20 Best Fantasy Manga That Do Not Have An Anime

There are some amazing fantasy manga out there that haven’t been adapted for the screen—at least not yet. Here are the ones we’d most like to see.

Highlights

• Reincarnation of the Suicidal Battle God is a fantastic fantasy Manhwa with incredible fight scenes and well-developed characters.
• Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble is an uplifting story about a boy who finds inspiration and a new path in life after his mother’s death.
• Swordmaster’s Youngest Son is an interesting fantasy series centered around a family dedicated to the path of the sword, with a protagonist who overcomes a curse to become a swordsman.

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There are a ton of manga out there that fit the definition of Fantasy, but don’t necessarily use that genre label. For example, One Piece and Cowboy Bebop are fantasy, but they aren’t usually described with fantasy as their primary tag. However, there are some brilliant manga series where the fantastical aspect of it is front and center.

Such stories focus on more classical concepts like monsters, magic, and more. Yet, several anime fans may not be familiar with them because, for some reason, these manga don’t have an anime adaptation yet. The fantasy manga listed below sorely deserve one and would be wonderful to see onscreen.

Updated October 31st, 2023 by Jacob Buchalter: The Fantasy ‘genre’ of storytelling is sort of all-encompassing. Almost anything these days at least has the Fantasy tag attached to it or has some sort of Fantasy aspect to its story. However, there are some fantasy series out there that manage to stand out among their peers. These are stories that innovate on classic tropes, completely reinvent the genre, or just excel at everything that people love to see in fantasy stories. So, let’s go over some of the best Manga, Manhwa, and Webtoons that fit the Fantasy description the most.

20 Reincarnation Of The Suicidal Battle God

A Hero Who Failed, Gets The Attention Of The Gods, & Gets To Try Again

Let’s start things off with some of the Manhwa choices on this list which, for those who aren’t familiar with the name, is essentially the Korean version of manga/comics. First up for fantastic fantasy Manhwa is a story called Reincarnation of the Suicidal Battle God. And, while the title of this series is a bit over-the-top, it’s relatively accurate considering the main character Zephyr has reincarnated, originally died by blowing himself off as a final middle finger to the Demon God, and is now trying to make himself even more of a Battle God hero in his second life.

Essentially, this story fits into the subgenre of ‘time traveler returns to the past to do everything perfectly the second time around’. But, where RotSBG is different (other than the fact it never lets up) is in the sheer quality of its storytelling between all the tropes. The fight scenes in this series are incredible, Zephyr is a lot more of an outspoken protagonist, and the individual characterization of side characters like Ned, Princess Altair, or even someone like Anna Primrose is fantastic.

19 Reformation Of The Deadbeat Noble

The Most Uplifting Story About A Hardworking Boy You’ll Ever Read

The next Manhwa on here is quite an interesting blend of ideas. Essentially, after his mother suddenly passed away, Airen Parreira pretty much ‘gives up’ on life, spending most of his days sleeping isolated in his room. Then suddenly, Airen starts to have dreams about this mysterious disheveled swordsman who does nothing but practice his swing all day, every day. Eventually, this man’s ‘will’ inspires Airen, and he slowly starts to come out of his bubble, work on himself, and find a new path in life.

This story is incredibly interesting in quite a few ways. One, it’s one of the best self-help Manhwa out there, as the situation Airen is first in is so relatable to so many people, and watching him climb out of the hole he’s dug is absolutely a delight. Two, it feels like it has the premise of a reincarnation or time travel MC story, but the mystery of the man in Airen’s dreams isn’t quite that basic. And three, it’s a Manhwa that manages to stay pretty reserved in how fast its characters grow, which most advancements in the main cast’s strength feeling completely earned and well-developed.

18 Swordmaster’s Youngest Son

A Story Centered Around One Of The Most Interesting Fantasy Families

Before saying anything else about this series, let’s just make it clear that the concept of the Runcandel family is so incredibly fun. A family that is entirely devoted to the path of the sword, so much so that the babies of this family are made to ‘pick a sword’ at birth is so interesting. While a lot of manga, anime, and manhwa have families in them with dedicated lineages and families who specialize in one thing, the Runcandels take it to a whole new level.

In any case, a story that took an introspective look at the Runcandels as a whole would already be interesting enough, but add in Jin Runcandel, a character who spent his entire first life being ‘cursed’ to have no talent in the sword, and suddenly the story becomes even more interesting. Yes, this is another ‘main character returns to the past with future knowledge’ type story, but the fact that Jin comes from a different version of the past doesn’t actually feel like a drag on the story at all. This is mostly due to the fact that Jin travels the path of a swordsman almost immediately in his second life (as his curse was broken), which immediately puts his life on an entirely new trajectory that his knowledge of the future won’t entirely solve for him. The Swordmaster’s Youngest Son is just a story with a great concept, great art, great action, great characters, and great pacing overall.

17 As A Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill To Rise In The World

The Main Character Isn’t Overpowered, But He Surrounds Himself With People That Are

The fantasy genre and the isekai genre seem to overlap quite a bit these days in the world of manga, anime, comics, and so on. However, let’s not use that as an excuse to make this a list all about isekai stories. That said, there will still be a couple, and this next one with an incredibly long name is one of them. As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World is a story where a standard Japanese office worker has a heart attack and reincarnates into his new fantasy life. While the start is pretty much the default start for any isekai story, the rest of this manga is pretty unique to the genre. Essentially, instead of being reincarnated in this new world with some overpowered ability that makes Ars incredibly strong or lets him use any and all magic, he just gets a simple appraisal skill.

However, being born to the nobles in charge of a small area of land holding just around a thousand people, Ars does have a bit of political power. This power gives him the ability to make the most out of his appraisal skill and use it to pick the most talented ‘diamonds in the rough’ to work with him. Whether it’s his butler with cheat-like abilities, his innately talented mage friend, or his introverted yet incredibly inventive strategist, Ars Louvent makes the most of his second life by surrounding himself with overpowered allies.

16 Overgeared

A Toxic, Unlucky, & Obsessive Gamer Gets The Chance Of A Lifetime

And for the final manhwa inclusion (at least for a bit), let’s take a look at a story called Overgeared. Not that it wasn’t a trend before, but it feels like in recent years a lot of comics, manga, and manhwa are relying on the concept of a VRMMORPG or ‘full-dive’ MMO quite a lot. Overgeared is one of these stories, with its main character named Greed (Shin Youngwoo outside of the game), spending almost every waking moment of his life in a VRMMO called Satisfy. However, despite dedicating so much of his time to the game, Shin isn’t very lucky and has a pretty basic class and a pretty basic level. Well, that is, until he stumbles upon a secret Legendary class called Pagma’s Successor which seems like his lucky break. The only problem is that changing to this class has completely reset Greed’s level, stats, and abilities, meaning he has to climb all the way up again.

Not only that, but this Legendary Blacksmith class is one built around hard work and creativity more than anything else, so Greed suddenly has to dedicate himself even more just to get back to his previous level of strength. Overgeared is on here for a couple of reasons, but the main one is just that it’s a story that readers never seem to necessarily see the end of. These adventures could keep going until the end of time and it wouldn’t seem that out of place, especially with how fun it is to watch someone like Shin Youngwoo stumble his way into success.

15 Dandadan

Instead Of Cowboys Vs Aliens, It’s Aliens Vs Ghosts

As far as fantasy series go, Dandadan is probably one of the most creative settings in existence. What if, instead of the paranormal or the extraterrestrial being real, both were? That’s Dandadan, a shonen fantasy series that primarily has to do with a boy and a girl hunting down his stolen ‘ball’ (and yes, that does mean what it sounds like).

Dandadan has it all, it’s hilarious, the art is both unique and beautiful, it’s terrifying at times, and the fights are amazing. Thankfully, this series has an anime in the works which only makes sense, considering how popular it is.

14 Golden Wordmaster

Destroying His Enemies With The Power Of Words

Isekai series are tough sells for fantasy recommendations. Most of them either use the same old tropes, are hilariously ridiculous power fantasy stories…or are just plain boring to read. And, while Konjiki No Wordmaster otherwise known as Golden Wordmaster does commit a lot of these same crimes, it also tries a lot of new things other isekai won’t.

What brings people into this series the most at first are two things, the protagonist of the series, Hiiro Okumura, and the wonderful magic he uses. For one, Hiiro is the most standoffish bookworm there is, he won’t do anything unless it’s for some good food or a great book, which makes for some pretty unique interactions. Two, the magic Hiiro was ‘gifted’ with when he was brought over to this world was Word Magic, which basically gives him the ability to apply words to objects or himself and imbue those objects/people with the properties of those words. As one can imagine, this can lead to some really creative fights and overall solutions to problems, making the series an interesting read all the way through as Hiiro gains even more mastery over his powers and the conflicts around him continue to swirl.

13 The Beginning After The End

The Hyper-Dark Non-Isekai Isekai Story

Going from an isekai story to a reincarnation story, The Beginning After the End seems like it’s basically an isekai at first. A king dies in his world, powerful and successful, he’s then reincarnated as a boy to some random family in a new world and uses all his previous experience and knowledge to get incredibly far in life at an early age.

But, one of the biggest selling points of this series is also one of the same reasons Mushoku Tensei is so popular, it approaches adult topics and heavy emotional moments incredibly often and won’t shy away from them. The moment, for example, where the MC Arthur Leywin finally tells someone close to him about his reincarnation and his life before this one, the sheer horror on their face and the work they have to do to process this is just so realistic. However, it does seem like this webcomic has recently had some issues with its publication and art team, so it’s sort of in limbo at the moment, but there are still hundreds of chapters to read before it reaches this point.

12 The Old Knight In The Frontier Bard Loen

The Most Exciting Retirement Trip You’ll Ever See

Next up is another low-fantasy series that, for the most part, doesn’t really have much magic in it. Yet, the fantastical adventures that ‘the people’s knight’ Bard Leon goes on after his self-imposed retirement make this story more than worthy of the ‘fantasy’ genre. To boil it down as much as possible, The Old Knight in the Border is a story about an old man who served his country faithfully for his entire life, was recognized for his efforts, and has lived a full life going on an adventure for himself before he dies of old age. It’s sweet, it’s sappy, it’s tragic at times, and Bard himself is quite an interesting character.

11 Solo Leveling

What If An Overpowered Reincarnation MC Never Stopped Getting Stronger?

This here is one of the most popular manwha in existence and one with an adaptation coming out pretty soon (at the time of writing this in October 2023) but it’s taking a bit longer than initially thought for that adaptation to happen.

Whether it’s the mindbogglingly beautiful artwork by Jang-Sung-Rak, the thrilling narrative written by Chugong, or the constant feeling of character progression and growth, this series couldn’t be a better fit for an adaptation. Hopefully, fans should get this adaptation soon, though the release date is still unknown. Additionally, the manwha has actually come to a conclusion in terms of story and is now at the point of continuing on with character side stories, so there’s more than enough there for 5+ seasons of adaptation.

10 Witch Hat Atelier

The Most Fleshed Out Magic-Based Fantasy Around

Witch Hat Atelier is a story that manages to revitalize the concept of magic for its readers so that it actually feels, well, magical again. There’s a lot to love about Witch Hat Atelier, whether it’s the mystical yet still understandable rules of the magic circles that witches draw, the different applications of magic between each character, or even just the overarching narrative between the witches and the brim hats.

WHA is just so much fun to read because the audience is pretty much learning about magic at the same time as Coco (the protagonist), and this gives the setting an ever-present feeling of ‘wonder’. And, to top it all off, the actual artwork for this manga deserves to be respected alongside some of the all-time greats like Berserk or Vinland Saga. It feels like a beautiful combination of classic storybook art with modern manga aesthetics mixed in. Frankly, if it does ever get adapted, it’ll be hard for the anime to overtake the manga in terms of visual fidelity, considering how masterful each composition is in Witch Hat Atelier.

9 Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

When Reading A Story Ahead Of Time Actually Pays Off

There’s a bit of a setting trope in fantasy manwha specifically, comparable to the isekai trope of modern manga. To summarize it in as few words as possible, it’s common for fantasy manga or manwha to have a setting where the world is invaded by beings from another planet, universe, or reality, causing the rules of the central world to change. Whether it’s dungeons, monsters suddenly spawning, or the world itself becoming a game, it’s a common narrative in these types of manwha, and almost always the main character is massively underpowered at the start. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is one of these stories, but it’s so much more memorable thanks to the main character Kim Dokja, who actually knows the general events of what’s going to happen ahead of time.

Turns out Dokja, who loves web novels, read ‘Three Ways to Survive The Apocalypse’ and now has an invaluable advantage as the events of this book become his reality. And, because the story wasn’t all too popular, Dokja is one of the few people in the world who knows all the best ways to get ahead in this new fantastical world. Plus, Dokja is also at constant odds with the protagonist of the story, Yoo Joonghyuk, who has also lived through this world multiple times, but in a different sense. It has all the best fantasy tropes while also feeling a lot like a classic isekai story.

8 Kaiju No. 8

What If A Janitor Became A Secret Kaiju?

Kaiju Number 8 began publication in Shonen Jump+ and differs from standard Shonen fantasy manga stories in quite a few ways. The protagonist, Kafka Hibino, is a 32-year-old man (not sure what his ‘Kaiju’ age is), whereas the standard shonen protagonist who is usually so much younger. He and the Japanese Defense Force constantly encounter monsters on their home turf rather than going on a journey, which is more common in manwha settings than manga ones. Lastly, it completely changes up the power scaling, as it focuses pretty evenly on leveling up a whole cast of characters rather than just Kafka (though the series does start pretty primarily focused on him).

All-in-all, Kaiju Number 8 may seem pretty stereotypical alongside other supernatural-type combat series, but the way it personifies its characters, the perfect blend of actual consequences and big payoffs, and the unique artstyle all more than qualify it for an anime adaptation, which does seem to be well into its development

7 Dungeon Meshi

Just A Real Appetizing Dungeon Horror Story

This entry fits into the absurdly popular sub-genre of ‘gourmet fantasy’. while also excelling in the comedy manga category as well. For those who don’t know, this sub-genre of gourmet fantasy is filled with fantasy stories that place just as much emphasis on the food as they do on the isekai or fantasy elements.

Dungeon Meshi is one of the longest-running examples, publishing since early 2014, as well as one of the funniest fantasy manga in general. The series hooks viewers with a compelling story way that almost seems too good (and way too horrifying) for its wacky concept. While massively underrated for its quality, Dungeon Meshi is absolutely one of the most beloved manga of this generation, and fans are nothing short of rabid waiting for the Netflix Adaptation to come out in January 2024.

6 Spirit Circle

Taking ‘Love That Lasts A Lifetime’ To A Whole New Level

Before reincarnation stories were all the rage in the form of isekai or ‘second-life’ manga and anime, Spirit Circle was (and still is) one of the all-time greats. It’s a seinen manga series that only ran for four years from 2012 to 2016, but that was enough time for it to garner quite the following. It manages to tell a story that jumps back and forth between the many different time periods and reincarnations of two characters and avoids getting too confusing.

At its core, Spirit Circle is a high school romance series with a fair bit of fantasy mixed in, and both of these aspects are done masterfully. The only big hiccup is its art style, which is a bit simplistic and would be a tad difficult to translate into the modern anime stylistic trends. If Shaman King can do it, though, so can Spirit Circle.

5 Psyren

Hunger Games But With Absurdly Powerful Psychic Teens

Trending towards the battle royale genre of fantasy stories, there’s Psyren. Psyren has a fair bit in common with Battle Game in 5 Seconds, an anime that recently aired, but Psyren came long before it. It’s similar to The Matrix, in that characters use landlines to transport to an alternate world where they can use superpowers and are in constant danger; however, instead of martial arts, they use psychic abilities or ‘Psi’.

The best thing about Psyren is that it’s almost impossible to tell where the story is going at any point in time, which is always a huge plus for a thriller mystery series. And, thanks to other incredible modern-day psychic-based anime adaptations like Mob Psycho 100, it’s obvious that Psyren would do well if given the adaptation it deserves.

4 My Hero Academia: Vigilantes

Street Level My Hero Academia Antics

This is an odd one because technically it’s a spin-off of the iconic Shonen Jump My Hero Academia franchise. But Vigilantes (which is also published in Shonen Jump) has long since proven itself to be on par with My Hero Academia, even surpassing it in some ways in regard to storytelling. For one, it’s on a much smaller scale, focusing on the adventures of a smaller main cast fighting street-level crime.

More than that, though, Vigilantes explores the nuanced aspects of a world revolving around Heroes and ‘Quirks’ that fans have always wondered about while watching MHA. If the MHA anime ever catches up with the manga, Vigilantes would be a fantastic series to adapt to hold fans over, regardless of what website it would stream on.

3 Fire Punch

He’s On Fire And He Punches Things…At First

With the Chainsaw Man anime received so well by the fanbase and the next ‘chapter’ of the manga topping the Viz Media charts, it seems like an apt time to talk about Fire Punch, Tatsuki Fujimoto’s first manga. This fantastic story is almost equally deserving of an adaptation — even if the plot is a little all over the place.

The main character is a guy named Agni with a ‘Blessing’ of infinite regeneration, who ended up being set on fire by another person with the ‘Blessing’ of inextinguishable flames. This caused an infinite loop between the powers which meant Agni was always burning alive but could never die. Eventually, he learns to live with the pain enough to control his body again (which just sounds like the worst thing ever) and goes on some of the wildest adventures in manga history. Anyone who loved the off-the-walls comedy from Chainsaw Man, the absurd action scenes, or a completely unpredictable narrative, Fire Punch will scratch a lot of those same itches.

2 Helck

A More Fantasy-Like One Punch Man That Keeps Getting Darker

Helck is an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful series that takes place after the Hero has already won against the Demon King. In fact, Helck, as a story, can be summed up as something like; He-Man tries to become the new Demon King to fight back against humankind and make everyone happy. Helck is the ‘He-Man’ in this scenario, and he’s every bit as overly buff and overly righteous as one would expect.

He’s like Saitama from One Punch Man, but actually intelligent (though not ‘that’ smart compared to some other protagonists). It’s a fantastic series with a ton of action, twists, and genuinely emotional moments that would make for a great anime adaptation. The friendship that slowly blooms between Helck and Vamirio alone would be worth watching, never mind the entire horrifying dark story and war that takes place around them.

1 The Legend Of The Northern Blade

A Story About A Wuxia Protagonist That You’ll Actually Want To Root For

For those familiar with other manhwa series, the Murim is a setting or concept used to describe a fantasy world of fantastical Martial Arts. In such a world, these martial artists can manipulate energy, destroy mountains with a punch, or even fly. This is where The Legend of the Northern Blade takes place, with the story focusing on Jin Mu-Won, son of Jin Kwan-Ho, fourth-generation sect leader of the Northern Heavenly Sect.

This manhwa tells the ever-expanding tale of Jin’s journey from being a prisoner in his own dilapidated home to becoming something more. It’s incredible every step of the way, has non-stop action at every turn, and nails the small character moments as well. That said, it would require an incredibly well-done adaptation to really do it justice, as anything slightly disappointing would be a crime against the non-stop action this story provides. If, for example, it got the God of High School anime adaptation treatment or was made by the renowned Mappa Studios, nothing could be better.

Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Anime