Top Gambling Manga Recommendations

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

SAKAMOTO DAYS

Also known as Sakamoto Days.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy

Taro Sakamoto was the ultimate assassin, feared by villains and admired by hitmen. But one day...he fell in love! Retirement, marriage, fatherhood and then... Sakamoto gained weight! The chubby guy who runs the neighborhood store is actually a former legendary hitman! Can he protect his family from danger? Get ready to experience a new kind of action comedy series!



Tags: Assassins , Family Life , Crime , Found Family , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Konbini , Male Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Gangs , Guns , Shounen , Espionage , Dissociative Identities , Conspiracy , Gore , Heterosexual , Triads , Mafia , Acting , Slapstick , Urban , Prison , Tragedy , Super Power , Survival , Motorcycles , Gambling , Crossdressing

Kanojo, Okarishimasu

Also known as Rent-A-Girlfriend.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Ecchi , Romance

In today’s Japan, “rental” services can deliver an afternoon with a “friend,” a “parent,” even a fake girlfriend! After a staggering betrayal by his girlfriend, hapless freshman Kazuya gets just desperate enough to give it a try. But he quickly discovers how complicated it can be to “rent” an emotional connection, and his new “girlfriend,” who’s trying to keep her side hustle secret, will panic when she finds out her real life and Kazuya’s are intertwined in surprising ways! Family, school, and life all start to go wrong, too… It’s sweet but naïve boy meets cute but ruthless girl in this 21st-century manga rom-com!



Tags: Fake Relationship , Male Protagonist , Love Triangle , Prostitution , Shounen , Primarily Female Cast , Cohabitation , Unrequited Love , Work , Female Harem , Heterosexual , Tsundere , Gambling , Acting , Primarily Adult Cast , Filmmaking , College , Aliens , Coming of Age , Meta , Slapstick , Nudity , Agriculture , School

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: JoJolion

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

This part will take place in Morioh-Cho (the same town in Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable), but in the alternative universe in which Steel Ball Run takes place.

Following the Great East Japan earthquake, Morioh has been stricken by vast earthen protrusions known by the locals as Wall Eyes. Despite investigation, professional estimations are left empty. Meanwhile, the young girl Yasuho Hirose discovers a man buried within the ground, he possesses a distinctive star-shaped birthmark together with deeply penetrating bite marks. The man, who has contracted a staple case of amnesia is taken in by a local family and given the name Jousuke Higashikata, however mysterious events cannot stop from piling one upon the other and soon that enigma known as stands emerges to complement the great cloud of confusion.

Tags: Coming of Age , Super Power , Seinen , Amnesia , Tragedy , Conspiracy , Male Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Family Life , Alternate Universe , Agriculture , Medicine , Body Horror , Cultivation , Gore , Nudity , Memory Manipulation , Animals , Gambling , Suicide , Crossdressing , Curses

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 , Martial Arts , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , School , Bullying , Heterosexual , Surreal Comedy , Fitness , Boxing , Love Triangle , Meta , Found Family , Fashion , Primarily Male Cast , Cult , Parody , Homeless , Gambling , Detective , Drugs , Memory Manipulation , Primarily Teen Cast , Long Strip

Wind Breaker

Also known as Wind Breaker.

Status: Cancelled
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?



Notes:
- Includes two extra chapters.
- The work was cancelled after it was discovered that the artist had been tracing other people's art.

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

Imawa no Kuni no Alice

Also known as Alice in Borderland.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Horror , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future feels like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.

Note: Chapter count includes 22 side story chapters.

Tags: Tragedy , Death Game , Survival , Philosophy , Amnesia , Urban , Male Protagonist , Gore , Battle Royale , Gambling , Afterlife , Alternate Universe , Anti-Hero , Shounen , Isekai , Dystopian , Primarily Adult Cast , Revenge , Guns , Outdoor Activities , Heterosexual , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes , Martial Arts , Gods , Drugs , Parkour , Mahjong , Nudity

Tomodachi Game

Also known as Tomodachi Game.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological

Play a game that costs a lot of money with your best friends! The key to clearing the game is "don't doubt your friends." However, one betrayal raises suspicion, and the game becomes a psychological warfare! Money or friends?

The ultimate intellectual game manga that shakes people's hearts has been born!



Note: Includes 3 extra chapters.

Tags: Anti-Hero , Male Protagonist , Death Game , Battle Royale , Survival , Crime , Tragedy , Revenge , Shounen , Yandere , Ships , Snowscape , Torture , Gambling , LGBTQ+ Themes , Adoption , Card Battle , Ensemble Cast , School , Gangs , Poker , Prison

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Stardust Crusaders

Also known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders.

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

In a Japanese jail sits 17-year-old Jotaro Kujo: punk, fighter, delinquent...and possessed by a force beyond his control! Around the world, evil spirits are awakening: "Stands," monstrous invisible creatures which give their bearers incredible powers. To save his mother's life, Jotaro must tame his dark forces and travel around the world to Cairo, Egypt, where a hundred-year-old vampire thirsts for the blood of his family. But the road is long, and an army of evil Stand Users waits to kill JoJo and his friends...



Tags: Super Power , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Foreign , Primarily Male Cast , Travel , Tragedy , Urban Fantasy , Vampire , Time Manipulation , Ensemble Cast , Body Horror , Delinquents , Desert , Revenge , Animals , Shapeshifting , Gambling , Cars , Disability , Age Regression , Unrequited Love

LIAR GAME

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

Wishing she would live up to the ideal, Kanzaki Nao's father named her thusly for “honesty”. Nao has more than lived up to her father's wishes--even exceeding them and earning the label of "a foolishly honest girl". This makes Nao the least qualified candidate for the high stakes 'Liar Game', where winning requires deceiving the opponent out of their money and losing means receiving massive debt. However, that doesn't stop a box containing a hundred million yen in cash and a card informing her of her participation in the game from arriving at her doorstep, nor does it stop her from being promptly tricked out of the entire sum of money. Upon hearing that a genius swindler, responsible for the bankruptcy of a major corporation, is being released from jail, Nao goes to the swindler, Shinichi Akiyama, to enlist his help. With that, the two are drawn into the dark, greed-filled, and deceptive world of the Liar Game.

Tags: Gambling , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Death Game , Cult , Ensemble Cast , Transgender , Bullying , Conspiracy , Coming of Age

Usogui

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Psychological , Thriller

There are gamblers out there who even bet their lives as ante. But to secure the integrity of these life-threatening gambles, a violent and powerful organization by the name of "Kakerou" referees these games as a neutral party. Follow Baku Madarame a.k.a. Usogui (The Lie Eater) as he gambles against maniacal opponents at games—such as Escape the Abandoned Building, Old Maid, and Hangman—to ultimately "out-gamble" and control the neutral organization of Kakerou itself.

Tags: Gambling , Primarily Adult Cast , Death Game , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Crime , Philosophy , Martial Arts , Amnesia , Memory Manipulation , Poker , Anti-Hero , Mafia , Primarily Male Cast , Tragedy , Gore , Terrorism , LGBTQ+ Themes , Fairy Tale , Guns , Aliens

Kengan Ashura

Also known as Kengan Ashura.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Sports

Since the Edo periods of Japan, gladiator arenas exist in certain areas. In these arenas, wealthy business owners and merchants hire gladiators to fight in unarmed combat where winner takes all. Tokita Ohma, nicknamed "Ashura", joins these arenas and devastates his opponents. His spectacular ability to crush his enemies catches the attention of the big business owners, including the Nogi Group chairman, Nogi Hideki.



Note: Includes 24 extra chapters.

Tags: Martial Arts , Ensemble Cast , Wrestling , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Boxing , Tragedy , Athletics , Shounen , Revenge , Gore , Yandere , Gambling , 4-koma , Historical

Kakegurui

Also known as Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler -.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological

Hyakkaou Private Academy. An institution for the privileged with a very peculiar curriculum. You see, when you're the sons and daughters of the wealthiest of the wealthy, it's not athletic prowess or book smarts that keep you ahead. It's reading your opponent-the art of the deal. What better way to hone those skills than with a rigorous curriculum of gambling?

At Hyakkaou Private Academy, the winners live like kings, and the losers are put through the wringer. But when Yumeko Jabami enrolls, she's gonna teach these kids what a high roller really looks like!



Tags: Gambling , Card Battle , Female Protagonist , School , Anti-Hero , LGBTQ+ Themes , Primarily Female Cast , Poker , Death Game , Villainess , Drugs , Primarily Teen Cast , Twins , School Club , Ojou-sama , Slavery , Bullying , Idol , Shounen , Economics , Yuri , Unrequited Love , Family Life

Eyeshield 21

Also known as Eyeshield 21.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Sports

Wimpy Sena Kobayakawa has been running away from bullies all his life. But when the football gear comes on, things change—Sena's speed and uncanny ability to elude big bullies just might give him what it takes to become a great high school football hero! Enjoy all the bone-crushing action and slapstick comedy that this heartwarming coming-of-age story has to offer.



Tags: American Football , Shounen , Male Protagonist , School Club , Coming of Age , Guns , Primarily Male Cast , Gambling , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Foreign , Bullying

Darwin's Game

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Mystery

An unknowing Sudou Kaname is invited to try out a new mysterious mobile app game called Darwin's Game, but later realizes that he's in for more than he's bargained for when he finds out that there's no way to quit the game.

Tags: Male Protagonist , Battle Royale , Death Game , Shounen , Super Power , Alternate Universe , Post-Apocalyptic , Survival , Time Skip , Gangs , Guns , Gambling , Crime , Gore , Assassins , Body Horror , Isekai , Aliens , Yandere , Time Manipulation

No Game No Life

Status: Releasing
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Ecchi , Fantasy

In this fantasy world, everything's a game--and these gamer siblings play to win! Meet Sora and Shiro, a brother and sister who are loser shut-ins by normal standards. But these siblings don't play by the rules of the "crappy game" that is average society. In the world of gaming, this genius pair reigns supreme, their invincible avatar so famous that it's the stuff of urban legend. So when a young boy calling himself God summons the siblings to a fantastic alternate world where war is forbidden and all conflicts--even those involving national borders--are decided by the outcome of games, Sora and Shiro have pretty much hit the jackpot. But they soon learn that in this world, humanity, cornered and outnumbered by other species, survives within the confines of one city. Will Sora and Shiro, two failures at life, turn out to be the saviors of mankind? Let the games begin...!

Tags: Gambling , Isekai , Kemonomimi , Video Games , Hikikomori , Gods , Magic , Meta , Class Struggle , Kingdom Management , Kuudere , Politics , Female Harem , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Nekomimi , Elf , Super Power , Mermaid , Travel , War , Reincarnation , Vampire , Virtual World , Maids , Artificial Intelligence , School , Crossdressing , Software Development , Age Regression , Idol

Yeollepjeonsa

Also known as Hardcore Leveling Warrior.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

When you go from level 99 to level 1 and start all over again.



Note: Includes one extra chapter.

Tags: Video Games , Virtual World , Gambling , Full Color , Gangs , Male Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Tragedy , Demons , Time Skip

Yu☆Gi☆Oh!

Also known as Yu-Gi-Oh!.

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

10th grader Yugi spent most of his time alone playing games--until he solved the Millennium Puzzle, a mysterious Egyptian artifact! Possessed by the puzzle, Yugi becomes Yu-Gi-Oh, the King of Games, and challenges evil-doers to the Shadow Games--weird games with high stakes and high risks! These graphic novels contain new stories not seen in the anime, including the origin of Yugi and his friends!



Notes:
- The VIZ Media release split the series into three parts with separate chapter/volume counts. "Yu-Gi-Oh!" includes volumes 1-7, "Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist" includes volumes 8-31, and "Yu-Gi-Oh!: Millennium World" includes volumes 32-38.
- The final chapter of VIZ Media's "Yu-Gi-Oh!" was moved from its final volume to the first volume of "Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist."

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Card Battle , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Mythology , Primarily Teen Cast , Death Game , Gambling , Dragons , Urban Fantasy , School , Bullying , Reincarnation , Primarily Child Cast , Gods , Magic , Amnesia , School Club , Adoption , Torture , Desert , Gore , Body Horror , War

One Outs

Status: Finished
Genres: Psychological , Sports

The story begins when Hiromichi Kojima, the star batter of the fictional Lycaons in Japan's Pacific League, heads to the southern Japanese island of Okinawa to train and bring himself out of a slump. There, he meet Tōa Tokuchi, a 134-kmph (83 miles per hour) pitcher and the undisputed king of a gambling form of baseball called "One Out." At Kojima's urging, Tokuchi signs up with the Lycaons under an unusual contract: he gets 5,000,000 yen (about US$46,000) for every out he pitches, but loses 50,000,000 yen (US$460,000) for every point he gives up.

Notes:
- The main story was completed in 168 chapters with 19 volumes on 2006-10-19. An additional side story Giwaku no All Star Sen Hen (疑惑のオールスター戦編) was serialized from 2008-2009 and published as volume 20 of the series.
- Chapter count includes an additional chapter included in the 7th volume.

Tags: Seinen , Baseball , Gambling , Anti-Hero , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Philosophy

Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji

Also known as Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Thriller

Ne'er-do-well Kaiji Itou's shiftless existence is suddenly rattled by a visit from the yakuza. Burdened by debt and resentment, Kaiji is coerced into gambling for his worthless life. As the stakes grow higher and the rules become increasingly more bizarre, Kaiji must finally take the future into his own hands!



Note: Won the 22nd Kodansha Manga Award for general manga in 1998.

Tags: Gambling , Seinen , Survival , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Death Game , Card Battle , Yakuza , Class Struggle , Tragedy , Nudity