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9 Best Manga like Gantz to Read Right Now! [2024]

9 Best Manga like Gantz to Read Right Now! [2024]

Manga like Gantz: Are you into action with drama, a unique storyline with demons included? If that’s not enough, then how about we add some psychology and fantasy into the plot?

Meanwhile, finding such manga with a worthy plot sounds like a lot of work, but on a more positive note, we already have our eyes on some similar anime and manga like Gantz.

About Gantz

Gantz is about a lonely high school student named Kei Kurono. One day, while waiting for the subway to school, Kei and his classmate see a drunkard man in danger, they follow the man and end up being killed by the train. 

Afterwards, they both wake up in a strange room with people around. They later find out that all these people have recently died and soon, they are equipped with power suits and mysterious guns, and sent off to collect a bounty. 

They have now entered a battle and the one surviving will be called ‘Gantz’. Kei has now entered a world full of missions that he has to struggle in battling against others while learning the meaning of comrades.

As you can clearly see, Gantz is one of those anime that will throw you off guard with all its twists and turns along with enough scenes of action and psychology to add the ending touches.

Indeed, Gantz is worth a try. However, if you have watched it and actually liked its story, then we will highly recommend you go through our list of the 9 best manga like Gantz mentioned in the article below.

List of Manga like Gantz

1. Inuyashiki

Inuyashiki Manga like Gantz
  • Original run: January 2014 – July 2017
  • Number of Volumes: n/a (it’s a one-shot)
  • Genre: Science fiction comics, Action manga
  • Author: Hiroya Oku

Inuyashiki has Ichirou Inuyashiki, a lonely old man. Although he is friendless while being diagnosed with cancer, he still decides to give life a last shot and adopts a dog. 

But, one night while walking his dog, he settles into an unimaginable situation and the next thing he knows, he has a mechanical body.

But, he thinks his body is still useless. This changes when one night, he uses his powers to save someone. After seeing the person happy and grateful after being saved, Inuyashiki decides to save people and gain more smiles.

But, his mission is badly invaded when a new threat arrives to disclose his power and tonprotect his new life, he has to fight against a thriving monster.

Similarities: The similarities between Gantz and Inuyashiki can be that while the main character in Gantz was dead, in this manga the main character has equipped a unique body, they both are lonely and are going to face similar monsters.

2. Berserk

Berserk Manga
  • Original run: August 1989 – ongoing
  • Number of Volumes: 41
  • Genre: Seinen manga, Fantasy
  • Author: Kentaro Miura

Berserk has Guts, a former mercenary who is currently on a run to gain revenge. After having a childhood filled with hardships, he finally found someone who he can respect, only to feel betrayed when this person took everything from Guts to fulfill his own dreams.

Guts is now sentenced to death and has become the target of demonic beings. However, without giving up on his misfortune, Guts is now armed with a huge sword and monstrous strength. All these played a good role in helping him stop his death. 

Similarities: Berserk includes a similar kind of action and the demons as you can see in Gantz.

3. Jagaaan

Jagaaan Manga
  • Original run: February 2017 – November 2021
  • Number of Volumes: 14)
  • Genre: Seinen manga, Horror comics, Action manga
  • Author: Muneyuki Kaneshiro, Kensuke Nishida

Jagaaan is about an ordinary neighborhood police officer named  Shintarou Jagasaki, who certainly hates his job and life. He is with a goofy personality when in public and has plans to marry his girlfriend soon, but he secretly envisions shooting anyone who annoys him. 

His daily life changes when he becomes witness to a gruesome murder committed by someone with the face of a monster. The creature has now killed chanterelles partner, leaving the main character with a mind filled with ways he has wasted his life. 

Just when he gives up on his life and is ready to die, he unknowingly fires a deadly projectile from the point of his fingers at the monster. Now, his entire arm is coated in a weird material, and he is further informed by spectating out that the dead monster was once a human.

Shintarou soon finds out that he has been attacked by a frog-like creature that takes control of its host body and changes its physical form. Shintarou first ignores the creature's existence, but when he takes control of his fiancé, Shintarou decides to fight and kill humans to live.

Similarities: Jagaaan is one of the most interesting manga like Gantz since the main character's body form is changing, and he is attacked and is responsible to attack monsters to live.

4. Shamo

Shamo Manga
  • Original run: 1998 – 2015
  • Number of Volumes: 34
  • Genre: Crime, Martial arts, Thriller
  • Author: Izo Hashimoto

Shamo has a 16-year-old Ryo Narushima, a genius who had no trouble joining the Tokyo university and entering the light of society.

However, things take a drastic turn when one summer, something in his mind makes him brutally murder his parents, leaving his sister alive as he cowers in the corner of the room. It is from that moment that the real story of Shamo starts. 

Similarities: to put it in simple words, the main character’s life is ruined from the very start due to his own decisions, just like shown in the Gantz anime.

5. Ichi the Killer

Ichi the Killer Manga
  • Original run: 19 February 1998 – 5 April 2001
  • Number of Volumes: 10
  • Genre: Seinen manga, Action manga, Human drama
  • Author: Hideo Yamamoto

Ichi the Killer takes place in Shinjuku Kabukichou, The most sinful town in Japan where two crazy guys lived. Ichi is a coward, but once he has tears in his eyes, he turns into a dangerous weapon.

Meanwhile, he has an arch-enemy named Kakihara – a yakuza head who is tired of himself as well as everything around him. He only feels alive and active when he hurts himself or others.

Similarities: Unlike Gantz, the main protagonists in this manga aren’t forced to fight against demons and others to survive. Instead, they are psyched enough to hurt themselves and those around them at every chance they get. 

This is one of the good mangas like Gantz with similar drama and action scenes. 

6. Homunculus

Homunculus Manga
  • Original run: 17 March 2003 – 21 February 2011
  • Number of Volumes: 15
  • Genre: Seinen manga, Suspense
  • Author: Hideo Yamamoto

Homunculus has Susumu Nakoshi, an ordinary middle-aged man who is spending his last days between a luxury first-class hotel and a park filled with homeless people. 

One day, a young man bumps into Nakoshi while searching for someone to take part in trepanation, a procedure of drilling a hole in the skull.

That young man claims that Nakoshi seems like the perfect man for his experiment. Nakoshi at first rejects the offer, but when the strange man, a 22-year-old medical student offers him ¥700,000, Nakoshi agrees.

In the start, the aftermath didn’t show any abnormalities in Nakoshi. Everything seems to go normally until Nakoshi realizes that he has started seeing homunculus in every person he lays eyes on.

Similarities: the main similarity between this manga and Gantz is that the main characters are no longer normal humans. 

7. Btooom

Btooom Manga
  • Original run: 19 June 2009 – 27 August 2018
  • Number of Volumes: 26
  • Genre: Seinen manga, Science fiction comics
  • Author: Junya Inoue

Btooom has Ryouta Sakamoto, an unemployed man living with his mother. His only achievement throughout his life is that he is Japan’s top player in the trending online video game named Btooom!l 

His peaceful life is soon interrupted when he finds himself suddenly on an island in the middle of nowhere. He has a mysterious small green crystal on his left hand with no memory of how he got on the island.

Without him knowing, someone has really created the game in reality with the only main option to rescue by death. Our main protagonist is equipped with a bag full of unique bombs and all the other players have a mission to kill each other and take their green crystals.

Similarities: The main similarity between this manga and Gantz can be that the main characters in both mangas are thrown into a life-or-death situation without their consent.

8. Terra Formars

Terra Formars Manga
  • Original run: 22
  • Number of Volumes: 13 January 2011 – ongoing
  • Genre: Seinen manga
  • Author: Yū Sasuga, Ken'ichi Tachibana

Terra Formars talks about a space program in the 21st century where scientists are trying to make Mars a warm place so that humankind can survive on it. 

For that, they came up with a cost-effective plan to send cockroaches and mold to that planet – so that the mold will take in the excessive sunlight and heat while the insect corpses will act as its food.

Currently, it is the year 2577 and the first ship to Mars has landed on the planet including six crewmembers. Instead of finding a place to live for mankind, they find giant humanoid cockroaches with massive physical strength.

All the crew members were wiped out in a few seconds, but they were still successful in sending a signal to earth. Now enters the elite warriors on a mission to eradicate the mutated bugs and get Mars back under their control. 

Similarities: The similarities between the manga can be that they both contain supernatural creatures and the main protagonist, along with his comrades, is into action throughout the manga.

9. Battle Royale

Battle Royale Manga
  • Original run: 2002 – 2005
  • Number of Volumes: 15
  • Genre: Seinen manga, Action manga
  • Author: Koushun Takami

Battle Royale talks about a program where a class is randomly chosen and placed in an abandoned deserted area, and they are supposed to kill each other to survive.

The story starts with Shuuya Nanahara thinking that his class is going on a graduation trip but later finds out the whole Shiroiwa Junior High's Class B is chosen to participate in the program.

Soon realization hits the 42 students as they discover there’s a metal collar around the neck, which will detonate if the rules and conditions are not met.

To survive, everyone must fight and the last one to survive will be the winner. While everyone sets on their own path and mission, Shuuya sets up a goal to escape the quarantined island without playing the game and killing anyone. 
Similarities: Battle Royale and Gantz are similar because, in both the manga, the main protagonist along with his comrades and friends are pushed into a situation of life and death.

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