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Top 20 Best Martial Arts Manga Series Recommendations
Martial arts manga is a sort of Japanese comic book or graphic novel that deal with martial arts. Martial Arts mangas have gained so much popularity over the years, especially in China and Japan. They aren’t necessarily set in the past, but may also take place in the present day or even be based on popular video games such as Street Fighter II.
Moreover, martial arts have been a part of human history for as long as records exist. In Asia, it is associated with spiritual growth and development. It is one of the most popular types of combat sports today, attracting millions of practitioners around the world.
The martial arts manga genre is filled with adventure, historical, fantasy, action, comedy, and drama. This isn’t just a place where people learn to fight; it’s also a place where they learn about life and come into contact with some amazing martial artist characters.
There is much manga about martial arts out there. If you have never heard of it, it can be a little confusing to figure out what is the best one for you. So in this article, we will take a look at the new top 20 list of the best martial arts manga series recommendations.
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Before diving through the list we must note that all these listed mangas are not yet adapted to anime series. So without any furder a do let’s countdown this collection of the best 20 Martial arts manga series.
20. Ryuurouden
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Martial Arts
Volumes: 37
Chapters: 158
This martial arts manga centers around two normal middle school kids, a boy Shiro and a girl, Masumi, who are taken back in time by a dragon to feudal china in the time of the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” The two children are quickly revered as “dragon’s children” and continue to grow and change and become more and more pivotal to the destiny of the story.
Early on the two are separated and continuously try to get back together but always blocking their path is the leader of the Tiger fang. He and his group of elite soldiers first fight for one group and then another, all for some larger plot that only their leader seems to know.
in general, this manga about martial arts has an incredible storyline, the battle scene is awesome, and the art is magnificent. Overall, it is a worthy read for anyone who loves historical drama with a lot of seinen fighting action and almost godlike techniques. With each struggle, the characters grow and understand more about what their duty is and their true goals. It speaks to the fighting spirit.
19. Record of Wortenia War
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Martial arts
Volumes: Unknown
Chapters: Unknown
The story of this martial arts manga follows a 16-year-old high schooler boy called Ryoma Mikoshib also He’s been trained by a grandpa to be a martial artist. One day, he was summoned to a new world by the warmongering O’ltormea Empire. With his skills in martial arts, he escapes from the country that summoned him. Now Ryouma starts his journey in this fantasy world where he can become stronger.
In general, the art is beautiful, and the story is a typical isekai manga but the main character is neither a retard nor unbeatable which is how many isekai go, he’s a different and interesting character. Overall, it is a good martial arts manga for those who want to read isekai but also want to read some good story and not just OP MC going around showing off. It has quite a bit of politics and action.
18. Shin Kotaro Makaritoru! Juudouhen
Genres: Action, Comedy, Romance, Martial arts
Volumes: 27
Chapters: 129
This martial arts manga tells the story of a high school-aged karate expert Kotaro, who is descended from a long line of ninjas. While he may be a fighting genius, he lacks common sense and any inhibitions whatsoever. He spends most of his time getting into trouble with school officials, and trying to steal girls’ panties; especially Mayumi’s. He is very protective of three things: his long hair, his panty collection, and Mayumi.
Overall, it’s a good manga about martial arts to read, you’ll like the comedy in this series along with the slight romantic hints and action.
I recommend it to all lovers of these genres. It has old art, but it’s something that most readers will get used to.
17. Iron Wind (Teppuu)
Genres: Action, Drama, Sports, Martial Arts, Psychological
Volumes: 8
Chapters: 35
A very enjoyable martial arts manga about Natsuo Ishida, a female high school student who is known as the super talented girl who pissed off too many people because of her talent. But to be great at everything that she does that she doesn’t feel excited to do anything. However, that changes when she finds MMA which inspires her to move on and to actually work hard on something.
In general, is an enjoyable and original story and the art was done well for the most part. However, this manga ended way too short as is the curse with mangas like these. But still a good read for anyone interested in MMA manga.
16. Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru
Genres: Action, Comedy, Romance, Sports, Martial Arts
Volumes: 50
Chapters: 500
Here we have a seinen martial arts manga about a man working his way through the world of karate.
Basically, the story follows our MC Kohinata Minoru, who just become a college student at Reinan University, which is popular for its sports rather than academic orientation. Although he starts out as a gymnast alongside his friend, Nana, Minoru is bullied by the higher-ranked gymnasts. One evening, a karate student at the college, Mutou Ryuuji, witnesses Minoru being bullied and comes to the rescue… but his intentions aren’t to save Minoru, but to drag him into the world of karate. Minoru makes new friends and learns some of their dark pasts, including a shocking death that reveals motives for revenge.
In general, it’s a good manga about martial arts, the fighting scenes are awesome, the history is really good, the main characters are good! So, if you’re into karate (mainly the full-contact version) or a martial arts nut, I highly recommend this manga as a fun karate MMA slobber knocker! So give it a try.
15. Cestus: Legend of Desperate Struggle
Genres: Action, Drama, Historical, Martial arts
Volumes: Unknown
Chapters: Unknown
This martial arts manga starts when the Roman empire is at the summit of its splendor. Cestus, a young slave fighter is constantly competing and developing his technique. Suddenly, an emperor’s messenger visits him and announces that the emperor Nerone will host a fighting competition from all over the world and orders Cestus to become part of the Regional Qualifiers. Full of determination, Cestus begins his adventure towards the final battle arena determined to win the tournament and earn the ultimate prize, his own freedom!!
Well, This martial arts manga is a sequel to the first series, which gets an anime adaptation this year (2021). Overall is a good boxing manga with an ancient Roman empire setting. The action is well drawn and the fights are exciting. So, if you’re looking for Action, Drama, and Historical manga about martial arts to read! Then this series is worth your time.
14. Mizutama Honey Boy
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Martial arts
Volumes: 10
Chapters: 63
The story of this martial manga centers around two main characters a feminine boy and a masculine girl. Shirou Fuji, is a guy who is known at school for his girly way of speaking and gestures. And Mei Sengoku is an independent girl and captain of her high school kendo club. she is known as the stronger girl in her school. However, when Shirou asks Mei to go out with him, she simply rejects him, but he comes back the next day and tells her he’s not going to give up on her so easily. Mei is focused only on becoming stronger, but she is beginning to question what is most important after all.
This martial arts manga might start out with a pretty steady stream of shoujo manga cliches and contrivances, but hang in there! It takes a handful of chapters, but as it finds its feet, Mizutama Honey Boy turns into a genuinely delightful, hilarious read, with a really lovable cast.
Overall, this manga series has a unique and adorable storyline lies a hidden message tactfully concealed by well-developed characters and a good sense of humor. So if you’re into manga about martial arts in this genre! So give it a check.
13. Hibi Chouchou
Genres: Romance, Slice of Life, School
Volumes: 12
Chapters: 83
Hibi Chouchou is the absolutely adorable story of probably the quietest girl ever falling in love with a super quiet boy. Upon entering high school, Suiren becomes the immediate center of attention among the boys…but one particular boy “Kawasumi” does not look her way.
Kawasumi is a 15-year-old student who attends Shuudai High and is particularly talented in karate as he can easily defeat three attackers at the same time, also he was the champion of a particular tournament (chapter 18). The story follows their awkward and super sweet relationship over the whole of their time at high school.
In general, the art was beautiful, with nice and clean details. The characters were all beautifully drawn. The story has many cute moments, funny, and heartbreaking moments but is very worth reading. I 10/10 would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a cutesy feel-good high school love story with relationships (romantic and friendship-wise) that beautifully develop! So this is definitely a good one if you like romance martial arts manga.
12. Azumi
Genres: Action, Drama, Historical, Martial Arts, Samurai
Volumes: 48
Chapters: 350
This martial arts manga follows the adventure of a female MC known as Azumi who’s a character trained from birth to be an assassin. She’s young, naive, brave, strong, and beautiful. but she is going through puberty and has many many many dangerous challenges. As time goes on, Azumi grows older, meets new people, connects with some, and hits some for sure !!!! At the end of it all, she has to survive every situation she finds herself in and move on.
In general, It is an amazing story, the art style is actually good and the female MC is quite interesting, funny, and very naive all at the same time. Overall if you’re a fan of manga about martial arts and you like op female lead, Azumi is great!!! She’s a rare one.
11. I’m Doushirou
Genre: Comedy, School, Shounen, Martial arts
Volumes: 8
Chapters: 79
The story of this martial arts manga is much easier to understand; Doushirou is a boy, raised in Nevada to become a “samurai”, who has just returned to Japan, and he definitely has no idea that Japan is not all that he thinks it is. Doushirou grew up and entered high school; accompanied by his Tono (master), Kensuke, unenthusiastic Erika, and the newly-reformed delinquent Maejima/Saotome, his story is full of great humor and epic story arcs starting from high school delinquents to facing off with yakuza.
Overall, it’s a great read, the storyline isn’t something we haven’t seen before, but it’s told ever so well, the art is good and the characters are fun. but character development is… well, confusing. So if you want a comedy manga about martial arts! DON’T HESITATE TO START THIS MANGA
10. The Ride-on King
Genres: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Shounen
Volumes: Unknown
Chapters: Unknown
This martial arts manga tells the story of Alexander Plutinov, a martial arts master of dozens of different styles, who was the President of Brugia, a nation ruled by force and the influence of its government. One day, Alexander suppose to be assassinated by men riding in trucks. In Otaku culture, a truck or more popularly known as “Truck-kun” is often the cause of Isekai characters getting transported.
After that, Alexander wakes up in a new fantasy world full of orcs, wyverns, and dragons. He doesn’t have any superpowers even after reincarnation but his prowess in martial arts and supreme inborn physical strength make him stand out even in the new world.
In general, this manga about martial arts covers every aspect you want, comedy, action, isekai, beast taming, and of course cute manga girls. So if you’re having a bad day and you want to lighten the mood by reading about a badass man following his purpose in life with some fantastic comedic moments, then I recommend this martial arts manga wholeheartedly.
9. Multi-Mind Mayhem: Isekai Tensei Soudouki
Genres: Action, Fantasy, Martial arts
Volumes: Unknown
Chapters: Unknown
This martial arts manga introduces your typical “main character gets transported to another world” with an interesting twist: 2 people get reincarnated into a new world in the body of a baby named Balud. Together, now the 3 souls are in one body, and at times one personality will take complete control of the body. It’s sorta like he has multiple personality disorder. One of their personalities has a hilarious obsession with money and another has basic knowledge of modern-day technology. So when those two combine, Balud ends up introducing several advancements in technology and creating partnerships within the merchant world in order to grow their wealth.
Well, it’s a good read, with a unique isekai storyline, the are is pretty good, and the characters are fun most of the time. Overall, if you’re looking for action and fantasy manga about martial arts! Isekai Tensei Soudouki is might be the right one you need.
8. Kenji
Genre: Action, Martial Arts, Shounen
Volumes: 21
Chapters: 202
This martial arts tells manga the story of a Japanese child named Kenji who is being taught Chinese martial arts by his grandfather. Kenji is a kind-hearted boy but trouble always seems to follow him. However, his parents want him to be good at school and university and get a well-paid job but Kenji keeps getting into fights and continued to learn martial arts from his grandfather. Therefore, Kenji’s mother tells her husband to tell his father to go back home as the grandfather lives alone and he came over for a visit. The grandfather takes this chance to go to China and meet his brothers that taught him martial arts during the China and Japan war.
Eight years have gone by and the family has not heard from the grandfather. Kenji has gone through a lot from fighting, learning martial arts from other teachers, and gaining arch-rival the name of Tony Tan. Because of a fight with Tony in his school, Kenji is on indefinite leave. He takes this chance to go to China in search of his grandfather and so his adventure begins into the true world of martial arts.
In general, it is one of the best martial art manga I have ever witnessed so far. That kind of story plot is not easily found, even today. The art is not the greatest, but it suits the orient of the manga very well. The story is superb, it takes you through the Chinese military and martial art history. This story opens people’s view of martial arts and informs the reader of how great and deep the history of Chinese martial arts is. The main character grows stronger every day, and he goes through strong opponents. Although the story goes through what an average Shounen Manga criteria, I would not even consider it even Shounen or Seinen. It’s a historical manga that opens people’s eyes to Chinese Martial arts.
7. Gamaran
Genre: Action, Historical, Martial Arts, Shounen
Volumes: 22
Chapters: 194
The story of this martial arts manga centers around the Unabara, or The Land of Demons, in which a tournament is held. But it’s not just some typical martial arts tournament because the competition is held to decide the next Daimyo(landlord) of Unabara. The contestants are Daimyo’s sons. 31 sons were given the duty to find the most powerful dojo they can and participate for a chance to be the next Daimyo. The story follows the 30th son, Naoyoshi Washitsu, who aims to find the legendary Thousand manslayer, Kurogane Jinsuke. Therefore, he visits the Ogame dojo, but Kurogane is nowhere to be found, and his son, Kurogane Gama is the only available Ogame student(And Gama is really mad at his dad, and looking for revenge). Naoyoshi asks Gama to support him and Gama agrees, and the two of them set on a journey to find which of the 31 fighting styles is the greatest.
Overall, the story is very good and interesting, but somewhat it lacks creativity. The art is very well done with great fights. Gamaran is worth reading if you like action and fighting genres and you’re in search of manga about martial arts. This series is a perfect example of how a shounen fighting manga should be: one big blast of ever-changing action.
6. Until Death Do Us Part
Genres: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Supernatural
Volumes: 26
Chapters: 217
This martial arts manga is about a 12-year-old girl Haruka Tooyama, who can predict the near future, and her friend Mamoru, who is an amazing and loner swordsman. Although Mamoru is blind, he uses specialized glasses to help him “see”. The story starts when Haruka gets kidnaped by a powerful organization. Utilizing her abilities, Haruka makes contact with Mamoru. When cornered by her captors, Haruka proposes an outrageous condition to Mamoru. Haruka wants Mamoru to protect her until death does them part.
Well, it’s a good story, the artwork is wonderful, the characters are well thought out and the designs of the characters themselves are very diverse. Overall, it is a great manga about martial arts that has really strong action and battles. And I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good action series with awesome art, likable characters, and a generally engaging story.
5. Shana Ou Yoshitsune
Genres: Action, Historical, Shounen, martial arts
Volumes: 22
Chapters: 78
This martial arts manga is an alternative story to the popular historical figure Minamoto no Yoshitsune along with his servants, including the renowned Benkei who lived in the Heian Era. In this version, Yoshitsune was actually a weak, sickly boy who met an exact body replica in Hyouta, a traveling orphan who earns his living on the street. Being physically stronger, Hyouta was led to become a replacement for Yoshitsune, eventually claiming the name as his own.
In general, The story is really nice, and the art is realistic, clear, and quite pretty. So if you’re interested in historical manga about martial arts! give this a try.
4. Kengan Omega
Genre: Action, Martial Arts
Volumes: Unknown
Chapters: Unknown
KO is the sequel to the hit martial arts manga “Kengan Ashura” and takes place 2 years after the Kengan Annihilation competition and follows two new protagonists’ journey to becoming stronger, Kogu Naroshima and Ryuki Gaoh, a hot-headed street fighter, and a mysterious, calm, yet secluded from reality warrior from the “Inside”, the same as our previous protagonist, Tokita Ohma, and their journey into the Kengan matches and a mysterious organization destroying it from the inside called, “The Worm.”
In general, The fights and art are as good as ever, with impactful action, detailed artwork, and martial arts explanations, and the fighting banter is as good as ever. Omega is as strong as its predecessor and may easily well go beyond it as well. To conclude, Kengan Omega is one of the best martial arts manga I’ve ever read, it’s an example of all fighting manga, you must absolutely read it if you’re looking for a good manga about martial arts!
3. The King’s Beast
Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Shoujo, Martial arts
Volumes: Unknown
Chapters: Unknown
The story of this martial arts manga follows Rangetsu, an Ajin (human with animal features, like ears and tails, and superior senses and healing abilities) as she seeks revenge against the human(s) who killed her twin brother years ago. Ajin is absolutely second-class citizens in this world, with families only allowed one child (excluding multiple births), men and boys conscripted into either the army or as bodyguards were known as Beast-Servants, and women are forced into prostitution and tragedy. Rangetsu’s brother dies in service to the Fourth Prince, and she flees the brothel her mother takes her to, cuts her hair, and learns to fight in order to hunt down his killer. It’s brutal, and Toma doesn’t shy away from that. Rangers sees all the ways her people (Ajin) are abused, but this girl doesn’t crumble. She gives up everything of herself to help her people (Ajin) and her brother that got murdered. To do that she has to go undercover and pretend to be a boy so she can get close to her target that killed her brother.
Well, this is a good manga about martial arts with a unique and very interesting storyline. The characters are so well made, and the art is so outstanding. Overall if you’re a fan of drama, fantasy, and martial arts manga! The King’s Beast is worth your time.
2. Holyland
Genre: Action, Martial Arts, Psychological, Seinen
Volumes: 18
Chapters: 182
The story of this martial arts manga series follows Kamishiro Yuu, a Highschool student with really low self-esteem who gets severely bullied his whole life, and he learns how to punch while going out to the streets at night to fight the loneliness and the trauma. Kamishiro proceeds to learn martial arts so he can get stronger and protect himself.
In general, the storyline is very outstanding and captivating. It’s original and is great for anyone who likes martial arts manga series. A story like no other. The art has the Mouri sensei touch, which while not being super eye candy and diverse still is really pretty to see and all the fights were clearly pictured so that you can also feel what is the action going on.
Overall, it’s a superb work that deserves recognition and respect for the way it handles itself, grand execution, and characters that drive the story in brilliant fashion. So if you love Street fighting and martial arts manga in the seinen demographic. So you should read it.
1. Lone Wolf and Cub
Genre: Action, Historical, Samurai, Seinen
Volumes: 28
Chapters: 142
This manga about martial arts takes place in the feudal era of Japan, Ogami Itto is the elite executioner for the Shogun until the ruthless Yagyu clan frames him in an attempt to gain the position. His name was dishonored and his wife was murdered, Itto and his infant son Daigoro wander Japan as an assassin for hire, named Lone Wolf and Cub. Ultimately, Ogami Itto strives for revenge against the Yagyu clan.
In general, the story is breathtaking would be an understatement, and the characters were incredibly complex, it was such a thrilling manga! Lone Wolf and Cub is one of the best martial arts manga series ever made, a true masterpiece. it’s probably will be the best manga you’ll ever read in your life.
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