions reach level 100, it may unleash more psychic energy than either of them can handle!



Note: Includes 12 extra chapters.

Tags: Coming of Age , Philosophy , Super Power , Urban Fantasy , Ghost , Dissociative Identities , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Satire , School , Demons , Primarily Teen Cast , Aliens , Youkai , Parody , Surreal Comedy , School Club , Delinquents , Cult , Body Horror

Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku

Also known as The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance

This story takes place in a particular town with two infamous schools in constant dispute: Chidori High, a boys' school predominantly attended by low-class students with damning grades, and its neighbor Kikyo Girls' High, with most of its female students coming from wealthy and prestigious families. One day, high school second-year Rintaro Tsumugi, a fierce-looking but gentle-minded student at Chidori, is helping at his family's patisserie when he encounters a female customer by the name of Kaoruko Waguri. Rintaro enjoys his time with Kaoruko, as she doesn't judge him for his appearance, but this blissful peace is quickly disturbed when Rintaro makes the discovery that Kaoruko is actually a student at Kikyo. This revelation marks the beginning of the two's strenuous tale, as they fight against the limitations placed upon them by their schools and surroundings in an attempt to find their own path!



Tags: Heterosexual , Iyashikei , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Shounen , Delinquents , Coming of Age , Food , Urban

AKIRA

Also known as Akira.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Horror , Psychological , Sci-Fi

Welcome to Neo-Tokyo, built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by a blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, making him a target for a shadowy agency that will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like the one that leveled Tokyo. At the core of the agency's motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear of an unthinkable, monstrous power known only as Akira.



Tags: Dystopian , Cyberpunk , Military , Post-Apocalyptic , Seinen , Tragedy , Super Power , Male Protagonist , Gore , Survival , Delinquents , Philosophy , Body Horror , Drugs , Anti-Hero , War , Cult , Gangs , Motorcycles , Coming of Age , Afterlife , Terrorism , Basketball , Nudity , Reincarnation , Bullying

Real

Also known as Real.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sports

A motorcycle accident, bone cancer, a speeding truck crashing into a boy on a stolen bicycle--tragic life-changing events turn the worlds of three young men upside down. These three very different personalities have only one thing in common--their passion for basketball.



Note: Won an Excellence Prize for manga at the 2001 Japan Media Arts Festival.

Tags: Disability , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Male Protagonist , Seinen , Rehabilitation , Basketball , Tragedy , Primarily Male Cast , Athletics , Fitness , Delinquents , Philosophy , Meta , Wrestling , Bullying

Onani Master Kurosawa

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Romance

Kakeru Kurosawa is an asocial junior high school student. He rarely associates with his classmates, and he looks down on them. But this behavior is topped off by a certain bad habit, his closely guarded secret: every day after school, he sneaks in to the rarely used girls' toilet on the 3rd floor and masturbates in a stall. Kakeru's shadowy routine remains undisturbed until one day, when a diminutive girl from his class, Aya Kitahara, almost discovers him. Their meeting begins a coming-of-age story dealing with blackmail, bullying, revenge, heartbreak, and ultimately, redemption.



Note: Includes a side story.

Tags: Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Masturbation , Bullying , Philosophy , School , Revenge , Anti-Hero , Tragedy , Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Delinquents , Tsundere

Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e

Also known as Classroom of the Elite.

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

Students of the prestigious Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School are given remarkable freedom—if they can win, barter, or save enough points to work their way up the ranks! Ayanokoji Kiyotaka has landed at the bottom in the scorned Class D, where he meets Horikita Suzune, who’s determined to rise up the ladder to Class A. Can they beat the system in a school where cutthroat competition is the name of the game?



Includes Volumes: 4.5, 7.5, 11.5
Included Chapters: 14 Prologues, 13 Epilogues, 1 Extra

Tags: School , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Philosophy , Battle Royale , Ensemble Cast , Politics , Survival , Revenge , Conspiracy , Heterosexual , Fugitive , Denpa , Boarding School , Seinen , Coming of Age , Classic Literature , Bullying , Torture , School Club , Rehabilitation , Disability , Board Game , Delinquents , Tsundere , Yandere , Kuudere , Martial Arts , Athletics , Love Triangle , Suicide , Female Harem , Tragedy , Teacher

Wind Breaker

Also known as Wind Breaker.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Romance , Sports

Jay's the perfect student. He's got straight As and he's the student body president. But after being coerced into joining the school's biking team, the Hummingbird Crew, he discovers a whole new world outside of studying. What new adventures will he face outside the comfort of his textbooks?



Tags: Cycling , Coming of Age , Kuudere , Full Color , Heterosexual , School , Delinquents , Tragedy , Bullying , Slapstick , Fitness , Meta , Gambling , Male Protagonist , Suicide , Mafia , Love Triangle , Female Harem , Foreign , Drugs

Happiness

Also known as Happiness.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Supernatural

Nothing interesting is happening in Makoto Ozaki’s first year of high school. His life is a series of quiet humiliations: low-grade bullies, unreliable friends, and the constant frustration of his adolescent lust. But one night, a pale, thin girl knocks him to the ground in an alley and offers him a choice. Now everything is different. Daylight is searingly bright. Food tastes awful. And worse than anything is the terrible, consuming thirst. The tiny shames of his old life have been replaced by two towering horrors: the truth of what will slake his awful craving and high school itself.



Tags: Vampire , Tragedy , Primarily Teen Cast , Gore , Cult , Time Skip , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist , Torture , Cannibalism , Urban Fantasy , Body Horror , Urban , Shounen , Delinquents , School , Bullying , Religion , Nudity

Tamen De Gushi

Also known as SQ: Begin W/Your Name!.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

The funny romantic story of how Qiu Tong and Sun Jing met and fell in love.

Tags: Yuri , Episodic , Female Protagonist , LGBTQ+ Themes , Full Color , Coming of Age , School , Slapstick , Iyashikei , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Tomboy , Urban , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Basketball , Delinquents

Oemo Jisangjuui

Also known as Lookism.

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

Daniel is an unattractive loner who wakes up in a different body. Now tall, handsome, and cooler than ever in his new form, Daniel aims to achieve everything he couldn't before. How far will he go to keep his body... and his secrets?



Tags: Body Swapping , Gangs , Full Color , Delinquents , Ensemble Cast , Martial Arts , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , School , Bullying , Surreal Comedy , Fitness , Heterosexual , Boxing , Love Triangle , Meta , Found Family , Fashion , Cult , Parody , Homeless , Gambling , Detective , Drugs , Memory Manipulation , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Yandere

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai

Also known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable.

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

In April 1999, Jotaro Kujo travels to a town in Japan called Morioh to find a young man named Josuke Higashikata, the secret love child of his grandfather, Joseph Joestar. Upon finding him, Jotaro is surprised to learn that Josuke also possesses a Stand. After their strange meeting, the pair team up to investigate the town’s proliferation of unusual Stands!



Tags: Super Power , Urban Fantasy , Shounen , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Time Manipulation , Delinquents , Body Horror , Gore , School , Yandere , Tragedy