Maddies Manga

October is the perfect time to get out of your comfort zone and read something a bit out of the ordinary! If you don’t usually read scary stories, now is the perfect time to try one out!

In this list I recommend a variety of horror series. Some are perfect for those trying to start reading darker stories, and others are for those already accustomed who want something extra thrilling. All recommendations will have official English prints!

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All links to check out the samples will take you to Amazon—please note that I am an affiliate! That means I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

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Mad Miniscape / マッドミニスケープ

Synopsis (Yen Press)

Asahi is an ordinary girl who shares a small apartment with the boy she grew up with, Minoru. Which wouldn’t be all that strange, except…Minoru died four years ago. The “thing” that occupies Asahi’s apartment is nothing like her childhood friend―it’s inhuman, grotesque, and keeps demanding Asahi’s life at every opportunity. But Asahi doesn’t mind. As long as Minoru is there with her, absolutely nothing else matters…right?

Maddie’s comments

If you want to read a horror manga with just a touch of the supernatural, I would recommend this one! It focuses on one girls obsession with her crush, not caring about any of the red flags he brings when he comes back from the dead. This series is full of twists and turns I never saw coming, so it will certainly keep you on your toes.

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Toilet-bound Hanako-kun / 地縛少年花子くん

Synopsis (Yen Press)

“Hanako-san, Hanako-san…are you there?” At Kamome Academy, rumors abound about the school’s Seven Mysteries, one of which is Hanako-san. Said to occupy the third stall of the third floor girls’ bathroom in the old school building, Hanako-san grants any wish when summoned. Nene Yashiro, an occult-loving high school girl who dreams of romance, ventures into this haunted bathroom…but the Hanako-san she meets there is nothing like she imagined! Kamome Academy’s Hanako-san…is a boy!

Maddie’s comments

This is my current favourite horror manga! Rather than a traditional horror manga, this one is what I like to call scary-cute. The story combines comedy, tragedy and horror, causing you to feel just about every emotion possible when reading. Don’t let the cute middle school setting fool you though, this one does get a little dark.

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MADK

Synopsis (SuBLime)

Makoto summons a demon to grant his every twisted desire, and in exchange for getting to eat the demon’s guts, Makoto will give him his life!

Makoto has long been ostracized because of his odd hobbies and a sexual kink others would see as disgusting. One day he finds a book on summoning demons and manages to summon the intimidatingly beautiful and rather chatty Archduke J. The demon offers to grant Makoto’s deepest twisted desire in exchange for his life. Once Makoto has sated his demented appetites, he fulfills his end of the bargain, only to find he’s been reborn as a monster…in hell!

Maddie’s comments

If you’re already a fan of horror and want to read something more extreme, this is what I would recommend to you. This is not beginner-friendly, so I would advise to skip this one if you’re not already an avid horror fan. I really enjoyed how complete the story was—all of the over the top horror is done for a reason, and you’ll feel satisfied with everything come the end of volume three.

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Hell is Dark with no Flowers / 地獄くらやみ花もなき

Synopsis (Yen Press)

Seiji Tohno sometimes sees the people around him as monsters. It’s a curse that has driven him to a life of despair…but all that changes one evening when he stumbles across a bewitchingly beautiful boy in a huge European mansion. The boy introduces himself as Shiroshi Saijou, and before he knows it, Seiji has agreed to become Shiroshi’s part-time assistant. It turns out that Shiroshi’s “proxy service” is to consign yokai-possessed sinners to Hell, which will bring Seiji face-to-face with an unimaginable host of horrors!

Maddie’s comments

This is a series that leans more into mystery than horror, so I think it is a good starter manga! The setting is rather scary—a young man is able to see scary creatures, and eventually finds himself working for a proxy service for hell—but the overall story is quite a bit more lighthearted than you would think!

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Dragon Head / ドラゴンヘッド

Synopsis (Kodansha)

Teru and his high school class are returning from a field trip when a catastrophic something derails their train, burying them in a tunnel and killing nearly everyone aboard. Among the hellish heap of mangled bodies Teru discovers two survivors, but their nightmare has only just begun. Trapped in unending shadow with sudden, violent earthquakes shaking their sanity, the three must find a way to escape to the outside world and make it back home—if home still exists…

Maddie’s comments

This has been one of my favourite horror series for a very long time, so I was SO happy when Kodansha announced they were doing a special re-print! This is a horror manga that follows a small group of people trying to survive a natural disaster. The horror comes from how the desperate situation causes people to react in a variety of negative ways.