Top Environmental Manga Recommendations

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

Vinland Saga

Also known as Vinland Saga.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama

As a child, Thorfinn sat at the feet of the great Leif Ericson and thrilled to wild tales of a land far to the west. But his youthful fantasies were shattered by a mercenary raid. Raised by the Vikings who murdered his father, Thorfinn became a terrifying warrior, forever seeking to kill the band's leader, Askeladd, and avenge his father. Sustaining Thorfinn through his ordeal are his pride in his family and his dreams of a fertile westward land, a land without war or slavery … the land Leif called Vinland.



Notes:
- Won the Grand Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2009.
- Winner of the 36th Kodansha Manga Award in the General category in 2012.

Tags: Historical , Coming of Age , Vikings , Rehabilitation , Foreign , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Seinen , War , Revenge , Tragedy , Travel , Found Family , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Slavery , Time Skip , Gore , Politics , Swordplay , Ships , Parenthood , Anti-Hero , Rural , Pirates , Agriculture , Environmental , Achronological Order , Religion , Language Barrier , Heterosexual , Adoption , Nudity , Tomboy , Medieval , Mythology , Archery , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes , Wilderness , Indigenous Cultures

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

Dr. STONE

Also known as Dr. STONE.

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

One fateful day, all of humanity was petrified by a blinding flash of light. After several millennia, high schooler Taiju awakens and finds himself lost in a world of statues. However, he’s not alone! His science-loving friend Senku’s been up and running for a few months and he's got a grand plan in mind—to kickstart civilization with the power of science!



Note: Shueisha published its 27th volume on April 4, 2024. This volume contains the one-shot Dr. STONE: TERRAFORMING and the mini-series Dr. STONE 4D SCIENCE.

Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Survival , Ensemble Cast , Educational , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Lost Civilization , Travel , Philosophy , War , Environmental , Time Skip , Kingdom Management , Space , Primarily Male Cast , Tragedy , Espionage , Ships , Adoption , Food , Asexual , Time Manipulation , Guns , Wilderness

Dungeon Meshi

Also known as Delicious in Dungeon.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy

When young adventurer Laios and his company are attacked and soundly thrashed by a dragon deep in a dungeon, the party loses all its money and provisions...and a member! They're eager to go back and save her, but there is just one problem: If they set out with no food or coin to speak of, they're sure to starve on the way! But Laios comes up with a brilliant idea: "Let's eat the monsters!" Slimes, basilisks, and even dragons...none are safe from the appetites of these dungeon-crawling gourmands!



Notes:
- Nominated in the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Manga Taishou Award in 2016-2019.
- Ranked first in the 2016 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (Male Readers Division).
- Chapter count includes 14 extra chapters.

Tags: Dungeon , Food , Environmental , Magic , Ensemble Cast , Medieval , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Lost Civilization , Anti-Hero , Philosophy , Elf , Cosmic Horror , Demons , Necromancy , Dragons , Body Horror , Kemonomimi , Episodic , Chimera , Male Protagonist , Monster Girl , LGBTQ+ Themes , Iyashikei , Alternate Universe , Succubus , Witch , Mermaid , Curses , Tanned Skin

Omoide Emanon

Also known as Memories of Emanon.

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

The year is 1967, and a young Japanese man is thinking about the future. On one side of the water, the war is raging in Vietnam; far away on the other side, the Apollo Project has just met with disaster as three astronauts die in a capsule fire. And here and now, on a long nighttime ferry ride back home, he will meet and fall in love with a mysterious young woman who carries a past deeper and more profound than his dreams and fears of tomorrow. Her name, she jokes, is no name—Emanon, and she can never be forgotten, any more than she can forget.



Tags: Seinen , Philosophy , Female Protagonist , Memory Manipulation , Reincarnation , Heterosexual , Historical , Amnesia , Time Skip , Travel , Environmental , Nudity , Ships , Super Power , Autobiographical

Kiseijuu

Also known as Parasyte.

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

They arrive in silence and darkness. They descend from the skies. They have a hunger for human flesh. They are everywhere. They are parasites, alien creatures who must invade–and take control of–a human host to survive. And once they have infected their victims, they can assume any deadly form they choose: monsters with giant teeth, winged demons, creatures with blades for hands. But most have chosen to conceal their lethal purpose behind ordinary human faces. So no one knows their secret–except an ordinary high school student. Shin is battling for control of his own body against an alien parasite, but can he find a way to warn humanity of the horrors to come?



Tags: Male Protagonist , Seinen , Body Horror , Aliens , Environmental , Super Power , Gore , Shapeshifting , Tragedy , Philosophy , Heterosexual , Delinquents , School , Love Triangle , Nudity

Mushishi

Also known as Mushishi.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Some live in the deep darkness behind your eyelids. Some eat silence. Some thoughtlessly kill. Some simply drive men mad. They are known as mushi—creatures that came into being shortly after life emerged from the primordial ooze. They still exist parallel to our own lives and can only be seen by a select few. As a mushishi, Ginko is one of the few who are aware of their existense, and this young man with a sardonic smile roams from place to place with the knowledge and skill to aid those unwittingly affected by mushi.



Note: Won the Excellence Prize for Manga at the 7th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2003 and the Kodansha Manga Award for General Manga in 2006.

Tags: Travel , Episodic , Environmental , Youkai , Seinen , Mythology , Rural , Iyashikei , Philosophy , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Urban Fantasy , Historical , Work , Demons

Planetes

Also known as Planetes.

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

Haunted by a space flight accident that claimed the life of his beloved wife, Yuri finds himself six years later as part of a team of debris cleaners on a vessel called the Toy Box charged with clearing space junk from space flight paths. The team consists of Hachimaki, a hot shot debris-man with a sailor's affinity for the orbital ocean; Fee, a chain-smoking tomboy beauty with an abrasive edge; and Pops, a veteran orbital mechanic whose avuncular presence soothes the stress of the job.



Tags: Philosophy , Work , Environmental , Space , Seinen , Educational , Politics , Family Life , Terrorism , Primarily Adult Cast , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist , Episodic , Iyashikei , Tragedy , Nudity , Time Skip

EDEN: It's an Endless World!

Also known as Eden: It's an Endless World!.

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

In the near future, a large portion of humanity is wiped out by a brutal, new virus that hardens the skin while dissolving internal organs. Those who aren't immune are either severely crippled or allowed to live with cybernetically enhanced bodies. Taking advantage of a world in chaos, a paramilitary force known as the Propater topples the United Nations and seeks world domination. Elijah, a young survivor searching for his mother, travels towards the Andes Mountains with an artificially intelligent combat robot. When he encounters a group of anti-Propater freedom fighters, a maelstrom of unique characters unfolds. Graphic, cyberpunk, and philosophical, Eden is a place where endearing heroes face a constant struggle for survival and violent surprises wait around every corner!

Note: The chapter count included 5 extra stories.

Tags: Foreign , Tragedy , Gangs , War , Anti-Hero , Drugs , Seinen , Post-Apocalyptic , Politics , Primarily Adult Cast , Ensemble Cast , Philosophy , Cyberpunk , Gore , Terrorism , Revenge , Dystopian , Pandemic , Male Protagonist , Guns , Conspiracy , Gods , Alternate Universe , Religion , Travel , Survival , Artificial Intelligence , Environmental , Heterosexual , Prostitution , Military , Coming of Age , Nudity , LGBTQ+ Themes , Class Struggle , Time Skip , Tanned Skin , Age Gap , Acting , Cult , Suicide , Cosmic Horror , Fellatio , Cunnilingus

Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä

Also known as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

Humanity, in its hubris, has precipitated a devastating environmental disaster. Flourishing industrial civilizations have been swallowed up by the Sea of Corruption, an enormous forest of fungi releases a miasma of poisonous spores into the air. Nausicaa, a compassionate young princess, and her allies battle to heal a wounded world and its inhabitants...



Note: Won the 26th Seiun Award for Best Comic (1995).

Tags: Environmental , Post-Apocalyptic , Lost Civilization , War , Philosophy , Survival , Female Protagonist , Military , Aviation , Cult , Eco-Horror , Dystopian , Politics , Religion , Kaiju , Anachronism , Tanks , Ghost , Magic , Slavery , Tragedy , Travel , Calligraphy

Pocket Monsters SPECIAL

Also known as Pokémon Adventures.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy

Red is just a normal kid living in the rural Pallet Town, when he decides to go out on his own adventure, along with his rival since childhood, Green. In this world of Pokemon, he makes many friends, humans and Pokemon alike. However, all is not well. Team Rocket is trying to capture Mew, a very rare Pokemon, and is performing experiments on other Pokemon, trying to increase their power. Red and his friends must battle against Team Rocket to stop their cruel experiments and unlock the secrets of Pokemon.


Tags: Travel , Animals , Primarily Child Cast , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Proxy Battle , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Tomboy , Criminal Organization , Urban Fantasy , Creature Taming , Video Games , Kids , Gangs , Tragedy , Coastal , Ojou-sama , Cult , Detective , Slapstick , Super Power , Time Skip , Time Manipulation , Estranged Family , Shapeshifting , Acting , School , Environmental

Gin no Saji

Also known as Silver Spoon.

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

Defying the expectations of family and teachers, Yuugo Hachiken chooses to leave the city and enroll at Ooezo Agricultural High School. Having always been at the top of his class, Yuugo assumes a rural school will be a breeze, but mucking out stables, gathering eggs, and chasing errant calves takes a lot out of him-and fills him with something he's never experienced before. Surrounded by endless fields and fresh air, Yuugo discovers a new connection to the land and to life... Springtime begins at Ezo AG!!



Tags: Rural , School , Coming of Age , Agriculture , Animals , Educational , Primarily Teen Cast , Shounen , Food , School Club , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Environmental , Time Skip , Baseball , Ojou-sama , Cultivation , Economics , Rehabilitation , Primarily Male Cast

Jonjae

Also known as Existence.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy

Lee Jain has existed on Earth for 3.5 billion years, dying and being reborn as countless animal species. Now in his final life, he is reborn in South Korea as a human, his most hated species. Having inherited all the animal superpowers from his past lives, Jain is determined to survive and wipe out humanity. But when a sudden car accident erases his memory, Jain crosses paths with new beings that force the question: is humanity worth saving, or is it bound for extinction?



Note: Includes prologue

Tags: Environmental , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Full Color , Super Power , Reincarnation , Amnesia , Revenge , Military , Heterosexual , Shapeshifting , Time Skip , Gore

Toriko

Also known as Toriko.

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

This is the great era of gourmet food! And only Toriko can hunt down the ferocious ingredients that supply the world's best restaurants. As a Gourmet Hunter, Toriko tracks and defeats the tastiest and most dangerous animals with his bare hands. But has he met his match with an eight-legged alligator the size of a tank?



Tags: Food , Primarily Adult Cast , Animals , Super Power , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Dinosaurs , Cosmic Horror , Survival , Travel , Kaiju , Environmental , Cultivation , Demons , Dragons , Martial Arts , Afterlife , Ghost , Henshin , Youkai , Gore , Time Skip , Aliens , Robots , Alternate Universe , Yakuza , Body Swapping , Time Manipulation , Economics , Gender Bending , Wilderness , Centaur , Samurai

Toshokan no Daimajutsushi

Also known as Magus of the Library.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy

A story about a poor boy swept away by a kind library mage and the (literal) magic of reading, Magus of the Library is a beautifully-drawn, spirited fantasy adventure, like a Fullmetal Alchemist for all ages!

In the small village of Amun lives a poor boy named Theo. Theo adores books, but because of his pointed ears and impoverished life, he isn’t allowed to use the village library. As he endures the prejudice and hatred of the village, he dreams of going where such things don’t exist: Aftzaak, City of Books. But one day, Theo chances to meet a Kafna—a librarian who works for the great library of Aftzaak—and his life changes forever…



Tags: Politics , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Coming of Age , Primarily Female Cast , Elf , Magic , Travel , Religion , Adoption , Philosophy , Writing , Language Barrier , Dragons , Desert , Fairy , Bullying , Tanned Skin , Environmental , Kemonomimi , Nekomimi , Slavery , Conspiracy , Espionage , Criminal Organization , Dinosaurs , Pirates , Time Skip

Kumo desu ga, Nani ka?

Also known as So I'm a Spider, So What?.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy

I used to be a normal high school girl but in the blink of an eye, I woke up in a place I've never seen before and-and I was reborn as a spider?! How could something that's nothing more than a tiny spider (that's me) possibly survive in literally the worst dungeon ever? Are there no rules? There should be some rules! Who the hell is responsible for this? SHOW YOUR FACE!



Tags: Monster Girl , Magic , Isekai , Reincarnation , Gods , Female Protagonist , Achronological Order , Anti-Hero , Robots , Post-Apocalyptic , War , Lost Civilization , Dungeon , Demons , Found Family , Elf , Dragons , Yandere , Dissociative Identities , Vampire , Environmental , Yuri , Chimera , Angels , Monster Boy , Anthropomorphism , Gender Bending

Yuru Camp△

Also known as Laid-Back Camp.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Setting up a tent, starting a fire, and eating noodles with Mt. Fuji in view...Rin and Nadeshiko absolutely love to camp! Enjoy their zest for travel and maybe even pick up a tip or two about roughing it in the great outdoors. You might just want to go camping yourself!



Tags: Outdoor Activities , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Primarily Female Cast , Iyashikei , Travel , Camping , Rural , Educational , School Club , Food , Seinen , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , Mopeds , Environmental , Wilderness

Sasurai Emanon

Also known as Emanon Wanderer.

Status: Cancelled
Genres: Adventure , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Emanon's wanderings across late-1960s Japan bring her across other lives in small country towns, with each encounter leaving people transformed in her wake. Yet when love once again leads to pregnancy and the start of a new cycle in Emanon's birth and rebirth, she is confronted with something she has never before borne: twins, one of them, for the first time, a boy. Will he too grow up to inherit her immortal memories, as all her daughters have before?



Volume 1:
- Sasurai Emanon, chapter 1-8, revised and colorized chapters from Emanon - Sasurai Emanon Episode: 1
- Sasurai Emanon '67, chapter 1-7

Volume 2:
- Sasurai Emanon '73, chapter 1-9
- Sasurai Emanon '80, chapter 0

Volume 3:
- Sasurai Emanon '80, chapter 1-2
- Sasurai Emanon '88, chapter 1-5
- Sasurai Emanon '90, chapter 1-4
- Epilogue

Tags: Seinen , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Amnesia , Memory Manipulation , Nudity , Heterosexual , Coming of Age , Body Swapping , Time Manipulation , Environmental , Historical , Dinosaurs , Wilderness

Trigun Maximum

Also known as Trigun Maximum.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Sci-Fi

Much of the damage attributed to "Vash" is caused by the activities of bounty hunters who are after the 60,000,000,000$$ (sixty billion "double dollars") reward on Vash's head for the destruction of a city called July. Vash does not clearly remember the destruction of July, and only wants "love and peace", as he puts it; though he is a gunfighter of inhuman skill, he uses his weapons only to save lives wherever he can.

As the series progresses, more is gradually learned about Vash's mysterious history and the history of the human civilization on Gunsmoke, the desert planet the series is set on. The series is often humorous in tone, but at the same time it involves very serious character development and especially in later episodes it becomes quite emotionally intense. Vash is occasionally joined by a priest, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, who is almost as good a gunfighter as Vash himself, and later is targeted by a band of assassins known as the Gung-Ho Guns for reasons which are mysterious at first.

Trigun evolves into a very serious discussion of the nature of morality, posing questions such as: What is the nature of morality? Can we judge different moral codes? If a person is forced to betray their moral code, does that betrayal invalidate that moral code, and can the person still try to live up to that moral code? Can the person find redemption from their wrongs, and if so, how?



Originally serialized in 102 chapters, condensed then to 96 in the tankoubon release. Vol.8 contains 2 extra chapters: “FREED BIRD”; Young King Ours 1999-09, 10.

Tags: Dystopian , Guns , Steampunk , Male Protagonist , Seinen , Post-Apocalyptic , Twins , Assassins , Cosmic Horror , Religion , Aliens , Philosophy , Super Power , Body Horror , Desert , Primarily Adult Cast , Crime , Gore , Environmental , Tragedy , Space , Transgender , Dissociative Identities