Reading manga is a common pastime nowadays. For fans, immersing themselves in a good manga while listening to music is an unmatched experience. Since its beginning, the manga industry has produced more than fifty-thousand series. Recent manga series like Oshi No Ko and The Flowers Of Evil have further popularized the medium due to their heavy adult themes and realistic scenarios.

There is a plethora of manga so popular that they attract fans who exclusively only watch anime. Many of these manga are obscure. Yet, they have the potential to garner a massive fan base once more manga readers acknowledge how amazing they are.

10. Kaya-Chan Isn’t Scary

Kaya-Chan looking into the camera.

A unique take on horror manga, Kaya-Chan Isn’t Scary is a supernatural school life series about a 5-year-old psychic named Kaya Satou. Unbeknownst to her classmates in pre-school, Kaya is the strongest exorcist in the world, who constantly saves their lives daily. From evil specters to curses, Kaya defeats all paranormal phenomena with one blow.

Despite saving their lives, Kaya’s classmates find her too strange to be friends with. Throughout the manga, however, Kaya gains new friends and allies as she dives deeper into the paranormal world.

9. Akatsuki Jihen

Mutsuki next to his sister Uzuki.

Akatsuki Jihen is similar yet different compared to the Demon Slayer series. Despite being born into a family of Shamans, Mutsuki wants nothing more than for others to treat his sister, Uzuki, fairly. Regardless of being twins, Mutsuki was born with the power to exorcise spirits, while his sister was not. This results in Uzuki being treated harshly by society.

Identical to Tanjiro Kamado’s journey to save his sister Nezuko, Mutsuki goes on a dangerous adventure for Uzuki’s sake. Along the way, he has many trials and tribulations to overcome if he wants to create a world where his sister is free.

8. Kanan-Sama Might Be Easy

Kanan blushes at her boyfriend.

Being the daughter of the Prince of the Underworld, Kanan Zebel portrayed herself as a heartless demon who devoured souls. In reality, she’s a kind-hearted teen whose naive to the simplest things. Kanan-Sama Might Be Easy is a romantic comedy that focuses on Beelzebub’s daughter as she falls in love with her first victim in the human world, Kyougi Youji.

As time passes, viewers see different types of supernatural beings join the cast to either aid or hinder Kanan’s goals. While she tries to come across as evil, her numerous attempts at villainy only reveal more of her purity.

7. Kaibutsu Shoujo Wa Hatsukoi No Yume Wo Miru Ka?

Kyoko poses for the front cover of the volume.

Kyoko Mikadodai is proof that being too intelligent is detrimental. Kaibutsu Shoujo wa Hatsukoi is a sci-fi school-life manga about Kyoko Mikadodai, the most brilliant girl in the universe. Tired of solving problems given to her by everyone across the galaxy, Kyoko enrolls in school to enjoy being a regular girl. This initially fails, as she’s so intelligent no one can connect with her.

With help from her alien friend Ikeda and her childhood friend Sosuke, Kyoko is soon surrounded by friends that accept her. The manga highlights accepting others for who they are, not for who others assume they will be.

6. Machimaho: I Messed Up And Made The Wrong Person Into A Magical Girl!

Kayo smoking on the front of her volume cover.

To say Kayo Majiba is an outlier compared to other magical girls would be an understatement. Machimaho focuses on a girl named Kayo Majiba, who is given the power of a magical girl by a god. Giving Kayo power under the assumption that she’s pure of heart, the god immediately realizes he was wrong as Kayo shows how much of a rude, violent, chain-smoking delinquent she is.

With her power, Kayo exterminates evil beings known as Atasunmo, which are born from negativity. Her ultimate goal is to kill all the gods, good or bad, as punishment for treating human lives so carelessly. Unlike other magical girls, Kayo represents rebellion.

5. Wistoria’s Wand And Sword

Will attacks with his swords.

Heavily insinuated to take place within the Danmachi universe, Wistoria’s Wand And Sword is a fantasy story about mages and dungeons. 17-year-old Will Serholt is the only student in his academy that can’t use magic. As a result, his peers ostracize him for lacking the prowess necessary to succeed in a magical society like theirs.

Despite his inability to use magic, Will’s physical prowess is unrivaled. His strength and speed are so great that it’s said to surpass lightning. Jealous of his skills, many people stand in his way to prevent him from becoming a peerless mage.

4. Kindergarten Wars

The Kindergarten Teachers protecting their students.

Kindergarten Wars is one of the most distinctive manga in recent years. Hired by the government to protect the children of the world’s elite, the most notorious convicts work as teachers. Their secret mission is to protect the children from assassins daily while keeping them safe and unaware. The protagonist, Rita, is a former legendary assassin.

If Rita and the other teachers keep their students safe for a year, the government will remove their prison sentences. While Rita wants nothing more than to leave her former life behind and find a boyfriend, she’s pulled back in for unknown reasons.

3. Gokurakugai

Teo and Alma pose for the cover art.

Originally a one-shot manga made in 2020, Gokurakugai became a monthly serialization in mid-2022. The series follows the duo of Alma and Tao as they solve various problems in the mysterious Gokuraku District. On the sly, however, Tao and Alma investigate a slew of disappearances all over the district caused by Devils. To combat these Devils, Tao uses his power as a Devil to exorcise them.

While the supernatural manga only has a few chapters, it gained a notable audience in a short amount of time. The story is currently focusing on Tao’s inability to fight without Alma.

2. Akabane Honeko No Bodyguard

Ibuki guarding Honeko Akabane.

Although relatively new, Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard shows remarkable potential. Honeko Akabane is secretly the daughter of a yakuza boss. This secret results in many assassins trying to take her life, which she is unaware of. Her childhood friend, Ibuki Arakuni, vows to keep her safe until she graduates.

To aid him, Ibuki and Honeko’s entire class has elite assassins who pose as students. Ibuki has to balance protecting Honeko while making time to hang out with her. While this plot is interesting enough, there is a subplot that drives the story even further.

1. Shy

The heroes of the world shown on the cover.

Shy is a superhero action series revolving around a hero with the same name. In a world where each country has a representative hero, Teru Momijiyama, or Shy, represents the country of Japan. Befitting her name, Teru is a shy-introverted girl with issues speaking her mind. After a bystander is injured during one of her rescues, she isolates herself in shame.

However, after working alongside heroes from other countries, Shy begins to open up to people and discovers how heavy the burden of being a hero is. The series deals with serious topics like abandonment and depression realistically in ways that would make My Hero Academia envious.