[UMBY]

lesser known mangas you should be reading:

SHOKUGEKI NO SOUMA

think iron chef meets high school. art is awesome and the characters are neat. i cant really explain why but this series has really grown on me.

ONE-PUNCH MAN

a man who can defeat anything in a single punch living aimlessly in a world of superheros. the art is actually godly. murata is insane. some of the panels have been gif-ed and they actually seem animated. its ridiculous.

AKAME GA KILL

WARNING: this manga is messed up. lots of graphic violence and sex, and if you think attack on titan likes to kill characters AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA still a really good fantasty action series. lots of cool powers and fights and feels.

NANATSU NO TAIZAI

a shounen series about a group of criminals trying to save a kingdom. starts out a little shaky, but as more characters are added it becomes really great. the capital of the dead arc is wonderful.

[KOI KOI]

GANTZ

WARNING: another graphic manga. plenty of violence and gore with some on screen sex later on. some genital is shown but no graphic sex (as far as i recall). starts off with a pathetic, no name protagonist who learns to live and better himself as the manga goes on. it's not the standard shounen and seems more realistic sans the sci-fi nature of the manga. like akame ga kill, the manga kill off character frequently every arc and goes through triple the amount of people that attack on titan does. #1 recommendation.

HELLSING

very pretty vampire based manga, again, with lots of violence. it follows after a dracula based vampire as opposed to the other types of vampire stereotypes that other stories follow. the main protagonist is godly and seems like a garystu but the manga plays it off perfectly. high tier action manga.

USAGI DROP

an adorable slice of life manga based around a japanese salary man adopting a child and raising her. mid tier manga but absolutely adorable.

[Egao, Egao Everywhere]

EPIC HISTORICAL MANGA ALERT BELOW

KINGDOM (Yasuhisa Hara)

A manga based on the unification of China. This is the type of manga that leaves you hanging and wanting for more after every chapter. The start isn't very solid but it gets better and worth it. It seems shounen-ish at first but it increasingly becomes better. I REALLY recommend this. It's one of my favorite series of all time. The characters are great and the scenes do not fail. It also has awesome humor which is always A+

VINLAND SAGA

A manga based the VIKINGS C'MON so you're just going to go and read this. It's got a lot of gore and violence ofc. And it's a given that it has a plot too. I really just don't need to get in-depth with this.

CHANG GE XING (SONG OF THE LONG MARCH)

Set during the Tang Dynasty this time about this princess who wants to take revenge on her uncle who killed her father, siblings, and attempted to assassinate her as well. Compared to the two above, this manga is still developing but it has great potential.

OTOYOMEGATARI (YOUNG BRIDE'S STORY)

Culture. Amazing characters and beautiful artwork and very interesting and realistic plot developments. It focuses more on the daily lives of the characters. Oh, and it takes place in the Silk Road.

LUCK STEALER

Not a historical manga but it's a very underrated manga that deserves more attention. The story is about this assassin who can steal the luck of other people. The main character is an adult and has a child. It leans more on the action/mystery genre but it has tear-jerking stories too. The only crime I have for recommending this is that it's not currently/fully scanlated.

oh hey, I actually have more. Not historical again but based on video games but they're great.

UTSUROWAZARUMONO (BREATH OF IV)

Fantasy manga with a theme around "gods and mortals." It's a traditional fantasy story with some surprising dark tones. If you like stories of classical JRPGs, this is your thing. It's really good. It begins, builds, and ends really nicely, completing the circle.

THE SUCCESSOR OF FATE (SUIKODEN III)

Magic, warfare, more jrpg-ness. This is my favorite manga of all time. I do have the bias with Suikodoen though lol. Give it a try! It has a great 108 cast of characters.

[the CM]

Ohgahd...I'm a big shoujou fan so some of these may not be to your liking, but there are some shounen. *ahem*

Haigakura - shounen, fantasy
"The world that was once supported by four evil Gods, has fallen to a crisis. Using song and dance, it is up to the kashikans to bring back the Gods which fled from their confinement." Why should you read this manga? Well first off, Takayama Shinobu is an AMAZING artist, and secondly her stories are epic. Granted it is a bit hard to follow because she jumps back and forth from the present to the past a LOT...but if you're in to a good plot, beautiful art, and bishies...this's a good one for you.

Hirunaka no Ryuusei - shoujou, slice of life, romance, school life
"When her father transfers overseas, a fifteen-year old country girl Suzume, has to move to Tokyo to live with her uncle. Lost and confused in Tokyo, she bumps into a mysterious man. Who is he? And it turns out he's her homeroom teacher...?" <- Poor description but I'm quoting from the scanner's site. Anyway, this is a cute story about Suzume falling in love (for the first time) with her homeroom teacher, Shishio-sensei. Her classmate, Mamura gets seriously embarrassed when touched by girls - but he ends up liking Suzume. From there on it's a struggle of teenage emotions and drama. Nice artwork and decent enough plot. Shishio & Mamura...such awesome bishiness...

OHP I'll add more later - time for work! Geh ><

[darth vader]

i suggest u all read the gospel of our lord: naruto

[MASQUE]

ANGEL DENSETSU trust me, you'll probably die laughing. Because it's pretty much a comedy, with a little bit of romantic? I can't really explain it, it's really, really worth it. It's even got an OVA somewhere. It is also complete so you don't have to worry about things.

PRISON SCHOOL lots of ecchi, and relatively wtf themes. But wonderful, very, very wonderful it is.

WAKE UP DEADMAN imagine zombie politics, mixed in with a shounen's boyhood dream - to go get his girl and he has to beat up everyone in the way to get there. And then some. It's relatively interesting, I definitely suggest it!

CHIHAYAFURU it has two anime seasons that actually really closely follow the manga. But the manga continues on where the anime stops - and it is absolutely fantastic, so long as you don't mind the gushing nerdism that is Japanese Karuta. I know I was keeling over in huminas.

THE BREAKER & THE BREAKER:NEW WAVES do you like martial arts? You'll love this series. I cannot even summarize it, you just need to experience this journey all by yourself. Every character is memorable - and some even come back when you least expect them to... (the Breaker is the first manga whilst New WAves is the sequel, picking up after the end of the first.)

[SUCRÉ]

AMATSUKI, on-going

oKAY so the CM rec'd another of takayama shinobu's works (of which i need to read) but let me tell u that amatsuki is literally the single most well-written manga i have ever read. like. in my entire manga-reading life and i've read some good and some not-so good manga. the art is gorgeous, the storyline looks basic but its got enough twists and turns to be a labyrinth, the characters are all amazing and all at some point get to be expanded upon with backstory / screentime baring like two or three, the relationships between them are just Golden, and the world itself is gorgeous and mind-boggling once u start to get into the nitty gritty of it. i do warn that it gets confusing as fuck bc the mangaka is a huge fan of jumping between the past and the present and answering questions with more questions and making what seem to be plotholes but are actually not appear at the drop of a hat. all i can say is: stick with it. just. keep reading and maybe rereading if u miss something bc its just So Good. to the point where i caught up on the scans and then started reading the chinese scans with translated scripts bc i just could not stop. at this point in time is probably my favorite manga i've ever read, knocking one piece which has been my favorite for years to the floor

SAIYUKI, on-going

i could literally go on for days and days and days on why u should read saiyuki but i will spare u all my mad rambling bc no one wants that tbh. saiyuki is a retelling of the old chinese myth journey to the west and it is so good im still crying over it and its been well over a year since i started it. there's three main parts to the series (saiyuki, saiyuki reload, saiyuki reload blast in that order) and then two spin-offs: saiyuki ibun, which is about one of the characters father so-to-speak and then saiyuki gaiden which is a prequel set 500 years b4 the start of saiyuki and is just pain.

NOBLESSE, on-going

lmao its not a manga but a manwa and tbh i describe it as trashy vampires bc yes there are vampires and it is about vampires. or well. vampires feature in it but so do werewolves, mad scientists, normal high school kids, human experiments, and pain. it's well. its super good in character relationships and shit like that but the storylines got some plotholes and the art is kinda inconsistent with certain things but damn i love it so much and its just so good??? also one of my fav depictions of vampires ever. and the werewolves are So Much to me so yeah.

[GARDEN]

HARU MEGURU, on-going

really precious manga about a girl who tries to kill herself and the people she meets during her rehabilitation. pretty sad and a little hard hitting. unfortunately it hasn't updated for a bit of time but if you want some feels, i'd suggest giving it ago.

koe no kitachi, completed

please please please read this. it's an absolutely beautiful, feel provoking manga about a deaf girl, the boy who bullied her, and pretty much the difficulties in being a person and feeling and overcoming guilt. it deals with heavy themes like suicide and anyone with depression or anxiety is probably going to be able to relate. i really can't recommend this enough. the art style is great, the story is great, and the heart shattering emotions are the best part.

[Deleted]

TOKYO GHOUL

Tokyo Ghoul is a story about a university student named Ken Kaneki, and starts off with him trying to ask out a girl that see's occasionally at a certain cafe. Shy and nervous about his endeavor, he builds up the courage to ask her out, and upon their outing he finds out that the girl isn't human, but actually a species known as a Ghoul, which is terrorizing Japan and other countries across the world. She attempts to devour Kaneki but fails in her assault, as a mysterious figure knocks over steel beams upon her, seemingly killing her. The boy who is injured from his attack is taken to the hospital, where his own organs are replaced with those of the Ghoul girl who tried to eat him, and from then on his life takes a dramatic change. He has to live the life of a Ghoul, despite being a halfbreed. He is unable to eat human food and forced to abandon his only human friend as his life as a Ghoul steadily becomes more tragic and dangerous as time goes on...

[✿ TEASONG]

oyasumi punpun - complete

an emotionally draining, psychological coming of age manga. oyasumi punpun follows the main character punpun (drawn as a caricature bird) in a normal, human-like setting as he grows from a child to an adult and chases after the love of his life, aiko. the manga includes a lot of existentialism, inevitability of death, abuse (physical, emotional, verbal, you name it), violence (which seems mild in a lot of scenes because it's this small, cute bird, but in reality is actually very creepy and disturbing), sexuality, and much, much more. definitely worth the read, this manga absolutely devastated me.

gangsta. - ongoing

soon to be an anime airing this july, GANGSTA. focusses on two hit men for hire (worrick and nicolas) and their assistant, alex, a former prostitute. the manga features a lot of the dirty underbelly of society, such as rape, prostitution, gangs, drugs, etc. and is centred around people known as twilights -- the children of super soldiers who've inherited inhuman abilities such as strength and speed, but also suffer physical defects from the drug that helped create them (ex. nicolas is deaf, many twilights have deformed limbs, some have stunted height, and all twilights typically have a short lifespan of ~30 years). a wonderful manga with a creative art style and highly likeable characters (seriously, this is the only manga where im in love with literally every single character), i would strongly recommend checking it out. you can also check out the preview for the upcoming anime here

[● ULLA]

dogs: bullets and carnage - ongoing

action, sci-fi, thriller with twists and turns and tons of mystery. it gets a bit graphic with gore and language, but the world building is fantastic. it's one of those manga that is in no rush to reveal to you the secrets of world and so you're left drooling and wanting to read the next chapter in hopes that you can find out more about the characters/setting. i also recommend reading the short character introduction prequel (dogs) though i don't think it's completely necessary. 

[minnie]

not exactly 'lesser known' but:

WITCH HUNTER

kind of like d.gray man but for witches instead of akuma. gorgeous art. sick protagonist but that's probably because i'm a sucker for arrogant bastards who are sick and cheeky and arrogant l o l. i've been raving about it for years and I think it's only just now starting to pick up a bit in popularity, praise.

VERITAS

absolutely gorgeous art. basically martial arts academy. i'm pretty annoyed because the series kind of left off on a cliffhanger because the writer intended to do a sequel but the deal fell through or s/t because he got in an argument with his artist or w/e. either way, series is complete (the first one at least) and is brills.

[ROOK]

annarasumanara - completed

do you believe in magic? it's a recurring theme throughout the manhwa, and it got more and more weighty as time went on. annasumanara is a story that is primarily about the realities and fantasies of growing up. the mc is a very poor girl who wants nothing more than to do well in school, get a good job, and give herself freedom through wealth-- but then she meets a magician living in an abandoned amusement park who claims to practice 'real magic'. the beauty of this work is that so many of the things that happen in it are as real as you believe them to be-- i don't normally like super 'artsy' mangas, but this was poignant and thought-provoking.

historie - ongoing

follows the life of eumenes, one of alexander the great's generals. if you like historical manga, clever protagonists, and a healthy amount of violence (albeit gory violence), you'll probably like this. the art and overall 'feel' of the manga really reminds me of vinland saga, though they're by two different mangakas. i believe this is by the guy who did parasyte.