The 30 Greatest Classic Manga of All Time

Postwar pioneers sit beside the bubble-era blockbusters that went global, with samurai epics, shojo melodramas and gag strips all fighting for the same shelf.

1. 1
   Dragon Ball

   Akira Toriyama's 1984 martial-arts adventure that became one of the best-selling manga ever.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Akira

   Katsuhiro Otomo's 1982 cyberpunk epic set in a ruined, psychic-haunted Neo-Tokyo.
   861pts
3. 3
   Barefoot Gen

   Keiji Nakazawa's semi-autobiographical account of surviving the Hiroshima bombing.
   797pts
4. 4
   Buddha

   Tezuka's sweeping, irreverent retelling of the life of Siddhartha Gautama.
   765pts
5. 5
   Berserk

   Kentaro Miura's 1989 dark fantasy epic following the swordsman Guts.
   647pts
6. 6
   Slam Dunk

   Takehiko Inoue's 1990 basketball manga that sparked a basketball boom across Asia.
   647pts
7. 7
   Touch

   Mitsuru Adachi's 1981 baseball and romance drama about twin brothers and the girl next door.
   542pts
8. 8
   Devilman

   Go Nagai's 1972 apocalyptic horror manga about a boy merged with a demon.
   542pts
9. 9
   Golgo 13

   Takao Saito's long-running 1968 series about a cold, flawless professional sniper.
   542pts
10. 10
    GeGeGe no Kitaro

    Shigeru Mizuki's yokai classic that brought Japanese folklore monsters into pop culture.
    542pts
11. 11
    Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

    Hayao Miyazaki's 1982 post-apocalyptic manga, far deeper and darker than the film it inspired.
    478pts
12. 12
    Captain Tsubasa

    Yoichi Takahashi's 1981 soccer manga that inspired a generation of real-world footballers.
    478pts
13. 13
    City Hunter

    Tsukasa Hojo's 1985 action-comedy about a skilled, skirt-chasing Tokyo sweeper.
    478pts
14. 14
    Ghost in the Shell

    Masamune Shirow's 1989 cyberpunk police thriller about the cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi.
    478pts
15. 15
    Maison Ikkoku

    Rumiko Takahashi's 1980 slow-burn romance set in a run-down Tokyo boarding house.
    404pts
16. 16
    Lone Wolf and Cub

    Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's 1970 samurai epic about an assassin wandering with his infant son.
    404pts
17. 17
    Rurouni Kenshin

    Nobuhiro Watsuki's 1994 Meiji-era samurai story of a wandering swordsman sworn never to kill.
    404pts
18. 18
    Doraemon

    Fujiko F. Fujio's beloved 1969 series about a robot cat from the future and his gadget pocket.
    319pts
19. 19
    Astro Boy

    Osamu Tezuka's 1952 robot-boy series that helped define the look and storytelling of modern manga.
    319pts
20. 20
    Yu Yu Hakusho

    Yoshihiro Togashi's 1990 supernatural action series about a teen turned spirit detective.
    319pts
21. 21
    Fist of the North Star

    Buronson and Tetsuo Hara's 1983 post-apocalyptic martial-arts saga of Kenshiro.
    217pts
22. 22
    Kinnikuman

    Yudetamago's 1979 wrestling comedy about a clumsy superhero prince.
    217pts
23. 23
    Black Jack

    Tezuka's 1973 medical drama about an unlicensed genius surgeon with a scarred face.
    217pts
24. 24
    The Rose of Versailles

    Riyoko Ikeda's 1972 shojo epic set at the court of Marie Antoinette before the French Revolution.
    217pts
25. 25
    Dr. Slump

    Akira Toriyama's 1980 gag manga about the inventor Senbei and the super-strong robot girl Arale.
    217pts
26. 26
    JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

    Hirohiko Araki's 1987 generational saga of the Joestar family and their supernatural battles.
    217pts
27. 27
    Monster

    Naoki Urasawa's 1994 psychological thriller about a surgeon hunting the killer he once saved.
    217pts
28. 28
    Ashita no Joe

    The 1968 boxing saga by Asao Takamori and Tetsuya Chiba about a slum kid who fights his way to the top.
    0pts
29. 29
    Ranma 1/2

    Rumiko Takahashi's 1987 martial-arts comedy about a boy who turns into a girl when splashed with cold water.
    0pts
30. 30
    Sailor Moon

    Naoko Takeuchi's 1991 magical-girl series that became a worldwide shojo phenomenon.
    0pts

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