Top Yakuza Manga Recommendations

Chainsaw Man

Also known as Chainsaw Man.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Horror , Supernatural

The name says it all! Denji's life of poverty is changed forever when he merges with his pet chainsaw dog, Pochita! Now he's living in the big city and an official Devil Hunter. But he's got a lot to learn about his new job and chainsaw powers!



Notes:
- Nominated for the 2020 Manga Taisho Award.
- Winner of the 2021 Kono Manga ga Sugoi Award.
- Winner of the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shounen category.
- Winner of the 2021 and 2022 Harvey Award for Best Manga.
- Chapters 1-97 were released in Weekly Shounen Jump from Dec 3, 2018 to Dec 13, 2020. The series resumed from Ch. 98 in Shounen Jump+ on July 12, 2022

Tags: Demons , Tragedy , Urban Fantasy , Dissociative Identities , Male Protagonist , Psychosexual , Gore , Body Horror , Cosmic Horror , Henshin , Female Protagonist , Urban , Survival , Monster Boy , Found Family , Work , Ensemble Cast , Memory Manipulation , Cult , Shounen , Heterosexual , Yandere , Guns , Assassins , Human Pet , Coming of Age , Monster Girl , Revenge , Terrorism , Shapeshifting , Philosophy , Slapstick , Meta , Primarily Teen Cast , Afterlife , Nudity , School , Angels , Cannibalism , Necromancy , Delinquents , Time Skip , Femdom , Amnesia , Mafia , Yakuza , Tsundere , LGBTQ+ Themes , Zombie , Chimera , Motorcycles , Yuri , Vore

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

Gokushufudou

Also known as The Way of the Househusband.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

He was the fiercest member of the yakuza, a man who left countless underworld legends in his wake. They called him “the Immortal Dragon.” But one day he walked away from it all to travel another path—the path of the househusband! The curtain rises on this cozy yakuza comedy!



Tags: Parody , Episodic , Yakuza , Male Protagonist , Slapstick , Gangs , Family Life , Primarily Adult Cast , Seinen , Heterosexual , Food , Urban , Iyashikei , Animals , Marriage , Otaku Culture , Tanned Skin

Nisekoi

Also known as Nisekoi: False Love.

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

As a child, Raku Ichijou made a secret promise with his childhood sweetheart, keeping a pendant as a memento while his love took the key. He dreams of one day meeting his past love, but years later, reality smashes his hopes when Chitoge Kirisaki accidentally knees him in the face...

Though Raku’s a normal high schooler, his family heads the notorious yakuza gang the Shuei-Gumi faction! And he’s dragged into family affairs when he’s forced into a relationship with Chitoge, the daughter of a rival gang’s boss!

Despite their constant spats, the two somehow fool everyone with their false relationship. Raku then discovers that Chitoge has a mysterious key from her past, which she can’t remember... Plus, two other girls appear with keys as well—Kosaki Onodera and Marika Tachibana!

Caught in the midst of this love maelstrom, even more complications arise for Raku when his class decides on Romeo and Juliet as the class’s play for the school festival. Can the two false lovebirds pull off the impossible and make the play a success?



Note: Chapter count includes 229 regular chapters and 11 extras.

Tags: Love Triangle , Female Harem , Primarily Female Cast , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Slapstick , Primarily Teen Cast , Tragedy , Tsundere , School , Coming of Age , Fake Relationship , Yakuza , Gangs , Time Skip , Chibi , Nudity , Arranged Marriage , Animals , Crossdressing , Police , Amnesia , Marriage , Gender Bending

GTO

Also known as GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka.

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

Former juvenile delinquent Onizuka finds himself thrust into to role of high school teacher, facing students who behave just as he used to and an administration that doesn't trust him. Using the brash an unorthodox methods he picked up in his youth, Onizuka manages to reach through to his kids and help them with their problems.



Notes:
- Won the 22nd Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shounen Manga.
- The chapter count includes the 7 chapters extra GTO: Great Toroko Oppai♡ (Tomoko's Big Adventures) published in volumes 11 and 12, and one extra published in volume 25.

Tags: Teacher , School , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Work , Male Protagonist , Bullying , Terrorism , Tragedy , Rehabilitation , Delinquents , Nudity , Gangs , Shounen , Age Gap , Family Life , Motorcycles , Dragons , Crime , Revenge , Heterosexual , Yakuza , Detective , Acting , Guns , Police , Espionage , Drugs , Slapstick , Primarily Teen Cast

Iphagyongbyeong

Also known as Teenage Mercenary.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama

At the age of eight, I-Jin Yu lost his parents in a plane crash and became stranded in a foreign land, forced to become a child mercenary in order to stay alive. He returns home ten years later to be reunited with his family in Korea, where food and shelter are plenty and everything seems peaceful. But I-Jin will soon learn that life as a teenager is a whole other feat of survival. With only one year of high school left, I-Jin must master new tactics to maneuver his way around the schoolhouse battleground. Can he survive a year of high school? Or rather, will the school be able to survive him?



Tags: Kuudere , Full Color , Male Protagonist , Family Life , Military , School , Guns , Martial Arts , Bullying , Assassins , Tragedy , Anti-Hero , Yakuza , Heterosexual , War , Terrorism , Mafia , Long Strip , Revenge

Kagurabachi

Also known as Kagurabachi.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy

Young Chihiro spends his days training under his famous swordsmith father. One day he hopes to become a great sword-maker himself. The goofy father and the serious son--they thought these days would last forever. But suddenly, tragedy strikes. A dark day soaked in blood. Chihiro and his blade now live only for revenge.



Note:
- Winner of the Tsugimanga 2024 Award in the Print Manga Category.
- Winner of the 4th Magademy Commitment Award.
- Nominee of the 70th Shogakukan Award.

Tags: Swordplay , Urban Fantasy , Revenge , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Magic , Mafia , Yakuza , Gore , Gangs , Anti-Hero , War , Tragedy , Criminal Organization , Time Skip , Torture , Oiran

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

BEASTARS

Also known as BEASTARS.

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

One night at Cherryton Academy, an herbivore student is brutally murdered. Among the members of the Drama Club, the herbivores’ suspicions naturally turn to their carnivore classmates… The prime suspect? Gray wolf Legoshi. But he wouldn’t hurt a fly. Or would he? Will dwarf rabbit Haru bring out the beast in him? Or are his feelings for her…something else?



Notes:
- Winner of the 11th Manga Taisho Award in 2018.
- Winner of the 42nd Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2018.
- Winner of the New Face Award from the 21st Japan Media Arts Festival Awards in 2018.
- Winner of the New Creator Prize of the 22nd Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2018.

Tags: Anthropomorphism , Animals , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Cannibalism , School , Ensemble Cast , Urban , Crime , Philosophy , Psychosexual , Politics , Gangs , Primarily Animal Cast , Tragedy , Revenge , Shounen , School Club , Yakuza , Primarily Teen Cast , Love Triangle , Class Struggle , Bullying , Heterosexual , Adoption , Survival , Acting , Cultivation , Martial Arts

Sun-Ken Rock

Also known as Sun-Ken Rock.

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

Delinquent Ken goes to Korea to follow the girl he loves, but somehow, he gets caught up in Korea’s local gang business instead!? And what do you mean he’s the gang’s boss now?



Notes:
- Includes 9 extra chapters.
- Includes the one-shot "Trigun: The Lost Plant"

Tags: Seinen , Gangs , Yakuza , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Martial Arts , Foreign , Nudity , Travel , Tragedy , Gore , Swordplay , Mafia , Cars , Food

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

The Fable

Also known as The Fable.

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

When you're the infamous prodigy hitman known only as “Fable,” many things come easy. Being a normal person, however, isn't one of them. In fact, being told that he can't kill anyone for a while may just be the hardest job Fable’s ever taken...



Note: Won the 41st Kodansha Manga Awards in the general manga category in 2017.

Tags: Yakuza , Seinen , Urban , Assassins , Guns , Primarily Adult Cast , Surreal Comedy , Crime , Nudity , Survival , Disability , Revenge , Bar , Heterosexual , Gore , Tragedy

Ssaumdokak

Also known as Viral Hit.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy

Scrawny high school student Ho-Bin Yoo is probably the last guy you’d expect to star in a NewTube channel that revolves around fighting. But after following some advice from a mysterious NewTube channel, Ho-Bin is soon knocking out guys stronger than him and raking in more money than he could have ever dreamed of. Can Ho-Bin keep this up, or will he eventually meet his match?



Tags: Martial Arts , Delinquents , Bullying , Coming of Age , Meta , Yakuza , Full Color , VTuber , Crime , School , Fitness , Tragedy , Gangs , Female Harem , Heterosexual , Ensemble Cast , Long Strip

Hinamatsuri

Also known as Hinamatsuri.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Nitta is an ambitious, young member of the Ashikawa-gumi yakuza syndicate. One day, a mysterious, oval-shaped object falls out of thin air into his apartment, and suddenly changes everything! Inside of the object is an expressionless young girl named Hina. The girl has formidable telekinetic powers that she uses to threaten Nitta, forcing him to allow her to live in his apartment. Dangers abound as the yakuza member and young psychic begin their life together as roommates!



Includes 32 extra chapters.

Tags: Surreal Comedy , Found Family , Adoption , Slapstick , Family Life , Super Power , Yakuza , Female Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Parenthood , Coming of Age , Work , Ensemble Cast , Seinen , Time Skip , Male Protagonist , Homeless , Primarily Female Cast , Urban , Bar , School , Time Manipulation

Ayashimon

Also known as Ayashimon.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Supernatural

Maruo, a boy starved for battle, meets Urara, a girl trying to escape from underworld thugs...



Tags: Youkai , Yakuza , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Female Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Meta , Surreal Comedy , Parody , Motorcycles , Dragons , Crossdressing , 4-koma

Raise wa Tanin ga Ii

Also known as Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance

Yoshino grew up as the yakuza princess of the Osaka Somei crime family. Everyone left her alone due to her sharp gaze and mobster ties. But when her grandfather signs a truce with the Tokyo-based Miyama crime family, she’s offered for betrothal to the Miyama leader’s grandson, Kirishima. At first, Kirishima seems amiable and polite–but when he shows his dark side, he proves to be more disturbing than any gangster Yoshino has ever met. This engagement is sure to be a wild ride for a tough yakuza princess and her twisted yakuza prince!



Note:
- Winner of the 4th Next Manga Award in the Print Manga Category in 2018.
- Nominated for the 46th Kodansha Manga Award in the General Category in 2022.

Tags: Yakuza , Crime , Urban , Mafia , Female Protagonist , Seinen , Heterosexual , Criminal Organization , Gore , Arranged Marriage , Yandere , Ojou-sama , Male Protagonist , Feet , School , Bisexual

BLACK LAGOON

Also known as Black Lagoon.

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

Rokurō Okajima is just an average Japanese salaryman, living an average life. But when he's taken hostage by the crew of the Black Lagoon, Rokurō finds himself thrown headfirst into a deadly world of outlawed heroes, brutal villains, and blazing gunfights. Where he ends up is anyone's guess, but one thing is for certain—he's in for a wild ride!



Tags: Seinen , Gangs , Military , Guns , Ships , Crime , Triads , Mafia , Primarily Adult Cast , Yakuza , Foreign , Male Protagonist , Pirates , Female Protagonist , Assassins , Ensemble Cast , Gore , Heterosexual , Tragedy , Nun

Kozure Ookami

Also known as Lone Wolf and Cub.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama

An epic samurai adventure of staggering proportions—over 7000 pages—Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Okami in Japan) is acknowledged worldwide for the brilliant writing of series creator Kazuo Koike and the groundbreaking cinematic visuals of the late Goseki Kojima, creating unforgettable imagery of stark beauty, kinetic fury, and visceral thematic power that influenced a generation of visual storytellers both in Japan and in the West.



Tags: Revenge , Samurai , Historical , Swordplay , Assassins , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Seinen , Gore , Ninja , Politics , Nudity , Yakuza , Primarily Male Cast ,

My Home Hero

Also known as My Home Hero.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Thriller

Tetsuo Tosu is a typical father whose biggest worries are his job and his rebellious daughter, Reika. That is, until he finds a bruise on her face. His worst fears come true when he finds out she has a secret boyfriend...and he's part of a crime ring that's using her to steal her grandparent's wealth. If that wasn't bad enough, the thug catches Tetsuo snooping around and threatens to kill Reika as soon as she gets home. Fueled by fatherly instincts, Tetsuo murders the man...only for his wife to walk in and witness what he's done. Now with a corpse to hide and a crime ring hot on his tail, Tetsuo must resort to his love of detective novels and his wits to stay one step ahead of a grim fate...



Tags: Crime , Seinen , Yakuza , Primarily Adult Cast , Mafia , Guns , Family Life , Tragedy , Cult , Detective , Male Protagonist , Police , Nudity , Delinquents , Revenge , Suicide

Koko wa Ima kara Rinri desu.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Psychological

"Ethics" is the path of humanity, a principle that becomes the norm of morality. Learning is not a problem in the future. But this class is filled with the truth of life. Cool ethics teachers Takayanagi confronts the problems of students and their own stance. New Age, teacher story!!

Tags: Philosophy , Teacher , School , Educational , Episodic , Seinen , Bullying , Suicide , Crime , Delinquents , LGBTQ+ Themes , Yakuza , Drugs , Nudity , Disability , Tragedy