Though manga is currently experiencing a popular renaissance thanks to countless Netflix adaptations, the artistic storytelling medium has a long history.
Where it was once considered a relatively niche interest in the Western world, you’ll now find extensive manga sections in your local Waterstones with releases both old and new for English-speaking enthusiasts to explore.
Though contemporary manga was largely inspired by comic books left by American GIs following the end of the occupation, the history of graphic storytelling in Japan goes back centuries. Manga as we know it is said to have originated from emakimono dating back to the year 1200AD.
An anonymous artist produced a series of painted handscrolls, otherwise referred to as emakimono, depicting anthropomorphic animals engaging in very human activities – from wrestling and horse riding to bathing. Handscrolls of Frolicking Animals (ChÅjÅ« giga), is widely considered to be the first manga, according to RyÅko Matsuba and Alfred Haft for The British Museum.
Nevertheless, by the late 1700s, popular Japanese artists were combining pictures and words in comic illustrated novels (kibyÅshi). Telling stories through graphic images and accompanying text became a common cultural practice, but it wasn’t until the 1980s and 1990s that Japan experienced the golden age of manga.
There’s something inherently charming and enthralling about telling stories via serialised comic strips. Creating worlds and characters which readers become emotionally connected with, and then splitting up the story into volumes builds anticipation and allure.
What’s more, the prospect of collecting all the volumes of your favourite manga becomes incredibly appealing, so that you too can have bustling bookshelves of surrealist adventures, goosebumps-raising horrors and irresistible romances.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of manga, brilliant narratives aside, is the artwork which accompanies them. Unique styles and designs fill each manga with a highly specific aesthetic and take all the extra work out of visualising your favourite characters so you can get fully immersed in the story.
From the historical influence of emakimono to the ‘red books’ (Akahon) popularised following the end of American occupation in the 1940s, the inspiration behind the most popular mangas of all time is wide-ranging. We’ve curated a selection of the best to sink your teeth into.
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Akira Volume 1 by Katshuiro Otomo
One of the most popular mangas of all time, Akira is a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi graphic novel set in Neo-Tokyo following World War III. It follows the lives of two friends called Kaneda and Tetsuo who become mortal enemies after an accident gives Tetsuo unexpected psychokinetic powers.
Fast-paced, action-packed and utterly mind-boggling, Otomo’s beloved graphic novel is filled to the brim with hyper-detailed, extraordinary artwork and brilliant plotlines to boot.
Buy now £18.21, Amazon
One Piece, Volumes 1,2 and 3 by Eiichiro Oda
Another popular graphic novel which has recently been adapted by Netflix, One Piece is one of the best-selling mangas of all time. It’s a fun-filled, bizarre tale of a young boy named Monkey D. Luffy who dreams of becoming a pirate.
When Luffy hears of the ominous treasure of all treasures known as the One Piece, he sets sail with his crew in search of its mystical fruits. Filled with oodles of mayhem and general shenanigans, each volume is a wild ride from start to finish.
Buy now £13.42, Amazon
Tomie Complete Deluxe Edition by Junji Ito
One for the lovers of all things horror, Tomie by Junji Ito is about the eponymous femme fatale who can seduce every man that she meets, forcing them to commit heinous crimes. No mortal can escape the immortal succubus and this complete edition contains all of her terrifying adventures.
Buy now £19.20, Amazon
Vagabond (VIZBIG Edition), Vol. 1 – by Takehiko Inoue
Widely considered to be one of the best mangas of all time without an anime adaptation, Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond is about a seventeen-year-old swordsman who is intent on becoming the most celebrated blade-wielder in all of Japan. An epic martial arts series which is set against the backdrop of a war-torn land, Miyamoto Musashi is the samurai-philosopher protagonist you’ve been waiting for.
Buy now £16.49, Waterstones
Spy x Family, Vol. 1 - Spy x Family 1 by Tatsuya Endo
This gripping manga is about a world-class undercover spy named Twilight who is given the ultimate covert mission which results in him having to get married and have a child in order to infiltrate an elite private school.
Spy x Family is a raucous tale which sees our stoic protagonist realise he might just be in over his head, when he comes to discover that his new wife is an assassin, and his adopted child has telepathic abilities.
Buy now £8.99, Waterstones
One-Punch Man, Vol. 1 - One-Punch Man 1 by One
A uniquely satirical manga which pokes fun at comic book heroes, One-Punch Man is about a superhero so powerful that he can’t find anyone to fight. Throughout the volume, we discover whether our bald-headed, power-wielding protagonist might just find someone who can give him a fair fight, or whether he’s doomed to a life of boredom.
Buy now £8.99, Waterstones
Attack On Titan 1 by Hajime Isayama
This dystopian fiction is set in a world where humans are confined within walled cities built to protect them against man-eating humanoids called Titans. Though these terrifying giants have not been seen for over 100 years, Elen and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrifying looming over the city’s walls.
Buy now £10.99, Waterstones
Dragon Ball, Vol. 1: The Monkey King by Akira Toriyama
Whether you grew up with the popular animated TV show or are here to understand what the fuss is all about, Akira Toriyama’s beloved Dragon Ball series begins with the Akahon featuring a young Son Goku whose life changes when he meets Bulma – a girl who is on a mission to collect seven mystical Dragon Balls.
Buy now £7.45, Amazon
Death Note, Vol. 1 - Death Note 1 by Tsugumi Ohba
Another wildly popular horror manga, Death Note is about a boy named Light Yagami who discovers a journal dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written into the Death Note dies, and Light is intent on using his newfound power to rid the world of evil. Yet in the face of such mind-bending power, will Light stray from his seemingly noble mission?
Buy now £7.99, Waterstones
Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition, Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa
This dystopian thriller is set in a world ruled and ravaged by alchemy. Two brothers are torn apart both physically and emotionally through their own abuse of the mystical power, with one losing several limbs and the other locked into a body of living steel.
The latter brother, Edward, is forced to be a governmental slave of the military-alchemical complex. With enemies all around seeking the same goal – the ultimate tool of alchemy, The Philosopher’s Stone – the brothers must be ruthless in their pursuit.
Buy now £12.33, Amazon
Orange: The Complete Collection 1 by Ichigo Takano
Tired of all the action-packed manga? Look no further than Ichigo Takano’s romantic comedy series Orange. It begins when 16-year-old Takamiya Naho receives a bizarre letter claiming to be from her 27-year-old self. Future Takamiya tells her younger self to keep an eye on a new transfer student named Naruse Kakeru who is set to join her class at school.
Buy now £13.89, Amazon
Berserk Vol. 1: The Black Swordsman by Kentaro Miura
Magic, mystery and mayhem encompass the nature of this popular medieval-themed manga by Kentaro Miura. We follow a lone swordsman nicknamed Guts who is seeking revenge on a man called Friffith who leads a group of mercenaries called the Band of the Hawk.
Buy now £13.97, Amazon
Naruto, Vol. 1 - Naruto 1 by Masashi Kishimoto
We’d be remiss not to include the iconic Naruto in a round-up about the best mangas of all time. A series which needs no real introduction, the formidable Naruto is a mischievous ninja-in-training who holds a formidable power within him that both he and his classmates have yet to discover.
Buy now £7.99, Waterstones
