Top Hikikomori Manga Recommendations

SPY×FAMILY

Also known as SPY x FAMILY.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

The master spy codenamed <Twilight> has spent his days on undercover missions, all for the dream of a better world. But one day, he receives a particularly difficult new order from command. For his mission, he must form a temporary family and start a new life?! A Spy/Action/Comedy about a one-of-a-kind family!



Notes:
- Includes 2 "Extra Missions" and 11 “Short Missions”.
- Nominated for the 24th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2020.
- Nominated for the 13th and 14th Manga Taisho Award in 2020 and 2021.
- Nominated for the 44th Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2020.

Tags: Family Life , Espionage , Found Family , War , Assassins , Surreal Comedy , Work , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Adoption , Fake Relationship , School , Aliens , Politics , Orphan , Shounen , Heterosexual , Marriage , Super Power , Slapstick , Guns , Ensemble Cast , Episodic , Parody , Parenthood , Foreign , Terrorism , Hikikomori , Satire , Iyashikei , Urban , Historical , Anachronism , Tsundere , Urban Fantasy

Kokou no Hito

Also known as The Climber.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Psychological , Sports

Transfer student Buntaro Mori starts his first day at his new school already on the administration’s radar. He’s withdrawn and sullen, and the teachers are just waiting for him to explode. When his annoying classmate Miyamoto promises to leave him alone forever if he climbs to the top of the school, Mori eagerly takes up the challenge and shocks everyone when he makes it all the way to the roof. Flushed with the victory of his first successful climb, Mori can’t resist the lure of the local peak, despite warnings from more experienced climbers about the risks of climbing alone. But Mori doesn’t care. A little danger is nothing in the face of his new obsession.

Tags: Coming of Age , Mountaineering , Seinen , Outdoor Activities , Travel , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Survival , Hikikomori , Wilderness , Classic Literature , Philosophy , Time Skip , Fitness , Suicide , Anti-Hero , Dissociative Identities , Foreign , Delinquents , School , Nudity , School Club , Pregnancy , Marriage

Yofukashi no Uta

Also known as Call of the Night.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Psychological , Romance , Slice of Life , Supernatural

One sleepless night, Ko slips out to walk the streets. Life after dark is a revelation! When flirtatious Nazuna invites Ko to spend the night at her place in an abandoned building, he’s stoked! But then he awakens to kisses on his neck with a little too much bite to them... Is it just the delicious taste of his blood that makes her meet him night after night for late-night adventures, conversation and...naps? Or something else? Then, when a cute girl from Ko’s past shows up and competes for his attention, his budding relationship with the undead is put to the test!



Notes:
- Seventh place of Tsugimanga 2020 Award in the Manga Category and first place of Daruma 2023 Award (France) in the new manga category (released in 2022 in France).
- Includes three extra chapters.

Tags: Vampire , Urban Fantasy , Monster Girl , Tragedy , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Age Gap , Coming of Age , Suicide , Surreal Comedy , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Hikikomori , Monster Boy , Urban , LGBTQ+ Themes , Detective , Philosophy , Outdoor Activities , Maids , Gore , Guns , Yandere , Gyaru , Iyashikei , Femboy

Look Back

Also known as Look Back.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Fujino is a fourth grader who draws a manga strip for the school newspaper. Her art makes her the star of the class, but one day she's told that Kyomoto, a student who refuses to come to school, would also like to submit a manga for the paper...



Note: The one-shot was compiled in a special volume, released on September 3, 2021.

Tags: Drawing , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Hikikomori , Shounen , Coming of Age , Work , Meta , School , Philosophy , Primarily Child Cast , Rehabilitation , Yuri

Shounen no Abyss

Also known as Boy's Abyss.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Romance

In a town with nothing, in the middle of a daily life with seemingly no signs of change, high schooler Reiji Kurose was "just" living. Family, dreams for the future, childhood friends. All of them were binding him down to that city. He thought he would "just" keep on living like that. Until he met her. Is there hope in living? Is there light waiting ahead? It's the start of a boy meets girl series which reflects the "now".

Note: Includes two extra chapters.

Tags: Tragedy , Seinen , Suicide , Psychosexual , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Love Triangle , Crime , Yandere , Age Gap , Nudity , Teacher , Heterosexual , Ensemble Cast , Idol , Female Harem , LGBTQ+ Themes , Rural , Bullying , Incest , Marriage , Hikikomori , Time Skip , Natural Disaster ,

Sweet Home

Also known as Sweet Home.

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

After an unexpected family tragedy, a reclusive high school student is forced to leave his home -- only to face something much scarier: a reality where monsters are trying to wipe out humanity. Now he must fight alongside a handful of reluctant heroes to try and save the world before it’s too late.



Note: Includes one extra chapter.

Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Survival , Demons , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Full Color , Gore , Body Horror , Philosophy , Male Protagonist , Dissociative Identities , Suicide , Hikikomori , Bullying , Urban , School , Long Strip

I Am a Hero

Also known as I Am a Hero.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Horror , Psychological

A mentally unhinged manga artist witnesses the beginning of a zombie outbreak in Tokyo, and he’s certain of only two things: he’s destined to be the city’s hero, and he possesses something quite rare in Japan—an actual firearm!



Notes:
Nominated for the 3rd and 4th Manga Taisho Award (2010).
Includes a new epilogue chapter that was released 4 years after the official end of the manga.

Tags: Seinen , Survival , Zombie , Post-Apocalyptic , Male Protagonist , Gore , Guns , Body Horror , Urban , Tragedy , Love Triangle , Age Gap , POV , Disability , Hikikomori , Nudity , Cult , Otaku Culture

Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu

Also known as Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation.

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

Kicked out by his family and wandering the streets, an unemployed 34-year-old shut-in thinks he’s hit rock-bottom—just as he’s hit and killed by a speeding truck! Awakening to find himself reborn as an infant in a world of swords and sorcery, but with the memories of his first life intact, Rudeus Greyrat is determined not to repeat his past mistakes. He’s going to make the most of this reincarnation as he sets off on the adventure of a second lifetime!



Tags: Coming of Age , Rehabilitation , Isekai , Reincarnation , Magic , Travel , Polyamorous , Male Protagonist , Family Life , Tragedy , Ensemble Cast , Survival , Female Harem , Time Manipulation , Time Skip , Gods , Meta , Demons , Hikikomori , Matriarchy , Heterosexual , Swordplay , Tomboy , Crossdressing , School , Teacher , Tsundere , Elf , Slavery , Language Barrier , Dragons , Nekomimi , Amnesia , Dungeon , Otaku Culture , Revenge , Marriage , Maids , Episodic , Ojou-sama , Religion , Archery , Desert

Mikkakan no Koufuku

Also known as Three Days of Happiness.

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

HOW MUCH IS LIFE TRULY WORTH?
Kusunoki used to believe he was destined for great things. Ostracized as a child, he held on to a belief that a good life was waiting for him in the years ahead. Now approaching the age of twenty, he's a completely mediocre college student with no motivation, no dreams, and no money. After learning he can sell his remaining years-and just how little they're worth-he chooses to divest himself of all but his last three months. Has Kusunoki truly destroyed his last chance to find happiness...or has he somehow found it?



Tags: Tragedy , Philosophy , Urban Fantasy , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Urban , Seinen , Heterosexual , Hikikomori , Writing , Suicide , Photography , Drawing , College , Mopeds , Autobiographical , Amnesia

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

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Also known as Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-.

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

Subaru Natsuki was just trying to get to the convenience store but wound up summoned to another world. He encounters the usual things--life-threatening situations, silver haired beauties, cat fairies--you know, normal stuff. All that would be bad enough, but he's also gained the most inconvenient magical ability of all--time travel, but he's got to die to use it. How do you repay someone who saved your life when all you can do is die?



Tags: Time Loop , Time Manipulation , Heterosexual , Tragedy , Isekai , Witch , Male Protagonist , Cosmic Horror , Ensemble Cast , Gore , Politics , Disability , Astronomy , Memory Manipulation , Magic , Cult , Body Horror , Reincarnation , Elf , Amnesia , Suicide , Alternate Universe , Twins , Dissociative Identities , Unrequited Love , Maids , Hikikomori , Assassins , Time Skip , Love Triangle , Dragons , Age Regression , Yandere , Kemonomimi , Crossdressing , Female Protagonist , Femboy , Medieval , Shapeshifting , Zombie , Curses , Necromancy , Werewolf

BTOOOM!

Also known as Btooom!.

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

Sakamoto Ryuuta is an unemployed 22-year-old who lives with his mother. In the real world, there may be nothing really special about him, but online, he's one of the world's top players of the combat game "BTOOOM"!

One day, he awakes in what appears to be a tropical island, though he has no memory of how or why he has come to be there. While wandering around, Ryuuta sees someone and calls out for help. The stranger responds by throwing a bomb at him! Now Ryuuta realizes both that his life is in danger, and that he has somehow been trapped in a real-life version of his favorite game! Will Ryuuta be able to survive long enough to figure out how and why he ended up here?



Tags: Battle Royale , Survival , Seinen , Video Games , Male Protagonist , Gore , Conspiracy , Death Game , Hikikomori , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Age Gap , Nudity , Slavery , Suicide , Robots

Real mo Tama ni wa Uso wo Tsuku

Also known as Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie!.

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

Kaoru Terasaki is a gamer who’s into MMORPGs, and he’s finally meeting up with someone he’s been friends with in-game for a long while—this time, offline and in person. He’s worried that his friend will be disappointed to see Kaoru is a guy, unlike his female character in the game. But he’s the one who’s in for a surprise when, instead of another guy, his friend turns out to be a cute girl, Nanami Ousaka. On top of that, Nanami told her parents that she would be bringing a friend over—a female friend. Even worse, Nanami’s dad is the super overprotective type who won’t allow any guys near his daughter. There’s only one solution to this dilemma: Kaoru has to cross-dress as a girl! Will Kaoru’s efforts pay off in the end?! Will Kaoru and Nanami remain just friends, or will their time together IRL change everything? Follow their romantic-comedy adventures to find out!



Note: Originally self-published on Pixiv and Twitter, was then compiled and licensed by Kadokawa for commercial release.


Tags: Heterosexual , Crossdressing , Full Color , Hikikomori , Video Games , Otaku Culture , Female Protagonist , Cosplay , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , School , Male Protagonist

Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaete mo Omaera ga Warui!

Also known as No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Kuroki Tomoko is a super popular, high school girl, who has had 50 years of dating experience, and 100 boys... in the Otome game world. In the real world, she is a 15 year old shut in, who has all of the qualities of a "mojo" (喪女, a gloomy or unpopular woman).

However, when school isn't going as she expected, and she isn't as popular as she had thought she was, she takes a look at herself in the mirror for the first time in a few years, and has some shocking revelations...

Tags: School , Female Protagonist , Rehabilitation , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Otaku Culture , Satire , Coming of Age , Meta , Parody , Bisexual , Hikikomori , Yuri , LGBTQ+ Themes , Female Harem , Shounen , Chuunibyou , Acting , Yandere

Geunyeoui Sohwansu

Also known as Her Summon.

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

Due to a misuse of a word joke on live TV broadcast, girl group otaku, 'Jin-Kyung' ended up becoming doxxed and labeled as a "child predator", and ended up getting Social Anxiety Disorder. 3 years later, because of his past incident from the 3D world, his love for only the 2D world manifested, and ended up becoming a "Shut-In Otaku"! Then one day, as Jin-Kyung was no-lifing as usual, he was summoned to ‘Another World’, and came face-to-face with a bright-eyed, hopeful Summoner… Interesting enough, in the world that Jin-Kyung was summoned to, his Social Anxiety Disorder disappeared, and he was also able to wield immense power, and became the strongest summoned being there ever was!! The story of a former girl group otaku turned powerful 2D otaku, and the story of a weak and feeble Summoner commences now!!!



Notes:
- Chapter count includes a prologue.
- The official English translation is 117 chapters as Toomics English platform tends to split chapters. Our total chapter count follows the Korean release.

Tags: Full Color , Isekai , Hikikomori , Male Protagonist , Magic , Chuunibyou , Demons , Kaiju , Otaku Culture , Parody , Rehabilitation , Assassins , Idol , Gods , Maids , Denpa , Nudity , Espionage

Shimeji Simulation

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

A girl who shut herself in a closet for the last 2 years of middle school realizes she has to go to high school. When she exits her closet for the first time in two years and looks at herself in the mirror, she notices that she grew shimeji mushrooms out of her head.

Tags: Meta , Surreal Comedy , Philosophy , Augmented Reality , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Denpa , Hikikomori , 4-koma , Yuri , LGBTQ+ Themes , Gods , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Post-Apocalyptic , School , Episodic , School Club , Suicide , Seinen , Religion , Cohabitation , Tragedy , Trains

Bocchi the Rock!

Also known as Bocchi the Rock!.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Comedy , Music , Slice of Life

Hitori Gotoh just wants to be popular, but the thought of interacting with her classmates makes her fall to pieces. Her solution-become a rock legend so cool that people approach her instead! However, while spending all of middle school in her closet shredding on the guitar may have earned her anonymous internet fame, it did nothing for her social skills. Now a high schooler, Hitori’s feeling ready to shrivel up and die-when she gets a sudden request to fill in for a band! It’s like her wish came true-but does this most anxious of introverts have what it takes to perform in front of a live audience?!



Tags: Band , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , 4-koma , Primarily Teen Cast , Surreal Comedy , Yuri , Slapstick , Rock Music , Hikikomori , LGBTQ+ Themes , Seinen , Tsundere , Urban

NHK ni Youkoso!

Also known as Welcome to the N.H.K..

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Psychological , Romance

Sato Tatsuhiro is a drug-addled "hikikomori" (a Japanese shut-in) who thinks a sinister organization, NHK (Nihon Hikikomori Kyoukai), is the cause of all his problems! He falls in love with a girl, Misaki, who he thinks is trying to assassinate him, but doesn't know how to talk to her or if he can trust her. The more he stay in his house watching anime porn, reading manga and doing drugs, the harder it is for him to leave. Only Misaki can keep him from rotting away in his own apartment!



Tags: Hikikomori , Otaku Culture , Rehabilitation , Primarily Adult Cast , Tragedy , Philosophy , Male Protagonist , Denpa , Suicide , Drugs , Bullying , Nudity , Disability , Shounen

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

Jigokusei Remina

Also known as Remina.

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

An unknown planet emerges from inside a wormhole, and its discoverer, Dr. Oguro, christens the body “Remina” after his own daughter. His finding is met with great fanfare, and Remina herself rises to fame. However, the object picks up speed as it moves along in its curious course, eliminating planets and stars one after another, until finally Earth itself faces extinction… Is the girl Remina the true cause of the catastrophe? A masterwork of horror from Junji Ito, unfolding on a universal scale.



Note: Includes the one-shot "Okumanbocchi".

Tags: Female Protagonist , Cosmic Horror , Tragedy , Space , Cult , Seinen , Body Horror , Aliens , Eco-Horror , Post-Apocalyptic , Yandere , Male Harem , Hikikomori , Primarily Adult Cast