Hey there, manga reader! Are you done with mini-series or stand-alones? Are you looking for a nice juicy series to sink your teeth into, but you don’t want to get overwhelmed? Then you’re in the right place! Here we have gathered manga series that are twenty-five volumes or fewer. 

The manga listed here are aimed at adults. While older teens are more than welcome to read these series, we do not recommend giving these to younger children as some of these manga deal with mature themes or subject matter. If you are looking for manga for younger children, check out Manga for Middle Schoolers: Guide and Recommendations. As always, read at your own discretion, and if you have any questions please reach out to your friendly local librarians. 

The series included here should have all of their volumes available through regular library hold requests, but if for some reason a volume is missing feel free to make a request through interlibrary loan. (It’s free with your library card.)

New to manga and looking for shorter series? Check out Beginner's Guide to Manga 2: Manga Fewer than Ten Volumes.  Looking for a mega-long series to satisfy your manga sweet tooth? Then check out A Feast for Fans: Manga of Epic Proportions.

Don't see a manga you love in our collection? Make a recommendation here! 

Series Up To 15 Volumes

Sweetness & Lightning by Gido Amagakure; translated by Adam Lensenmayer

Genre: Cooking, Slice of Life

Volumes: 12

Having lost his wife, math teacher Kouhei Inuzuka is doing his best to raise his young daughter Tsumugi as a single father. He's pretty bad at cooking and doesn't have a huge appetite to begin with, but chance brings his little family and one of his students, Kotori Iida, together for homemade adventures. With those three cooks in the kitchen, it's no wonder this dinner table drama is so delicious.

 

 

Devils' Line by Ryo Hanada; translated by Jocelyne Allen

Genre: Dark Fantasy

Volumes: 13

Tsukasa, a college student, is rescued from an attack by a devil, one of many vampires that can blend in among the human population. Anzai, her savior, is a half-devil who exploits his supernatural gifts as a member of a shadowy police task force that specializes in devil-related crime in Tokyo. As Anzai continues to keep guard over Tsukasa, the two quickly forge a tentative bond—one that Anzai fears will test his iron-clad rule of never drinking human blood…

 

Goodnight Punpun story and art by Inio Asano; translated by JN Productions; touch-up art & lettering by Annaliese Christman

Genre: Slice of life, Drama

Volumes: 13

A Japanese manga written and illustrated by Inio Asano about Onodera Punpun, a normal child depicted in the form of a bird. The story follows him as he copes with his dysfunctional family and friends, his love interest, his oncoming adolescence and his hyperactive mind.

 

 

Ninja Slayer original work, Bradley Bond and Philip Ninj@ Morzez; art by Yuki Yogo; script by Yoshiaki Tabata; Japanese translation by Yu Honda and Leika Sugi; translation, Christian Storms and HCL.

Genre: Action

Volumes: 14

The Neo-Saitama of the future is a sprawling urban landscape constantly flooded by neon light. And in its shadows, lurks a vast criminal world filled with all sorts of shady characters. Among them are the deadliest force known to humanity... Ninjas! These merciless warriors lord over the cityscape with their overwhelming karate, influencing the private and public sectors equally. But their time is about to come to an end. A force known as Ninja Slayer is determined to rid this world of Ninjas, and he's willing to go through heaven or hell to do so.

Arakawa Under the Bridge by Nakamura Hikaru; translated by Andrew Cunningham

Genre: Comedy

Volumes: 15

Kou Ichinomiya, a young man born with a silver spoon in his mouth and raised with the mantra “never owe anyone” suddenly finds himself deeply indebted to a young homeless woman, Nino, who lives on the Arakawa river bank and claims to originally be from the planet Venus. When Nino rejects all of Kou’s mundane offers of money or housing, Kou is at a loss for how to repay his debt, until Nino suddenly asks him to teach her about love. A daunting task, but the over-achieving Kou is determined to return Nino’s favor. And so begins Kou’s life under the bridge, along with a band of eccentric characters who have formed their own little community outside the boundaries of typical Tokyoite life…

Series Up to 20 Volumes

Ajin: Demi-human story: Tsuina Miura; art: Gamon Sakurai; translated by Ko Ransom

Genre: Action, Dark Fantasy, Supernatural

Volumes: 16

Kei Nagai, a high-school student, should have died when the truck hit him. Instead, he comes back to life and his world is changed forever. Kei learns he is an Ajin or demi-human, a mysterious creature that cannot die. Frightened by the prospect of what might happen to him, Kei, helped by his friend, Kai, flee from civilization only to encounter a group of demi-humans who are hostile to humans. Who should Kei side with?

 

What Did You Eat Yesterday? by Fumi Yoshinaga; translated by Maya Rosewood

Genre: Cooking, Slice of Life

Volumes: 17 (ongoing)

Part comic, part cookbook. In the narrative, a hard-working middle-aged gay couple in Tokyo come to enjoy the finer moments of life through food. After long days at work, Shiro and Kenji will always have down time together by the dinner table, where they can discuss their feelings and enjoy delicately prepared home-cooked meals. Not only is food incorporated into the story, but the frames actually take readers through the process of preparing meals in great detail, with recipes listed at the end of the chapters.

 

Master Keaton art by Naoki Urasawa; story by Hokusei Katsushika, Takashi Nagasaki ; translation and English adaptation by Pookie Rolf; lettering by Steve Dutro

Genre: Mystery

Volumes: 18

Taichi Hiraga Keaton is an insurance investigator educated in archaeology and trained in SAS survival combat who’s about to take on the world, one case at a time!

 

Monster by Naoki Urasawa; story coproduced with Takashi Nagasaki; translation and English adaptation by Camellia Nieh; lettering by Steve Dutro; cover and interior design by King Clovis; edited by Mike Montesa

Genre: Mystery, Dark 

Volumes: 18 (collected into omnibuses)

Everyone faces uncertainty at some point in their lives. Even a brilliant surgeon like Kenzo Tenma is no exception. But there's no way he could have known that his decision to stop chasing professional success and instead concentrate on his oath to save peoples' lives would result in the birth of an abomination. The questions of good and evil now take on a terrifyingly real dimension. Years later, in Germany during the tumultuous post-reunification period, middle-aged childless couples are being killed one after another. The serial killer's identity is known. The reasons why he kills are not. Dr. Tenma sets out on a journey to find the killer's twin sister, who may hold some clues to solving the enigma of the "Monster."

 

Sekirei by Gokurakuin Sakurako; translated by Caleb D. Cook; lettering by Phil Christie

Genre: Harem, Romantic Comedy, Supernatural

Volumes: 18

Minato Sahashi is a rounin, a two-time loser who's failed his college placement exams. Just as he's contemplating giving up and heading home, though, a chance encounter changes his life forever! Enter Musubi, a girl who literally falls into Minato's life! Musubi is a Sekirei, a modified human caught up in a game in which only one of her kind can be left standing. In order to be victorious in this contest, though, she needs to find her Ashikabi (her fated partner)...and guess who fits the bill?? Caught up in battle he barely understands, can Minato survive 'The Sekirei Project' and emerge victorious? Either way, with his buxom new cohort by his side, his life will certainly never be the same!

 

Banana Fish  story and art by Akimi Yoshida; English adaptation by Matt Thorn and Carl Gustav Horn; translated by Matt Thorn; lettering and touch-up art by Cato

Genre: Drama

Volumes: 19

Ash Lynx, the adopted heir of crime lord "Papa" Dino Golzine, rejected Papa's kingdom and formed his own gang at the age of seventeen. One night, a dying man gives a tiny vial to Ash. Its mysterious contents lead him into conflict with Papa's mafia, provide a clue to his brother's post-Vietnam madness, and lead him to make the acquaintance of a young Japanese photographer.

Note: Content contains sexual assault and violence

 

Ōoku by Fumi Yoshinaga; translation and adaptation by Akemi Wegmüller; touch-up art and lettering by Monlisa De Asis

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Volumes: 19

In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Red Pox has begun to prey on the country's men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by seventy-five percent. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the Shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected. And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the Shogun's Inner Chamber.

 

20th Century Boys story and art by Naoki Urasawa; with the cooperation of Takashi Nagasaki ; English adaptation by Akemi Wegmller

Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction

Volumes: 22

Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren’t for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns. This is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world.
 

Series Up to 25 Volumes

I Am a Hero by Kengo Hanazawa; translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian; English adaptation by Philip R. Simon; lettering by Steve Dutro

Genre: Horror

Volumes: 22

The zombie apocalypse has never been more surreal! A mentally unhinged manga artist witnesses the beginning of a zombie outbreak in Tokyo, and he's certain of only two things: he's destined to be the city's hero, and he possesses something very rare in Japan—an actual firearm!

 

Dorohedoro story and art by Q. Hayashida; translated by: AltJapan, Inc.; touch-up and lettering by Kelle Han

Genre: Action, Science Fiction/Fantasy

Volumes: 23

In a city known only as "the Hole," Sorcerers have been taking people to use as subjects for atrocious "experiments" in the black arts.

 

 

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Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.