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

Yakusoku no Neverland

Also known as The Promised Neverland.

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

Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn—what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing.



Note: Nominated to the 22nd, 23rd, and 25th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.

Tags: Survival , Primarily Child Cast , Body Horror , Demons , Dystopian , War , Found Family , Guns , Female Protagonist , Shounen , Politics , Coming of Age , Alternate Universe , Travel , Ensemble Cast , Conspiracy , Anti-Hero , Time Skip , Philosophy , Gore , Prison , Male Protagonist , Amnesia , Rural , Heterosexual , Augmented Reality , Suicide

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

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Stone Ocean

Also known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6: Stone Ocean.

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

Jolyne Cujoh—daughter of Jotaro Kujo—is sentenced to 15 years in prison for a murder she didn’t commit! In a bizarre turn of events, the prison is filled with Stand users. Some become her allies, but many are sent to kill Jolyne and her friends in a scheme to resurrect the scourge of the Joestar family—DIO! It’s a battle for survival in a prison where death lurks around every corner while Jolyne fights to save her father’s life.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Super Power , Prison , Tragedy , Urban Fantasy , Memory Manipulation , Foreign , Alternate Universe , Time Manipulation , Crime , Gore , Primarily Female Cast , Body Horror , Shounen , Ensemble Cast , Philosophy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Religion , Cosmic Horror , Amnesia , Transgender , Disability

Deadman Wonderland

Also known as Deadman Wonderland.

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

The inmates of this insane penitentiary fight for survival every day to provide entertainment for the masses, and terrifying secrets lurk in the shadows. Ganta is determined to survive Deadman Wonderland and clear his name, but the price may be his soul…



Note: Volume 12 contains 6 short side stories, which counts as 1 whole chapter.

Tags: Death Game , Body Horror , Prison , Super Power , Gore , Torture , Dissociative Identities , Tragedy , Dystopian , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Philosophy , Suicide

Golden Kamuy

Also known as Golden Kamuy.

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

In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi “Immortal” Sugimoto scratches out a meager existence during the postwar gold rush in the wilderness of Hokkaido. When he stumbles across a map to a fortune in hidden Ainu gold, he sets off on a treacherous quest to find it. But Sugimoto is not the only interested party, and everyone who knows about the gold will kill to possess it! Faced with the harsh conditions of the northern wilderness, ruthless criminals and rogue Japanese soldiers, Sugimoto will need all his skills and luck—and the help of an Ainu girl named Asirpa—to survive.



Note: Won the 9th Manga Taisho Award in 2016 and the 22nd Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2018. Nominated for the 20th and 21st Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize and the 40th Kodansha Manga Awards in 2016.

Tags: Historical , Conspiracy , Military , Outdoor Activities , Indigenous Cultures , Seinen , Politics , Ensemble Cast , Surreal Comedy , Educational , Food , Travel , Found Family , Gore , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Survival , Guns , Revenge , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Male Harem , Language Barrier , Anti-Hero , LGBTQ+ Themes , Slapstick , Crime , Snowscape , Prison , Trains , Animals , Male Protagonist , Nudity , Swordplay , Disability , Archery , Suicide , Tanned Skin , Transgender , Twins , Cannibalism , Zoophilia , Wilderness , Heterosexual , Yakuza , Time Skip , Dissociative Identities , Crossdressing , Gender Bending

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

Prison School

Also known as Prison School.

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

On the outskirts of Tokyo stands Hachimitsu Private Academy, an all-girls boarding school for elite young women. But as the new school year rolls around, one tradition is going out the window: For the first time in the school's long history, boys are being allowed to enroll. On the first day of school, though, it turns out only five boys have made the cut. Thrilled by this discovery, these young men's adolescent hearts leap with joy at the thought of being surrounded by all those girls, but little do the five boys suspect the shocking fate that awaits them...



Notes:
- Includes 1 extra chapter and the epilogue.
- Won the Kodansha Manga Award 2013 for best general manga.

Tags: Seinen , School , Surreal Comedy , Nudity , Male Protagonist , Slavery , Slapstick , Prison , Heterosexual , Bullying , Revenge , Love Triangle , Kuudere , Ensemble Cast , Femdom , Watersports , LGBTQ+ Themes

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

Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan

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

"I have something I don't want to lose"

"So much so that these terrible feelings have grown."

A pianist who attempted suicide 3 times, Juri, is taken to help her aunt at a prison where murderers who killed indiscriminately are sentenced to death. There, she meets a man named Yuu who took the lives of 3 people. A mother's antagonism--a brother's death... Together they embrace the violent rebellion in their hearts caused by the large, deep scars they carry. However, before long, they both embrace an earnest hope in their hearts. "I want to live"...

An adaptation of novel by South Korea's most popular female novelist, Gong Ji-Young.

Tags: Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Seinen , Rehabilitation , Philosophy , Primarily Adult Cast , Heterosexual , Prison , Suicide , Nun , Religion , Classical Music

BANANA FISH

Also known as Banana Fish.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Psychological , Thriller

Nature made Ash Lynx beautiful; nurture made him a cold ruthless killer. A runaway brought up as the adopted heir and sex toy of "Papa" Dino Golzine, Ash, now at the rebellious age of seventeen, forsakes the kingdom held out by the devil who raised him. But the hideous secret that drove Ash's older brother mad in Vietnam has suddenly fallen into Papa's insatiably ambitious hands--and it's exactly the wrong time for Eiji Okamura, a pure-hearted young photographer from Japan, to make Ash Lynx's acquaintance...



Tags: Mafia , Tragedy , Gangs , Conspiracy , Drugs , Noir , Primarily Male Cast , Crime , Revenge , Criminal Organization , Ensemble Cast , Anti-Hero , Fugitive , Coming of Age , Shoujo , Delinquents , Urban , Foreign , Male Protagonist , Politics , Guns , Primarily Adult Cast , Adoption , Orphan , Tanned Skin , Assassins , LGBTQ+ Themes , Boys' Love , Police , Cars , Bisexual , Photography , Classic Literature , Heterosexual , Time Skip , Prison

Ashita no Joe

Also known as Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow.

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

Joe Yabuki is a troubled young man who runs away from an orphanage. Wandering through the Tokyo slums, he meets former boxing trainer Danpei. Joe is later arrested and goes to a temporary jail where he fights Nishi, his future best friend, ​and leader of a group of hooligans. He and Nishi then go to a juvenile prison miles away from Tokyo. There Joe meets Rikiishi, a former boxing prodigy, and a rivalry develops between them. They face each other in a match in which Rikiishi dominates Joe until the latter hits him with a cross-counter, resulting in both being knocked out. This inspires the other prison inmates to take up boxing. Joe and Rikiishi vow to fight again.



Tags: Tragedy , Boxing , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Rehabilitation , Orphan , Anti-Hero , Urban , Class Struggle , Athletics , Shounen , Primarily Male Cast , Delinquents , Prison , Foreign , Yakuza , War

Jaehon Hwanghu

Also known as The Remarried Empress.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Navier Ellie Trovi was an empress perfect in every way -- intelligent, courageous, and socially adept. She was kind to her subjects and devoted to her husband. Navier was perfectly content to live the rest of her days as the wise empress of the Eastern Empire. That is, until her husband brought home a mistress and demanded a divorce. “I accept this divorce… And I request an approval of my remarriage.” In a shocking twist, Navier remarries another emperor and retains her title and childhood dream as empress. But just how did everything unfold?



Tags: Royal Affairs , Female Protagonist , Marriage , Full Color , Politics , Cheating , Ojou-sama , Heterosexual , Shapeshifting , Long Strip , Primarily Adult Cast , Ensemble Cast , Love Triangle , Villainess , Unrequited Love , Arranged Marriage , Age Regression , Pregnancy , Dissociative Identities , Magic , Kingdom Management , Animals , Family Life , Time Skip , Slavery , Fugitive , Suicide , Tanned Skin , Prison , Twins

Munou na Nana

Also known as Talentless Nana.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

An academy on an island in unnavigable waters. There, students trained tirelessly, to fight back against the enemies of humanity. The protagonist, a student newly transferred there, also sets out with the intention of eradicating all enemies of humankind. An unpredictable, intellectual suspense story of justice and evil.



Tags: Conspiracy , Dystopian , Tragedy , Assassins , Super Power , Anti-Hero , Female Protagonist , Detective , Time Skip , Found Family , Primarily Teen Cast , Crime , Espionage , Ensemble Cast , School , Prison , Military , Politics , Gore , Shounen , Urban , Rural , Terrorism , Amnesia , Kuudere , Shapeshifting , Adoption , Time Manipulation , LGBTQ+ Themes , Yuri , Bullying , Twins , Zombie , Necromancy , Time Loop , Photography , Suicide , Chibi

RAINBOW: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

Six minors (16-17 years) answering to the nicknames of Joe, Mario, Suppon, Baremoto, Heitai, and Kyabetsu are put into a reformatory for offenses such as aggravated assault, swindling, flight, etc. Their stay in hell begins immediately. Accommodated by a doctor pedophile, they are placed under the watch of a despotic and brutal crew. Cellmates with a certain Sakuragi (called Anchan), the tension rises between the band of buddies and their new "friend." A brawl breaks out, and our six prisoners are done rossés by the mysterious young man, thanks to his boxing talent.

The story will not only follow the lives of these seven characters surviving in their hellish environment, but also their disillusions due to the rejection by the outside world and by their close relations. This is about the extraodinary and invincible friendships between these young men.

Note: Won the 2005 Shogakukan Manga Award for seinen/general category.

Tags: Historical , Rehabilitation , Tragedy , Seinen , Coming of Age , Philosophy , Heterosexual , Boxing , Disability , Revenge , Prison , Autobiographical , Fugitive , Gore , Ensemble Cast , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Drugs , Suicide , Crime , Time Skip

Shamo

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

At the age of sixteen Ryo Narushima was a genius and looked to have no trouble of getting into Tokyo University and joining the elite of society. However, that summer something cracked inside Ryo's head. With a small knife he brutally murdered both of his parents only leaving his sister alive and cowering in a corner. It is at this grotesque incident that our story begins.

Note: At volume 20, the series changed publishers, which created a restart of the chapter numbers. Starting from chapter 61 in volume 26, the first chapter from when the series returned from a long hiatus, the series has been completely written & drawn by Tanaka Akio. While Hashimoto Izou did write the series in the beginning, he had been doing less and less work starting from volume 4. Tanaka and Hashimoto reached a settlement and Shamo continued.

Tags: Martial Arts , Male Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Rehabilitation , Seinen , Tragedy , Survival , Gore , Boxing , Triads , Drugs , Nudity , Yakuza , Delinquents , Gangs , Swordplay , Coming of Age , Prison , Bullying

Tsugumomo

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy , Ecchi , Romance , Supernatural

Kazuya Kagami never goes anywhere without the precious “Sakura Obi” his mother gave him. One day a beautiful, kimono-clad girl named Kiriha appeared before him. Kiriha naturally began to live with Kazuya in his room. Then there’s Chisato, Kazuya’s childhood friend with glasses and a ponytail, who meddles in his affairs. Soon there’s also an overprotective older sister who seems to want to take baths with him. Jumble in a huge-chested priestess, a good-looking sorceress named Kokuyoura, beautiful women, and hot girls, and Kazuya’s happy, embarrassing, confusing life begins…



Tags: Super Power , Nudity , Seinen , Gods , Magic , Youkai , Henshin , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Amnesia , Body Horror , Polyamorous , Primarily Female Cast , Female Harem , Demons , Martial Arts , Found Family , Tragedy , Age Gap , Gore , Age Regression , School , School Club , Swordplay , Isekai , Prison

Adabana

Also known as Adabana.

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

After the gruesome murder of two small-town residents, a ramen shop owner, and a local student, the community is left shocked. Mizuki Aikawa, the best friend of one of the victims, confesses to the brutal crime. However, nothing is as it seems, and Mizuki's public defenders believe there has to be more to the story. When the truth unravels, they discover a tale of class, exploitation, and the deeper struggles of meeting family expectations.



Tags: Crime , Suicide , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Seinen , Achronological Order , Prison , Prostitution , Torture , Police , Blackmail , Denpa , Nudity , Yuri , Sadism

Apocalypse no Toride

Also known as Fort of Apocalypse.

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

Yoshiaki Maeda has been falsely accused and detained, along with delinquents from all over the Kanto region, in the juvenile correctional facility, Shouran Institute. Yoshiaki is as typical as a boy can get, so when he finds himself living in this violence-ridden prison, he can’t think of anything worse. His cellmates, Iwakura, Yamanoi, and Yoshioka, are a cunning crew and soon Yoshiaki finds himself pulled into a feud going on in the prison. Then suddenly, a prison van crashes into the facility and what shambles out of the wreckage are flesh-eating zombies … and so the curtain is raised on this bone-chilling story of panic and horror …



Tags: Zombie , Survival , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Prison , Body Horror , Anti-Hero , Delinquents , Gore , Guns , Pandemic , Post-Apocalyptic , Cult , Agender , Primarily Teen Cast , Medicine , Cars , Tragedy , Urban , Religion , Age Regression

Ori no Naka no Soloist

Also known as Soloist in a Cage.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama

Chloe and her baby brother Locke were born in a prison the size of a city: a walled-off collection of ramshackle buildings full of dangerous criminals who live bleak and isolated lives. Their parents are gone, leaving Chloe to care for her brother. When a trio of soldiers manage to break out of the prison, Chloe goes with them but loses Locke during the escape. After years of training, Chloe returns to the prison city with one goal: to find her now 11-year-old brother and get him out of that hellhole, no matter what it takes.



Tags: Dystopian , Survival , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Robots , Time Skip , Gore , Prison , Shounen , Drugs , Guns