My Top 10 Comics I Enjoyed in 2025 (That You've Probably Never Heard Of).

With the world of manga growing more vast by the day, it becomes a challenge to discover every worthwhile title. Predictably, the most popular series capture the spotlight, however, countless gems of hidden gems ripe for exploration.

One of the greatest joys for fans of the medium is stumbling upon a mostly obscure series in the sea of new chapters and spreading the word to friends. This list highlights of the best lesser-known manga I've read in 2025, along with reasons why they're worth checking out ahead of the curve.

Some of these series are still awaiting a mainstream following, especially as they are without anime adaptations. Some could be less accessible due to digital exclusivity. But recommending any of these grants you some notable geek cred.

10. The Ordinary Office Worker Who Was a Hero

• Writing Team: Ghost Mikawa, Yuki Imano, Akira Yuki, Raika Mizuiro
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Find it on: Manga Plus

This may seem like a strange choice, but bear with me. Comics are often fun, and it's part of the charm. I admit that isekai is my guilty pleasure. While this series doesn't fully fit the genre, it embraces familiar conventions, including an overpowered main character and a game-influenced setting. The appeal, however, is found in the protagonist. Keita Sato is an archetypal exhausted salaryman who relieves pressure by sneaking into mysterious dungeons that emerged suddenly, armed only with a baseball bat, to defeat foes. 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.

More polished fantasies are out there, but this is a rare example released by a leading publisher, and thus easily available to international audiences through a popular app. When it comes to digital availability, this publisher is still dominant, and if you're seeking a short, lighthearted escape, The Plain Salary Man is highly recommended.

9. The Nito Exorcists

• Creator: Iromi Ichikawa
• Released by: Shueisha
• Available on: Manga Plus

Ordinarily, the word "exorcist" in a manga title makes me hesitant due to the saturated market, but two series changed my mind this year. The Nito Exorcists evokes the best parts of Jujutsu Kaisen, with its eerie vibe, unique visuals, and shocking ferocity. I started reading it by chance and became engrossed at once.

Gotsuji is a skilled spirit hunter who eliminates cursed beings in the hope of finding the one that murdered his mentor. He's paired with his mentor's sister, Uruka, who is more interested in protecting Gotsuji than fueling his retribution. The storyline appears straightforward, but the character development is as delicate as the art, and the stylistic juxtaposition between the silly appearance of the spirits and the violent battles is a compelling layer. This is a series with great promise to go the distance — provided it survives.

8. Gokurakugai

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

If breathtaking art is your priority, then this is it. Yuto Sano's work on this manga is stunning, detailed, and distinctive. The narrative hews close to traditional battle manga tropes, with heroes clashing with demons (though they're not officially called "exorcists"), but the characters are all quirky and the backdrop is compelling. The protagonists, Alma and Tao Saotome, run the Gokurakugai Troubleshooter agency, solving problems in a working-class district where people and animal-human hybrids live together.

The villains, called Maga, are formed from human or animal corpses. When human-based, the Maga possesses abilities connected to the way the human died: a hanging victim can strangle others, one who died from self-harm causes blood loss, and so on. It's a gruesome but interesting twist that adds depth to these antagonists. Gokurakugai might become a major title, but it's constrained by its monthly schedule. Starting in 2022, only five volumes have been released, which makes it hard to stay invested.

7. Bugle Call: War's Melody

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

This dark fantasy manga tackles the ubiquitous battle trope from a novel angle for shonen. In place of highlighting individual duels, it presents massive army conflicts. The protagonist, Luca, is one of the Branched—people with distinct abilities. Luca's ability lets him transform noise into illumination, which allows him to direct soldiers on the battlefield, leveraging his musical skill and past in a ruthless soldier group to become a skilled strategist, fighting dreaming of a life beyond war.

The setting is somewhat generic, and the insertion of sci-fi elements can seem jarring, but it still surprised me with grim twists and surprising narrative shifts. It's a mature shonen with a group of eccentric individuals, an interesting power system, and an interesting combination of military themes and dark fantasy.

6. Taro Miyao: Unexpected Feline Guardian

• Creator: Sho Yamazaki
• Released by: Shueisha
• Find it on: Manga Plus

A emotionally distant main character who idolizes Renaissance thinker Niccolò Machiavelli and subscribes to ends-justify-the-means adopts a cute cat named Nicolo—allegedly because a massage from its little feet is his sole relief from tension. {If that premise isn't enough|Should that not convince you|If the setup doesn't grab you