“What are the best Japanese Manga Books?” We looked at 199 of the top Manga books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 32 titles, all appearing on 3 or more “Best Manga” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 150+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

Top 32 Japanese Manga Books

32 .) Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka

Lists It Appears On:

• Kyuhoshi
• The Guardian
• The True Japan

Presents the adventures of the robotic Astro Boy, including how he was created and his battles with the Hot Dog Corps.

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31 .) Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama

Lists It Appears On:

• BuzzFeed
• FluentU
• Goodreads

In this post-apocalytpic sci-fi story, humanity has been devastated by the bizarre, giant humanoids known as the Titans. Little is known about where they came from or why they are bent on consuming mankind. Seemingly unintelligent, they have roamed the world for years, killing everyone they see. For the past century, what’s left of man has hidden in a giant, three-walled city. People believe their 50-meter-high walls will protect them from the Titans, but the sudden appearance of an immense Titan is about to change everything.

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30 .) Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Goodreads
• Japan Visitor

Koushun Takami’s notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan – where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller – Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic,

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29 .) Cardcaptor Sakura by Clamp

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Anime News Network
• Goodreads

Sakura opens an old book and learns that it was made by a magician named Clow Reed to hold the powerful, living Clow cards, but the cards have escaped and she must recapture them before they use their abilities to do evil.

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28 .) Claymore by Norihiro Yagi

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• BuzzFeed
• Goodreads

A Claymore – a female warrior named for the sword she carries – travels from medieval village to village to destroy Yoma, monsters who disguise themselves as humans and who are almost impossible to kill. Claymores are half-humans, half-demons who willingly transformed themselves by mixing their blood with monster’s blood. Claire, nicknamed silver-eyed killer, is such a powerful Claymore, she can slay a Yoma using only one hand. But she must constantly struggle to keep from becoming a monster herself.

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27 .) Detective Conan by Gosho Aoyama

Lists It Appears On:

• Japan Dreaming
• Kyuhoshi
• The True Japan

Ghastly beheadings, bloody murders, and cold-hearted child abduction casesQprecocious high school student Shin’ichi Kudo uses his keen powers of observation and astute intuition to solve mysteries that have left law enforcement officials baffled. Hot on the trail of a suspect, Shin’ichi is accosted from behind and fed a strange chemical which physically transforms him into a grade schooler! Taking on the pseudonym Conan Edogawa, he attempts to track down the people that did this to him.

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26 .) Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Goodreads
• The True Japan

Cute girl wizard Lucy wants to join the Fairy Tail, a club for the most powerful wizards. But instead, her ambitions land her in the clutches of a gang of unsavory pirates led by a devious magician. Her only hope is Natsu, a strange boy she happens to meet on her travels. Natsu’s not your typical hero–he gets motion sickness, eats like a pig, and his best friend is a talking cat. With friends like this, is Lucy better off with her enemies?

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25 .) GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka) by Tooru Fujisawa

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming

When former gangster Onizuka decides to become a teacher, the only job he lands is a student teacher position at the Holy Forest Academy where he must rely on his street smarts to deal with the difficult students.

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24 .) Hellsing by Kouta Hirano

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Geek & Sundry
• Goodreads

There’s a secret organization somewhere in England created to defend the Queen and country from monsters of all sorts. Yes, it’s hard to believe in this day and age… but really, isn’t this the true age of monsters? Enter Hellsing, an agency, long in tooth, with the experience, know-how, and… er… equipment to handle the problems that arise when vampires, ghouls, and the like take on these dark forces. “What equipment?” you may say. How about another vampire, and a big pistol loaded with special silver bullets? That oughta do the trick. But what really knocks ’em dead is the sharp wit, awesome artwork, and crazy, bloody action that make up the manga.

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23 .) Lone Wolf & Cub by Kazuo Koike

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Kyuhoshi
• Thought Co.

Dark Horse Comics is proud to present one of the authentic landmarks in graphic fiction, Lone Wolf and Cub, to be published in its entirety for the first time in America. 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.

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22 .) Oh My Goddess! by Kōsuke Fujishima

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Japan Dreaming
• Thought Co.

Alone in his dorm on a Saturday night, Nekomi Tech’s Keiichi Morisato dials a wrong number that will change his life forever – reaching the Goddess Technical Help Line. Granted one wish by the charming young goddess Belldandy – a wish for anything in the world – Keiichi wishes she would stay with him always! Complications are bound to ensue from this; the immediate first being the new couple getting tossed out of the dorm – it’s males only! As the hapless student and his mysterious “foreign beauty” ride around looking for a new place to stay – risking the different dangers of seeking shelter with an otaku convinced Belldandy is an imaginary woman, and a Zen priest convinced she’s a sinister witch – Keiichi’s still got his classes on Monday morning! How is his new “exchange student” companion going to be received on the N.I.T. campus? A little too well for normal life to ever return..

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21 .) Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• BuzzFeed
• Goodreads

One day, Haruhi, a scholarship student at exclusive Ouran High School, breaks an $80,000 vase that belongs to the ‘Host Club’, a mysterious campus group consisting of six super-rich (and gorgeous) guys. To pay back the damages, she is forced to work for the club, and it’s there that she discovers just how wealthy the boys are and how different they are from everybody else.

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20 .) Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• BuzzFeed
• FluentU

A graphic novel offers the continuing adventures of Serena and her friends, who use the power of the moon and the planets, as the superhero Sailor Moon and her comrades, to find Princess Serenity and to battle the forces of evil.

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19 .) Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• The True Japan

Slam Dunk is a sports-themed manga series written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue about a basketball team from Shōhoku High School in the Shōnan area.

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18 .) Soul Eater by Atsushi Ōkubo

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• CBR
• Goodreads

Maka is a weapon meister, determined to turn her partner, a living scythe named Soul Eater, into a powerful death scythe – the ultimate weapon of Death himself! Charged with the task of collecting and devouring the tainted souls of ninety-nine humans and one witch, Maka and her fellow meisters strive to master their weapons as they face off against the bizarre and dangerous minions of the underworld. But the meisters’ own personal quirks may prove a bigger obstacle than any sultry enchantress!

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17 .) Uzumaki by Junji Ito

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Goodreads
• Thought Co.

Shortly after Shuichi Saito’s father becomes obsessed with spiral patterns, he dies mysteriously, his body positioned in the shape of a twisted coil, and soon the entire town is afflicted with a snail-like disease.

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16 .) Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Goodreads
• Thought Co.

Hello! This is Koiwai Yotsuba, Yotsuba Koiwai…um, YOTSUBA! Yotsuba moved with Daddy to a new house from our old house waaaaaaay over there! And moving’s fun ‘cos people wave! (Ohhhh!!) And Yotsuba met these nice people next door and made friends to play with (one of ’em acted like one of those bad strangers Daddy told Yotsuba not to go with, but it was okay in the end). I hope we get to play a lot. And eat ice cream! And-and-and…oh yeah! You should come play with Yotsuba too!

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15 .) Hunter x Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• The True Japan

Hunters are dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and other men, but to become a hunter, less than one in a hundred thousand are capable of passing the grueling qualification exams.

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14 .) InuYasha by Rumiko Takahashi

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Geek & Sundry
• Goodreads
• Thought Co.

TransformationsKagome learns a piece of critical lore about the Shikon Jewel as well as the secret behind the incredible powers she cannot access. Our friends’ archenemy Naraku takes on a particularly malevolent new form. And Sesshomaru regains something very precious to him!

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13 .) Nana by Ai Yazawa

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• Thought Co.

Nana Komatsu is a young woman who’s endured an unending string of boyfriend problems. Moving to Tokyo, she’s hoping to take control of her life. Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is cool, confident & focused. She swaggers into town and proceeds to kick down the doors to Tokyo’s underground punk scene.

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12 .) Ranma ½ by Rumiko Takahashi

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• Kyuhoshi

Follows the adventures of half-boy, half-girl martial artist Ranma, whose transforming gender problems began at the Accursed Springs in China when he became cursed to turn into a girl when splashed with cold water, and back into a boy with hot water.

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11 .) Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• The Guardian
• The True Japan

Alchemy: the mystical power to alter the natural world; something between magic, art and science. When two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, dabbled in this power to grant their dearest wish, one of them lost an arm and a leg…and the other became nothing but a soul locked into a body of living steel. Now Edward is an agent of the government, a slave of the military-alchemical complex, using his unique powers to obey orders…even to kill. Except his powers aren’t unique. The world has been ravaged by the abuse of alchemy. And in pursuit of the ultimate alchemical treasure, the Philosopher’s Stone, their enemies are even more ruthless than they are…

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10 .) Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• CBR
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• Thought Co.

Shinmen Takezo is destined to become the legendary sword-saint, Miyamoto Musashi–perhaps the most renowned samurai of all time. For now, Takezo is a cold-hearted killer, who will take on anyone in mortal combat to make a name for himself. This is the journey of a wild young brute who strives to reach enlightenment by way of the sword–fighting on the edge of death.

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9 .) Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• BuzzFeed
• Goodreads
• Japan Visitor
• The Guardian
• Thought Co.

Dark Horse is committed to bringing the finest comics from around the world to America. Now, in association with Kodansha Ltd. and Studio Proteus, Dark Horse has again gathered one of the crown jewels of graphic fiction. Katsuhiro Otomo’s stunning science-fiction masterpiece, Akira! Regarded by many as the finest comic series ever produced, Akira is a bold and breathtaking epic of potent narrative strength and astonishing illustrative skill. Akira is set in the post-apocalypse Neo-Tokyo of 2019, a vast metropolis built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by an apocalyptic blast of unknown power that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when dormant paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, who becomes a target for a shadowy government operation, a group who will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like that which leveled Tokyo. And at the core of their motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear: a fear of someone — or something — of unthinkably monstrous power known only as…Akira. And Akira is about to rise! Collected in six massive volumes, Akira has been reproduced in its original, black-and-white majesty as never-before-seen in an English-translated edition. If you love science fiction, manga or comics, Akira is the one work that must be represented in your collection!

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8 .) Berserk by Kentaro Miura

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• CBR
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• Take Lessons
• The True Japan

“Created by Kentaro Miura, Berserk is manga mayhem to the extreme – violent, horrifying, and mercilessly funny – and the wellspring for the internationally popular anime series. Not for the squeamish or the easily offended, Berserk asks for no quarter – and offers none!
His name is Guts, the Black Swordsman, a feared warrior spoken of only in whispers. Bearer of a gigantic sword, an iron hand, and the scars of countless battles and tortures, his flesh is also indelibly marked with The Brand, an unholy symbol that draws the forces of darkness to him and dooms him as their sacrifice. But Guts won’t take his fate lying down; he’ll cut a crimson swath of carnage through the ranks of the damned – and anyone else foolish enough to oppose him! Accompanied by Puck the Elf, more an annoyance than a companion, Guts relentlessly follows a dark, bloodstained path that leads only to death…or vengeance.”

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7 .) Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• BuzzFeed
• Goodreads
• Goodreads
• The True Japan
• Thought Co.

The enigmatic Sohma family shares a great secret ~they are possessed by spirits of the Chinese Zodiac, and when they are hugged by members of the opposite sex, they transform into their Zodiac animal!

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6 .) Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• BuzzFeed
• CBR
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• The True Japan

Packed with action, romance and historical intrigue, Rurouni Kenshin is one of the most beloved and popular manga series worldwide. Set against the backdrop of the Meiji Restoration, it tells the saga of Himura Kenshin, once an assassin of ferocious power, now a humble rurouni, a wandering swordsman fighting to protect the honor of those in need.

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5 .) One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• CBR
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• Kyuhoshi
• Take Lessons
• The True Japan

A new shonen sensation in Japan, this series features Monkey D. Luffy, whose main ambition is to become a pirate. Eating the Gum-Gum Fruit gives him strange powers but also invokes the fruit’s curse: anybody who consumes it can never learn to swim. Nevertheless, Monkey and his crewmate Roronoa Zoro, master of the three-sword fighting style, sail the Seven Seas of swashbuckling adventure in search of the elusive treasure “One Piece.”

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4 .) Bleach by Tite Kubo

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• BuzzFeed
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• Kyuhoshi
• The Guardian
• The True Japan
• Thought Co.

Hot-tempered 15-year-old Ichigo Kurosaki, the hero of the popular fantasy-adventure Bleach, has the unsettling ability to see spirits who are unable to rest in peace. His sixth sense leads him to Rukia, a Soul Reaper who destroys Hollows (soul-devouring monsters) and ensures the deceased find repose with the Soul Society. When she’s injured in battle, Rukia transfers her sword and much of her power to Ichigo, whose spiritual energy makes him a formidable substitute Soul Reaper. But the orange-haired teenager isn’t sure he wants the job: too many risks and moral dilemmas.

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3 .) Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• BuzzFeed
• FluentU
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• Kyuhoshi
• The Guardian
• Thought Co.

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects – and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal…or his life?

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2 .) Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• BuzzFeed
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• Kyuhoshi
• Take Lessons
• The Guardian
• The True Japan
• Thought Co.

L to R (Western Style) Naruto is a ninja-in-training with a need for attention, a knack for mischief and, sealed within him, a strange, formidable power. His antics amuse his instructor Kakashi and irritate his teammates, intense Sasuke and witty Sakura, but Naruto is serious about becoming the greatest ninja in the village of Konohagakure!

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1 .) Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama

Lists It Appears On:

• Anime News Network
• BuzzFeed
• Goodreads
• Japan Dreaming
• Japan Visitor
• Kyuhoshi
• Take Lessons
• The Guardian
• The True Japan
• Thought Co.

Son Goku is a naive young monkey-tailed boy whose quiet life is completely over-turned when he is nearly run over by a precocious and spiky girl caled Bulma. She is on a quest to collect seven Dragon Balls and thereby be granted one wish. But the balls are scattered all over the world and Bulma gets much more than she bargained for when she tricks Son to hand over the dragon ball he owns and gets him to join her quest. Son Gokumay be tiny and naive but he’s supernaturally strong, has a magic staff and owns a flying cloud. Also he’s not as stupid as he appears. A wonderfully energetic and fast moving fantastic quest propelled by the witty and sharp interplay between Bulma and Goku.

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The 150+ Additional Best Manga Comics

13 Best Japan Manga Book Sources/Lists