Fan-favorite manga adaptations can be terrifying. A series can sometimes be entirely spoiled for manga fans, or it can drive anime-only readers away from reading a classic manga. Many series, on the other hand, do the exact opposite. Rereading a manga series or discovering it for the first time after viewing the anime adaptation can have a profound effect on fans.
After watching an anime, many manga series have a different impact. A manga series might bring in a new wave of love after its anime release, whether it's due of Easter eggs, action scenes, or a better interpretation of the tale.
10 Demon Slayer
By Koyoharu Gotouge
Demon Slayer by Koyoharu Gotouge became an instant classic from 2016 through 2020. With the assistance of being serialized in the most popular manga magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump, Demon Slayer gathered many fans and became one of the highest-grossing series ever. The story is known for its breathtaking design, which carried through beautifully in the anime adaptation.
The anime, currently in production by Ufotable, has two complete seasons, two films, and a season that started in April 2023. With animated action sequences and perfect emotion provided by voice actors, additional praise and impact are added to Gotouge's series.
9 Attack On Titan
By Hajime Isayama
Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan has been one of the most well-known series since it began serialization in 2009. While the manga ended in 2021, the series continuously draws fans with its ongoing anime. The first season was released in 2013 and took the world by storm as anime fans all across the globe discussed the story of Eren Yeager and his journey to defeat the Titans.
Isayama and the anime production teams at Wit Studio and MAPPA are experts at hiding little details that will make a big impact later on. After watching the anime, fans can discover all the tiny hints that appear in the manga, making the story that much more intriguing.
8 One Piece
By Eiichiro Oda
One Piece by Eiichiro Oda is famously known as one of the longest series known to date. As the best-selling manga, there are many reasons why it's worth the read. Oda is a master of storytelling, building the perfect world, characters, action and humor all wrapped up in one.
While One Piece's manga began serialization in 1997, an anime series by Toei Animation wasn't too far behind. The beloved anime premiered in 1999 and is ongoing over two decades later. Reading the manga is the perfect way to revisit favorite story arcs and character introductions and to see what happens next.
7 Akira
By Katsuhiro Otomo
Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira is responsible for one of the greatest film masterpieces of all time. Otomo's manga came out in 1982, with a film adaptation following six years later. The story takes place in 2019 in the dystopian city of Neo-Tokyo, following the leader of a bike gang and eventual accidents that threaten the world.
Akira is known as one of the best animated science-fiction and action films, with countless animations, films, and television releases nodding to the famous motorcycle maneuver in Akira known as the Ak ira Slide." Fans can get a different taste of the story by reading deeper into the story in Otomo's manga.
6 Haikyu!!
By Haruichi Furudate
Haruichi Furudate's Haikyu!! is one of the best sports manga in the world, changing the genre in creative ways while also staying true to the reason why people love it in the first place. The story follows Shoyo Hinata, a short teen whose goal in life is to become a professional volleyball player. After joining the Karasuno High School Volleyball Club, Hinata and his teammates fight to make a name for their school once again by playing their way to the national competition.
The anime began airing in 2014 and is still in the works, with two movies on the way. The raw emotion given by the voice actors matched with volleyball matches that keep viewers on the edge of their seats lifts Furudate's work even higher. While the volleyball matches can take single episodes, multiple episodes, or an entire season, they still seem to go by too quickly. The manga allows fans to pick up on every small detail that Furudate adds, making Hinata's tale even more impactful.
5 Fullmetal Alchemist
By Hiromu Arakawa
Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist began publication in 2003, along with the release of an anime adaptation. Due to a paucity of material to adapt, the anime series took its own path. While the animation had a large following, it did not have as many as Arakawa's manga. The manga was finished in 2010, and a more accurate adaptation debuted in 2009.
Fans can witness what a successful and loyal adaptation is like after viewing the original Fullmetal Alchemist in 2003 and the reboot, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, while still having the variances that make it all the more exciting. After seeing the various retellings, the manga is absolutely worth reading.
4 Hunter X Hunter
By Yoshiro Togashi
Yoshiro Togashi created wonderful stories like Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter. The manga series for Hunter x Hunter has been ongoing since 1998, with multiple hiatuses due to Togashi's health complications. Fans have supported Togashi through his difficulties and have given plenty of praise to his works and adaptations.
Togashi's story has been adapted into two anime series, one from 1999 to 2001 and the other from 2011 to 2014. Both of these anime shows tell Togashi's story in different ways, yet neither diminishes the core of his work. Fans will undoubtedly discover fresh and intriguing elements in HxH's manga, as well as Togashi's intricate storytelling techniques that are simple to fall in love with.
3 Steins;Gate
By Yomi Sarachi
Steins;Gate is originally a visual novel game, the second part of the Science Adventures franchise. The game is wildly popular and received a manga adaptation from 2009 to 2013. The anime adaptation premiered in 2011. The anime series has received lots of praise as it manages to work around the different plot-changing choices that are provided in the visual novel game.
The anime goes swiftly, and a single distraction might cause disorientation in a brief second. Fans can read the manga to reflect on key moments in the series and to learn about the extraordinarily smart storytelling strategies utilized to construct Steins;Gate.
2 Berserk
By Kentaro Miura
Berserk, which began serialization in 1989, was created by Kentaro Miura. Despite Miura's tragic death in 2021, the series continues because his childhood friend, Kouji Mori, took on the tough responsibility of carrying on the saga. Generations have grown in love with this story, having the opportunity to read it as it comes out and collect the various anime adaptations that have appeared.
Berserk is worth reading just to admire Kentaro Miura's work and analyze how numerous anime adaptations have stayed true to his plot. The manga has an influence on readers by demonstrating how much effort and care Miura put into Berserk and how it has remained popular for decades.
1 Fruits Basket
By Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya, a shojo manga that has been incorrectly characterized as a reverse harem story, has yet to gain the attention it deserves. The plot follows Tohru Honda, a teen girl, as she is thrown into the world of the Sohma Family and learns about their misfortune. While the novel begins lightheartedly and humorously, Takaya demonstrates her abilities by depicting the Sohma family's terrible reality. The plot is with bereavement, familial abuse, and overcoming trauma.
Fruits Basket had its first anime adaption in 2001, which lasted only one season and was panned by Natsuki Takaya herself. In 2019, her manga was given a Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood-style remake, allowing her story to be faithfully and thoroughly adapted. After seeing the 2019 adaptation of Fruits Basket, fans can go back to the source material and have their hearts shattered and patched back together by several callbacks to the story's plot twists and surprises.
