Top Denpa 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 , 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 , 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 , Yuri , Motorcycles , Vore , Denpa

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

Jeonjijeok Dokja Sijeom

Also known as Omniscient Reader.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

Back then, Dok-Ja had no idea. He had no idea his favorite web novel 'Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse' was going to come to life, and that he would become the only person to know how the world was going to end. He also had no idea he would end up becoming the protagonist of this novel-turned-reality. Now, Dok-Ja will go on a journey to change the course of the story and save humankind once and for all.



Tags: Survival , Post-Apocalyptic , Death Game , Full Color , Meta , Male Protagonist , Gods , Denpa , POV , Time Loop , Tragedy , Philosophy , Astronomy , Found Family , Alternate Universe , Cosmic Horror , Suicide , Primarily Adult Cast , Historical , Battle Royale , Isekai , Religion , Swordplay , Body Horror , Age Regression , Dragons , Parody , Long Strip , Trains , Adoption , Crossover , Demons , Angels , Ensemble Cast , Terrorism , Afterlife , Female Protagonist , Zombie

[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 , Idol , Acting , 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 , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , 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

Koe no Katachi

Also known as A Silent Voice.

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

Based on a one-shot that won the 80th Weekly Shounen Magazine Newbie Best Mangaka Award.

Shouya is a bully. When Shouko, a girl who can't hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes their favorite target, and Shouya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children's cruelty goes too far. Shouko is forced to leave the school, and Shouya ends up shouldering all the blame. Six years later, the two meet again. Can Shouya make up for his past mistakes, or is it too late?



Note: Includes two extra chapters.

Tags: Rehabilitation , Language Barrier , Bullying , Coming of Age , Disability , Time Skip , School , Heterosexual , Suicide , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , Denpa , Ensemble Cast , Kuudere , Filmmaking , Shounen , Tomboy

Aku no Hana

Also known as The Flowers of Evil.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Romance

The story opens as middle school student Takao Kasuga receives an F on a math test. But he doesn't even seem to notice because he's too engrossed in surreptitiously reading Beaudelaire's The Flowers of Evil. And the day goes downhill from there. In a moment of weakness, he finds and takes home the gym clothes belonging to sweet, pretty Nanako Saeki on whom he has a major crush. Unfortunately for Takao, there's a witness to the theft: Nakamura, who has a huge chip on her shoulder and a sadistic streak.

As the saga unfolds, we see Takao struggling to decide whether to confess or cover up his misdeeds at the same time that he tries to win over the girl of his dreams, and avoid the blackmail attempts of Nakamura, his new ”BFF.”

Smart, funny, and emotionally engaging, The Flowers of Evil introduces a character who's not a hero, but just an ordinary teenager in search of true love and real friendship.



Note: Includes 1 extra chapter.

Tags: Coming of Age , Psychosexual , Philosophy , Denpa , Love Triangle , Rehabilitation , School , Classic Literature , Tragedy , Time Skip , Sadism , Male Protagonist , Bullying , Shounen , Suicide , Female Protagonist , Rural , Heterosexual , Writing , Urban , Blackmail , Nudity , Crossdressing

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

Chi no Wadachi

Also known as Blood on the Tracks.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Psychological

Ordinary middle school student Seiichi Osabe receives love and care from his mother Seiko. Until one summer an incident changes the family dynamic forever. This is a story of a mother’s love that has gone too far….



Tags: Seinen , Tragedy , Family Life , Denpa , Coming of Age , Crime , Suicide , Heterosexual , Memory Manipulation , Male Protagonist , Time Skip , Amnesia , Psychosexual , Bullying , Anti-Hero , Philosophy , School , Police , Nudity , Cosmic Horror , Tomboy , Dissociative Identities , Acting

Pandora Hearts

Also known as Pandora Hearts.

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

The air of celebration surrounding fifteen-year-old Oz Vessalius’s coming-of-age ceremony quickly turns to horror when he is condemned for a sin about which he knows nothing. He is thrown into an eternal, inescapable prison known as the Abyss from which there is no escape. There, he meets a young girl named Alice, who is not what she seems. Now that the relentless cogs of fate have begun to turn, do they lead only to crushing despair for Oz, or is there some shred of hope for him to grasp on to?



Note: Includes two extra chapters and the pilot one-shot.

Tags: Tragedy , Philosophy , Amnesia , Ensemble Cast , Time Manipulation , Fairy Tale , Found Family , Body Swapping , Reincarnation , Dissociative Identities , Memory Manipulation , Suicide , Time Skip , Twins , Male Protagonist , Butler , Alternate Universe , Denpa , Gore , Magic , Shounen , Tsundere , Guns , Yandere , Body Horror , Female Protagonist , Afterlife , Primarily Adult Cast

Fumetsu no Anata e

Also known as To Your Eternity.

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

A lonely boy wandering the Arctic regions of North America meets a wolf, and the two become fast friends, depending on each other to survive the harsh environment. But the boy has a history, and the wolf is more than meets the eye as well …



Note: Includes one extra chapter.

Tags: Tragedy , Shapeshifting , Philosophy , Coming of Age , Time Skip , Outdoor Activities , Ensemble Cast , Dissociative Identities , Survival , Urban Fantasy , Ghost , Cosmic Horror , Denpa , Shounen , Agender , Travel , Gore , Yandere , Bullying , Suicide , Urban , Cyberpunk , Age Regression , Male Protagonist , Language Barrier , Animals , Nudity , Dystopian , Indigenous Cultures , Historical , Female Protagonist

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou

Also known as Girls' Last Tour.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

Civilization is dead, but Chito and Yuuri are still alive. So they hop aboard their beloved Kettenkrad motorbike and aimlessly wander the ruins of the world they once knew. Day after hopeless day, they look for their next meal and fuel for their ride. But as long as the two are together, even an existence as bleak as theirs has a ray or two of sunshine in it, whether they're sucking down their fill of soup or hunting for machine parts to tinker with. For two girls in a world full of nothing, the experiences and feelings the two share give them something to live for…



Note: Winner of the Best Comic Award at the Seiun Awards in 2019.

Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Philosophy , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Lost Civilization , Survival , Iyashikei , Primarily Female Cast , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Episodic , Travel , Snowscape , Seinen , War , Urban , Artificial Intelligence , Chibi , Cosmic Horror , Military , Denpa , Tanks

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

Dead Dead Demon's Dededededestruction

Also known as Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

The Japan Self-Defense Forces are still looking for a way to combat the alien threat, but so far conventional weapons have had no effect. Maybe it’s time to try something unconventional.

Meanwhile, Kadode Koyama and her best friend avidly track the aliens’ movements on social media and less enthusiastically study for college entrance exams. When the end of the world looms overhead, you learn to take things one step at a time.



Notes:
- Winner of the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category.
- Includes one extra chapter.

Tags: Seinen , Aliens , Female Protagonist , Alternate Universe , Politics , Primarily Female Cast , Military , Time Manipulation , Coming of Age , Dystopian , Denpa , Philosophy , Language Barrier , Tragedy , Suicide , School , Otaku Culture , Anti-Hero , Post-Apocalyptic , Bisexual , Gore , Satire , Yuri , Video Games , Cosmic Horror , Crossdressing , CGI , Love Triangle

Shin Seiki Evangelion

Also known as Neon Genesis Evangelion.

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

In 2015, the "Angels" have returned, and Shinji Ikari, a fourteen year-old child of the new Earth, is forced by his father Gendo--commander of the secret organization NERV--to pilot the monstrous biomechanical weapon called "Evangelion" to match the Angels' fearsome power...



Tags: Philosophy , Coming of Age , Kaiju , Tragedy , Military , Body Horror , Primarily Teen Cast , Real Robot , Conspiracy , Male Protagonist , Post-Apocalyptic , Denpa , Seinen , Cosmic Horror , Robots , Super Robot , Tsundere , Angels , Kuudere , Gore , Memory Manipulation , Cyberpunk , Amnesia , Bisexual , Espionage , Guns , School , Urban , Boys' Love , Nudity , Space , Age Gap , Tokusatsu , Love Triangle , Yuri

Sabishisugite Rezu Fuzoku ni Ikimashita Report

Also known as My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness.

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

A hugely popular comic on Pixiv, My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness offers readers an honest and heartfelt look at one young woman’s exploration of her sexuality, mental well-being, and growing up in our modern age.



Note: Includes one extra chapter.

Tags: Autobiographical , Non-fiction , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Family Life , LGBTQ+ Themes , Rehabilitation , Disability , Yuri , POV , Psychosexual , Philosophy , Drawing , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Survival , Achronological Order , Urban , Nudity , Full Color , Denpa

Boku wa Mari no Naka

Also known as Inside Mari.

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

College dropout Isao Komori wakes up one morning to find himself in the body of a high school girl. How did this happen and what happened to the girl whose body his is possessing?

Tags: Female Protagonist , Body Swapping , Dissociative Identities , Gender Bending , Seinen , Philosophy , Denpa , Hikikomori , Psychosexual , LGBTQ+ Themes , Primarily Female Cast , Rehabilitation , School , Male Protagonist , Masturbation , Unrequited Love , Nudity , Tragedy , Primarily Teen Cast , Bullying , Disability

My Broken Mariko

Also known as My Broken Mariko.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

Tomoyo Shiino has stood by her friend Mariko through years of abuse, abandonment, and depression. However horrific her circumstances, their friendship has been the one reassuring constant in Mariko's life-and Tomoyo's too. That is, until Tomoyo is utterly blindsided by news of Mariko's death. In life, Tomoyo felt powerless to help her best friend out of the darkness that ultimately drove her over the edge. Now, Tomoyo is determined to liberate Mariko's ashes for one final journey together... to set free her dear, broken Mariko.



Notes:
- Includes the one-shot "YISKA".
- includes the extra "Home Sweet Home!".

Tags: Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Suicide , Coastal , Primarily Adult Cast , Josei , Coming of Age , Primarily Female Cast , Tomboy , Yuri , Rehabilitation , LGBTQ+ Themes , Philosophy , Denpa

Shinai naru Boku e Satsui wo Komete

Also known as My Dearest Self With Malice Aforethought.

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

Eiji the college-age virgin dreams of someday having a girlfriend...until he wakes up one day with his "girlfriend" in his bed with him! Not only that, his buddy tells him he got in a fight...and that three days have passed that Eiji doesn't remember? What dark secrets are being hidden...by Eiji himself?



Note: Includes 1 epilogue chapter.

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Revenge , Crime , Seinen , Amnesia , Police , Denpa , Fugitive , Yandere , Detective , Torture , Male Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Prostitution , Suicide , Gore , Gangs , Nudity , Adoption , College , Time Skip , Orphan , Tragedy , Body Horror , Guns , LGBTQ+ Themes

Takopii no Genzai

Also known as Takopi's Original Sin.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi

Takopi travels from his home of Happy Planet to spread happiness across Earth, but meets the unsmiling Shizuka upon landing. Her friends at school and home life seem to be the source of her somber expression—and the pure-hearted Takopi is determined to change things for the better! But what truths await him when the curtains rise in this shocking drama?!



Tags: Bullying , Tragedy , Aliens , Time Manipulation , Denpa , Primarily Child Cast , Suicide , Female Protagonist , Crime , Shounen , Memory Manipulation , Magic , Coming of Age , Philosophy , Clone