On the manga side, Chainsaw Man is pure chaos turned into art. Denji, a boy merged with a "chainsaw devil," just wants to touch some boobs and eat toast, but he ends up in a psychedelic, gory, and surprisingly heartbreaking battle for survival. Read this if you like Evil Dead or Quentin Tarantino movies. Anime: To Your Eternity Manga: Orange
You cannot make a list like this without Death Note . It is the perfect entry point. A genius student finds a notebook that kills anyone whose name he writes in it. What follows is a ten-dimensional chess match between him and the world’s greatest detective. It’s gripping from episode one.
Don't worry. Whether you prefer flipping pages or binging episodes, here is your curated roadmap to the best popular (and a few under-the-radar) anime and manga series right now. Anime: Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chainsaw Man On the manga side, Chainsaw Man is pure
If you want fluid fight choreography and high stakes, Jujutsu Kaisen is the modern king. With its movie-quality animation by Studio MAPPA, it follows Yuji Itadori as he swallows a cursed object and becomes a host for the terrifying demon Ryomen Sukuna. It is dark, funny, and relentlessly cool.
Want to cry? Good. To Your Eternity starts with a mysterious orb that can shapeshift into anything that gives it stimulus. It turns into a boy, then a wolf, and learns what it means to be human through loss. The first episode alone is considered a masterpiece of silent storytelling. Anime: To Your Eternity Manga: Orange You cannot
If you want something similar but more paranoid, read Tomodachi Game . A group of friends are forced into a psychological game show to pay off a debt. The twist? One of them is secretly sabotaging the rest. The lies stack so high you’ll need a flowchart to keep up. Anime: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Manga: Yotsuba&!
For manga readers, Orange offers a sci-fi twist on grief. A high school girl receives a letter from her future self detailing one major regret: she didn’t stop her crush from committing suicide. It’s a beautiful, tense story about friendship, mental health, and second chances. Anime: Death Note (Classic) Manga: Tomodachi Game What follows is a ten-dimensional chess match between
For pure, joyful manga, nothing beats Yotsuba&! . It follows a green-haired alien-like toddler as she discovers escalators, air conditioners, and cicadas. There is no plot, no villain, just pure, unadulterated happiness. It is the antidote to dark, gritty storytelling. Anime: Made in Abyss Manga: Witch Hat Atelier