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

Boku no Hero Academia

Also known as My Hero Academia.

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

Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he hasn’t got an ounce of power in him. With no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes, his life is looking more and more like a dead end. Then an encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of them all, gives him a chance to change his destiny…



Note:
- Winner of the 1st Next Manga Award in the Print Category in 2015.
- Nominated for the 8th Manga Taisho Award in 2015.
- Nominated for the 40th Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2016.
- Chapter count includes a bonus chapter included in volume 10 “Tsuyu-chan no Kerokero Nikki“.

Tags: Superhero , Super Power , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Terrorism , School , Cultivation , Crime , Anti-Hero , Coming of Age , War , Boarding School , Urban Fantasy , Urban , Primarily Male Cast , Revenge , Criminal Organization , Tragedy , Politics , Gore , Drugs , Age Regression , Fugitive , Heterosexual , Tomboy , Guns , Body Horror , Animals , Bisexual , Yakuza , Robots , Nudity , Memory Manipulation , Yandere

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 , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Time Skip , Anti-Hero , Fugitive , School , Surreal Comedy , Cult , Meta , Work , Nudity , Gods , Body Horror , Love Triangle , Ghost

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 ,

MONSTER

Also known as Monster.

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

Everyone faces uncertainty at some point in their lives. Even a brilliant surgeon like Kenzo Tenma is no exception. But there’s no way he could have known that his decision to stop chasing professional success and instead concentrate on his oath to save peoples’ lives would result in the birth of an abomination. The questions of good and evil now take on a terrifyingly real dimension.

Years later, in Germany during the tumultuous post-reunification period, middle-aged childless couples are being killed one after another. The serial killer’s identity is known. The reasons why he kills are not. Dr. Tenma sets out on a journey to find the killer’s twin sister, who may hold some clues to solving the enigma of the “Monster.”



Tags: Seinen , Conspiracy , Tragedy , Philosophy , Twins , Amnesia , Fugitive , Noir , Foreign , Male Protagonist , Memory Manipulation , Primarily Adult Cast , Historical , Detective , Ensemble Cast , Police , Medicine , Time Skip , Crossdressing , Suicide , Achronological Order , Adoption , Assassins , Torture , Gore

20 Seiki Shounen

Also known as 20th Century Boys.

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

Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns. This is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world.

For Kenji, a simple convenience store manager who once dreamed of becoming a rock 'n' roll musician, a host of memories from his past come rushing back when one of his childhood friends mysteriously commits suicide. Could this new death be related to the rise of a bizarre new cult that's been implicated in several other murders and disappearances? Determined to dig deeper, Kenji reunites with some of his old buddies in the hope of learning the truth behind it all.



Tags: Politics , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Seinen , Fugitive , Dystopian , Achronological Order , Conspiracy , Cult , Time Skip , Post-Apocalyptic , Pandemic , Terrorism , Found Family , Male Protagonist , Detective , Musical Theater , Philosophy , Cosmic Horror , Female Protagonist , Historical , Tragedy , Augmented Reality , Police , Robots , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Transgender , Nudity , Foreign , Time Manipulation , Homeless , Twins , Dissociative Identities , Crossdressing

Kingdom

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama

Millions of years have passed since the times of legends, when the worlds of man and gods were still the same. In these times it was the desires of man that moved the world. It is the period of the 500 year war: the Era of Warring States. Kingdom is the story of a young boy who grew into a great general and all the trials and bloodshed that led him there.

Tags: Military , Historical , War , Politics , Royal Affairs , Male Protagonist , Ancient China , Seinen , Swordplay , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Foreign , Heterosexual , Gore , Primarily Male Cast , Fugitive , Conspiracy , Body Horror , Assassins , Spearplay , Time Skip , Torture , Archery , Ensemble Cast , Crossdressing , Magic

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

Akatsuki no Yona

Also known as Yona of the Dawn.

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

Yona reels from the shock of witnessing a loved one’s murder and having to fight for her life. With Hak’s help, she flees the palace and struggles to survive while evading her enemy’s forces. But where will this displaced princess go when all the paths before her are uncertain?



Tags: Travel , Female Protagonist , Shoujo , Historical , Found Family , Dragons , Politics , Fugitive , Gods , Mythology , Reincarnation , War , Tragedy , Royal Affairs , Foreign , Primarily Male Cast , Coming of Age , Heterosexual , Archery , Super Power , Male Harem , Kuudere , Drugs , Orphan , Pirates , Survival

BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS

Also known as Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Supernatural

The ninja adventures continue with Naruto’s son, Boruto!

Naruto was a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He achieved his dream to become the greatest ninja in his village, and now his face sits atop the Hokage monument. But this is not his story... A new generation of ninja are ready to take the stage, led by Naruto's own son, Boruto!

Years have passed since Naruto and Sasuke teamed up to defeat Kaguya, the progenitor of chakra and the greatest threat the ninja world has ever faced. Times are now peaceful and the new generation of shinobi has not experienced the same hardships as its parents. Perhaps that is why Boruto would rather play video games than train. However, one passion does burn deep in this ninja boy’s heart, and that is the desire to defeat his father!



Note: Includes the one-shot "Naruto: The Path Lit by the Full Moon".

Tags: Shounen , Ninja , Gods , Super Power , Male Protagonist , Aliens , Primarily Child Cast , Fugitive , Memory Manipulation , Cyborg , Martial Arts , Anti-Hero , Cultivation , Espionage , Orphan

Bungou Stray Dogs

Also known as Bungo Stray Dogs.

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

Having been kicked out of the orphanage, a despairing young man by the name of Atsushi Nakajima rescues a strange man from a suicide attempt--Osamu Dazai. Turns out that Dazai is part of an armed-detective agency staffed by individuals whose supernatural powers take on a literary bent!



Tags: Urban Fantasy , Detective , Super Power , Mafia , Crime , Male Protagonist , Classic Literature , Fugitive , Seinen , Primarily Male Cast , Tragedy , Work , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Orphan , Anti-Hero , Philosophy , Terrorism , Conspiracy , Gore , Assassins , Suicide , Vampire , Monster Boy , Police , Guns , Swordplay , Torture , Circus , Sadism , Time Manipulation , Tsundere , Shapeshifting , Found Family

Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!

Also known as The Eminence in Shadow.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy , Fantasy

One big fat lie and a few twisted truths.

Even in his past life, Cid's dream wasn't to become a protagonist or a final boss. He'd rather lie low as a minor character until it's prime time to reveal he's a mastermind...or at least, do the next best thing-pretend to be one! And now that he's been reborn into another world, he's ready to set the perfect conditions to live out his dreams to the fullest. Armed with his overactive imagination, Cid jokingly recruits members to his organization and makes up a whole backstory about an evil cult that they need to take down. Well, as luck would have it, these imaginary adversaries turn out to be the real deal-and everyone knows the truth but him!



Tags: Chuunibyou , Male Protagonist , Magic , Cult , Isekai , Parody , Reincarnation , Anti-Hero , Shounen , Swordplay , Female Harem , Elf , Fugitive , Kemonomimi , Vampire , Zombie , Satire

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

Kuroshitsuji

Also known as Black Butler.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Action , Fantasy , Mystery , Supernatural

In Victorian era Europe, a young boy loses everything he once held near and dear to a vicious plot. In his moment of death, he strikes a deal with a demon: his soul, in exchange for revenge. Ciel Phantomhive is now the head of the Phantomhive corporation, handling all business affairs as well as the underground work for the Queen of England. His new partner is a demon butler, Sebastian Michaelis, whose prowess as a butler is only surpassed by his strength as a demon.

The story follows the two along with their other servants, as they work to unravel the plot behind Ciel's parents' murder, and the horrendous tragedies that befell Ciel in the month directly after.

Tags: Demons , Revenge , Tragedy , Crime , Historical , Butler , Anti-Hero , Male Protagonist , Orphan , Twins , Royal Affairs , Foreign , Cult , Shounen , Steampunk , Magic , Detective , Found Family , Circus , Mythology , Maids , Assassins , Travel , LGBTQ+ Themes , Medicine , Zombie , Fugitive , Crossdressing , Transgender , Anachronism , Boarding School , School , Musical Theater , Torture , Witch , Disability , Swordplay , Idol , Estranged Family

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari

Also known as The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

Naofumi Iwatani, an uncharismatic Otaku who spends his days on games and manga, suddenly finds himself summoned to a parallel universe! He discovers he is one of four heroes equipped with legendary weapons and tasked with saving the world from its prophesied destruction. As the Shield Hero, the weakest of the heroes, all is not as it seems. Naofumi is soon alone, penniless, and betrayed. With no one to turn to, and nowhere to run, he is left with only his shield. Now, Naofumi must rise to become the legendary Shield Hero and save the world!



Tags: Isekai , Bullying , Anti-Hero , Kemonomimi , Demons , Male Protagonist , Fugitive , Seinen , Slavery , Matriarchy

Gintama

Also known as Gin Tama.

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

The samurai didn't stand a chance. First, the aliens invaded Japan. Next, they took all the jobs. And then they confiscated everyone's swords. So what does a hotheaded former samurai like Sakata "Gin" Gintoki do to make ends meet? Take any odd job that comes his way, even if it means losing his dignity.



Included Bonus Chapters:
Volume 1: Dandelion (One-shot).
Volume 2: Shirokuro (One-shot).
Volume 24: 13 (One-shot).
Volume 38: Bankara-san Ga Tooru (One-shot).
Volume 41: Special Lesson.

Tags: Parody , Samurai , Found Family , Meta , Swordplay , Male Protagonist , Aliens , Shounen , Philosophy , Episodic , Tragedy , Space , Historical , Anachronism , Time Skip , Ensemble Cast , Police , War , Dystopian , Robots , Ninja , Ghost , LGBTQ+ Themes , Homeless , Assassins , Crossdressing , Fugitive , Idol , Shrine Maiden , Body Swapping , Gender Bending , Judo , Drawing , Gangs , Female Harem , Dissociative Identities , Afterlife , Amnesia , Cult , Military , Reincarnation , Nekomimi , Conspiracy , Politics

Mugen no Juunin

Also known as Blade of the Immortal.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Supernatural

Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal will keep you on edge! Manji, a ronin warrior of feudal Japan, has been cursed with immortality. To rid himself of this curse and end his life of misery, he must slay one thousand evil men! His quest begins when a young girl seeks his help in taking revenge on her parents' killers . . . and his quest won't end until the blood of a thousand has spilled!



Notes:
- The magazine release contains 219 chapters, which includes a prologue.
- The tankoubon release re-arranges the manga into 207 total chapters across 30 volumes.
- The Dark Horse release re-arranges the manga into 208 total chapters across 31 volumes.

Tags: Swordplay , Revenge , Tragedy , Samurai , Primarily Adult Cast , Historical , Seinen , Anti-Hero , Martial Arts , Gore , Philosophy , Prison , Urban Fantasy , Demons , Fugitive , Torture

Boku dake ga Inai Machi

Also known as Erased.

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

Twenty-nine-year-old Satoru Fujinuma is floundering through life. Amid his daily drudgery, he finds himself in the grip of an incredible, inexplicable, and uncontrollable phenomenon that rewinds time, a condition that seems to only make his drab life worse. But then, one day, everything changes. A terrible incident forever changes Satoru's life as he knows it...and with it, comes a "Revival" that sends Satoru eighteen years into the past!

In the body of his boyhood self, Satoru encounters sights he never imagined he would see again--the smile of his mother, alive and well, his old friends, and Kayo Hinazuki, the girl who was kidnapped and murdered when he was a boy the first time around. To return to the present and prevent the tragedy that brought him back to his childhood in the first place, Satoru begins plotting a way to change Hinazuki's fate...But up against the clock and a faceless evil, does eleven-year-old Satoru even stand a chance?



Note: Was nominated for the 18th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Reader Award in 2014 and for the 7th, 8th and 9th Manga Taisho Award between 2014 and 2016. Also nominated for the 40th Kodansha Manga Awards in 2016.

Volume 9 contains the 5-chapter “Boku Dake ga Inai Machi:Re” side story.

Tags: Crime , Primarily Child Cast , Age Regression , Male Protagonist , Time Manipulation , Time Skip , School , Seinen , Detective , Fugitive , Tragedy , Revenge , Bullying , Rehabilitation , Writing , Amnesia , Snowscape , Photography

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 , Adoption , College , Time Skip , Orphan , Tragedy , Nudity , Body Horror , Guns , LGBTQ+ Themes , Transgender

Inuyashiki

Also known as Inuyashiki.

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

Ichiro Inuyashiki is down on his luck. While only 58 years old, his geriatric looks often have him written off as a pathetic old man by the world around him and he's constantly ignored and disrespected by his family despite all that he's done to support them. On top of everything else, his doctor has revealed that he has cancer and it appears that he has little time left in this world. But just when it seems things couldn't get any worse, a blinding light in the night sky strikes the earth where Ichiro stands. He later wakes up to find himself unscathed, but he soon starts to notice that there's something…different about himself.



Tags: Cyborg , Seinen , Super Power , Philosophy , Tragedy , Urban , Gore , Terrorism , Fugitive , Robots , Crime , Male Protagonist , Elderly Protagonist , Aliens , Bullying ,