With a media as vast as anime, it's hardly unexpected that it's sparked some debate throughout the years. Many anime episodes have been prohibited in some countries owing to their graphic nature, whether it is because they are too gory, obscene, or disgusting. However, when compared to manga content, anime gore is mild.
Many manga have extremely sexual content, such as Dead Tube, Real Account, and Pumpkin Night. While these manga have yet to be adapted, there are certain series that are far too contentious to be adapted. Similar series already exist; but, due to the present social context anime has entered, audiences will not see them again.
Manga has a lot of readers, but anime is generally what truly makes a series popular. Unfortunately for these manga, they're simply too controversial to become animations any time soon. Given this, they may never have the same popularity as mainstream series. This list has been updated with more manga too controversial to become an anime.
Serious, extremely sensitive topics discussed below, including sexual assault and mental health. Reader discretion is advised.
20 What Is Obscenity? The Story Of A Good For Nothing Artist & Her P***y
Story & Art By Megumi Igarashi (Complete)
What Is Obscenity? The Story Of A Good For Nothing Artist & Her P***y is the graphic memoir of Megumi "Rokudenashiko" Igarashi, a Japanese visual artist with a feminist approach. Since Rokudenashiko's work centers on female genitalia, the Japanese government has tried to stop her many times.
Igarashi's book doesn't have a controversial or shocking plot. Instead, it's a graphic essay about Japan's moral hypocrisy and her long-standing battle against Japan's judicial system. Given this, it's unlikely an anime studio will consider turning it into a documentary.
19 Kyosei Tensei
Story By Arata Miyatsuki, Art By Ochau, 6 Volumes (Complete)
Kyosei Tensei is a stormy manga about a teenage genius named Satoru Anezaki who is executed after slaying the ones responsible for his crush's death. Following his execution, Anezaki travels to a weird parallel world in which Earth has become a post-apocalyptic wasteland. He learns here that all males are wild monsters who prey on women.
Women rule this universe, and they use Satoru anyway they see fit. The controversy derives from the brutal sexual crimes that occur, as well as the harsh consequences of what happens to the women who are taken by the wild guys.
18 Multiple Personality Detective Psycho
Story By Eiji Otsuka & Art By Yurishiro Shou Tajima, 24 Volumes (Complete)
Yosuke Kobayashi, a detective, experiences dissociative identity disorder after a serial killer dismembers his girlfriend in Multiple Personality Detective Psycho. This diagnosis places him in the centre of a wider dispute involving a genetics company that has been producing serial killers for some time.
MPD Psycho is a frightening, dark shonen. It would have made a wonderful action anime, but it shot itself in the foot with its controversial representation of DID and graphic panels, such as those depicting a youngster shredding his own face and a man plucking another person's eyes with his fingers.
17 Raw Hero
Story & Art By Hiramoto, 6 Volumes (Complete)
Created by the author of Prison School, Hiramoto's 2018 series Raw Hero is among the most bizarre manga ever. After a chance encounter with a pervert who creates heroes, a teen named Chiaki soon becomes an undercover hero to support his brothers financially. His mission is to infiltrate an evil organization dressed as a woman to learn their secrets.
Chiaki eventually finds himself falling for the head of the organization while battling an identity crisis as both a hero and a man. As expected of Hiramoto, this series has many outrageous moments that will have the audiences' jaws dropping.
16 Do You Think You Can Run After Reincarnating, Nii-san?
Story By Kyousuke Kamishiro & Art By Yurishiro (Ongoing)
Do You Think You Can Run After Reincarnating, Nii-san? dives into the darkest depths of obsession and love. When the parents of two siblings passed away, the siblings were left to take care of themselves. As time passes, things go wrong as the sister takes over her brother's entire life, killing all his friends, any girl who looks in his direction, and seemingly their parents.
The sister's love for her brother even transcends life and death, as when they're reborn in a fantasy world five years later, she follows her brother and attempts to capture him again. The first chapter alone is enough to explain why this series is susceptible to being banned in several countries.
15 Is It A Crime If You're Blackmailed By Your Student?
Story By Sou Sagara & Art By Makiko Kawasemi (Ongoing)
Is It a Crime If You're Blackmailed by Your Student? follows a unique plot, yet the controversy is in the setting. A fifth-grade elementary school teacher named Tenjin teaches a class of Japan's most intelligent kids. Believing that he doesn't have to form a bond with his students, Tenjin keeps them at arm's length, making sure not to get involved with them on a personal level.
This was Tenjin's intention, but when a middle school girl called Seika saw him in a vulnerable position, she blackmails him into assisting her in becoming an author. The problem with this series is Tenjin's accidentally created harem of underage students.
14 Gyaru-Sensei
Story & Art By Meguru Ueno (Ongoing)
A manga that teeters on the edge of being a doujinshi, Gyaru-sensei is a romantic comedy about a boy who reunites with his former babysitter in high school. Suzunee Nekogami, who formerly babysat Chuuta years ago, becomes Chuuta's new physical education teacher. To his surprise, his once pure first love became a feisty gyaru.
As Suzunee and Chuuta reconnect, Suzunee begins to dominate him in many perverse ways. This leads to Chuuta questioning how Suzunee sees him and why she became a gyaru. Gyaru-Sensei's habit of increasing the sensuality of their inappropriate relationship doesn't bode well for today's society.
13 I Love You, So I Kill You
Story By Majuro Kaname & Art By Sousou Sakakibara, 5 Volumes (Complete)
If any controversial manga deserves an adaptation, I Love You, So I Kill You is worthy. In this series, a mysterious virus known as ID infects a select group of people. This virus fills the victim with bloodlust toward whoever they love. The more love they feel for a person, the stronger the urge to kill them becomes. The protagonist, Kamishiro, tries to suppress his desire to kill his crush, Hanasono.
Victims of ID soon begin to appear everywhere, with some gaining superhuman abilities. While the premise is unheard of and the series is interesting, the gore later in the series ranges from tame to extreme, making it too questionable for an adaptation.
12 Boku No Kanojo Sensei
Story By Yuu Kagami & Art By Lin Meng & Hoshikawagani (Ongoing)
While this manga may look wholesome, the message that Boku No Kanojo Sensei (English translation: My Teacher Girlfriend) tries to get across is problematic. Recognized by her students as an "unobtainable flower," Fujiki Maki is the most attractive teacher in their high school. Despite her position, she falls in love with and confesses to Makoto Saigi, one of her students.
Makoto rejects her confession, but she continues to pursue him. Kanojo Sensei tries to detail how authentic love triumphs over morals and ethics, which is troublesome. The power dynamic between them is virtually nonexistent.
11 Ijima Yabai Yatsu
Story & Art By Nan Nakamura (Ongoing)
The premise for Ijima Yabai Yatsu is very surreal, even by manga standards. A girl named Shirosaki is relentlessly bullied by a ruthless classmate named Nakajima daily. Shirosaki's classmates are too scared to help her, much to her dismay.
Shirosaki seems like a helpless victim to the school, but in reality, the bullying is fabricated. Nakajima's the one being bullied by Shirosaki. For unknown reasons, Shirosaki forces Nakajima to bully her every day. If he refuses, he's tortured mercilessly. The lesson that bullying can help people makes this series so controversial.
10 Mai-Chan's No Nichijou
Story & Art By Waita Uziga, 2 Volumes (Complete)
Mai-chan's No Nichijou (English translation: Mai-chan's Daily Life) centers on the day-to-day of Mai, a 17-year-old immortal girl who works as a maid in a café. Since she's immortal and possesses the ability to regenerate, Mai's boss allows customers to do anything they want with her, which ends up with her in the most disturbing and vulnerable positions possible.
Throughout the whole 22 chapters, Mai and her coworkers are subjected to all kinds of torture for the pleasure of a group of sadistic customers, which already makes this manga a terrible idea for an anime. Additionally, it doesn't even have a plot; it's just all for the sake of shocking the readers.
9 Ijousha No Ai
Story & Art By Daisuke Chida, 6 Volumes (Complete)
Yandere and Yuno Gasai from Future Diary pale in comparison to Midou Saki from the Ijousha No Ai manga series. Midou became obsessed with her classmate Kazumi Ichinose after only meeting him once, and went on to murder or torture all 27 women he came into touch with. Midou becomes more obsessed throughout the comic as she kidnaps and abuses Kazumi for days.
Midou's wickedness grew worse as she grew older, and she had no qualms about hurting and shaming innocent females to illustrate a point. Her torturous methods and cunning behaviours are unsuitable for adaption.
8 The Dark Massacre Of The Vengeful Hero
Story By Manimani Ononata & Art By Sakamoto (Ongoing)
Raoul, once a respected hero in his realm, was finally deceived and executed by those he thought were his allies. Raoul and his quest for vengeance beyond the grave are the focus of The Dark Massacre of the Vengeful Hero. Raoul resurrects after making a contract with a goddess to find the person guilty for ruining his life as a hero. He became harsh and manipulative as a result of the betrayal.
Raoul, like Keyaru from the Redo Of Healer series, no longer trusts anyone and devises the most heinous methods of retaliation possible. Unlike Keyaru, Raoul is willing to go to great lengths for vengeance—so great that it cannot be televised.
7 Anamorphosis: Hell Beast
Story & Art By Shintaro Kago, 1 Volume (Complete)
Anamorphosis no Meijuu or Anamorphosis: Hell Beast follows a group of people who have to stay 48 hours in a haunted house in order to win a contest. Inside this place, they live a series of paranormal experiences, which seem to be only a matter of perspective. Additionally, it contains other short stories full of disturbing topics, such as rape, snuff, and even bestiality.
Like Junji Ito and Kanako Inuki, Shintaro Kago has earned a spot in the Hall of Fame of Japanese Horror. Anamorphosis: Hell Beast shows exactly why. This manga is basically made to shock the readers, so it would translate very poorly to an anime, especially for more sensitive audiences.
6 Boku Wa Kimitachi Wo Shihai Suru
Story & Art By Daisuke Chida, 6 Volumes (Ongoing)
Daisuke Chida's works are slowly but surely becoming well-known to audiences. Boku wa Kimitachi wo Shirai Suru is one of his numerous works that dive deep into the depravity humankind is capable of. Following being displaced from reality during a high school reunion, a group of former students finds themselves trapped in a separate dimension.
Haruka Satou, the only male in the group, makes it his goal to have his peers serve him. The controversy in this series lies in Haruka's attempts to seduce the women. Haruka coerces them into lewd acts by prodding at their hidden insecurities. In turn, this makes the women act in ways they typically wouldn't, which he manipulates to take advantage of them sexually.
5 Karami Zakari
Story & Art By Airi Katsura, 3 Volumes (Complete)
Based on a doujin of the same name, manga fans likely won't find a romance manga as uncomfortable as this. A timid high schooler named Kousei is madly in love with a friend in his group named Shiiori. Believing she was pure and innocent, he sought to reveal his true feelings to her in due time.
However, after a bizarre series of events unfolds in the friend group, Kousei learns Shiiori isn't as innocent as she made herself seem. The manga gets drastically more uneasy as the characters act in ways that will make audiences want to yell at their phones. The amount of mental fatigue that Karami Zakari causes would give Scum's Wish a run for its money.
4 The Friends-Eater Classroom
Story & Art By Yusura Kankitsu and Yuu Sawase, 4 Volumes (Complete)
Tomogui Kyoushitsu (English translation: The Friends-Eater Classroom) is like a mixture of High School of The Dead and Another. A particular classroom is thrown into a frenzy after an unsettling text message kills one of its classmates. The letter instructed a girl to eat another classmate's fingers in order to save her life. She dismissed it as a joke, only to perish horribly soon after.
Following the death of the girl, the classmates begin eating one another before being slain. Tomogui Kyoushitsu, as one could expect, becomes unbelievably black. To survive, the pupils begin to conspire against and murder one another, cannibalising one another. It's significantly more graphic than most anime now on the air.
3 Namekawa-San Won't Take A Licking!
Story & Art By Rie Ato, 4 Volumes (Ongoing)
Namekawa-san Won't Take a Licking has an odd premise that would stir controversy if shown in today's age. After experiencing traumatic bullying in middle school, a girl named Namekawa drastically changes her appearance to ward off everyone around her. While this works on most people in her school, the student council president, Tojo, sets her sights on her.
While Tojo's an upstanding student, she constantly finds excuses to lick Namekawa. Similar to the Maid-sama!series, Tojo's constant sexual assault and harassment wouldn't bode well for both an anime adaption or sensitive audiences.
2 Omaera Zenin Mendokusai!
Story & Art By TOBI, 10 Volumes (Completed)
As entertaining as Omaera Zenin Mendokusai! is, it's still likely to cause a good amount of controversy. Despite being a student, Kazumiya is never in class. Instead, she spends most of her time with her teacher, Kunitachi. Despite Kunitachi's warnings to return to class, Kazumiya continues to follow him wherever he goes.
Kazumiya reveals her true intentions and hidden feelings toward her teacheras the story continues. As if Kazumiya's feelings for Kunitachi weren't stressful enough, several more students display their feelings for him. The mini harem he unknowingly created with his students is very inappropriate.
1 Magical Girl Apocalypse
Story & Art By Kentaro Sato, 16 Volumes (Complete)
Maho shojo (also known as "magical girl") is one of the most innocent anime subgenres, yet Magical Girl Apocalypse defies all expectations. Kil Kogami becomes the rebel leader after a magical girl kills everyone in his classroom. This manga depicts the conflict between humans and magical girls, yet these animals aren't even the most bizarre aspect of the story.
Many of the characters in Magical Girl Apocalypse have troubling attitudes, particularly in the sexual realm. Given this, the series depicts sexual assault against youngsters, some of whom are deceased. Given this, no anime studio is interested in adapting the manga.
