The Shounen genre has undeniably produced some of the greatest successes inanimeandmangahistory. The likes ofDragon Ball,One PieceandDemon Slayerare all under the shounen umbrella. However, due to the genre’s fairly young demographic, the stories can sometimes feel restricted in what they’re allowed to portray.
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For those looking for some more adult material, ‘seinen’ is a genre that provides all that and more. Seinen is generally allowed to be more explicit with its subject matter, and has provided amazing series likeBerserkandVinland Saga, and every year there are a host of interestingnew seinen manga to read.
7Doukyonin Ga Konoyo No Mon Ja Nai (My Roommate Isn’t From This World)
This manga is a rather raunchycomedy seriesthat was originallyposted on the author’s social media, before beginning official serialization in 2022. The main character is a college student living in a surprisingly cheap apartment. However, he soon discovers that the apartment is haunted by an expressionless ghost girl who seems to have a weird interest in him.
The protagonist has a hilariously frank reaction to the ghost, even actively fighting back by doing things like sleeping naked, so she won’t hide in his sheets. The comedic timing is very fast-paced, and the jokes can get quite raunchy, but it all works quite well.
6Lycoris Recoil
Lycoris Recoilwas originally an original anime by A-1 Pictures, focused on a group of young girls who act as secret agents for the Japanese government. After the anime began airing, a manga adaptation was released, owed in part tothe anime’s success.
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The manga predictably covers much of the same ground as the anime, changing up small details to keep things interesting without losing any of the series’ appeal. Due to this, it’s more than worth a read, even for people who’ve already seen the anime version. It remains to be seen how much the manga will differ narratively, but it’s likely to stay mostly faithful.
5Dungeon No Osananajimi (Dungeon’s Childhood Friend)
This comedy series sees two childhood friends separated by the most unlikely of circumstances. That being that one of them is the dragon lord waiting at the end of a fantasy dungeon. Luckily, her adventurer friend is all too good at clearing the dungeon to come see her.
A lot of genuine laughs are gotten from the mundane way the story treats his easy victories, with even the dungeon monsters knowing he’s arrived due only to the speed at which the different levels are breached. The friendship between the leads is also genuine and wholesome, and has the potential to turn into something greater.
4Black Lagoon: Eda - Initial Stage
The originalBlack Lagoonmanga is one of the best-selling seinen manga series ever, andits anime adaptationhas made the series and its characters even more iconic. Despite only being a supporting character, Eda Blackwater is easily one of the series’ most popular characters, and she’s now managed to earn herself an official spin-off.
Initial Stageis a prequel manga that follows Eda’s early days as a CIA agent, before she donned her iconic nun disguise. In this story, she retains everything that made her so likable to begin with, and any fans of Black Lagoon won’t want to miss this insight into her background.
3Re Cervin
In order to defeat a powerful dragon and avenge her mother, Arsinoe sacrifices some of her most precious memories in order to cast a powerful spell. After waking up several weeks later, she encounters a strange man that claims to be her father, and the king.
Related:Demon Slayer: Who Is Tanjiro’s Father & What Role Does He Play in the Story?
Due to the sacrifice of her memories, she can’t rule out that he’s telling the truth, but also has no reason to see him as a parent. Their journey is an interesting twist on the usualfather-child dynamic, as they have to rebuild their relationship all over again, despite Arsinoe’s insistence on using the spell again to make sure the dragon is finally dead, and potentially losing her memories of him all over again.
2Kamiya
Vampire storiesare a dime a dozen, butKamiya’s excellent story and characters make it feel unique even in the massive vampiric landscape.
The story follows a young doctor with amazing talent, but who is incapable of dealing with blood. After rumors start floating around that say a local host club is run by vampires, she investigates it and ends up meeting Johan,a shapeshifting vampire.
Their warped relationship ends up changing her life completely, leading her down a dark path all in the service of getting more blood for Johan. It’s a grippingly dark and raunchy story with very interesting characters.
1Usuzumi No Hate
Usuzumi no Hateis a post-apocalyptic manga that sees a lone girl living in a city decimated by an alien-borne illness. Her only companion is a small rabbit-like animal, and a robot who she meets with once a month to perform burials for the various humans lying dead across the city.
The art by Haruo Iwamune has a serene feeling to it, contrasting the harshness of the world with the softness of the story’s protagonist. Watching her go about her daily duties is surprisingly gripping, and there’s a tangible tension and mystery that compels the audience to keep reading. Especially surrounding the protagonist’s unique ability to survive what should be an uninhabitable landscape.
