With the medium of anime and manga becoming really popular around the world in current times, this is the perfect time to get into some incredible series.
We are usually surrounded by a lot of popular manga franchises that get talked about all the time on the internet. So we took this chance to curate a list for you, which includes all the lesser-known manga that released in the last few years and are absolutely worth checking out.
Best Manga to Read in 2026
Kagurabachi
Many of you reading this may remember Kagurabachi from a few years back because it was appearing on almost every corner of the internet as a meme. People were jokingly boasting about the manga being the best-written piece of fiction compared to anything at the time.
Well, it may have been an exaggeration at that time, but anyone actually following the manga would tell you that it kind of lives up to the standards of a good shounen series.
Kagurabachi has sold almost 3 million copies as of the last recorded in 2024, and is definitely something worth checking out in 2026.
The Bugle Call
The Bugle Call is another manga that started serialization in the last few years and has become a favorite in its niche. The story is set in a medieval fantasy universe, but it does not allow itself to fall into the same tropes that make most fantasy series the same.
The world of The Bugle Call is very interesting and has some of the most well-written characters we have seen in recent years. At the start of the story, we are introduced to an individual who can use sounds from a bugle as battle commands in a warfield.
But he learns that he is not the only one gifted with such supernatural abilities. Soon, he is sought after by a group of mysterious people who also share unique gifts.
Witch Hat Atelier
There are some really beautiful anime out there when it comes to art direction, but due to constraints, artists have to cutshort some of the details in frames, which is not the case if they are working on a still-painted image.
If you love reading manga for the incredible art and details that the creators pour into the pages with love, then Witch Hat Atelier is a great recommendation for you to check out. Created by Kamome Shirahama, this is a manga about a young witch in practice.
Witch Hat Atelier is also getting its own anime series, which will air sometime in April of 2026, so if you want to catch up with the show, now is a good time to read the manga.
Akane Banashi
The Shounen demographic does not always crave action and fantasy, so here’s one manga just like that to break the ice. Akane Banashi has been a successful series on the legendary Weekly Shounen Jump lineup since 2022.
The art of Rakugoka is something that most people living outside Japan will not be familiar with. But the way the series creators, Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue, have developed the whole narrative, it is not going to be lost in translation.
Akane Banashi follows the titular character on her quest to become a rakugoka performer and prove to everyone the worth of the practice as a profession.
RuriDragon
Web comics and novels are super popular these days, and a bunch of them are receiving animated adaptations. RuriDragon is a webcomic originally published as a one-shot in 2020, and just like the rest, it was being tested for a full serialization, which it got on Weekly Shounen Jump in 2022.
The premise of RuriDragon is set around dragons. Our main character, Ruri Aoki, wakes up one fine day to find out that she has horns growing out of her head. Which then her mother explains is due to her actually being a half-dragon.
An anime adaptation has been announced, but if you are looking to read more shounen manga that stars a female lead, RuriDragon is a great choice.
Kill Blue
Modern day slice of life style assassin series have become really popular in recent years. After reading Spy x Family and Sakamoto Days, if you are still craving for more then look no further than Kill Blue.
It is created by Tadatoshi Fujimaki, who is also the creator of the super-popular basketball series, Kuroko’s Basketball. Kill Blue started serializing in the Weekly Shounen Jump magazine in 2023.
The manga creator brings his own experience with creating shounen manga into the world of Assassins. Introducing us to the bizarre story of an Assassin who accidentally de-ages back to his twelve-year-old self.
Hirayasumi
If you are tired of seeing action and thrill all the time in these popular series, then slice of life is the genre that you should hop on. Hirayasumi by Keigo Shinzo is just that kind of work of fiction.
It cuts away from all the noise, taking you into a grounded story that feels like a breath of fresh air. Hirayasumi follows a 29-year-old freelancer who lives with the 18-year-old cousin of an elderly friend.
Now, as weird as that setting sounds, the manga sets out to dispel all of those stereotypes around the premise. Showing us that friendship and simplicity can transcend everything else, helping individuals grow.
Spacewalking With You
Spacewalking With You is another great manga that is grounded and leaning more towards comedy, if you are looking to read more slice of life. What’s even more special about this one is that it explores the premise of high school delinquents, because we rarely get that these days in modern series.
The story of Spacewalking With You follows a young student named Kobayashi who is on a path to becoming a worthless individual in life, according to the people around him. But all of that changes when he befriends the new guy, Uno, who is incredibly energetic about everything around.
Dragon and Chameleon
A lot of us wish there were more stories that explored the world of manga creators, such as Tsugumi Ohba’s Bakuman, which tells the tale of an up-and-coming duo of manga creators. Dragon and Chameleon is a manga that seeks to explore that exact kind of premise, but with a twist.
It introduces us to a rookie manga artist who is susceptible to copying the work and art style of others. But everything turns around when he switches bodies with the exceptionally talented manga creator Garyou Hanagami.
What happens next? Will Hanagami choose to use this new turn of events in building his career from the groundup? You will have to find that out by reading the manga yourself.
Bug Ego
We all remember the One Punch Man series as one of the most well-drawn shounen manga, as contributed by Yusuke Murata’s art. But most don’t know that the source material comes from a webcomic created by the author named One.
He is also the person behind another infamous manga, Mob Psycho 100. So if you are looking for more works specifically from One, then you are in luck because Bug Ego is the newest work, which he authored along with the illustrator Kiyoto Shitara.
The plot of the manga follows two high schoolers who play around with a bug that breaks reality using a notebook.
