Top 10 Manga of All Time | 10 Best Manga

Manga is a form of a comic or a graphic novel native to Japan. It follows a specific style of art, which has roots in Japanese history. Manga span a variety of genres, ranging from action, mystery, and thriller to even romance and fantasy. Most of the manga usually also get adapted in the form of an anime – an animated Japanese film or television series. Today, let us take a look at the top 10 manga of all time.

Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama  

Attack on Titan is one of the most popular manga around the world. It was first published in the ‘Bessatsu Shounen Magazine’ in September 2009. The story comprises a total of 34 volumes and continued for twelve years finally coming to an end in April 2021. The manga also got adapted into an anime which premiered on April 7, 2013. The production company for the final season, MAPPA, is set to air the end of Attack on Titan in 2023. The anime as well as the manga by Hajime Isayama has managed to garner a huge fan following all over the globe.

The manga follows a young boy, Eren Yeager, who lives in a dystopian nation that is walled in, to protect the people from the threats of Titans outside. These ‘Titans’ are giant human-esque species who attack and often eat humans to survive. After witnessing his mother being eaten by a Titan, Eren resolves to rid the world of them by joining the Survey Crops – a branch of the military that ventures outside the safety of the walls to battle the Titans and keep the citizens of their nation.

Dragon Ball

In the year 1984 Dragon ball was first created by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995. Dragon Ball was inspired by “Journey to the West” which was the sixteenth century Chinese novel, joined with components of Hong Kong combative techniques films.

The series follows the storyline of hero Son Goku from his life as a youngster through adulthood as he masters in combative techniques. He spends his life as a youngster a long way from civilization until he meets a young girl named Bulma, who urges him to join her mission in exploring the world looking for the seven circles known as the Dragon Balls.

Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba

The Death Note manga was written by Tsugumi Ohba and features illustrations by Takeshi Obata. It ran in the magazine ‘Weekly Shonen Jump’ for three years from December 2003 to May 2006. It was also adapted into an anime series by the same name by the production company, Madhouse in October 2006. There are a total of 12 volumes of the manga and 37 episodes of the anime.

Set in Tokyo, the story follows high-schooler Light Yagami who finds the ‘Death Note’, a black book. If the user writes a name in this book, it would kill them so long as the user knows both the name and the face of the person. Light begins to take justice into his own hands and writes the names of criminals in the book to rid the world of them. These mysterious murders start gaining attention and an investigation begins with the secretive and determined detective, L, at the helm.

Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

The manga series ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’ is written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa and was published in the anthology magazine ‘Monthly Shonen Gangan Shonen Manga’ from July 2001 until June 2010. It was adapted as an anime by the studio Bones and premiered in October 2003. The manga consists of twenty-seven volumes.

The manga follows the story of the Elric brothers – Edward and Alphonso. After an attempt to bring back their mother from the dead with the help of Alchemy goes wrong, Edward and Alphonso face the consequences. Alphonso loses his body and Edward loses his left leg, and even sacrifices his right arm to bring back the soul of his brother, which he binds to a suit of armour. The two brothers then set out in the search of the Philosopher’s stone to get back their bodies.

Berserk

Inspired by a dark fantasy world, Set in a middle age Europe, the story focuses on the characters of Guts, a solitary hired fighter, and Griffith, the head of a soldier of fortune band called the “Band of the Hawk”. Miura debuted a prototype of Berserk in 1988. The series started the next year in the Hakusensha’s presently outdated magazine Monthly Animal House, which was supplanted in 1992 by the semimonthly magazine Young Animal, where Berserk has proceeded with its distribution discontinuously.

Following Miura’s passing in May 2021, the last section that he composed and showed was distributed posthumously The series is set to continue distribution in June 2022, under management of Miura’s individual manga artist and childhood companion Kouji Mori and Miura’s group of partners and students from Studio Gaga.

Bleach

Bleach is a manga which was first published in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump in 2001 and continued until 2016. The manga was illustrated and written by KBTIT. It consists of a total of 74 volumes and also was adapted into an anime as well as a live-action film.

The story follows a young man named Ichigo Kurosaki, who becomes the inheritor of the powers of the Soul Reaper from the one who possessed them before him, Rukia Kuchiki. With this newfound responsibility thrust at him, he becomes an unwilling protector of the spirits and humans alike.

Monster by Naoki Urasawa

Written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa, the manga ‘Monster’ was first published in the magazine ‘Big Comic Original’ in 1994 and comprised of eighteen volumes at the time of its end in 2001. The manga was adapted into an anime by the Madhouse studios and began airing in April 2004. ‘Monster’ is one of the best-selling manga of all time.

The plot focuses on Kenzo Tenma, a surgeon who somehow gets tangled up with an old patient of his, Johan Liebert, who is a dangerous serial killer. With elements of mystery and psychological thriller, this manga gained tremendous critical acclaim.

Naruto

The manga Naruto is written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto and was first published in the magazine ‘Weekly Shonen Jump’. It comprises of a total of 72 volumes and was even adapted into an anime in 2007. Naruto has sold over 250 million copies since its first publication. 

The manga focuses on the story of Naruto, within whom the spirit of a nine-tailed fox who had attacked his village when he was just a baby. Naruto, once grown, trains to become a ninja with his friend Sasuke, who later goes over to the dark side. Naruto never gives up on his friend and tries to lead him on the right path.

One Piece

One Piece is one of the most legendary pieces of manga that exists today. It first made an appearance in the Weekly Shonen Jump back in July 1997. There are a total of 102 volumes of this manga compiled together with every chapter. The series is still ongoing and is written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The manga also received an anime adaptation of the same name in the year 1999. One Piece is the best-selling manga of all time having sold over 490 million copies ever since its first publication. 

The story follows a boy, Monkey D. Luffy, who is not ordinary at all. Monkey D. Luffy is made of rubber and sets off in search of some mysterious treasure known as One Piece. The manga follows this boy on his journey as he goes on countless adventures and finds many friends and foes on the way.

Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami

Jujutsu Kaisen is a fairly new manga, published in the magazine ‘Weekly Shonen Jump’ for the first time in 2018. As of 2022, the manga has as many as eighteen volumes. It was also adapted into an anime by MAPPA in October 2020. Despite being relatively new, both manga and anime have risen to considerable fame.

In this fictional world, every human being possesses something known as the Cursed Energy. Due to people’s lack of this Cursed Energy, a species of malice known as Curses is born. The protagonist, Yuji Itadori is a kind-hearted teenager, who joins his school’s Occult Club only to find out it is filled with real sorcerers who can control this Cursed Energy.