Ten Manga Series You Should Be Reading Now

It’s Manga Month here at PREVIEWworld, so there’s no better time than right now to get started on some great manga series at your local comic shop!

Though with so many different series out there, where do you even start? Don’t you worry – we’ve got you covered. Here, in no particular order, are ten manga series you should be reading right now!
 
 

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

This series also happens to be one of the longest-running series ever, having been serialized in Japan’s Weekly Shonen Jump and Ultra Jump magazines since 1986! JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure follows the various stories of several different “JoJo’s,” beginning with the first arc, Phantom Blood, which follows Jonathan Joestar as he fights against the immortal vampire Dio Brando. The other arcs that are currently out in manga form are Battle Tendency, which followed Jonathan’s grandson Joseph Joestar in his fight against the Pillar Men, and Stardust Crusdaders, as Joseph’s grandson Jotaro travels to Egypt to fight a resurrected Dio.

With the first two arcs, they’re now available in the North American market thanks to Viz Media putting out the “JoJonium” editions of the collected volumes. The hardcover editions, which feature updated art from series creator Hirohiko Araki, make a fantastic addition to any manga collection. Meanwhile, Stardust Crusaders is still around in paperback. With all three of these arcs having been animated (they can be viewed on Crunchyroll), and the fourth part, Diamond is Unbreakable, debuting as an anime this April, it’s as good a time as ever to get started on this legendary action series.

 

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun

This is a relatively new series, having only started in Japan in 2011. A four-panel comedy series, the story follows Chiyo Sakura as she accidentally lands herself a job as an assistant to her crush, Umetaro Nozaki, who happens to be a shoujo manga artist. Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun does a good job at turning the typical tropes of any classic rom-com on their head, staying fresh and relevant in today’s age.

A 12-episode series aired in the summer of 2014 to rave reviews, and, more recently, Yen Press has been publishing the translated manga volumes in North America. This light-hearted romp through the ups and downs of high school romance is great for anyone looking for a fresh take on the genre!
 

Pokémon Adventures

The Pokémon franchise turned 20 years old in 2016, and the hit manga has been running nearly as long! Pokémon Adventures began in March of 1997 and has since sold more than 150 million copies worldwide. The story is separate from both the games and the anime series, making it a unique experience for any longtime Pokémon fan who hasn’t started on it yet. Every story arc features new protagonists based on their game counterparts, but their personalities and backstories are totally distinct from the games they appear in. It’s a great experience to look at the vast world of Pokémon from this different viewpoint!

The manga has been published in English by Viz Media under their Perfect Square imprint (formerly VizKids). The all-ages story can thankfully be picked up super easily, as a number of box sets that each contain a complete story arc have been released by the company. What better way to celebrate Pokémon’s 20th anniversary than by getting into this fantastic series?
 

Yowamushi Pedal

Sports anime has truly emerged as a fantastic genre over the last several years, and one of the series leading the pack has been Yowamushi Pedal. The story follows the Sohoku High School bike club as they pedal hard in an attempt to redeem themselves and win the annual inter-high tournament. The central character is Onoda Sakamichi, who begins the series as a lonely otaku who simply wanted to start an anime club. His talent for cycling is discovered after the team learns that he bikes from his town to Akihabara – 90 kilometers round-trip – on a regular basis. And on a heavy city bike, to boot! Onoda not only becomes part of the team, but helps them overcome a variety of obstacles in their quest to claim the Inter-High Championship. The series is now being published in North America via Yen Press, and is recommended for anyone looking for some fast-paced cycling action!

My Love Story!!

This is easily the single best shoujo manga to come out of Japan within the last decade. My Love Story!! follows Takeo Gouda who, after rescuing her from a pervert on the train, enters into a relationship with the sweet and charming Rinko Yamato. Though at first glance they seem like an odd pair – the absolutely giant, intimidating Takeo with the very petite and polite Rinko – they work wonderfully together.

What makes this series stand out from so many other shoujo romance series is that it doesn’t spend any time playing the “will-they-won’t-they” nonsense. Instead, Takeo and Rinko start dating within the first couple of chapters, and the series instead is able to focus on the ups and downs of a relationship as they navigate through it together. It’s sweet and charming without overdoing it, featuring just enough drama to keep things interesting and is hilariously funny when it needs to be, too. The series is being published by Viz Media, and is absolutely worth the time of anyone interested in manga.

Attack on Titan

Arguably one of the single most popular series of the last few years, Attack on Titan continues to be, well, titanic in the market. This dark fantasy series focuses on how humanity struggles to survive against the Titans – massive humanoids who seem to exist purely to eat people. It’s up to Eren Yeager, a member of the Survey Corps who has the ability to turn into a Titan himself, to lead humanity against the Titans and reclaim the land.

The series now has multiple spinoffs, including Before the Fall, No Regrets, and Junior High. All of the various Attack on Titan series are published in English by Kodansha. With the Survey Corps jackets now being a staple of anime and comic book conventions, it’s the popularity of this series that is clearly visible.

Assassination Classroom

So an alien named Korosensei blows up the moon and then decides to do the same to Earth in a year, but he offers humanity the chance to save themselves. Someone has to kill him before time’s up, otherwise, the Earth is totally doomed. He becomes a high school teacher, and trains his students in various assassination techniques – but he also happens to be one of the best teachers any of the students have ever had! Will any of them be able to stop his nefarious plan? Or, more importantly, will any of them want to hurt their favorite teacher?

Assassination Classroom has been a hit ever since it started running in Japan in 2011. The series actually ended in March 2016, and the second season of the anime will depict the conclusion. The manga was recently nominated for the annual Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize, going to show that it’s not just popular - but really, really good, too. Viz publishes the manga in English, and it can be found just about anywhere that sells manga!

Haikyuu!

This series is another sports-focused one, this time about a high school volleyball team. The Karasuno High School team hasn’t been dominant in many years, but with the arrival of Shoyo Hinata and Tobio Kageyama, that could finally change! The pair must learn to get along after becoming heated rivals in middle school, and their teamwork could be the bond that finally drives this team to success. While fellow sports series Yowamushi Pedal is about the trials and tribulations of cycling itself, Haikyuu!! tends to focus more on the interpersonal relationships that form within a team. This series has been a boon for Shonen Jump in Japan, and now Viz Media is starting to bring the series over to North America. The second season of the anime just wrapped up, with a third quickly on the way – so it’s clearly time for newcomers to start getting caught up on this great series!

Goodnight Punpun

This series has been out since 2007 in Japan, and is now finally coming to the West in English thanks to Viz Media! The story focuses on Onodera Punpun, a young boy who is represented in the story as a little bird; series creator Inio Asano wanted the readers to be able to project themselves onto him, and so, while Punpun’s appearance does change, he never appears as human. Readers follow Punpun through his life, from elementary school all the way into his early 20s, and watch as he deals with the various pitfalls of adolescent life. This deeply emotional series has gained a strong cult following, and is definitely one to look at for someone looking for a little more depth in their manga selections.

Sailor Moon

An oldie-but-a-goodie if there ever was one! The classic magical girl series is now being published in North America by Kodansha, 25 years after it first launched in Japan. For those of you who somehow haven’t heard of the series, it is the story of Usagi Tsukino, who gains the power to transform into the titular Sailor Moon as she and the other Sailor Scouts seek the princess and the Legendary Silver Crystal in order to protect both from the forces that would harm them.

Sailor Moon is now looked upon as one of the most influential anime and manga series ever, helping to redefine the “magical girl” genre and shoujo manga as a whole. Though there are multiple anime series that now span nearly 250 episodes in total, the manga is where it all began and is a great place to start.

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