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

Vinland Saga

Also known as Vinland Saga.

Status: Finished
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:
- Includes the one-shot "Sayonara ga Chikai no de" (For Our Farewell Is Near)
- Includes the one-shot "Assassin's Creed: Valhalla x Vinland Saga"
- Includes two extra chapters.
- 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: Rehabilitation , Historical , Coming of Age , Vikings , Foreign , Philosophy , Seinen , Male Protagonist , War , Revenge , Tragedy , Found Family , Travel , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Slavery , Time Skip , Gore , Swordplay , Ships , Politics , Class Struggle , Medieval , Rural , Parenthood , Anti-Hero , Agriculture , Pirates , Environmental , Religion , Marriage , Indigenous Cultures , Achronological Order , Adoption , Language Barrier , Mythology , Archery , Nudity , Wilderness , Transgender , Tomboy , LGBTQ+ Themes

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

Riders from around the world gather in the Wild West for the race of the century! Johnny Joestar, a former jockey paralyzed from the waist down, comes to spectate, and momentarily regains the ability to walk while watching a duel fought by Gyro Zeppeli. Desperate to learn more about this power, Johnny joins the race alongside Gyro and embarks on the most epic and bizarre race to ever cross the American frontier!



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

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 , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Lost Civilization , Travel , War , Environmental , Philosophy , Time Skip , Space , Kingdom Management , Primarily Male Cast , Tragedy , Espionage , Ships , Wilderness , Adoption , Asexual , Food , Time Manipulation , Guns , Aliens

Tongari Boushi no Atelier

Also known as Witch Hat Atelier.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy

In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: she wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch … until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician. After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she’s never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody “knows” might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem...



Notes:
- Nominated for the 11th Manga Taishou Award in 2018.
- Won the Daruma d'Or at Japan Expo in 2019.
- Won Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia at the Eisner Awards in 2020.
- Won the Best Manga Award at the Harvey Awards in 2020.

Tags: Witch , Magic , Found Family , Female Protagonist , Memory Manipulation , Drawing , Coming of Age , Teacher , Ensemble Cast , Revenge , School , Primarily Female Cast , Medieval , Tragedy , Primarily Child Cast , Conspiracy , Politics , Philosophy , Seinen , Disability , Body Horror , Rehabilitation , Travel , Amnesia , Foreign , Spearplay , Environmental , Iyashikei , Dragons , LGBTQ+ Themes , Twins

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).
- Includes 14 extra chapters.

Tags: Dungeon , Food , Environmental , Magic , Ensemble Cast , Medieval , Primarily Adult Cast , Lost Civilization , Seinen , Anti-Hero , Philosophy , Elf , Male Protagonist , Necromancy , Demons , Dragons , Body Horror , Cosmic Horror , Kemonomimi , Episodic , Chimera , Monster Girl , Iyashikei , Alternate Universe , Witch , Succubus , 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: Philosophy , Seinen , Female Protagonist , Reincarnation , Memory Manipulation , Amnesia , Historical , Time Skip , Travel , Heterosexual , Environmental , Autobiographical , Nudity , Ships , Super Power

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 , Shapeshifting , Super Power , Environmental , Gore , Tragedy , Philosophy , Heterosexual , School , Delinquents , Love Triangle , Nudity

Otoyomegatari

Also known as A Bride's Story.

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

A Bride’s Story tells the tale of a beautiful young bride in nineteenth-century Asia. At the age of twenty, Amir is sent to a neighboring town to be wed. But her surprise at learning her new husband, Karluk, is eight years younger than her is quickly replaced by a deep affection for the boy and his family. Though she hails from just beyond the mountains, Amir’s clan had very different customs, foods, and clothes from what Karluk is used to. As the two of them learn more about each other through their day-to-day lives, the bond of respect and love grows stronger.



Note: Won the Prix Intergénérations ("Intergenerational Award") at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2012 and the 7th Manga Taishou award in 2014.

Tags: Ensemble Cast , Marriage , Historical , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Travel , Seinen , Foreign , Arranged Marriage , Iyashikei , Indigenous Cultures , Desert , Environmental , Family Life , Age Gap , Educational , War , Cohabitation , Rural , Matchmaking , Military , Food , Religion , Unrequited Love , Language Barrier , Twins , Archery , Nudity , Animals , Female Harem , Polyamorous , LGBTQ+ Themes , Large Breasts

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 existence, 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 , Eco-Horror , 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.



Note: Includes two extra chapters.

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

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: Includes five extra chapters.

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

Dungeon Reset

Also known as Dungeon Reset.

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

Da-Woon's ordinary life is turned upside down when he is summoned into the Dungeon, where he must play a deadly game, outlasting dangerous monsters and life-threatening traps. To make matters worse, he's only a mere crafter with zero combat abilities. But after Da-Woon falls into a trap and survives after a glitched reset, he's gained random but oddly helpful skills. He'll need to get creative to clear the game and return home, with a bloodthirsty assistant and an adorable ground squirrel along for the ride. Now that the rules no longer apply to him, what possibilities await in the tunnels below?



Tags: Dungeon , Death Game , Isekai , Full Color , Food , Male Protagonist , Survival , Animals , Environmental , Super Power , Chimera

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 , Female Protagonist , Survival , Aviation , Military , Cult , Dystopian , Eco-Horror , Politics , Religion , Kaiju , Anachronism , Ghost , Magic , Slavery , Tragedy , Tanks , 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 , Coastal , Ojou-sama , Cult , Detective , Slapstick , Super Power , Time Skip , Time Manipulation , Estranged Family , Shapeshifting , Acting , School , Tragedy , Environmental

Jonjae

Also known as Existence.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Supernatural

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 one extra chapter.

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

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 , College

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

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

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 , Aliens , Seinen , Post-Apocalyptic , Twins , Assassins , Cosmic Horror , Religion , Philosophy , Super Power , Body Horror , Desert , Primarily Adult Cast , Crime , Gore , Environmental , Tragedy , Space , Transgender , Dissociative Identities , Eco-Horror