Best Manga of All Time

Here are the best manga of all time you have to check out! 

Any anime enthusiast would know their journey to anime began through reading manga.  Manga is a Japanese comic book that was initially printed in magazines and was then later printed in the form of a paperback comic as it grew popular. 

Manga and anime are the top favorite Japanese cultures that most people follow globally. With easy access and countless copies of manga printed in several languages, you’ll find almost everyone having a copy of manga in their hands.

If you’re looking to purchase the best manga of all time, then you’re in the right place. We have curated a list of some of the best and top-selling manga down below.

Best Manga of All Time -- Quick Summary

Best Manga of All Time	Genre	Editor’s Rating
One Piece	Adventure, Fantasy	8.5/10
Dragon Ball	Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Martial Arts	8/10
Naruto	Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Martial Arts	8/10
Doraemon	Comedy, Sci-Fi	8/10
Berserk	Dark Fantasy	9.5/10
Fullmetal Alchemist	Adventure, Dark Fantasy	9/10

• Related: Best Manga for Japanese Learners

Best Manga of All Time

One Piece

One Piece is one of the best and highest-selling mangas worldwide. It was written by Eiichiro Oda and was initially serialized in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump in July 1997 and is still running as of today. The chapters in the manga are listed up to 100 volumes. 

The storyline of One Piece revolves around the protagonist Monkey D. Luffy. He gained a mysterious power after eating a fruit called Devil Fruit. This fruit gave him the power of rubber and its properties. 

Monkey is a pirate who seeks the world’s ultimate treasure called the One Piece and he is accompanied by his pirate crewmates who are called Straw Hat Pirates.

By finding the treasure and making it his own, Monkey will be regarded as the King of Pirates, a popular position he always wanted to be in. The Straw Hat Pirates crew is made up of a swordsman, thief, navigator, sniper, doctor, chef, archeologist, and musicians, etc. The diversified pirate crew were formed one by one and would later be the key characters of the plot with each pirate depicting their unique personality.

One Piece has also set the Guinness World Record for the most number of copies sold by the same author. This manga is worth checking out as it has lovable and intriguing characters.

Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball is one of the most famous manga and anime in history. The manga series was written by Akira Toriyama and was initially serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump between 1984 to 1995. The manga has 42 volumes and it was later adapted into two anime series.

The story focuses on the childhood and adulthood lives of Goku, the protagonist of this manga. In his childhood, Goku trains himself in martial arts and meets a teenage girl called Bulma. 

Bulma tells Goku about the legend of the Dragon Balls which are seven mystical orbs that would summon a dragon that will grant a wish. Both Goku and Bulma embark on an adventurous and comedy-filled journey in search of the Dragon Balls.

Goku meets several people along the way with whom he becomes friends and some who threaten him and attempt to take all the Dragon Balls to fulfill their evil desires.

As Goku grows up, he enlists himself in intense martial arts training programs and takes part in several competitions. He defeats his opponents effortlessly and acquires Dragon Balls if they have any.

Several years after, Goku is married and has a son named Gohan. Suddenly, a being from space called Raditz arrives at Earth. 

He claims to be Goku’s brother and informs him about how Goku was sent to conquer Earth but forgot his mission due to a head injury. Goku refuses to side with Raditz and promises to defend Earth.

Read Dragon Ball manga to find out the interesting and action-packed journey of Goku.

Naruto

This is another famous anime and manga loved by several anime weebs. The manga was written by Masashi Kishimoto and has a list of 72 volumes that were released from 1999 to 2014. 

The story focuses on the protagonist named Naruto Uzumaki. The story is portrayed in 2 parts, the first centering on Naruto’s pre-teen years and the second focusing on his teenage years.

The first part of the manga introduces Naruto’s father, Minato Namikaze who’s the fourth Hokage of the Konoha village. After a powerful fox called The Nine Tails attacked Konoha, Minato seals the fox inside his newborn baby Naruto. 

Naruto who grew up knowing nothing about The Nine Tails gets obsessed with martial arts and becomes a ninja. He gets himself into a ninja team that performs daily duties in the village.

After nearly 2 years, Naruto returns to the village after training and finds that some of the powerful hosts and ninjas are getting kidnapped. 

If you’re keen on finding out what happened next, then do check out the Naruto manga. It has an enthralling plot that keeps you invested in till the end.

Doraemon

Some of us are only familiar with Doraemon being an anime that kids love to watch. Little do we know that Doraemon is also a manga read by both kids and adults. The Doraemon manga was written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was initially run in January 1970 and has a list of 45 volumes.

The storyline of Doraemon focuses on a small boy called Nobita Nobi who always faces a dilemma in his school. He’s known to perform very badly in his exams and gets poor grades. Nobita often gets bullied by his classmates who go by the names of Gian and Suneo. 

As Nobita is going through a tough time, he comes across a robotic blue cat without any ears. The cat is named Doraemon and has futuristic gadgets. Doraemon informs Nobita that it’s from the 22nd century and was sent by Nobita’s future grandson Sewashi Nobi. 

Sewashi intends to make Nobita’s life better in order for his future progeny to have better lives.

Doraemon helps Nobita with his issues and they both go on adventurous and enjoyable journeys that have nice endings. Read Doraemon manga to experience the magical journeys.

Berserk

This is a Japanese manga series that was written by Kentaro Miura. It has a list of 42 volumes and was initially run in 1989 and still runs to this day. Berserk was also awarded for being the best-selling manga series of all time as of May 2021. 

The Berserk manga depicts a medieval European feature along with a dark fantasy theme. The storyline of this manga focuses on a man named Guts who was adopted by a man named Gambino. 

As Guts grew up his adoptive father raised him as a mercenary but was killed by Guts in the form of self-defense. 

Gambino’s infamous and fearsome reputation is heard by a man called Griffith, who’s the leader of a mercenary group called the Band of the Hawk. Griffith and Guts fight a duel and after defeating him in the duel, Griffith compels Guts to join the mercenary group.

Guts quickly rises to the top ranks of the band and becomes the best fighter in the group. The mercenary group gets hired by the Midland Kingdom to fight against an ongoing war between them and the Chuder Empire. 

As they enter the kingdom, Griffith begins to develop feelings for the King’s daughter Charlotte and Guts falls in love with the only female member in the group called Casca.

The action and romance featured in the manga would eventually go on to become dark and depict demons and fantasy beings. The dark fantasy theme is what grabbed the attention of many readers and left them fascinated. 

Fullmetal Alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist manga series was written by Hiromu Arakawa. It has a list of 27 volumes and was originally run in 2001. Fullmetal Alchemist was adapted later into anime series and movies and the anime topped the list of the best anime of all time. 

The storyline of this manga revolves around two brothers called Edward and Alphonse Elric. Both the brothers are amateurs in alchemy and they live with their sick mother. 

After their mother passes away both Edward and Alphonse become devastated. They plan to use their knowledge in alchemy to revive their dead mother. However, the rules of alchemy forbid the process of resurrection as it’s known to have deadly implications.

Regardless of the rules, the alchemy brothers proceed to carry out the resurrection process. 

Unfortunately, the process utterly fails which causes Edward to lose his left leg and Alphonse to lose his entire body. Edward attempts to protect his brother’s soul by sacrificing his arm and binds Alphonse’s soul into a suit of armor.

Eventually, Edward undergoes surgery to receive prosthetic limbs and becomes a state alchemist. He learns about a mystical stone called the Philosopher’s stone which has powerful abilities. Read the manga to find out what both the brothers would do with the stone.

Best Manga of All Time: FAQs

Also Read:

1. Strongest Bleach Characters (Ranked)