Top 5 : The Best Manga of 2019

While in North America there is a nerd culture largely dominated by Marvel and DC comics, Japan’s own otaku (nerd or geek) culture revolves around the enormous manga industry. Put simply: manga are Japanese comics or graphic novels, made in a unique style very different from Western ones. While comics are seen as geeky or childish in the West, manga is read by people of all ages and all backgrounds in Japan.

Like the television industry in the West, the manga industry in Japan is oversaturated with tens of thousands of titles to choose from. Some titles like One Piece and Naruto can become insanely popular and span hundreds of chapters, while others crash and burn. Due to the solid writing and some incredibly original ideas, the titles on this list have received great reception. Some of the titles on this list are new and emerging, while others have been available for a few years but are still churning out new chapters in 2019. To my mind — all are must-reads.

Jujutsu Kaisen, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Gege Akutami
Published by Viz Media

Although Yuji Itadori looks like your average teenager, his immense physical strength is something to behold! Every sports club wants him to join, but Itadori would rather hang out with the school outcasts in the Occult Club. One day, the club manages to get their hands on a sealed cursed object. Little do they know the terror they’ll unleash when they break the seal.

Rose of Versailles, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Riyoko Ikeda
Published by Udon Entertainment

Oscar François de Jarjeyes is a young noblewoman raised as a son by her father. As commander of Marie Antoinette’s palace guard, Oscar is brought face-to-face with the luxury of King Louis XVI’s court at Versailles. Joined by her servant André, Oscar is privy to the intrigue and deceit of France’s last great royal regime.
The Rose of Versailles, the queen of shojo manga, is available for the first time in English! This deluxe hardcover volume contains the first 22 chapters of Riyoko Ikeda’s historical fiction masterwork.

Parham Itan: Tales from Beyond, volume 1
Written and Illustrated by Kaili Sorano
Published by Tokyopop

Yamagishi and Sendo are schoolmates, but that’s about as far as their similarities go: one is a short, no-nonsense boxer, while the other is a tall, bookish conspiracy nut. But when they find themselves embroiled in a paranormal phenomenon at school involving plant-faced monster people assimilating innocent victims, it seems they’ll have to set aside their differences and work together as best as they can.
Of course, it doesn’t help that the only one with any answers to this bizarre situation is a mysterious “paranormal investigator” named Akisato, who insists they must find some sort of “key” to stop it all – before giant insects and other preternatural perils from the world “beyond” get to them first.
Inspired by Lovecraftian horror and the Call of Cthulhu, this is a brand-new manga series from the creator of Monochrome Factor!

No Longer Human HC, by Junji Ito
Written by Junji Ito and Osamu Dazai
Illustrated by Junji Ito
Published by Viz Media

Mine has been a life of much shame.
I can’t even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being.
Plagued by a maddening anxiety, the terrible disconnect between his own concept of happiness and the joy of the rest of the world, Yozo Oba plays the clown in his dissolute life, holding up a mask for those around him as he spirals ever downward, locked arm-in-arm with death.
Osamu Dazai’s immortal-and supposedly autobiographical-work of Japanese literature, is perfectly adapted here into a manga by Junji Ito. The imagery wrenches open the text of the novel one line at a time to sublimate Yozo’s mental landscape into something even more delicate and grotesque. This is the ultimate in art by Ito, proof that nothing can surpass the terror of the human psyche.

Paradise Kiss: 20th Anniversary Edition
Written and Illustrated by Ai Yazawa
Published by Vertical Comics

One of the most popular comic artists in the world, Ai Yazawa, returns with a 20th anniversary edition of the fashion-inspired comic that made her an international sensation, Paradise Kiss. High fashion and hot drama come together. One of the manga to launch the manga boom globally, Paradise Kiss combined stunning design work and YA-themed narratives that made it a multimillion unit seller worldwide. This new edition celebrates 20 years since Paradise Kiss began serialization in Japan and combines the original 3 volume release into 1 beautiful package.