My Top 10 Comics I Enjoyed in 2025 (Which Are Mostly Unknown).

Given the ever-expanding scope of the manga market, staying on top to discover every significant new series. Predictably, the most popular series get all the attention, but there's a plethora of undiscovered treasures just out of sight.

A particular delight for a dedicated reader is finding a largely unknown series buried in publication schedules and recommending it to friends. I present of the top obscure manga I've read in 2025, along with motivations for they're deserving of your time ahead of the curve.

Several entries here are still awaiting a large audience, partly due to they haven't received anime adaptations. Some could be harder to access due to where they're available. Sharing any of these will earn you some notable geek cred.

10. The Plain Salary Man Turned Out to Be a Hero

• Creators: Ghost Mikawa, Yuki Imano, Akira Yuki, Raika Mizuiro
• Released by: Shueisha
• Find it on: Manga Plus

I know, it's an unusual starting point, but bear with me. Comics are often fun, and it's part of the charm. I'll acknowledge that transported-to-another-world stories relax me. While The Plain Salary Man diverges from the template, it follows many of the same tropes, including an overpowered main character and a RPG-like world structure. The appeal, however, stems from the protagonist. Keita Sato is a standard overburdened office worker who relieves pressure by sneaking into mysterious dungeons that appeared in the world, armed only with a baseball bat, to smash monsters. He has no interest in treasures, power, or ranking; he only wants to hide his pastime, protect his family, and leave the office on time for a change.

There might be better isekai series, but this is one of the few from a top company, and thus conveniently readable to international audiences via a free service. Regarding online access, this publisher is still dominant, and if you're in need of a few minutes of silly fun, the series is highly recommended.

9. Nito's Exorcists

• Artist: Iromi Ichikawa
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Available on: Manga Plus

Usually, the word "exorcist" in a manga title is enough to deter me due to the abundance of similar stories, but my opinion was altered this year. It reminds me of the best parts of a popular supernatural battle manga, with its ominous tone, stylized art, and shocking ferocity. I stumbled upon it accidentally and became engrossed at once.

Gotsuji is a powerful exorcist who kills evil spirits in the hope of finding the one that murdered his mentor. He's paired with his mentor's sister, Uruka, who is concerned with his well-being than supporting his vengeance. The premise sounds simple, but the treatment of the characters is thoughtfully executed, and the stylistic juxtaposition between the comedic design of foes and the bloody fights is an effective bonus. This is a series with great promise to become a hit — provided it survives.

8. Gokurakugai

• Artist: Yuto Sano
• Released by: Shueisha
• Available on: Manga Plus; Viz

If breathtaking art is your priority, then look no further. Yuto Sano's work on the series is stunning, intricate, and distinctive. The plot remains within to traditional battle manga tropes, with individuals with abilities combating monsters (though they're not labeled as exorcists), but the characters are all quirky and the setting is intriguing. The protagonists, Alma and Tao Saotome, run the Gokurakugai Troubleshooter agency, resolving disputes in a poor neighborhood where humans and beast-men coexist.

The villains, called Maga, are born from human or animal corpses. When human-based, the Maga wields magic reflecting the way the human died: a hanging victim can strangle others, one who died from self-harm can make people bleed out, and so on. It's a macabre yet fascinating twist that gives weight to these antagonists. This series might become a major title, but it's constrained by its monthly schedule. Starting in 2022, only a handful of volumes have been released, which can test a reader's patience.

7. The Call of War: A Bugle's Song

• Writing Team: Mozuku Sora, Higoro Toumori
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Find it on: Viz

This bleak fantasy manga tackles the ubiquitous battle trope from a novel angle for shonen. Rather than focusing on individual duels, it presents massive army conflicts. The protagonist, Luca, is one of the Branched—those granted singular talents. Luca's ability enables him to convert audio into visuals, which lets him guide troops on the battlefield, employing his instrument and background in a brutal fighter company to become a formidable commander, fighting to eventually earn his freedom.

The setting is somewhat generic, and the addition of advanced concepts can seem jarring, but The Bugle Call still delivered bleak developments and unexpected plot twists. It's a sophisticated series with a cast of quirky characters, an engaging magic framework, and an enjoyable mix of warfare and grim fantasy.

6. Taro Miyao: Unexpected Feline Guardian

• Creator: Sho Yamazaki
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Find it on: Manga Plus

A cold-hearted main character who reveres Renaissance thinker Niccolò Machiavelli and believes in using any means necessary takes in a cute cat named Nicolo—reportedly for the reason that a massage from its little feet is a unique cure for his aches. {If that premise isn't enough|Should that not convince you|If the setup doesn't grab you