My Top 10 Manga I Enjoyed in 2025 (Which Are Mostly Unknown).

With the world of manga growing more vast by the day, it becomes a challenge to keep up with every significant release. Inevitably, the most popular series capture the spotlight, but there's a plethora of hidden gems waiting to be discovered.

One of the greatest joys for fans of the medium is unearthing a mostly obscure series buried in publication schedules and recommending it to friends. I present of the best lesser-known manga I've enjoyed this past year, along with motivations for they're worth checking out ahead of the curve.

Several entries here are still awaiting a broad readership, partly due to they are without anime adaptations. Some could be less accessible due to digital exclusivity. But recommending any of these will earn you 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

Admittedly, this is a weird pick, but bear with me. Comics are often fun, and that's perfectly fine. I admit that isekai is my guilty pleasure. While this series isn't strictly an isekai, it follows many of the same tropes, including an overpowered main character and a video-game-inspired fantasy framework. The charm, however, lies in the protagonist. Keita Sato is an archetypal exhausted salaryman who relieves pressure by exploring strange labyrinths that appeared in the world, armed only with a baseball bat, to pummel creatures. He's indifferent to treasures, power, or ranking; he only wants to keep his hobby secret, protect his family, and leave the office on time for a change.

More polished fantasies are out there, but this is one of the few published by a major house, and thus readily accessible to international audiences through a popular app. For easy reading, this publisher is still dominant, and if you're looking for a short, lighthearted escape, The Plain Salary Man is a great choice.

9. The Exorcists of Nito

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

Usually, the word "exorcist" in a manga title is enough to deter me due to the abundance of similar stories, but a pair of titles shifted my perspective this year. The Nito Exorcists reminds me of the strongest aspects of a popular supernatural battle manga, with its ominous tone, unique visuals, and unexpected brutality. A random click got me hooked and became engrossed at once.

Gotsuji is a skilled spirit hunter who kills evil spirits in the hope of finding the one that murdered his mentor. He's joined by his mentor's sister, Uruka, who is concerned with his well-being than supporting his vengeance. The premise sounds simple, but the treatment of the characters is subtle and refined, and the stylistic juxtaposition between the absurd look of the enemies and the bloody fights is a compelling layer. This is a series with great promise to run for a long time — provided it survives.

8. Gokurakugai

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

If breathtaking art is your priority, then look no further. Yuto Sano's work on Gokurakugai is spectacular, intricate, and unique. The narrative hews close to traditional battle manga tropes, with heroes clashing with demons (though they're avoiding that specific term), 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 working-class district where two species live side-by-side.

The villains, called Maga, are created from human or animal corpses. When human-based, the Maga has powers relating to the way the human died: a hanging victim can strangle others, one who perished by suicide can make people bleed out, and so on. It's a macabre yet fascinating twist that gives weight to these antagonists. Gokurakugai has potential for massive popularity, but it's held back by its infrequent release pace. Since its debut, only a handful of volumes have been released, which challenges ongoing engagement.

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

• Creators: Mozuku Sora, Higoro Toumori
• Released by: Shueisha
• Available on: Viz

This bleak fantasy manga tackles the ubiquitous battle trope from a new viewpoint for shonen. In place of highlighting individual duels, it showcases massive army conflicts. The protagonist, Luca, is one of the Branched—individuals possessing a unique special power. Luca's ability allows him to manifest sound as light, which helps him command armies on the battlefield, employing his instrument and background in a brutal fighter company to become a formidable commander, fighting with the hope of one day stepping away.

The setting is somewhat generic, and the addition of advanced concepts can seem jarring, but The Bugle Call still surprised me with grim twists and unexpected plot twists. It's a sophisticated series with a cast of quirky characters, an interesting power system, and an interesting combination of strategy and horror.

6. Taro Miyao Becomes a Cat Parent?!

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

A cold-hearted main character who reveres Renaissance thinker Niccolò Machiavelli and subscribes to ends-justify-the-means takes in a cute cat named Nicolo—allegedly because a massage from its tiny paws 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