Best Manga About Zombies
Although many people cherish watching anime, they often forget that most anime serve as adaptations of the original source material. While there are some instances where the anime is better than the manga, those instances are few and far between. With the amount of manga released on a daily basis, it can be hard to cut through all those books to find the “Best of” for any chosen topic.
Well, we’re here to help celebrate and shine a spotlight on some of the latest, greatest, and unforgettable manga through the years. For our ongoing series of articles depicting the best manga, our attention this time turns to those with a zombie focus. From lighthearted apocalyptic adventures to psychological character studies, there’s a good choice to whet your appetite.
Of course, if we’ve missed any of your favorites, feel free to comment below and we’ll get them added on!
Highschool of the Dead – Daisuke Sato
Highschool of the Dead might be an uncompleted work, but it’s definitely worth anyone’s time. The series has some ecchi and sensual elements that many readers won’t find appealing. However, if you can ignore the manga’s excessive fanservice, you’re in for a treat with it. It follows a group of high schoolers who find themselves stuck in a zombie apocalypse.
They each have defining traits and distinct personalities. Despite their differences, they all share a goal. These students want to find their parents and uncover the mysteries surrounding this zombie outbreak. Thus, readers will examine this group’s ventures through this zombie-infested environment. They’ll traverse many deserted streets, homes, and beaches to accomplish their mission.
The plot can feel overly simplistic but humorous. The characters have fun chemistry with each other and there are many epic fights to look forward to in this work. Despite lacking a solid conclusion, the ride up to its last chapter will leave fans happy.
School-Live! — Norimitsu Kaihou
What happens when you mix the “moe” subgenre with horror? You’d end up with a product like Norimitsu Kaihou’s School-Live! School-Live! follows a group of high school students who like participating in wholesome school-themed fun. They use these activities to cope with the dreadful circumstances they’ve found themselves in regarding their current zombie apocalypse.
The manga features fun storytelling, satisfying conflicts, and intense drama among its female-dominant cast. Each female delivers something memorable to the team. From Yuki’s mental trauma to Yuuri’s strong wise leadership, there’s a lot to love about this cast and how they handle things within their darkened environment.
The manga runs into some issues, though. Things tend to feel too wholesome and there are moments where its author Norimitsu Kaihou reuses specific mysteries multiple times to build tension. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a fun and enjoyable zombie-themed manga with minor depth and an enjoyable cast, check out School-Live!
Biomega — Tsutomu Nihei
I Am A Hero — Kengo Hanazawa
I Am A Hero presents examines the life of a 35-year-old male named Hideo. He’s struggling to survive in a world overrun with zombies and crazed people. It delivers an excellent exploration of the human psyche in the face of a zombie apocalypse. The characters are well-developed and realistic. Hideo is complex, flawed, and relatable.
He suffers from severe mental illness, creative block, and unfulfilled dreams. The supporting characters have diverse backgrounds and personalities. Their interactions with Hideo and each other lead to some unexpected twists in the narrative, making things feel suspenseful and fun. In addition to its great pacing, this is a superb story to read for anyone who loves spooky stories.
Magical Girl Apocalypse — Kentaro Sato
Magical Girl Apocalypse delivers a dark take on magical girls. Its storyline isn’t anything special, but it contains enough action and fun characters to hold you over. It follows Kii, who sees a creepy girl in his school’s window. She keeps repeating the phrase “magical” and proceeds to slaughter Kii’s friends before his eyes.
Kii and his buddy Tsukuna witness their dead allies transform into zombies. After meeting with other survivors in the school, Kii and Tsukuna plan to discover the root cause of this bizarre circumstance. This manga features a surreal take on gore and has characters kill people by using magic. Kentaro Sato demonstrates how much strain his perilous setting has on its characters.
This allows readers to forge a connection with the cast and develop empathy toward them. The narrative has its weird moments, but it’s sure to keep you entertained.
Sankarea: Undying Love — Mitsuru Hattori
Sankarea: Undying Love is a unique zombie manga that tackles themes like death, freedom, and romance. It follows Chihiro Furuya, a boy who helps a female zombie named Rea adjust to her new livelihood. Although Chihiro believes having a zombie girlfriend is amazing, he’ll realize that loving a flesh-craving monster won’t lead to a happy conclusion.
As mentioned before, this manga’s premise is fresh because it portrays its zombie protagonist as a complex and sympathetic individual. The zombies in the story have regained their personalities and emotions, and the manga explores the challenges they face as they try to navigate through their new livelihood. This approach makes the story more compassionate and raises intriguing questions about life.
The romantic relationship between Chihiro and Rea is well-developed and central to this tale. The romance has its complications due to Rea’s zombie status. This creates various challenges for our couple to overcome. The artwork adds to the story’s atmosphere and makes the tale feel more immersive. Give this a read if you’re after a new take on zombie lore.
Zombie-Loan — Peach-Pit
Zombie Loan is a unique and captivating zombie manga that combines elements of horror and mystery to create a fun and thrilling tale. The manga follows two high school students, Kita and Akatsuki, who discover that the reason some people return to life after death is that they are reanimated corpses tasked with fulfilling their former wishes.
How the manga depicts zombies is fresh and interesting. In Zombie Laon, zombies are not mindless monsters. The zombies were people who were brought back from the dead with a specific purpose. This makes the zombies feel more sympathetic and the story explores the moral issues surrounding their existence. It includes some vivid depictions of zombies’ decaying bodies, adding elements of horror.
The manga features a unique mystery that’ll keep people on the edge of their seats. It’s full of wonderful twists and turns, and the characters’ investigations into the zombie loans keep readers invested in the story. The manga’s art style is excellent and adds to the tale’s atmosphere and the character designs are visually striking. This is a must-read for those searching for an engaging and thrilling narrative.
Fort of Apocalypse — Yuu Kuraishi
Fort of Apocalypse is a zombie apocalypse manga that’s short and effective. It contains enjoyable violence, suspense, and nightmarish visuals. It revolves around a convict named Maeda who gets sent to a prison that’s suffering from a violent power struggle. This should be the least of Maeda’s concerns. Outside their detention center lies armies of zombies waiting to murder humans.
Maeda must work in conjunction with his fellow inmates to continue living. The story’s simplistic but offers incredible zombie designs that will pique horror fans’ interests. Despite the characters having stereotypical personalities, Yuu Kuraishi gives the inmates fun backstories that will help readers appeal to them more.
The artwork is great and captures the intense atmosphere you’d desire from an action-centric survival-themed work. If you’re looking for a zombie manga with great characters and powerful zombies, check this one out.
Cradle of Monsters — Kei Sanbe
Cradle of Monsters is an entertaining manga with a thrilling plot. Many will adore this work for its illustrations and storytelling. It involves a ship capsizing in an ocean and many people die as a result. While many survived, others transformed into rabid creatures and started attacking the survivors. Our protagonist, Makoto, is one of the lucky few who gets rescued by his classmate Yuuya.
Yuuya, Makoto, and the others must find a way to escape this zombie-infested environment before they become these beasts’ dinner. There are some characters introduced who don’t get as much screen time as they should. However, many will adore characters like Yuuya and Makoto due to how much characterization they receive in Cradle of Monsters.
The infected humans retain proper rationality, so expect them to interact with each other as typical humans do. Kei Sanbe’s illustrations will please you, especially the panels that contain excessive amounts of gore. This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys horror and zombie-related content.
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead — Haro Aso
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is a hilarious and action-packed zombie manga that follows the misadventures of a man named Akira who discovers a newfound love for violence after a zombie virus outbreak occurs. The manga subverts typical zombie genre tropes by injecting humor into the story without sacrificing the zombie horror elements.
The manga adds comedic relief to the otherwise serious and terrifying zombie apocalypse, making the story a fun and unique read. The humor stems from the protagonist’s transformation from an everyday office worker into a zombie-slaying hero, as well as the over-the-top brutality and jokes. The characters are hilarious, relatable, and fun to examine.
The dynamic between Yuki and Akari is entertaining and will surely make anyone laugh with the nonsensical situations they get sucked into within this tale. The manga’s artwork is top-notch and adds to the manga’s humor and horror elements. The character designs are portrayed as grotesque and unnerving. The illustrations are full of action and detail, with clear, clean lines that make the action easy to follow. If you’re looking for an entertaining manga to read, give this a shot.
So, there we have it, our picks for the best zombie manga through the years!
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!