Top Steampunk Manga Recommendations

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi

Also known as Fullmetal Alchemist.

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

Alchemy tore the Elric brothers’ bodies apart. Can their bond make them whole again?
In this world, alchemists are those who study and perform the art of alchemical transmutation—the science of manipulating and transforming matter. They are bounded by the Law of Equivalent Exchange: in order to gain something, one must sacrifice something of equal value.
In an alchemical ritual gone wrong, Edward Elric lost his arm and his leg, and his brother Alphonse became nothing but a soul in a suit of armor. Equipped with mechanical “auto-mail” limbs, Edward becomes a state alchemist, seeking the one thing that can restore his and his brother’s bodies...the legendary Philosopher’s Stone.



Note: Includes 8 extra chapters.

Tags: Alchemy , Conspiracy , Politics , Military , Philosophy , War , Tragedy , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Disability , Travel , Steampunk , Ensemble Cast , Super Power , Magic , Body Horror , Lost Civilization , Chimera , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Shapeshifting , Guns , Gore , Historical , Tsundere , Cars , Heterosexual , Kuudere , Tomboy , Trains

D.Gray-man

Also known as D.Gray-man.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

A born exorcist, Walker's primary anti-akuma weapon is the cross that's embossed on his red, disfigured left hand, which contains Innocence. But not only does Walker destroy akuma, he sees the akuma hiding inside a person's soul! Together with his fellow exorcists fighting under the command of the Black Order, Walker leads the battle against the Millennium Earl, the evil being out to destroy mankind.



Tags: Demons , Amnesia , Tragedy , Found Family , Super Power , Foreign , Dissociative Identities , Male Protagonist , Religion , Cult , Shounen , Adoption , Circus , Historical , Primarily Male Cast , Exorcism , Steampunk , Post-Apocalyptic , Curses

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 , Detective , Shounen , Steampunk , Magic , Found Family , Circus , Mythology , Maids , Assassins , LGBTQ+ Themes , Travel , Medicine , Zombie , Fugitive , Anachronism , Transgender , Crossdressing , Boarding School , Estranged Family , Musical Theater , School , Torture , Swordplay , Witch , Disability , Idol , Urban Fantasy

Vanitas no Carte

Also known as The Case Study of Vanitas.

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

Rumors revolving around The Book of Vanitas, a clockwork grimoire of dubious reputation, draw Noé, a young vampire in search of a friend's salvation, to Paris. What awaits him in the City of Flowers, however, is not long hours treading the pavement or rifling through dusty bookshops in search of the tome. Instead, his quarry comes to him...in the arms of a man claiming to be a vampire doctor! Thrust into a conflict that threatens the peace between humans and vampires, will Noé cast in his lot with the curious and slightly unbalanced Vanitas and his quest to save vampirekind?



Tags: Vampire , Tragedy , Historical , Steampunk , Primarily Adult Cast , Medicine , Conspiracy , Shounen , Anti-Hero , Male Protagonist , Revenge , Religion , Foreign , Twins , Philosophy , Ensemble Cast , Alternate Universe , Suicide , Time Manipulation , Amnesia , Anachronism , LGBTQ+ Themes , Detective , Assassins , Urban Fantasy , Acting

Haegolbyeongsaneun Dungeon-eul Jikiji Motaetda

Also known as The Skeleton Soldier Failed to Defend the Dungeon.

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

Meet the Skeleton Soldier, a meager but fiercely loyal fighter who serves to protect its master, Lady Succubus. Its dream of a peaceful life with her is shattered when they're both brutally murdered by a group of warriors one day. But what would’ve been a pathetic end to an unremarkable soul sparks a new beginning: when the Skeleton Soldier opens its eyes again, it has traveled back 20 years in time! “I must warn Lady Succubus of all the things to come!” But with no special combat skills and a history of failure and defeat, how can it stop the horrible events from unfolding again? Follow the Skeleton Soldier as it faces the most challenging quest of all—rewriting the ending to its own story.



Tags: Time Manipulation , Skeleton , Conspiracy , Reincarnation , Tragedy , Time Loop , Full Color , Necromancy , Gods , Dungeon , Demons , Swordplay , Primarily Adult Cast , Goblin , Anthropomorphism , Assassins , Cult , Magic , Politics , Time Skip , Aliens , Steampunk

Trigun

Also known as Trigun.

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?



Note: Includes 3 extra chapters.

Tags: Guns , Steampunk , Male Protagonist , Dystopian , Primarily Adult Cast , Fugitive , Religion , Shounen , Desert , Crime , Post-Apocalyptic , Super Power , Tragedy , Space

Shingeki no Kyojin: Before the fall

Also known as Attack on Titan: Before the Fall.

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

Adaption of Ryou Suzukaze's light novel series of the same name.

Humanity has learned to live in complacency behind its high walls, protected from the giant Titans. But when a Titan-worshipping cult opens one of the gates, a Titan wreaks havoc, consuming the cultists. After the rampage is over, two young Survey Corps members are shocked to discover a pregnant woman’s partially digested corpse—with her baby still alive inside it! What will the fate of this “child of the Titans” be? And how will humanity learn to cope with the Titan threat?



Tags: Military , Dystopian , Kaiju , Politics , Steampunk , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Conspiracy , Heterosexual , Swordplay

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

Wo Zhen Bushi Xie Shen Zougou

Also known as I’m Really Not the Devil’s Lackey.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Fantasy , Horror

Lin Jie, who has transmigrated into this world, runs a bookshop. Nice and passionate, he always recommends books that are capable of healing one's soul to customers who find themselves in a rough patch in life. Occasionally, he would recommend his own work to them as well. Over time, these customers have grown to respect him a lot. They bring him some simple souvenirs every day to repay him and ask him for recommendations of literary works. At the same time, they tell the people around them about this bookstore owner as well. They have respectful and affectionate ways of addressing him-"The Devil's Hyena", "The Communicator of Flesh Gospel of Books", "The Author of the Corpse Ritual" and " The Star Shepard".



Tags: Urban Fantasy , Magic , Philosophy , Cosmic Horror , Classic Literature , Surreal Comedy , Witch , Isekai , Full Color , Male Protagonist , Religion , Fairy Tale , Steampunk , Rehabilitation , Gore , Shapeshifting , Cult , Elf , Adoption

Hotel

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

1. Hotel: Since 2079
It is the year 2272 A.D. A computer continues to live on in order to complete a mission in a world where all life, including Mankind, has gone extinct. This is a record of those 27 million years of its heroic struggle.

2. Present
Hanako suffers from a terrible disease. After awakening from a deep slumber, Hanako has only three days to live. Set in the future, Present tells a story based on human feelings where the truth isn’t always what it seems.

3. Subete wa Maguro no Tame datta (It Was All for the Tuna)
Tuna have become extinct and Jun Shiozaki will do everything possible and imaginable to bring them back.

4. Stephanos
Set in modern-day Japan, our main character Noriko finds out that she is pregnant with her lover Matsumura’s baby. He, however, is an important doctor with a family and everything already. Noriko wants to have the baby, but Matsumura says that it’s actually a rapidly growing cancer and that they have to remove it immediately. It might also be neither of these things…

5. Diadem
A "Diadem" is a word for 'crown' that has its root in Greek. "Stephanos", which appeared in "Mandala" 01, was also a 'crown'. It seems that we could consider this the second work in a continuing series of shorts that should perhaps be called a "Crown series.

Tags: Anthology , Environmental , Post-Apocalyptic , Artificial Intelligence , Seinen , Aliens , Robots , Nudity , Achronological Order , Steampunk , Cosmic Horror

Kuutei Dragons

Also known as Drifting Dragons.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

Mika is a draker on the airship Quin Zaza. He earns his livelihood hunting the whales of the sky—dragons! The beautiful beasts are flying treasure troves, providing food and materials, and the Quin Zaza is among the last draking vessels. Mika’s not just a talented hunter; he’s also a gourmand with a refined palette and a taste for the exotic. Between his duties aboard the ship, his ambitions as an eater, and his new job training the rookie dragon hunter Takita, Mika’s days are never boring. But even with the lively crew of the Quin Zaza as his family, the nomadic life of a draker can be lonely and dangerous…



Tags: Dragons , Food , Aviation , Seinen , Steampunk , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Orphan , Ships , Urban Fantasy

Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka?

Also known as WorldEnd: What Do You Do at the End of the World? Are You Busy? Will You Save Us?.

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

Everyone wants to be remembered... Untold years after the strange Beasts drove humanity to extinction, Willem emerges from his slumber as the sole survivor. A new civilization of various other races has risen on the floating islands, but there'sno place for a featureless human among them. After aimlessly wandering for a time, Willem grudgingly accepts a job with the military, only to discover that the "weapons" he watches over are in fact young faeries. As he slowly learns more about the children and how they're linked to his past, the war with the Beasts grows increasingly desperate. When the girls prepare to fight a hopeless battle, is there anything a lone human can do...?



Tags: Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Swordplay , Post-Apocalyptic , Military , Alternate Universe , Reincarnation , Aliens , Magic , Steampunk , Gods , Seinen , Body Horror , Philosophy

Tegami Bachi

Also known as Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Mystery , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Gauche Suede is on his last delivery before a big promotion. In the outskirts of Yodaka, the darkest area of Amberground, Gauche is surprised to find that the package is a young boy named Lag Seeing. Lag had been traumatized by his mother's abduction and is due to be delivered to his aunt. In this remote area rife with Gaichuu, Lag and Gauche face a dangerous journey that inspires Lag to become a Letter Bee.



Included Special Chapter:
Volume 3: A Bee and His Dingo


Tags: Shounen , Guns , Male Protagonist , Dystopian , Memory Manipulation , Monster Girl , Demons , Disability , Steampunk

Marie no Kanaderu Ongaku

Also known as The Music of Marie.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Romance , Sci-Fi

Pirito is a utopia protected by the mechanical goddess Marie, who looms large as she orbits the skies above. Down in the factory town of Gil, Pipi’s heart yearns for Kai, but as the only one who can hear Marie’s ever-present music, will he be able to accept Pipi’s affection?



Note: Includes a prologue and epilogue.

Tags: Philosophy , Lost Civilization , Seinen , Steampunk , Ghost , Gods , Tragedy , Religion , Heterosexual , Masturbation

Guimi Zhi Zhu

Also known as Lord of the Mysteries.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Thriller

With the rising tide of steam power and machinery, who can come close to being a Beyonder? Shrouded in the fog of history and darkness, who or what is the lurking evil that murmurs into our ears?

Waking up to be faced with a string of mysteries, Zhou Mingrui finds himself reincarnated as Klein Moretti in an alternate Victorian era world where he sees a world filled with machinery, cannons, dreadnoughts, airships, difference machines, as well as Potions, Divination, Hexes, Tarot Cards, Sealed Artifacts…

The Light continues to shine but mystery has never gone far. Follow Klein as he finds himself entangled with the Churches of the world—both orthodox and unorthodox—while he slowly develops newfound powers thanks to the Beyonder potions.

Like the corresponding tarot card, The Fool, which is numbered 0—a number of unlimited potential—this is the legend of "The Fool."



Tags: Gods , Lost Civilization , Religion , Steampunk , Dissociative Identities , Cosmic Horror , Astronomy , Detective , Acting , Conspiracy , Isekai , Primarily Adult Cast , Body Swapping , Historical , Martial Arts , Angels , Circus , Necromancy , Alchemy , Anthropomorphism , Butler , Crossdressing , Age Regression , Foreign , Male Protagonist , LGBTQ+ Themes

Kino no Tabi: the Beautiful World

Also known as Kino's Journey: The Beautiful World.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi

Destination is a state of mind. A tale of one girl and her bike and the road ahead. Kino wanders around the world on the back of Hermes, her unusual, anthropomorphic motorcycle, only staying in each country for three days. During their adventures, they find happiness, sadness, pain, decadence, violence, beauty, and wisdom. But through it all, they never lose their sense of freedom. They discover that because of the world's imperfections, it is actually a thing of beauty. "The world is not beautiful, therefore it is."



Tags: Philosophy , Episodic , Dystopian , Travel , Guns , Foreign , Achronological Order , Female Protagonist , Motorcycles , Steampunk , Anachronism , Politics , Seinen , Agender , Animals , Denpa , Tragedy , Cannibalism

Levius

Also known as Levius.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Mecha , Sci-Fi , Sports

Having fought his way into the top grade of Mechanical Martial Arts, Levius faces an ever-changing world that grows more threatening by the day. The shadowy megacorporation Amethyst wields its military might across the world through advancements in the arena. Can Levius be the fighter who changes the course of the world’s fate?



Tags: Seinen , Gore , Steampunk , Boxing , Martial Arts

Chrno Crusade

Also known as Chrno Crusade.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Romance , Supernatural

America in the Roaring 20s. On the surface, it's a positive, peaceful time after the violence of the Great War. But lurking in the shadows is a dark element ready to snatch that peace away. Sister Rosette Christopher, an exorcist working as a part of the Magdala Order, has a duty to fight the demons which appear and cause destruction. But along with her companion Chrono, she usually ends up causing more destruction than the demons themselves! On one particular mission, they meet a young girl with a beautiful voice named Azmaria, who is being targeted by her own stepfather. As Rosette and Chrno work to save her, more is revealed about the relationship between them. There is more to these two than meets the eye.



Tags: Urban Fantasy , Steampunk , Magic , Demons , Historical , Shounen , Tragedy , Nun , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Super Power , Guns , Foreign , Exorcism

Smokin' Parade

Also known as Smokin' Parade.

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

Youkou lives in a future where organ transplants are common and available to all, but life's not as idyllic as it seems--it turns out a nefarious organization is using that technology for their own evil ends! Only the elite squad Jackalope has any chance of stopping them before it's too late.



Tags: Gore , Steampunk , Body Horror , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Medicine , Anti-Hero , Nudity , Drugs

Assassins Pride

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

In the world where only the aristocrats have the power to fight the monster – mana. A youth named Kufa is dispatched as a tutor to find Mareida’s talent, a nuisance girl born in a duke’s family. If she is not talented, assassinate her. – that, is the dark side of his task...

Tags: Assassins , Male Protagonist , Seinen , Swordplay , Vampire , Magic , Age Gap , Bullying , Steampunk , Female Harem