My Top 10 Japanese Comics I Read This Year (Which Are Mostly Unknown).

As the manga industry continues its relentless expansion, staying on top to keep up with every significant new series. Inevitably, the most popular series capture the spotlight, however, countless gems of undiscovered treasures waiting to be discovered.

A particular delight for fans of the medium is finding a largely unknown series in the sea of new chapters and recommending it to friends. I present of the top obscure manga I've enjoyed this past year, along with motivations for they're deserving of your time prior to a potential boom.

Some of these series lack a mainstream following, especially as they haven't received anime adaptations. Some could be harder to access due to their publishing platforms. But recommending any of these provides some impressive fan credentials.

10. The Plain Salary Man Turned Out to Be a Hero

• Authors: Ghost Mikawa, Yuki Imano, Akira Yuki, Raika Mizuiro
• Released by: Shueisha
• Find it on: Manga Plus

This may seem like a strange choice, but bear with me. Comics are often fun, and there's nothing wrong with that. I admit that transported-to-another-world stories relax me. While this series doesn't fully fit the genre, it follows many of the same tropes, including an incredibly strong protagonist and a RPG-like world structure. The appeal, however, is found in the protagonist. Keita Sato is an archetypal exhausted salaryman who unwinds by sneaking into mysterious dungeons that materialized globally, armed only with a baseball bat, to pummel creatures. He doesn't care about treasures, power, or ranking; he only wants to keep his hobby secret, protect his family, and leave the office on time for a change.

Superior genre examples exist, but this is one of the few from a top company, and thus easily available to international audiences via a free service. For easy reading, this publisher is still dominant, and if you're in need of a brief, enjoyable diversion, this manga is a great choice.

9. Nito's Exorcists

• Author: Iromi Ichikawa
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Available on: Manga Plus

Usually, the word "exorcist" in a manga title is enough to deter me due to the genre's overpopularity, but my opinion was altered this year. It recalls the best parts of a popular supernatural battle manga, with its eerie vibe, stylized art, and shocking ferocity. I started reading it by chance and was immediately captivated.

Gotsuji is a skilled spirit hunter who eliminates cursed beings in the hope of finding the one that murdered his mentor. He's joined by his mentor's sister, Uruka, who is more interested in protecting Gotsuji than supporting his vengeance. The plot may seem basic, but the treatment of the characters is subtle and refined, and the stylistic juxtaposition between the comedic design of foes and the violent battles is an effective bonus. This is a series with the capacity to run for a long time — if it's allowed to continue.

8. Gokurakugai

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

If breathtaking art is your priority, then search no more. Yuto Sano's work on this manga is stunning, meticulous, and distinctive. The narrative hews close of typical hero's journey beats, with heroes clashing with demons (though they're avoiding that specific term), but the cast is wonderfully eccentric and the backdrop is compelling. The protagonists, Alma and Tao Saotome, run the Gokurakugai Troubleshooter agency, resolving disputes in a low-income area where humans and beast-men coexist.

The villains, called Maga, are created from human or animal corpses. When human-based, the Maga wields magic reflecting the way the human died: someone who hanged themselves manifests as a choking force, one who ended their own life can make people bleed out, and so on. It's a macabre yet fascinating twist that provides substance to these antagonists. It might become a major title, but it's limited due to its monthly schedule. From the beginning, only a limited number of chapters have been released, which makes it hard to stay invested.

7. The Bugle Call: Song of War

• Creators: Mozuku Sora, Higoro Toumori
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Find it on: Viz

This grim fantasy manga tackles the common conflict theme from a new viewpoint for shonen. Instead of centering on individual duels, it showcases large-scale medieval warfare. The protagonist, Luca, is one of the Branched—individuals possessing a unique special power. Luca's ability lets him transform noise into illumination, which helps him command armies on the battlefield, leveraging his musical skill and past in a ruthless soldier group to become a skilled strategist, fighting to eventually earn his freedom.

The world feels a bit standard, and the inclusion of futuristic tech feels forced at times, but The Bugle Call still surprised me with bleak developments and unexpected plot twists. It's a grown-up battle manga with a cast of quirky characters, an interesting power system, and an enjoyable mix of military themes and dark fantasy.

6. The Cat Parent Adventures of Taro Miyao

• Creator: Sho Yamazaki
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Find it on: Manga Plus

A cold-hearted main character who reveres Renaissance thinker Niccolò Machiavelli and believes in using any means necessary takes in a cute cat named Nicolo—reportedly for the reason that a massage from its tiny paws is a unique cure for his aches. {If that premise isn't enough|Should that not convince you|If the setup doesn't grab you