The popular platform MyAnimeList has revealed
the long-awaited list of manga that Western fans want to see adapted to anime.
The information comes from the annual magazine You Should Read This
Manga 2024 , which is characterized as a manga discovery list created
for (and by) international fans.
This list is a compilation of licensed manga titles curated
by passionate readers, MyAnimeList members, bookstore employees, and more. They
nominated which mangas they think should be read immediately. The finalists are
divided into the main category and three subcategories (20 titles each): Should
Be Anime , Best for Beginners , and Unique Art / Story .
Importantly, all of the mangas included in the
list are officially available outside of Japan in at least one language ,
with one or more volumes published in 2023.
- Sakamoto
Days : Tarou Sakamoto was considered the best
hitman of all time. Feared by many, he rose to the top of the underground
world until he met a woman and fell in love with her. As a result,
Sakamoto abandoned his life of crime and now works as a shop assistant. Leaving
his shady past behind turns out to be more difficult than Sakamoto
originally imagined. Many of his former rivals and associates do not
believe he has truly abandoned the business and appear hoping to put an
end to him. Sakamoto, who is forbidden to kill, must find creative ways to
subdue his enemies and prevent them from harming his family, his store,
and the small town in which he resides.
- The
Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity (Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku) : Despite
being next to each other, Chidori Public High School and the all-girls
private Kikyo Academy seem to exist in two different worlds. While the
latter enjoys an immaculate reputation and favors students from well-off
backgrounds, the former is a nest of dim-witted criminals. Everyone in
Kikyo harbors a deep hatred towards their neighbors in Chidori.
Sixteen-year-old Rintarou Tsumugi is a Chidori student whose intimidating
face makes people avoid him. Rintarou does not pay attention to this, as
he is happy with his group of friends. However, there is something he
hasn't told them yet: sometimes, he helps out at his family's bakery. One
day at work, Rintarou sees a customer at a table, but she runs out before
he can talk to her. The next day, he receives an apology from the girl,
Kaoruko Waguri, who explains that she did not run away because of her
appearance and that she believes that Rintarou is a kind-hearted person.
Although he is not used to Kaoruko's bright personality, Rintarou is
looking forward to befriending her. There's only one obstacle standing in
his way: Kaoruko is Kikyo's student.
- Choujin However,
despite his attitude at school, he works alongside his childhood friend
Azuma Higashi to combat the injustice brewing in his town. Unlike Tokyo,
Azuma is physically capable and rarely fights the common bullies they both
regularly encounter. However, there are fights that not even Azuma
accepts. Choujins, supernatural beings with powers beyond mere mortals,
are entities that Tokyo and Azuma avoid at all costs. One day, when a
previously defeated bully returns for revenge, the two are forced to confront
each other. Unable to flee from their enemy, the duo inject themselves
with a drug that can turn someone into a Choujin. Although the dose does
not appear to have any physical effect on Azuma, Tokyo grows a spike.
Afraid of being seen, Tokyo must figure out how to hide his new identity
as Choujin. But it seems like there are people out there who are angry
about Tokyo and Azuma's use of the Choujin drug, and they don't seem to
want to stay quiet about it.
- Gachiakuta : Rudo
and his adoptive father, Legto, live in the slums of a rich city and try
to coexist with the rest of the inhabitants, but Rudo despises the waste
of the upper class. Ignoring the warnings of those around him, Rudo
regularly searches through the city's trash in search of something useful
or valuable to save from the “Abyss,” a huge hole where everything
considered trash is thrown, including people. Rudo's biological father was
one of those people, who was thrown into the Abyss after being accused of
murder. One day, after passing a mysterious figure on his way home, Rudo
returns to find Legto's dying body on the ground. The authorities
immediately find him at the scene and accuse him of murder. No one
believes his innocence and he is thrown into the Abyss. However, instead
of dying, he finds himself in a strange, smelly place surrounded by
monsters made of garbage. When Rudo is attacked by said monsters, he is
saved by a man named Engine, who is revealed to be a "janitor",
someone who uses special weapons called "jinkis" to combat these
creatures. To get revenge on whoever killed Legto, Rudo reluctantly
becomes a janitor to fight his way out of the Abyss.
- Gokurakugai : Gokurakugai,
a bright and bustling working-class neighborhood with a hidden dark side.
In this unordered area, Tao and Alma work as paid troubleshooters. Their
missions consist of helping a young man find his lost friend, a person who
disappears without a trace, and disfigured animal corpses. Meanwhile, evil
spirits living in the shadows bring out a different side of these
trouble-seekers.
- Shounen
no Abyss (Boy's Abyss) : Reiji Kurose was born
in the countryside and has spent his life believing that he will never be
able to leave his village. He cannot leave his mother alone with his
brother locked up and his grandmother insane, nor escape the clutches of
Gen Minegishi, who keeps Reiji at his beck and call. Instead, his
childhood friend Sakuko Akiyama sees beyond the nothingness of her bleak
town and dreams of the chaotic glamor of Tokyo. As a way to escape from
his monotonous life, Reiji finds solace in watching the performances of
“Acrylic,” an idol group, and its most beautiful member, Nagi Aoe. But
when he meets the famous idol behind a store in his shady town, he does
not foresee that he will soon find himself involved in a series of
scandalous events that seem like a reverberation of times past. Stripped
of his innocence, Reiji struggles to wade through the abyss of sin into
which he has been dragged, as an intricate web of lies, obsession, and
betrayal threatens to tear him apart.
- Youchien
Wars (Kindergarten Wars) : Welcome to
Kindergarten Noir, an exclusive school for children of the world's elite.
Rita, one of the teachers, has been looking for a boyfriend, but so far
she hasn't had any luck. One day, a killer goes after one of the kids...
and he's totally dreamy?! Immerse yourself in this action-packed romantic
comedy set in the “safest” daycare in the world.
- Dai
Dark : Zaha Sanko's body has great and
terrible powers: they say that possessing her bones will grant you any
wish, even that of becoming ruler of the universe. But Sanko is still a
teenager with a life of his own, and he's not about to let all the
underworld monsters in the galaxy tear him limb from limb. He and his
skeletal friend Avakian will use his dark powers to repel any
assassination attempts while searching through space for whoever placed
this curse on Sanko's bones... because killing him could end the madness.
(And then Sanko can celebrate with his favorite spaghetti.)
- Marriagetoxin : A
hitman and a marriage scammer wage the world's toughest battle for
marriage! Gero is a young man belonging to a clan of hitmen that has
existed for hundreds of years. As someone who has never been to school and
has lived his life dealing in the dark side of the business, he considers
himself to have “no prospects with women” and marriage as “something that
is not for him.” However, one day, fearing that his lineage will dissolve,
his clan warns Gero that if he does not marry and produce an heir, they
will have no choice but to… force his little sister to do “ that".
Pushed to the limit of his wits, Gero asks the target of his job, a
marriage scammer, to…
- Yomi
no Tsugai (Daemons of the Shadow Realm) : In
an isolated village, two twins were born, separated by day and night.
Years have passed, and while the eldest brother, Yuru, has become an
animal hunter, his sister Asa has been locked in a cage, ordered to
fulfill a special duty that prohibits her from meeting more than a few
select individuals. On an otherwise low-key day, a group of
helicopter-riding gunmen, called “dragons” by the citizens, raid the town
in search of Yuru, killing everyone else on sight. When Yuru tries to meet
up with Asa and flee from her, he finds a dead body in her place; Above
her, the person who killed her claims to be Yuru's real twin sister.
Before the woman can capture him, Yuru is rescued by a man named Dera, a
stranger who frequently visits the village. However, it doesn't take long
for the two to find themselves cornered. In a last ditch effort, Dera has
Yuru make a gift to the village deity, summoning a pair of “tsugai” whose
existence is destined to reveal the truth behind these chaotic events.
- Exorcist
wo Otosenai (Make the Exorcist Fall in Love) : A
boy was chosen by God to become the strongest exorcist in the world and
face deadly demons in battle. Burdened with the fate of humanity, all he
wants to do is quietly bake sweets, when one day a certain girl enters his
life... A story of love and hope that blossoms during a bloody holy war!
- Kimi
to Tsuzuru Utakata (The Summer You Were There) : The
self-conscious Shizuku Hoshikawa heads out to get rid of her first and
last novel. But before she can do so, the charismatic Kaori Asaka runs
into her and ends up taking the novel home. This turn of events greatly
distresses Shizuku, as she does not want anyone to read the depressing
story she wrote for her own satisfaction. Shizuku expects the worst, but
she bursts into tears of joy when Kaori tells her that the novel has moved
her. Kaori wants to read more of her stories, but since Shizuku wasn't
planning on writing anything else, she has no idea what to write. As a
result, Kaori comes up with a strange suggestion: her love. Shizuku is
skeptical of Kaori's intentions and somewhat worried about the secrets she
may hide behind her smile. However, the two begin their strange summer
vacation in search of their own love story.
- Toshokan
no Daimajutsushi (Magus of the Library) : Throughout
all of civilization, books have been revered. They crystallize knowledge,
link the past with the future and transmit thought itself. To protect all
types of written texts, a man known as the Library Wizard created the
Central Library in Aftzaak, the City of Books. In the slums of the desert
town of Amón lives Theo Fumis, a boy who loves to read. Unfortunately,
suburbanites cannot use the local library. To make matters worse, his
classmates continually harass him because of his unusually long ears. To
escape his miserable living conditions, he dreams of one day going to
Aftzaak. His unpleasant daily life is soon interrupted by the arrival of
the Kafna, elite librarians skilled enough to work in the Central Library.
Sedona Bleu, one of the Kafna, lends Theo her most precious book; However,
due to unforeseen circumstances, she is unable to finish reading it by the
time the Kafnas have to leave. Fortunately for Theo, Sedona renews her
loan, giving him one more reason to go to the City of Books.
- Witch
Watch : Nico Wakatsuki has finished her six
years of training as a witch and moves to the city alone. As a new witch,
she must choose a familiar to accompany her. However, unlike the other
witches, she wishes to choose a familiar that is not an animal. There is
no better companion than Morihito “Moi” Otogi, her childhood friend who
turns out to be an ogre. Morihito vehemently opposes being his servant,
but reluctantly accepts his fate after learning that a curse would turn
him into a strange cow-tiger hybrid if he disobeyed a witch's order.
Because Morihito's father leaves on a business trip and Nico's mother
stays in the Holy Land of Witches, the two teenagers find themselves
living together under the same roof. Although Nico is delighted to live
with her love, Morihito discovers that her magical antics and clumsiness
create more problems than solutions. With a prophesied disaster to befall
Nico in a year, Morihito must do everything he can to protect her from her
as her bodyguard, while also fulfilling his duties as her familiar.
- Koisuru
(Otome) no Tsukurikata (I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl) : Kenshirou
Midou is a popular student who harbors a secret: despite being a boy, he
has always liked the art of cosmetics. Due to his efforts to keep this low
profile, only his sisters and Hiura Mihate, a childhood friend, know of
his hidden obsession. Aside from his siblings, Hiura is Kenshirou's only
hope for fulfilling his potential. Kenshirou begs Hiura to let him
practice putting on makeup, and when Hiura finally succumbs to her
request, the drastic transformation shocks Kenshirou. Hiura's new look, which
has gone from a dull, thin boy to a charming petite girl, evokes something
in Kenshirou. On the other hand, Hiura has had feelings for Kenshirou long
before his drastic change. Hiura often watches from the sidelines and
thinks that a romantic relationship with him is out of reach for her. But
with the revelation of Kenshirou's unusual hobby, Hiura remains optimistic
and decides to pursue her friend's passion. As their affection for each
other intensifies, the pair slowly develop an unbreakable bond.
- Tougen
Anki : Individuals with Momotarou and Oni
blood running through their veins maintain a long-standing rivalry. The
Oni are careless, reckless and disorderly, while the Momotarou protect the
human world from the uncontrollable Oni. Shiki Ichinose is a reckless and
irresponsible teenager, aware of his rebellion and even proud of his
expulsion from school. Despite Shiki's rebellious attitude, his adoptive
father, Tsuyoshi, cares deeply for him. Tsuyoshi's selfless love is soon
demonstrated in an explosive incident when a Momotarou bursts in looking
for Shiki. Being a Momotarou himself, Tsuyoshi has been hiding Shiki for
years and keeping his Oni origins a secret even from him. By giving his
life to save Shiki and confessing everything in his last breath, Shiki's
Oni blood awakens for the first time, transforming him into a monster
rampaging with rage and thirst for revenge. Shiki's momentary outburst
attracts the attention of Naito Mudano, an Oni teacher at the Rakshasa Academy,
an institution for young Oni who need to understand and hone his powers.
Before Shiki can avenge his father, he must learn to control his stubborn
and impulsive nature and, above all, fight his own demonic blood.
- After
God : Japan has been invaded by Gods, leaving
gigantic Danger Zones where there used to be cityscapes. While patrolling
the area, Tokinaga, an anti-god investigator, discovers Kamikura Waka, who
looks desolately through the protective fence. In his eyes, he sees
something deep and dangerous. Something capable of changing the world...
- Ou
no Kemono: Enpei no Arcana (The King's Beast) : Aijin
are beast-like beings who, despite their extraordinary abilities, are
subjugated by humanity due to their small population. While Aijin men are
forced to serve in the military, women are forced to perform menial jobs.
Born as Aijin, Rangetsu Ko and his younger twin brother, Sougetsu, are
left to fend for themselves. Rangetsu is soon devastated when Sougetsu's
powers awaken and take him away to become Prince Tenyou's beast servant.
Shortly after, she hears rumors that his brother has been murdered by
Prince Tenyou himself. Filled with rage, Rangetsu disguises herself as a
man and enlists in the army, eventually becoming Prince Tenyou's next
beast servant. Although the opportunity for revenge is at hand, Prince
Tenyou defies Rangetsu's expectations, and he begins to question the
circumstances surrounding Sougetsu's death. Rangetsu's search for the
truth leads her into a political game far more dangerous than she could
imagine.
- Yankee-kun
to Hakujou Girl (Love's in Sight!) : School
dropout Morio Kurokawa is an infamous criminal known as “Morio the Black
Panther,” who has won many fights against others older than him. Walking
through the city with his gang, he comes across Yukiko Akaza, a girl with
extremely poor vision due to a disease that affects her eyesight. Refusing
to be intimidated by him, Yukiko confronts Morio again and again, causing
him to fall deeply in love with her. Morio's desire to protect her grows
each time they meet, and he begins to learn more about the obstacles
Yukiko faces on a daily basis.
- Futsutsuka
na Akujo dewa Gozaimasu ga: Suuguu Chouso Torikae Den (Though I Am an
Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court) : In
a kingdom inspired by historical China, five clans propose their maidens
as consorts imperials, but only one will be crowned empress. The fragile
and beautiful Kou Reirin, the so-called “butterfly” of the imperial court,
is the favorite to marry the crown prince. But when “court rat” Shu
Keigetsu attacks her during the brilliant Lantern Festival, it is Reirin
who awakens in the dungeons! Body swapped by her attacker to steal her
position at court, Reirin's situation seems hopeless... to everyone else!
Now that she has a robust new body, not even the threat of her execution
can stop her.
Source: MyAnimeList