My Top 10 Comics I Enjoyed in 2025 (Which Are Mostly Unknown).
As the manga industry continues its relentless expansion, it becomes a challenge to keep up with every significant new series. As always, the most popular series get all the attention, but there's a plethora of overlooked works waiting to be discovered.
A key pleasure for any manga enthusiast is unearthing a hidden series amidst the weekly releases and then sharing it to friends. Here are some of the best lesser-known manga I've discovered recently, along with motivations for they're deserving of your time ahead of the curve.
Some of these series lack a broad readership, especially as they are without anime adaptations. Others may be less accessible due to where they're available. However, suggesting any of these provides some impressive fan credentials.
10. The Ordinary Office Worker Who Was a Hero
- Creators: Ghost Mikawa, Yuki Imano, Akira Yuki, Raika Mizuiro
- Publisher: Shueisha
- Find it on: Manga Plus
This may seem like a strange choice, but bear with me. Comics are often fun, and it's part of the charm. I admit that fantasy escapism is my comfort read. While the title isn't strictly an isekai, it embraces familiar conventions, including an overpowered main character and a game-influenced setting. The appeal, however, is found in the protagonist. Keita Sato is your typical overworked Japanese corporate man who unwinds by exploring strange labyrinths that materialized globally, 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 finish work early for a change.
There might be better isekai series, but this is one of the few from a top company, and thus conveniently readable to international audiences via a free service. For easy reading, this publisher remains a leader, and if you're looking for a short, lighthearted escape, The Plain Salary Man is highly recommended.
9. The Nito Exorcists
- Artist: Iromi Ichikawa
- Released by: Shueisha
- Find it on: Manga Plus
Typically, the word "exorcist" in a manga title makes me hesitant due to the genre's overpopularity, but two series changed my mind this year. The Nito Exorcists evokes the finest elements of a popular supernatural battle manga, with its ominous tone, unique visuals, and unexpected brutality. I started reading it by chance and was immediately captivated.
Gotsuji is a formidable practitioner who kills evil spirits in the hope of discovering his master's killer. He's joined by his mentor's sister, Uruka, who is focused on his safety than aiding his quest for revenge. The storyline appears straightforward, but the portrayal of the cast is thoughtfully executed, and the visual contrast between the absurd look of the enemies and the violent battles is an effective bonus. This is a series with the capacity to become a hit — if it's allowed to continue.
8. Gokurakugai
- Creator: Yuto Sano
- Released by: Shueisha
- Available on: Manga Plus; Viz
For readers who value visual splendor, then this is it. Yuto Sano's work on the series is spectacular, intricate, and one-of-a-kind. The story doesn't stray far of typical hero's journey beats, with heroes clashing with demons (though they're avoiding that specific term), but the characters are all quirky and the backdrop is compelling. The protagonists, Alma and Tao Saotome, manage the Gokurakugai Troubleshooter agency, handling issues in a poor neighborhood where humans and beast-men coexist.
The villains, called Maga, are born from human or animal corpses. For those from people, the Maga has powers relating to the way the human died: a suicide by hanging has the power to choke people, one who died from self-harm induces hemorrhaging, and so on. It's a gruesome but interesting twist that provides substance to these antagonists. Gokurakugai has potential for massive popularity, but it's limited due to its slower publication rate. From the beginning, only a handful of volumes have been released, which challenges ongoing engagement.
7. Bugle Call: War's Melody
- Writing Team: Mozuku Sora, Higoro Toumori
- Publisher: Shueisha
- Find it on: Viz
This bleak fantasy manga approaches the common conflict theme from a new viewpoint for shonen. In place of highlighting individual duels, it presents large-scale medieval warfare. The protagonist, Luca, is one of the Branched—those granted singular talents. Luca's ability enables him to convert audio into visuals, which lets him guide troops on the battlefield, employing his instrument and background in a brutal fighter company to become a skilled strategist, fighting to eventually earn his freedom.
The setting is somewhat generic, and the inclusion of futuristic tech feels forced at times, but this series still surprised me with dark turns and shocking story pivots. It's a sophisticated series with a cast of quirky characters, an compelling ability ruleset, and an enjoyable mix of warfare and grim fantasy.
6. Taro Miyao: Unexpected Feline Guardian
- Author: Sho Yamazaki
- Released by: Shueisha
- Find it on: Manga Plus
A emotionally distant main character who idolizes Renaissance thinker Niccolò Machiavelli and subscribes to ends-justify-the-means becomes the owner of a cute cat named Nicolo—allegedly because a massage from its small claws is the only thing that relieves his stiff shoulders. {If that premise isn't enough|Should that not convince you|If the setup doesn't grab you
