My Top 10 Japanese Comics I Read This Year (That You've Probably Never Heard Of).

As the manga industry continues its relentless expansion, staying on top to track every worthwhile new series. Inevitably, the biggest series get all the attention, but there's a plethora of undiscovered treasures waiting to be discovered.

A key pleasure for fans of the medium is finding a largely unknown series buried in publication schedules and spreading the word to friends. This list highlights of the top obscure manga I've read in 2025, along with reasons why they're worth checking out before they gain widespread popularity.

Several entries here lack a broad readership, partly due to they haven't received anime adaptations. Some could be trickier to read due to where they're available. However, suggesting any of these will earn you some serious bragging rights.

10. The Ordinary Office Worker Who Was a Hero

• Creators: Ghost Mikawa, Yuki Imano, Akira Yuki, Raika Mizuiro
• Released by: Shueisha
• Available on: Manga Plus

Admittedly, this is a weird pick, but bear with me. The medium embraces absurdity, and that's perfectly fine. I'll acknowledge that transported-to-another-world stories relax me. While this series isn't strictly an isekai, it follows many of the same tropes, including an incredibly strong protagonist and a RPG-like world structure. The unique hook, however, stems from the protagonist. Keita Sato is an archetypal exhausted salaryman who vents his stress by exploring strange labyrinths that appeared in the world, armed only with a baseball bat, to defeat foes. He doesn't care about treasures, power, or ranking; he only wants to hide his pastime, protect his family, and leave the office on time for a change.

There might be better isekai series, but this is a rare example published by a major house, and thus easily available to international audiences through a popular app. Regarding online access, this publisher sets the standard, and if you're in need of a short, lighthearted escape, the series is highly recommended.

9. The Exorcists of Nito

• Author: Iromi Ichikawa
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Find it on: Manga Plus

Typically, the word "exorcist" in a manga title makes me hesitant due to the saturated market, but a pair of titles shifted my perspective this year. It recalls the best parts of a popular supernatural battle manga, with its creepy atmosphere, stylized art, and unexpected brutality. I started reading it by chance and was immediately captivated.

Gotsuji is a skilled spirit hunter who purges ghosts in the hope of discovering his master's killer. He's paired with his mentor's sister, Uruka, who is more interested in protecting Gotsuji than supporting his vengeance. The plot may seem basic, but the portrayal of the cast is subtle and refined, and the stylistic juxtaposition between the silly appearance of the spirits and the gory combat is a nice extra touch. This is a series with the capacity to become a hit — if it's allowed to continue.

8. Gokurakugai

• Creator: Yuto Sano
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Find it on: Manga Plus; Viz

For readers who value visual splendor, then this is it. Yuto Sano's work on Gokurakugai is stunning, intricate, and unique. The plot remains within from classic shonen conventions, with heroes clashing with demons (though they're avoiding that specific term), but the protagonists are distinctly odd and the world is fascinating. The protagonists, Alma and Tao Saotome, run the Gokurakugai Troubleshooter agency, handling issues in a low-income area where people and animal-human hybrids live together.

The villains, called Maga, are formed from human or animal corpses. When human-based, the Maga possesses abilities connected to the way the human died: a hanging victim can strangle others, one who perished by suicide causes blood loss, and so on. It's a gruesome but interesting twist that provides substance to these antagonists. This series could be the next big hit, but it's constrained by its infrequent release pace. Starting in 2022, only five volumes have been released, which challenges ongoing engagement.

7. The Call of War: A Bugle's Song

• Authors: Mozuku Sora, Higoro Toumori
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Find it on: Viz

This bleak fantasy manga approaches the ever-present fight narrative from a new viewpoint for shonen. Rather than focusing on individual duels, it presents large-scale medieval warfare. The protagonist, Luca, is one of the Branched—people with distinct abilities. Luca's ability allows him to manifest sound as light, which helps him command armies on the battlefield, leveraging his musical skill and past in a ruthless soldier group to become a skilled strategist, fighting with the hope of one day stepping away.

The setting is somewhat generic, and the insertion of sci-fi elements feels forced at times, but this series still surprised me with bleak developments and unexpected plot twists. It's a mature shonen with a group of eccentric individuals, an engaging magic framework, and an interesting combination of military themes and dark fantasy.

6. Taro Miyao: Unexpected Feline Guardian

• Author: Sho Yamazaki
• Released by: Shueisha
• Find it on: Manga Plus

A calculating main character who idolizes Renaissance thinker Niccolò Machiavelli and believes in using any means necessary takes in a cute cat named Nicolo—allegedly because a massage from its small claws is his sole relief from tension. {If that premise isn't enough|Should that not convince you|If the setup doesn't grab you