The 10 Best Comics I Enjoyed in 2025 (Flying Under the Radar).

As the manga industry continues its relentless expansion, it becomes a challenge to keep up with every significant new series. Predictably, the biggest series get all the attention, but there's a plethora of overlooked works just out of sight.

A key pleasure for any manga enthusiast is finding a largely unknown series amidst the weekly releases and spreading the word to friends. I present of the finest under-the-radar manga I've enjoyed this past year, along with motivations for they're deserving of your time before they gain widespread popularity.

A few of these titles are still awaiting a mainstream following, especially as they haven't received anime adaptations. Others may be trickier to read due to where they're available. Sharing any of these will earn you some serious bragging rights.

10. The Ordinary Office Worker Who Was 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. Manga can be silly, and there's nothing wrong with that. I'll acknowledge that isekai is my guilty pleasure. While The Plain Salary Man diverges from the template, it follows many of the same tropes, including an overpowered main character and a video-game-inspired fantasy framework. The appeal, however, stems from the protagonist. Keita Sato is an archetypal exhausted salaryman who relieves pressure by entering fantastical portals that emerged suddenly, armed only with a baseball bat, to smash monsters. He's indifferent to treasures, power, or ranking; he only wants to keep his hobby secret, protect his family, and clock out punctually for a change.

More polished fantasies are out there, but this is a rare example released by a leading publisher, and thus conveniently readable to international audiences via a free service. For easy reading, this publisher remains a leader, and if you're seeking a short, lighthearted escape, this manga is highly recommended.

9. The Nito Exorcists

• Artist: Iromi Ichikawa
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Find it on: Manga Plus

Usually, the word "exorcist" in a manga title turns me away due to the genre's overpopularity, but a pair of titles shifted my perspective this year. The Nito Exorcists recalls the best parts of a popular supernatural battle manga, with its creepy atmosphere, unique visuals, and unexpected brutality. A random click got me hooked and got hooked instantly.

Gotsuji is a skilled spirit hunter who purges ghosts in the hope of avenging his teacher's death. He's joined by his mentor's sister, Uruka, who is concerned with his well-being than fueling his retribution. The plot may seem basic, but the portrayal of the cast is as delicate as the art, and the stylistic juxtaposition between the absurd look of the enemies and the bloody fights is an effective bonus. This is a series with great promise to run for a long time — should it get the chance.

8. Gokurakugai

• Creator: Yuto Sano
• Released by: Shueisha
• Available on: Manga Plus; Viz

For readers who value visual splendor, then this is it. Yuto Sano's work on this manga is breathtaking, intricate, and one-of-a-kind. The narrative hews close from classic shonen conventions, with individuals with abilities combating monsters (though they're avoiding that specific term), but the characters are all quirky and the world is fascinating. The protagonists, Alma and Tao Saotome, run the Gokurakugai Troubleshooter agency, resolving disputes in a low-income area where people and animal-human hybrids live together.

The villains, called Maga, are created from human or animal corpses. For those from people, the Maga has powers relating to the way the human died: someone who hanged themselves manifests as a choking force, one who died from self-harm can make people bleed out, and so on. It's a disturbing but creative twist that provides substance to these antagonists. This series has potential for massive popularity, but it's constrained by its infrequent release pace. Starting in 2022, only five volumes have been released, which challenges ongoing engagement.

7. The Call of War: A Bugle's Song

• Creators: Mozuku Sora, Higoro Toumori
• Released by: Shueisha
• Available on: Viz

This dark fantasy manga tackles the ubiquitous battle trope from a fresh perspective for shonen. Rather than focusing on individual duels, it presents large-scale medieval warfare. The protagonist, Luca, is one of the Branched—individuals possessing a unique special power. Luca's ability allows him to manifest sound as light, which lets him guide troops on the battlefield, using his trumpet and upbringing in a cruel mercenary band to become a formidable commander, fighting to eventually earn his freedom.

The setting is somewhat generic, and the inclusion of futuristic tech can seem jarring, but The Bugle Call still delivered bleak developments and unexpected plot twists. It's a sophisticated series with a collection of odd personalities, an interesting power system, and an enjoyable mix of warfare and grim fantasy.

6. Taro Miyao: Unexpected Feline Guardian

• Author: Sho Yamazaki
• Released by: Shueisha
• Available on: Manga Plus

A calculating main character who reveres Renaissance thinker Niccolò Machiavelli and advocates for ruthless pragmatism adopts a cute cat named Nicolo—reportedly for the reason that a massage from its little feet is the only thing that relieves his stiff shoulders. {If that premise isn't enough|Should that not convince you|If the setup doesn't grab you