When I first got into manga, it felt almost taboo or like a style of books I shouldn’t be into because most of my friends only dipped their toes into graphic novels. But that’s definitely not the case, and there are some great picks out there for true beginners.
As I was growing up, I was almost ashamed to read graphic novels in public because I thought people would look down on me for the images and contents. I didn’t think The Walking Dead could stand up to Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, but it absolutely can, and manga does so even better. But it’s difficult to know where to start with manga, which is why I’ve put together this list of the best books you can pick up as a beginner that’ll help you ease yourself into the genre before you take off the training wheels and start exploring on your own.
Below are the best manga you can read as a beginner. They’re not too overwhelming in their content and don’t require much prior knowledge of the stories told on their pages. In fact, most of the franchises you’ll recognize below started life as manga.
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Fruits Basket is a great manga series for beginners that’s a bit of a classic having been originally published in 1998. Protagonist Tohru Honda moves out of her family home after tragedy strikes, but she doesn’t have anywhere to go. So she pitches up a tent and settles in for what she thinks will be a quieter life for the time being. However, she’s soon discovered by the lands owners, the Sohma clan, and it becomes apparent that they’re not all that they seem. You see, when touched by someone of the opposite sex, they transform into animals from the Chinese Zodiac. It’s an odd but ultimately compelling introduction to shojo stories.
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Blue Box is a manga for those who want something a bit more modern. You follow Taiki Inomata, a student who adores badminton and wants desperately to become good enough to play on a national level. He falls for Chinatsu Kano, an upperclassman when he sees her practicing with every ounce of effort she has for the girls’ basketball team. Events transpire that see the pair come closer together, and somehow sports isn’t the only thing they can think about anymore. Stories like this that feel grounded and realistic always make my heart sing when I’m reading them, and I think that makes it a perfect manga to kick your journey off with.
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Monster is a gritty adult manga with a twisting murder mystery at its heart. After opting to save a young man’s life over the major’s Dr. Kenzo Tenma loses his social standing in the hospital where he works. Years later, Tenma saves another man who mutters about a monster, but the man escapes the hospital. Tenma pursues him and sees his patient shot to death. Tenma is immediately suspected by the police, and uncovers the horrific past of the young man he saved while seeking to prove his innocence. Note: this does deal with some serious subject matter, so please research the content warnings for it if you’re at all worried about it.
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Dungeon Meshi, which you might also know as Delicious in Dungeon, this manga follows a party of adventurers after a colossal red dragon attacks them, consuming the most powerful mage among them, who happens to be warrior Laios’ sister.
The party were, mercifully, saved by their mage companion right before she was eaten, but vows to return to face the red dragon and kill it before she is digested. However, they’re low on funds and can’t afford all the rations needed to traverse the dungeon, so they’re going to cook whatever monsters they find while delving back through it.
This series is part-dungeon adventure and part-cooking show. It’s an unexpectedly great combination because you feel like you’re learning while you see this party kill and then cook up fantastical creatures that get featured in games, TV shows, movies, and books.
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Look Back is a one-shot manga about an elementary school student who, after having her manga published in the school paper and praised for her work, finds herself competing with another student in the school who begins publishing her own manga. Over the years, the two grow close, working on several on-shots together, but life choices see them drift apart. It’s an emotional story that will definitely tug on your heartstrings and makes for a fantastic entry point into the genre.
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One Piece is another gateway manga I used to get into this genre. It’s a franchise many manga fans discuss because it’s got not only an incredible long-running anime series but also a Netflix show. There are dozens of volumes of this series for you to read. As with all manga, starting at the beginning to see if you like it is the best place.
The One Piece manga follows Monkey D. Luffy on his quest to find the ultimate treasure, known as One Piece, and become the ultimate pirate by claiming it. Luffy is pretty special, having been rubberized after eating a Devil Fruit. The series is packed with exciting pirate battles and has some of the most memorable characters you could hope to read. It’s the pirate angle that gets me, though, and I think everyone finds a series easier to digest if it’s built on such a familiar concept.
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Another manga better known for its anime counterpart, Attack on Titan is a brutal series that blends sci-fi and fantasy within a steampunk world that I find very intriguing. Every page makes you want to dive into the next because you never know what’s coming.
The books follow Eren Yeager, a young soldier who vows to kill the colossal Titans that plague humanity and force them to live behind giant walls for protection. The characters in this series are great, and the overarching story of where the Titans originate from is fascinating. It kept me reading and working through Yeager’s journey without it ever feeling like a chore. Very easy reads and a universe you’ll be glad you checked out.
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When you’re scanning through the Death Note covers in your local bookstore, it looks pretty daunting. However, the story itself isn’t difficult to understand or get into, but it is a thrilling read and an extremely unique idea. It’s a great series demonstrating some of the brilliant tales being told in manga that you’d miss out on if you discounted the genre.
In Death Note, you’ll follow protagonist Light Yagami. This high school student discovers a notebook called Death Note and quickly realizes that it grants the owner the power to kill anyone whose name is written on its pages. This is because it was once owned by the Shinigami Ryuk, a spirit that beckons humans towards death. That kind of power coming from a book is one thing, but the way the series expands to cover even larger ones, such as wiping out all crime in a region used in said book, is what sets it apart from stories that might not make the most of the power they explore.
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Sand Land is an easy series to get into from Akira Toriyama, one of the best-known creators in the genre. It’s set in a far future on Earth when war has decimated the planet, and a greedy king controls and distributes water. The series follows Sheriff Rao, a Thief, and the king of demons, Beelzebub, who happens to be the king’s son, in search of a long-lost lake and liquid freedom.
In this travel adventure, the trio knocks heads with some epic foes, including dragons and bandits. But the deadliest foe they’ll face is the king’s army itself, forcing them into fights where the odds seem pretty stacked against them.
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The story of REAL revolves around wheelchair basketball and follows three teenagers in various stages of life around high school. The most intriguing arc is for Takahashi Hisanobu, who was the school’s basketball team hotshot until an accident left him wheelchair-bound as a paraplegic.
While it might sound like REAL tackles with some heavy subjects, it’s actually very relatable. The manga’s three characters are all marginalized by society and sometimes each other, but they share a common goal and simply want to be accepted for who they are and what they love doing. I like it because I find any media difficult to digest if there’s no way I can relate to it, but we’ve all felt marginalized in some way before, and that’s why I think it’s easy to connect with REAL as a beginner manga enthusiast.
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My Hero Academia is another manga series that always comes up in conversations about the subject, but it can be hard to gauge if it’s right for you as a beginner. However, I can tell you right now that this is absolutely a great place to start because it puts you in the shoes of a true starter from the very first page.
This series follows a young boy called Izuku Midoriya. He was born without superpowers, known as Quirks, but dreams of becoming a superhero. the world’s greatest hero sees potential in him and enrolls him in a school for those with Quirks after bestowing his own on the boy. You follow someone learning about their powers in a world where superpowers are the bog standard basic, and your confusion and ignorance are accepted because the protagonist you enter the world as is just the same.
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Uzumaki is perhaps Junju Ito’s best known work and the perfect place to get into his incredibly brand of horror in manga. The story is centered around Kurouzu-cho, a small town constantly shrouded by fog on Japan’s coastline. It’s not haunted by ghosts of the past, though, it’s haunted by Uzumaki, a sharp, the mysterious spiral, and a secret kept by our world. It’s incredibly dark and has some memorable scenes that are going to stick with you long after you’re done reading.
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One Punch Man is a character who has transcended manga, making it into all sorts of other media, including a workout from The Bioneer. It tells the story of Saitama, a man who has become a hero because he’s trained himself to defeat any opponent and do a lot of other things with a single punch. That’s not an exaggeration, and it’s just as cool as it sounds.
The manga tells a bonkers tale of this character, someone who basically fights villains and monsters in his spare time if he feels like it, and how he ends up saving the world with his sheer strength. As you read, you’ll also appreciate who Saitama is and why people might want to train themselves to reach a personal goal of enjoyment over recognition from others.
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Polar Bear Cafe is a really different manga, but one I think you should try if you’re looking for a complete beginner’s list. It’s a beautifully simple concept of animals mingling with humans in a café run by a polar bear, the best animal in the world.
If you’re getting into manga, you should read Polar Bear Café because it’s a great example of the playful side of the genre. Not all manga is death, fighting, and martial arts. some of it’s just telling stories through a new lens.
With this list of manga to go out and read through, you should have the basics every beginner needs. Once you’ve worked your way through them, even if you put some of them down after Volume 1, you should have the confidence to head out to your local bookstore, browse through the shelves, and decide which one you’re going to jump into next.
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