The Best Shonen Horror Manga

Those who think that shonen horror manga are less brutal or horrifying than their more mature seinen counterparts should think again. While shonen series are aimed at young boys, they’re no less capable of producing some of the most spine-chilling imagery and stories ever put on the pages of a manga.

These series prove that shonen manga aren’t just about tournament arcs, power fantasies, and mindless action. Some of these manga might make one wonder how they landed in a shonen magazine instead of a seinen one due to their graphic content, while others perfectly balance shonen-esque action with horror elements.

10 Happy Sugar Life

Deceptively Cutesy Series About A Violent Yandere

• Release Date: May 22, 2015 – June 22, 2019
• Creator: Tomiyaki Kagisora
• Number of Volumes: 10

Few things are scarier than someone who appears cute and harmless on the surface but harbors a terrifying and violent streak. Happy Sugar Life is about a high school girl named Satou Matsuzaka. She instantly becomes infatuated with a young girl named Shio Koube, leading Satou to kidnap her and go to horrifying lengths to keep their idyllic ‘happy sugar life’ intact.

Happy Sugar Life combines cute, moe visuals and character designs with disturbing themes, creating quite a jarring contrast. Fans of the ‘yandere’ trope should definitely check this series out.

9 Zombie-Loan

Darkly Hilarious Supernatural Horror About Hunting Rogue Zombies

• Release Date: April 2002 – March 2011
• Creator: Peach-Pit
• Number of Volumes: 13

Zombie-Loan is one of the most fun supernatural horror manga out there, with a ton of clever plot twists to hold any reader’s attention. It’s about a timid high-schooler named Michiru Kita, who has ‘Shinigami Eyes,’ the ability to see people’s imminent deaths. A gray ring appears around the person’s neck, and it turns black when they die.

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She soon winds up in the world of zombie-hunting when she teams up with two undead classmates with black rings around their necks. Zombie-Loan is a bit more lighthearted than a standard horror manga, but there’s plenty of comedy and shonen-esque action to keep readers entertained.

8 Doubt

Mobile Survival Game Becomes Horrifyingly Real

• Release Date: December 26, 2007 – February 12, 2009
• Creator: Yoshiki Tonogai
• Number of Volumes: 4

The ‘survival game’ genre has seemingly replaced the zombie apocalypse as the leading horror subgenre. Doubt, like any good death game series, explores themes of survival under extreme circumstances. It’s about a popular mobile game called ‘Rabbit Doubt,’ which involves players taking on the roles of rabbits in a group. One of them secretly takes on the role of a ‘wolf,’ whose objective is to kill off the rabbits without being discovered.

Unfortunately, for one group of friends, the game becomes horrifyingly real. After being drugged and waking up in an abandoned hospital, the group discovers that there’s a real ‘wolf’ in their ranks, killing off the members one by one. They must discover who it is before it’s too late.

7 Fort Of Apocalypse

Survival Horror About Prison Life During A Zombie Apocalypse

• Release Date: September 7, 2011 – August 6, 2015
• Creator: Written by Yuu Kuraishi; Illustrated by Kazu Inabe
• Number of Volumes: 10

There was a time not long ago when zombies were all the rage (and for all intents and purposes, they still are), and Fort of Apocalypse is an underrated gem of a zombie horror manga that fits right into that niche. It’s set in a juvenile detention center, with the protagonist, Yoshiaki Maeda, being sent there because of a false accusation.

Prison life is tough as it is, but it takes a turn for the worse when a zombie outbreak spreads across the world. Now trapped in the detention center, Maeda and his cellmates are forced to work together to defeat hordes of zombies and escape the facility.

6 The Drifting Classroom

Classic Psychological Horror About A Time Traveling School

• Release Date: 1972 – 1974
• Creator: Kazuo Umezu
• Number of Volumes: 11

The Drifting Classroom is considered a masterpiece in the horror manga world, with artists such as Junji Ito citing it and its creator, Kazuo Umezu, as an inspiration. It’s about an elementary school that suddenly gets transported to a post-apocalyptic wasteland, along with everybody in it.

The students and teachers struggle to survive in the desolate environment while trying to solve the mystery of how their predicament came about. The contrast between the innocence of the child characters and the violence and brutality they face just amplifies the horror.

5 Sankarea: Undying Love

Zombie-Obsessed High School Boy Gets A Zombie Girlfriend

• Release Date: December 9, 2009 – September 9, 2014
• Creator: Mitsuru Hattori
• Number of Volumes: 11

The zombie genre has been mixed with every other genre of media under the sun, and Sankarea: Undying Love provides a unique example of a romantic horror comedy with zombies on the side. It follows a high-schooler named Chihiro Furuya, who has an obsession with zombies and dreams of having a zombie girlfriend one day.

While creating a resurrection potion for his dead cat, he meets a lonely girl named Rea Sanka, who secretly drinks Chihiro’s potion. After a series of unfortunate events leads to her death, she gets revived by the potion she drank. Now a zombie, Rea has to navigate her new life as well as her growing feelings for Chihiro.

4 Dusk Maiden Of Amnesia

Middle-Schooler Helps Uncover A Ghost’s Tragic Past

• Release Date: April 2008 – November 2013
• Creator: Maybe
• Number of Volumes: 10

Dusk Maiden of Amnesia is a paranormal horror manga with a dash of romance, portraying a ghost not as a vengeful entity, but as a tragic and sympathetic one. Yuko Kanoe, a ghost who is said to haunt the halls of Seikyou Private Academy, is playful, flirtatious, and lacks any memories of her death.

The protagonist, Teiichi Niiya, intrigued by Yuko, forms the school’s Paranormal Investigations Club to investigate the circumstances behind her death. Little does he know that Yuko’s forgotten memories conceal a dark and painful truth.

3 Devilman

Raw, Visceral Horror That Explores Human Morality And Fragility

• Release Date: June 11, 1972 – June 24, 1973
• Creator: Go Nagai
• Number of Volumes: 5

Devilman is one of the most influential manga series of all time, inspiring countless works in the horror and dark fantasy genres, including Berserk and Attack on Titan. Its story of an ordinary person turning into a monster to defeat a race of similar monsters has been replicated numerous times.

The protagonist, Akira Fudo, unexpectedly becomes embroiled in a war between demons and humans when he merges with a demon named Amon. Now possessing the powers of a demon while maintaining his humanity, he fights to protect humans from the looming threat of demons.

2 Alice In Borderland

High-Schoolers Get Transported To An Alternate World Where Survival Games Determine Their Fate

• Release Date: November 25, 2010 – March 2, 2016
• Creator: Haro Aso
• Number of Volumes: 18

Fans of Squid Game should definitely check out Alice in Borderland while waiting for the second season. It follows a disillusioned high school student named Ryohei Arisu who is transported to a parallel version of Tokyo along with his two best friends.

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The world, known as Borderland, is a dystopian city where people must participate in deadly games that determine whether they live or die. Each game forces participants to confront their deepest fears and weaknesses, setting the stage for a philosophical and poignant series.

1 Claymore

Fantasy Horror Set In A World Plagued By Monsters

• Release Date: May 6, 2001 – October 4, 2014
• Creator: Norihiro Yagi
• Number of Volumes: 27

Claymore stands out from other shonen manga because it features a predominantly female cast. The story takes place in a world where humanity is terrorized by shape-shifting demons known as Yoma. To combat the Yoma, an organization creates the Claymores—female warriors infused with Yoma flesh who possess superhuman abilities and strength.

Claymore is a must-read for fans of dark fantasy series like Berserk and Blood+ since it features dark and mature storytelling, deep character development, and action-packed scenes. Its strong female cast and grim fantasy setting just add to its allure.

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