In Trigun: On the desert planet of Gunsmoke, a 60-billion double-dollar bounty hangs over the head of Vash the Stampede, a pistol-packing pacifist with a weapon capable of punching holes in a planet. Every one of his trigger-happy enemies is aiming to claim Vash, dead or alive—and although Vash believes in nonviolence, he won’t go down without a fight. In Trigun Maximum: Vash the Stampede, the galaxy’s deadliest gunslinger, emerges from two years in hiding to help his beleaguered desert homeworld, Gunsmoke. But the Stampede’s many enemies are back on his trail!
Isn’t reading comics awesome? There are so many different genres and incredible artists, and one of the really fun formats of comics is manga. They usually come in small paperbacks (fun-sized!), and it looks really cool when you see a whole series on a shelf. There are many different types of manga, but today, let’s focus on essential manga! If you have always been curious about manga or are looking to add some titles you may not be familiar with to your collection, this list of nine essential manga series is a great jumping-off point!
Or maybe you are like, “What the heckin’ heck is manga?” Well, allow us to tell you about that, too! The short version is that manga is a comic style that originated in Japan. (Manga is literally the word for “comic” in Japanese.) Artists who create manga are called mangakas. The traditional format of manga is different from Western comics; the pages still read top to bottom, but the action and dialog go from right to left, meaning the books also open on the left side.
This list includes classic manga that became famous animated series, a fake family of spies, a multigenerational supernatural tale, a notebook with the ability to kill, form-altering touches, and possibly the cutest cartoon cat of all time. Get ready to think ink!
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
This is a fullmetal adventure! The two Elric brothers attempt a spell after alchemy training and are severely injured when it backfires. Now, one is partly made of metal, and the other is fully bound to a suit of armor. They become State Alchemists, and spend their days searching for the Philosopher’s Stone, fighting a serial killer, and just generally trying to help out whenever the bad guys cause trouble.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki
Like a lot of stories involving people with supernatural abilities, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure follows a family of people with talents who use them to try and save the universe. Each protagonist in the stories is a member of the Joestar family. They all have a star-shaped birthmark and a name that can be shortened to ‘JoJo’ (which must be very confusing at family reunions. The Joestars use martial arts and channel inner energy to fight evil across multiple generations!
Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo
If you love shows and books where a character’s secret identity remains unknown to others for a lonnnnng time, this is the series for you! Twilight is one of the best spies in the world. His new assignment requires him to go undercover to stop a criminal mastermind. To do that, Twilight must get to him through the criminal’s son. So, he is ordered to put together a fake family. What he doesn’t know is that the woman he chose for his wife is an assassin, and the girl he adopted to be his daughter can read minds. Even the dog has talents. How long can they live together before he finds out? (As of this writing, he’s been clueless for twelve books.)
Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan by Sasami Nitori
This is the most gentle, adorable manga you could want! If you like to unwind with low stakes and cute animals, this is for you. It’s the daily adventures of a very cute cat in a pink bow tie named Kyuu-chan. He doesn’t talk, but he makes lots of gestures, and he travels around town, doing chores and helping people. He also likes to help his owner whenever he can. So…this is obviously fiction, because this cat is very well-behaved! But seriously, this is a stress reliever in book form.
Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Ever been so mad at someone you wished they no longer existed? Or that the world was free of evil people? What if you had the ability to make it happen? That’s what Light Yagami finds out when he discovers a special notebook. It was dropped by a Shinigami death god, and if the name of a human is written on its pages, that person dies. Light decides this is a cool new toy, and goes about using it to get rid of bad people. The local police are suspicious of all the new deaths among the criminal element but lucky for Light, his father is the head of the police, so he knows how the investigation is going. Unlucky for Light, his use of the notebook attracts unwanted attention that may get him killed.
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo
This classic of manga is widely considered to be the best of the genre. It is about the aftermath of World War III. It’s set in the city of Neo-Tokyo, built on the ruins of Tokyo, and follows two teenagers, Tetsuo and Kaneda. Tetsuo has developed supernatural abilities since the blast that destroyed their city, and now he must outwit the government, which seeks to capture him, while Kaneda becomes involved with an anti-government terrorist organization. All the while, a secret power known as “Akira” is waiting in the shadows.
Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
This charming fantasy manga involves a family with a very unusual power. When Tohru Honda runs away from home, she ends up on a private land. There, she is discovered by the Sohma family, who have a big secret. When one of the members of the Sohma family touches a member of the opposite sex, they turn into one of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. That is some trick! Let’s see Ned the Pie Guy do that.
Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
And this is one of the most famous manga series ever, and definitely the most successful one created by a woman mangaka! You may recognize it from the 1990s animated series, if you haven’t already read the comics. It’s about a middle-grader named Usagi Tsukino who meets a magical talking cat. Luna, the talking cat, gives her a brooch that transforms her into Sailor Moon, protector of Earth. What a gift! Usagi then works with other guardians from the other planets (Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter, etc.) to keep the galaxy safe. (Again with the “using powers for good” decision!)
Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama
This famous manga series is on the adventure-comedy side of things. It’s about Bulma, a teenage genius who is looking for the seven Dragon Balls. Supposedly, when all the Balls are all in one place, a dragon god will appear and grant the person in possession of them one wish. (We want more wishes!) Helping Bulma search for the Dragon Balls across the globe is Son Goku, whose incredible strength, magic staff, and monkey tail help him defeat danger far and wide.
Other manga series I have been loving lately include My Cat is Such a Weirdo by Tamako Tamagoyama, Laid-Back Camp by Afro, and Ramen Wolf and Curry Tiger by Emboss. (I like my manga action very low stakes, lol.)
For more great recommendations on manga and comics, check out 8 Punk Manga That Feel Like a Rebellion in Ink and Demon-strably Great Comics. And be sure to sign up for our amazing newsletters and listen to our amazing podcasts for even more exciting book recommendations and news!
