The 10 Best Comics I Enjoyed in 2025 (That You've Probably Never Heard Of).

With the world of manga growing more vast by the day, it becomes a challenge to track every significant title. As always, the mainstream series capture the spotlight, however, countless gems of undiscovered treasures just out of sight.

A key pleasure for any manga enthusiast is stumbling upon a largely unknown series buried in publication schedules and recommending it to friends. Here are some of the finest under-the-radar manga I've enjoyed this past year, along with motivations for they're worthy of attention before they gain widespread popularity.

A few of these titles are still awaiting a broad readership, especially as they all lack anime adaptations. A few are less accessible due to where they're available. However, suggesting any of these grants you some impressive fan credentials.

10. An Unassuming Salaryman Revealed as a Hero

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

Admittedly, this is a weird pick, but hear me out. The medium embraces absurdity, and there's nothing wrong with that. I admit that transported-to-another-world stories relax me. While this series diverges from the template, it uses similar story beats, including an incredibly strong protagonist and a game-influenced setting. The unique hook, however, is found in the protagonist. Keita Sato is an archetypal exhausted salaryman who relieves pressure by entering fantastical portals that appeared in the world, armed only with a baseball bat, to defeat foes. He's indifferent to treasures, power, or ranking; he only wants to maintain his double life, protect his family, and clock out punctually for a change.

More polished fantasies are out there, but this is one of the few from a top company, and thus easily available to international audiences on a digital platform. When it comes to digital availability, this publisher remains a leader, and if you're in need of a short, lighthearted escape, The Plain Salary Man is highly recommended.

9. The Nito Exorcists

• Creator: Iromi Ichikawa
• Released by: Shueisha
• Available on: Manga Plus

Typically, the word "exorcist" in a manga title is enough to deter me due to the genre's overpopularity, but a pair of titles shifted my perspective this year. This series reminds me of the strongest aspects of Jujutsu Kaisen, with its creepy atmosphere, distinctive artwork, and sudden violence. A random click got me hooked and got hooked instantly.

Gotsuji is a powerful exorcist who purges ghosts in the hope of discovering his master's killer. He's joined by his mentor's sister, Uruka, who is more interested in protecting Gotsuji than fueling his retribution. The premise sounds simple, but the character development is thoughtfully executed, and the artistic dichotomy between the silly appearance of the spirits and the violent battles is a compelling layer. This is a series with great promise to become a hit — provided it survives.

8. Gokurakugai

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

For readers who value visual splendor, then this is it. Yuto Sano's work on the series is stunning, intricate, and distinctive. The story doesn't stray far from classic shonen conventions, with superpowered people fighting evil spirits (though they're not officially called "exorcists"), but the cast is wonderfully eccentric and the world is fascinating. The protagonists, Alma and Tao Saotome, run the Gokurakugai Troubleshooter agency, solving problems in a poor neighborhood where two species live side-by-side.

The villains, called Maga, are formed from human or animal corpses. For those from people, the Maga wields magic reflecting the way the human died: a suicide by hanging can strangle others, one who perished by suicide induces hemorrhaging, and so on. It's a macabre yet fascinating twist that adds depth to these antagonists. Gokurakugai has potential for massive popularity, but it's limited due to its slower publication rate. Since its debut, only five volumes have been released, which makes it hard to stay invested.

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

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

This grim fantasy manga approaches the ubiquitous battle trope from a fresh perspective for shonen. In place of highlighting individual duels, it depicts epic historical battles. The protagonist, Luca, is one of the Branched—people with distinct abilities. Luca's ability allows him to manifest sound as light, which allows him to direct soldiers on the battlefield, leveraging his musical skill and past in a brutal fighter company to become a formidable commander, fighting to eventually earn his freedom.

The world feels a bit standard, and the addition of advanced concepts feels forced at times, but this series still surprised me with dark turns and unexpected plot twists. It's a grown-up battle manga with a collection of odd personalities, an compelling ability ruleset, and an interesting combination of military themes and dark fantasy.

6. The Cat Parent Adventures of Taro Miyao

• Artist: Sho Yamazaki
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Available on: Manga Plus

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