Learning Japanese from watching anime and reading manga is a great way to gain natural vocabulary and ways of speaking. Because pictures accompany the text, it’s much easier to understand the context. So, it’s a much more relaxing and fun way to learn Japanese. Here are the 10 best anime and manga for Japanese learning!
What is Manga?
Manga (漫画) can simply be explained as Japanese comics. It’s an umbrella term for any comic book or graphic novel made in Japan. the word has two kanji, 漫(man) and 画(ga). The first kanji 漫 means ‘cartoon,’ and the second kanji 画 means ‘picture.’ Sometimes the word can be seen written in katakana as マンガ.
When thinking about Western comic books, think about superheroes and villains—good vs. evil. However, manga exists in almost any genre that you can think of. Manga is also almost always in black and white. They are also read from right to left, contrary to Western comics’ usual left to right.
What is Anime?
Anime (アニメ) is basically any animated work created in Japan. You can usually think that anime is the animated version of manga. Typically, manga is created first and then becomes anime. The word anime comes from the shortened version of the word ‘animation’ (アニメーション).
Why Learn Japanese from Manga and Anime?
When reading a novel or just plain text, there is no context given outside of the text. This makes it really difficult for Japanese learners to learn from reading novels, and they would need to look up every unknown word before continuing. But, with manga, learners have pictures to give the words context. It’s no longer necessary to stop every couple of seconds to look up a word when you have a visualization of what is happening. Manga also usually only includes spoken dialogue and thoughts, so it’s great to learn how to speak Japanese naturally. You can see how Japanese is spoken in different situations, including how Japanese people typically respond to certain events.
Manga is really great for training one’s reading skills, whereas anime is great for training one’s listening skills. I recommend reading the manga first until you understand the story and then watching the same story’s anime to get the best out of training your hearing. Don’t be afraid to rewind some parts if you didn’t catch something.
Manga and anime both have their origins in Japan. This means that a lot of manga and anime show different aspects of Japanese culture as well. You can read about or watch and observe these aspects such as how Japanese people treat their superiors, different dialects, different food, and more!
My Rating System
I have split the manga/anime I have chosen into four different categories: Adventure, Sports, Slice of Life, and Advanced. If you don’t like a certain kind of manga/anime genre, feel free to skip to the next genre!
Each manga/anime is rated out of five on the following: difficulty, length, and fun. The rating system is based on my personal opinion only. If you agree or disagree with my ratings, please feel free to comment on this blog post or on my YouTube video above! Without spoiling too much let’s get into the BEST manga and anime for learning Japanese.
Adventure (Shounen) Manga/Anime
1. One Piece
One Piece (ワンピース) is the best manga and anime in the world, and you can’t change my mind! The main character, Monkey D. Luffy, is a lone pirate. He wants to become king of the pirates, but first, he needs to find a good crew.
This is a great manga and anime because there are so many different characters with so many different personalities. You can really get an understanding of how different people speak and act by reading and watching One Piece. One of my favorite things about One Piece is that every character has a unique way of laughing. You’ll be able to see this especially when you read the manga as the laughter is always written in katakana.
Most of the main characters speak simply enough that they are easy to understand for Japanese learners. Some characters do have a very unique way of speaking, which also might be challenging for learners as well.
One Piece currently has over a thousand episodes and counting, and there are also many movies. The best part about One Piece is that you can take your time with watching it. You will likely never run out of this Japanese learning resource!
Difficulty: 3/5
Length: 5/5
Fun: 5/5
2. Naruto
Naruto (ナルト) is a ninja manga and anime about a boy named Naruto Uzumaki. His main goal is to become Hokage, the leader of the village. To do that, he must become a very strong ninja, but his ninja skills are sorely lacking. If you follow his story, you’ll see him become stronger, alongside other really interesting characters.
Naruto himself has a very unique way of speaking that almost every Japanese person can recognize. See if you can figure out what makes his grammar unique!
I would say that this manga/anime is a bit more difficult to understand than One Piece, considering the fact that it is set in a ninja world where many different ninja-related terms are used. But, it’s still a great story that you would enjoy reading!
There are 72 manga books and about 740 episodes of anime.
Difficulty: 3.5/5
Length: 4/5
Fun: 4.5/5 (I would give it a five, but I just love One Piece too much!)
3. Bleach
Bleach(ブリーチ) is about Ichigo Kurosaki, a normal teenager who becomes a soul reaper due to unfortunate circumstances. He reaps the souls of Hollows, who are lost and evil souls. There is an interesting contrast between the living world and the world of souls and how the beings of each world speak differently.
Much like Naruto, Bleach has a setting of another world, which can make it a bit difficult for Japanese learners to understand when it comes to Bleach-specific terms and ideas. But, for that same reason, I think it is such a fun read and watch!
There are 74 manga books and 366 episodes of manga.
Difficulty: 3.5/5
Length: 4/5
Fun: 4.5/5
Sports Manga/Anime
4. Slam Dunk
Slam Dunk(スラムダンク) is a basketball manga and anime with a splash of comedy. The main character, Sakuragi Hanamichi is a high schooler “Yankee.” He gets a huge crush on a girl, and in order to impress her, he joins the basketball team. The story follows many basketball players and their growth.
Slam Dunk and many other sports manga/anime are great because they’re usually set in high school. You can see what Japanese school life is like and how young people talk naturally. There is also a strong sempai(先輩) and kouhai(後輩) culture seen throughout this anime as well. You can experience how one should treat his or her sempai/kouhai.
If you love basketball like me, this is a must-watch/must-read. Even if you don’t like basketball, I promise you will still enjoy this manga/anime. I have so many friends who never play basketball but still love Slam Dunk.
There are 31 manga books and about 100 episodes of anime. The anime was unfortunately discontinued after 100 episodes, but the manga is complete. There even is a new movie that came out in 2022 called The First Slam Dunk.
Difficulty: 2.5/5
Length: 2.5/5
Fun: 4/5
5. Haikyu!!
Haikyu!!(ハイキュー!!) is a volleyball manga and anime. It is also based in school and follows Shoyo Hinata, a boy who dreams of becoming a legendary volleyball player even though he is small. Believe me when I say that I had no interest in volleyball nor did I know how to play it until I began reading Haikyu!! I’m so glad I did because it’s a wonderful manga!
There are 45 manga books and 85 episodes of anime. Give it a read or a watch!
Difficulty: 2.5
Length: 3/5
Fun: 4/5
6. The Prince of Tennis
The Prince of Tennis(テニスの王子様) is a tennis manga and anime centered around the main character Ryoma Echizen, who is an amazing tennis player. He decides to go to a school that is known for having a very strong tennis team. Just like Haikyu!! I didn’t really know anything about tennis before reading this manga, but now I play tennis because of it! Even if you don’t know anything about tennis, it’s a fun read.
There are 42 manga books in The Prince of Tennis series with 178 episodes of anime. There is another series called The New Prince of Tennis(新テニスの王子様) which the manga and anime for it are still being made as of today.
Difficulty: 2.5/5
Length: 3/5
Fun: 4/5
Slice of Life Manga/Anime
7. Doraemon
Doraemon(ドラえもん) is a classic in almost every Japanese household. You can expect that any Japanese child loves Doraemon and watches it regularly. It’s a children’s manga and anime, but I many adults still enjoy watching Doraemon. There are also many Doraemon movies that are really fun. Doraemon is a cat-robot from the future who helps out elementary schooler, Nobita. Doraemon also sports a fourth dimension pocket, where he can pull out futuristic gadgets at will.
Considering that Doraemon is considered a children’s show, it might not be as fun for you as say One Piece or Naruto. But, because it is a children’s show, it has a lot of “at-home” everyday conversations in it that are really easy to listen to compared to other manga and anime.
Doraemon has been putting out manga and episodes since I was a little kid, and still does to this day! There are countless episodes, maybe even more than One Piece! You’ll never run out of Doraemon manga or anime to watch!
Difficulty: 2/5
Length: 5/5
Fun: 3/5
8. Nisekoi
Nisekoi(ニセコイ) is a really cute anime and manga with two main characters. Raku Ichijo and Chitoge Kirisaki are a boy and a girl attending the same high school, but their dads are both leaders of two rival gangs. Their dads decide that Raku and Chitoge need to date in order for the two gangs to become allies.
Nisekoi is great for those who like a simple and funny anime that isn’t too serious. It’s also set in high school, so the Japanese is everyday Japanese. You’ll learn a lot about relationship-related language as well.
There are 25 books of manga, and there are 20 episodes of anime for Nisekoi.
Difficulty: 2.5/5
Length: 2/5
Fun: 3.5/5
Advanced Manga/Anime
9. Death Note
Death Note(デスノート) is a manga and anime that follows Light Yagami, a high schooler genius. Light Yagami happens upon a “death note,” kind of given to him by a shinigami (death god). The death note has the ability to kill anyone whose name is written into the notebook.
Considering Light Yagami is a genius, and those dealing with him are very smart too, Death Note is better for advanced Japanese learners. You need a very good grasp of Japanese grammar as well as Japanese vocabulary before reading or watching Death Note. I think Death Note is also a good resource if you actually want to study Japanese, not just practice your listening/reading skills. It’s great for vocabulary-building.
Death Note has 12 books of manga and 37 episodes of anime.
Difficulty: 5/5
Length: 1/5
Fun: 4.5/5
10. Bakuman
Bakuman(バクマン) is a manga and anime that is about making manga. Are you confused yet? The two main characters Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi trying to create a legendary manga together. This manga/anime is so fun, especially if you’re interested in how manga is actually made. You can experience the hardships that manga creators face in Japan.
Bakuman is advanced because it revolves around the workplace in Japan, and there are complicated conversations involving manga and story creation. There is a lot of formal language in Bakuman, which is why I recommend it to advanced learners.
If you like Bakuman, one of the mangas within Bakuman is actually a real manga today called Platinum End.
Bakuman has 20 books of manga and 25 episodes of anime
Difficulty: 5/5
Length: 1/5
Fun: 4/5
(BONUS) 11. Detective Conan
Detective Conan(名探偵コナン) is a slice-of-life manga and anime that I would say is kind of similar to Doraemon in the sense that almost everyone in Japan knows what it is, and it has been airing for as long as I can remember. The main character, Conan is a genius high schooler who, due to circumstances, is shrunk down to the size of an elementary schooler. He needs to begin attending an elementary school, even though he has the brain of a high schooler genius. He solves some kind of “crime” in each episode.
Detective Conan is made for children, so it is a bit easier to read or watch than Death Note or Bakuman. But, considering that Conan is a genius detective, the way he speaks is very difficult to understand even for native Japanese speakers sometimes.
Like Doraemon, there are countless manga and episodes of Detective Conan. Give it a try, and you might like it!
Difficulty: 4.5/5
Length: 5/5
Fun: 3.5/5
Studying Japanese doesn’t have to be all work!
Don’t feel like you need to be at a desk and reading a textbook in order to learn Japanese. You can do the things that you love doing in the process, which is probably watching anime and/or reading manga. These are just the tip of the iceberg of all the manga and anime out there.
Feel free to comment below or on my YouTube video above if you have a favorite anime or manga that isn’t on this list, and recommend it to other Japanese learners!
Thank you for reading! -Max