As a horror writer, I’ve always been fascinated by the extremes of the genre. It wasn’t just fear I was looking for, but violence and the grotesque. Some manga go far beyond psychological scares or supernatural themes and dive straight into raw brutality. This list is dedicated to those works, to some of the most brutal manga out there.
Brutal manga are violent, graphic, and often deeply disturbing. They show dismemberment, cruelty, revenge, and the ugliest sides of humanity in all their glory. These manga aren’t just gory. They‘re intense, uncompromising and hard to forget.
Whether it’s physical savagery, emotional devastation, or grotesque imagery, every entry on this list pushes the limits of what can be shown and what readers can handle.
So if you’re looking for the most brutal manga out there, this is where to start.
Mild spoiler warning: I keep things vague, but it’s hard to talk about brutality without giving anything away.
Here’s my curated list of the most brutal manga I’ve ever read (last updated: July 2025).
18. Pumpkin Night
Pumpkin Night by Hokazono Masay and Seima Taniguchi is a grotesque, over-the-top slasher manga that exists for one reason alone: to show ultraviolent carnage in the most creative and absurd ways possible.
After enduring horrific bullying and being institutionalized, Naoko Kirino escapes from a mental hospital and sets out for revenge, now wearing a pumpkin head and armed with an appetite for murder. The kills are inventive, excessive, and genuinely brutal: faces carved off by jagged scopes, brains dissolved with acid, and intestines flying across page after page.
While the manga carries an ecchi tag, it’s fairly tame, aside from a few fanservice scenes. What takes the center stage is clearly the unforgiving violence.
What really sets Pumpkin Night apart is how ridiculous it gets. The story quickly descends into chaotic madness, eventually involving government conspiracies, cartoonishly evil side characters, and even Donald Trump makes an appearance. It’s completely unhinged, but it knows it is.
While the writing is pure B-movie exploitation schlock, and the characters barely resemble real people, the artwork is surprisingly strong, making the gore scenes disturbingly effective.
Another thing that stands out is the manga’s fan translation. It leans heavily into the manga’s edgy tone, and adds its own crude, and occasionally offensive humor to the mess.
Pumpkin Night is pure guilty pleasure splatterpunk. It’s not a good manga, so if you’re looking for something sophisticated, skip it. But if you want raw, unapologetic violence pushed to absurd extremes, be sure to check it out.
Genres: Slasher, Splatterpunk, Revenge, Gore, Ecchi
Status: On Hiatus (Seinen)
17. Dai Dark
Dai Dark is what happens when you let Q Hayashida, the chaotic mind behind Dorohedoro, go crazy in space.
The premise is simple: Zaha Sanko’s bones are cursed, and whoever possesses them can have any wish granted. This makes him a walking target across the entire galaxy. Instead of angst and terror, however, Dai Dark turns this setup into a black comedy drenched in sci-fi gore. Sanko and his companions, Avakian, Shimada, and Damemaru, slice, melt, and obliterate their way through hordes of cosmic freaks, all while cracking deadpan jokes.
The violence is absurdly over-the-top: bodies explode, bones erupt from skin, and people are dismembered mid-sentence. Yet it’s all delivered with a bizarre, almost casual sense of humor. It’s brutal, sure, but so exaggerated it becomes hilarious.
Compared to Dorohedoro, this manga leans even harder into chaos and absurdity. The art is stunning, grotesque, amongst the best in the medium, and full of nightmarish creatures and space-tech horrorscapes.
That said, Dai Dark doesn’t have tight plotting or emotional depths. It’s an unrestrained space adventure, and its overarching plot feels more like an excuse to add more visual madness. The cast, while fun and charming, is less memorable than Dorohedoro’s. We occasionally catch a glimpse of Sanko’s past at the Leviathan Elementary School Ship Treegun, but these rarely have any impact on the story. It’s clear that the bizarre imagery is front and center here.
Dai Dark is a hyper-violent, ultra-creative descent into sci-fi insanity. It’s not here to make deep points, it’s here to melt faces, tear off limbs, and make you laugh while you witness it. If you’re in for carnage, Q Hayashida delivers non-stop.
Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Action, Adventure
Status: Ongoing (Shonen)
16. Juujika no Rokunin
Juujika no Rokunin is one of the most controversial revenge manga of recent years, and for a good reason. It’s exploitative, morally bankrupt, and almost laughably over the top. Surprisingly, though, it’s also a guilty pleasure for anyone craving a raw, sadistic payback.
Shun Uruma is bullied severely by five deranged classmates. When they target his family, his life collapses completely. Under the guidance of his WWII veteran grandfather, Uruma trains in secret for four years before enacting his revenge. What follows is a vicious murder spree that takes graphic retribution to absurd extremes.
Juujika no Rokunin is, bluntly, torture porn in manga form. Every villain is cartoonishly evil, women exist only to be sexually assaulted. The writing takes itself way too seriously, and the violence is ridiculous. Yet the art is damned good, and it’s weirdly satisfying to watch Uruma dismantle each of his abusers.
The biggest problem is the manga’s second half. Juujika no Rokunin pivots from a tight revenge story to a bloated, unfocused mess. There’s a timeskip, new characters, and an endless final arc that has long lost its momentum. What starts off as an entertaining brutal manga centering on revenge becomes nothing but a slog.
Still, if you want brutal violence, creative torture scenes, and cold-blooded revenge, this delivers, at least for the first 100 chapters. Just don’t expect anything profound or balanced. Juujika no Rokunin is an ugly, excessive and undeniably brutal manga.
Genres: Horror, Action, Gore, Violence
Status: Ongoing (Seinen)
15. God’s Left Hand, Devil’s Right Hand
Kazuo Umezu is a name every horror manga fan should know. Often considered the godfather of the genre, Umezu’s influence runs deep. While The Drifting Classroom is his most famous work, God’s Left, Devil’s Right Hand is by far his most brutal.
The manga follows a boy Sou, who experiences supernatural visions of disturbing events before they happen. Each arc centers on gruesome incidents, some grounded in real-world horrors like serial killers, other delving into the surreal, the occult, or full-on nightmare logic. Every single story is soaked in violence. Whether it’s mutilation, dismemberment or grotesque body horror, Umezu delivers some of the most extreme imagery in his career.
Especially the infamous Eroded Scissors and Tongue of the Spider Queen arcs loaded with disturbingly creative gore.
That said, not all chapters are equal. Some are stronger and more coherent than others, but they’re all exceedingly brutal. And while Umezu’s art style might not appeal to everyone, and is often described as old-fashioned, stiff, and ugly, it’s uniquely effective when it comes to delivering horrifying visuals.
God’s Left Hand, Devil’s Right Hand, is violent, strange, and at times completely unhinged. It may be a mixed bag, but for its sheer intensity and originality, it remains one of the most brutal horror manga ever made.
Genres: Horror, Supernatural, Mystery
Status: Finished (Seinen)
14. Misumisou
Misumisou is one of the most brutal revenge manga ever written. It’s made even more disturbing by the fact that nearly every character involved is a middle schooler.
After moving from Tokyo to a rural town, Haruka Nozaki becomes the target of relentless bullying. Her classmates torment her in increasingly violent ways until one horrifying incident pushes everything past the point of no return. What follows is a blood-soaked descent into revenge, trauma and psychological collapse.
This brutal manga is infamous for its sheer intensity. The violence is extreme: faces are slashed, skulls crushed, guts spill freely, and the characters, all teenagers, stab, bludgeon and kill each other without remorse. It isn’t just gory, it’s nasty.
At times, Misumisou seems to strive for social commentary, suggesting that abuse breeds abuse, and violence begets more violence, but the execution is messy. Many of the characters feel like deranged caricatures, from the cartoonishly evil bullies to the morally bankrupt adults. Everyone feels unhinged, which can undercut the realism the manga tries to convey.
The art is divisive. Rensuke Oshikiri has a unique style and his characters often were grotesque, exaggerated expressions that can look more unintentional than unsettling. This, however, makes the violent scenes hit even harder.
Misumisou is not a refined work. It’s blunt, ugly, and emotionally draining. But if you’re looking for sheer brutality, few manga go this far. Just be prepared for a deeply uncomfortable ride, and a story that trades nuance for shock value.
Genres: Horror, School Life, Tragedy, Revenge (Josei)
Status: Finished (Josei)
13. Parasyte
Parasyte is one of the most iconic body horror manga ever created, and easily one of the most brutal of its time. First serialized in the 90s, this sci-fi horror classic by Hitoshi Iwaaki still holds up today thanks to its grotesque creature design, visceral violence, and bleak, unflinching tone.
The story follows Shinichi Izumi, a high school student who’s attacked by a worm-like alien parasite. Unlike most victims, he stops the creature from reaching his brain, so it settles in his right hand instead. The two are now forced to coexist, but other parasites aren’t so restrained. They fully consume their human hosts and go to feed on other humans in secret.
That’s where the brutality comes in.
Parasyte doesn’t hold back in showing what these creatures are capable of. Each parasite can reshape its host’s body into deadly forms. We see tentacles, flesh blades, mouths, and much more. These transformations are nightmarish, and the speed and efficiency with which these monsters kill is terrifying. Victims are mauled, torn to shreds or even devoured alive. There are panels in this manga that are outright disturbing in how detailed the violence is. Parasyte may be philosophical in part, but the carnage is front and center.
Despite its age, Parasyte remains one of the goriest, most brutal manga to come out of its era, and one of the smartest. It’s a rare blend of high-concept sci-fi horror and ruthless, full-page splatter. If you want something that’s equal parts intelligent and horrifyingly brutal, Parasyte is a must-read.
Genres: Horror, Action, Alien, Sci-Fi
Status: Finished (Seinen)
12. MPD Psycho
MPD Psycho is one of the most brutal and cerebral crime-horror manga ever written. Don’t expect edge just for edge’s sake, though. What makes this manga so disturbing is its cold, clinical brutality, rendered in almost surgical detail.
The story follows Kazuhiko Amamiya, a detective suffering from dissociative identity disorder. At first, the manga seems episodic, with Amamiya solving a string of grotesquely violent murders. Before long, however, it morphs into something much deeper and darker. What unfolds is a sprawling psychological mystery.
The brutality in MPD Psycho isn’t just about flashy splatter or revenge carnage, it’s about systematic cruelty and body horror delivered without an ounce of empathy. Victims are dissected, reassembled into grotesque sculptures, or turned into living dolls. It’s hard to stomach not just the gore, but the complete emotional detachment with which it’s presented.
Shou Tajima’s artwork is razor-sharp and unflinching. There’s no messiness. Every corpse and every mutilation is drawn with chilling precision. The cleanliness of the linework only makes the violence feel more sterile and real.
What separates MPD Psycho from other brutal manga is that it doesn’t glorify the violence, it intellectualizes it. That makes it more disturbing, but also more impactful. The story is complex, sometimes to a fault because of shifting personalities, and a dense, twisting plot that demands close attention. But beneath it all is a manga obsessed with identity, control, and what happens when the human mind is broken on purpose.
If you’re looking for relentless violence, MPD Psycho delivers, but with surgical restrained rather than splatterpunk. It’s one of the smartest and most haunting brutal manga of its kind.
Genres: Horror, Mystery, Psychological, Crime, Thriller
Status: Finished (Seinen)
11. Wolf Guy: Ookami no Monshou
Wolf Guy: Ookami no Monshou is one of the most brutal and controversial action-horror manga out there. Stylish, savage, and soaked in blood, it’s a manga that offers one of the most feral depictions of the werewolf mythos in modern manga. It also dives into incredibly dark, at times, deeply uncomfortable territory.
The story follows Akira Inugami, a lone transfer student who seems to invite violence wherever he goes. After surviving a gang attack, he arrives at his new school without a scratch. Unbeknownst to his classmates, Inugami is a werewolf. He heals instantly, doesn’t age normally, and tries to stay out of conflict.
This manga doesn’t hold back. It features extreme violence, torture, sexual assault, and an overwhelming sense of hopelessness at times. Characters are mutilated, shot, eviscerated, and brutalized. Later arcs involve a mass shooting and a prolonged sequence of sexual abuse. These moments make Wolf Guy one of the most difficult manga on this list to stomach, and one of the most controversial. Many readers drop it entirely during that stretch and it’s easy to see why.
And yet, for all its faults, Wolf Guy is strangely compelling. Akira is a stoic, almost mythical protagonist, while Haguro is one of the most sadistic villains in manga. The art is sleek and cinematic, especially during the many vicious fight scenes.
If you’re drawn to unrelenting violence and tragedy with a supernatural edge, there’s nothing quite like it. But be warned, Wolf Guy isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s one of the most brutal manga out there.
Genres: Action, Psychological, Supernatural, School Life
Status: Finished (Seinen)
10. Starving Anonymous
Starving Anonymous is one of the most viscerally brutal horror manga of the last decade. It’s grotesque, disturbing and relentless in its depiction of human suffering.
The premise alone is horrific enough. Two high schoolers, Ie and Kazuo, are kidnapped and wake up in a refrigerated truck full of corpses. They’re inside a secret human meat processing facility where people are fattened like livestock, forcibly bred, harvested or fed alive to monstrous insectoid aliens.
This gore isn’t just there for shock value. No, it’s systemic, mechanical brutality. We see rows of humans being pumped with synthetic feed, bred like cattle, and butchered without mercy.
Things get even worse once the aliens show up. They are nightmarish, insectoid creatures with only a single purpose to consume. Their victims are skinned alive, crushed into pulp, ripped limb from limb, or devoured in seconds. The sheer variety and detail of the violence is staggering.
The art by Inabe Kazu leans into every moment of carnage. It’s drawn with unflinching precision. We watch flesh splitting, bones snapping and eyes bulging in terror. There’s a near-clinical insanity to the way it captures pain, panic, and body horror.
Unfortunately, the manga veers into sci-fi action midway through, introducing regenerating humans, conspiracies, and escalating insanity. Even though it never loses its oppressive, dehumanizing tone. The violence is constant, and the sense of despair never fades.
Starving Anonymous is not for the faint of heart. It’s pure dystopian carnage: nihilistic, grotesque and absolutely brutal. Few manga deliver this level of gore and horror with such sustained intensity.
Genres: Horror, Alien, Survival, Gore
Status: Finished (Seinen)
9. Battle Royal
Battle Royal is one of my favorite movies of all time. The manga adaption of Koushun Takami’s novel, while more exaggerated than either the film or the book, is without a doubt one of the most brutal manga I’ve ever read.
Each year, one middle school class is randomly chosen to participate in The Program. They are then dropped onto a remote island and forced to kill each other until only one remains. Shuuya Nanahara, our protagonist, rejects the system and seeks to survive without taking lives, though, as the bodies pile up, that goal becomes harder and harder to keep.
The setup is already disturbing, but what makes Battle Royal especially intense is the level of graphic violence. The manga goes all in. We see beheadings, disembowelments, brutal stabbings, exploding collars, and plenty of emotional breakdowns. It’s relentless and messy, but in the best way possible.
The story expands the original novel by giving each student a backstory, some heartfelt, others horrifying, before inevitably killing them off. The structure can feel formulaic, but it creates emotional weight and tension even for minor characters.
The manga’s not without flaws, though. The character design is wildly inconsistent. Some look like normal teenagers, others like children, and some like they’re in their thirties. Kawada, in particular, feels like an entirely different age group. While the tone leans into psychological horror, it sometimes veers into manga-style exaggeration that strains believability.
Still, Battle Royal remains a standout in the brutal manga category. It’s raw, nihilistic, and disturbing. If you’re into death games, psychological violence, and chaos, this one’s a must-read.
Genres: Horror, Action, Psychological, Drama
Status: Finished (Seinen)
8. Jagaaaaaan
Jagaaaaaan is a hyper-stylized, ultra-violent descent into madness, body horror, and psychosexual chaos, brought to life by some of the most grotesquely detailed art in modern manga.
Written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro, the story follows Shintarou Jagasaki, a disillusioned neighborhood cop who secretly fantasizes about blowing away people who annoy him. One day, those fantasies become a horrifying reality when a man on a train transforms into a monster and starts slaughtering civilians. In the chaos, Jagasaki discovers his own powers: the ability to fire explosive bullets from his arm. Thus begins his transformation into a fractured human, and his quest to eradicate them. The violence in Jagaaaaaan is excessive in every way possible. Bodies erupt, flesh tears, skulls are smashed, and the sheer scale of destruction can be overwhelming.
The gore is constant, unapologetic, and made even more jarring by Kensuke Nishida’s gorgeous, twisted art. The fractured humans themselves are truly grotesque, and each transformation is a nightmarish blend of personal vice and physical mutation.
Jagaaaaaan isn’t just brutal for the sake of action. It’s also disturbing in its themes. Many fractured humans act out their suppressed desires, often with horrifying consequences. There’s one recurring character in particular whose actions push the story into extreme territory.
Stylistically, Jagaaaaaan is pure excess, narratively and visually. The tone swings from black comedy, grotesque violence, and uncomfortable sexual content. The cast is loaded with eccentric, twisted and unhinged characters.
Ultimately, Jagaaaaaan is not for everyone. It’s loud, edgy and often offensive. But if you’re looking for stylized brutality, disturbing concepts, and some of the best monster design out there, this one delivers.
Genres: Action, Horror, Supernatural, Comedy
Status: Finished (Seinen)
7. Chimamire Sukeban Chainsaw
Chimamire Sukeban Chainsaw is easily the weirdest, trashiest, and most unapologetically stupid manga on this list, and that’s exactly why it earns its spot.
This splatterpunk fever dream follows Geeko, a delinquent schoolgirl armed with a chainsaw, as she battles herself through hordes of former classmates who’ve been turned into grotesque, zombified monsters by her deranged science-obsessed ex-friend, Nero. The premise is absurd; the tone is chaotic, and the violence is turned up to eleven.
Calling this manga over-the-top would be an understatement. It’s an explosion of hyper-violence, dumb comedy, and excessive fanservice. Bodies are torn apart in ludicrously gory ways, limbs fly, and blood splatters across the page. But it’s not trying to be scary or serious. This can be best described as Troma-core in manga form.
One thing that might turn a lot of readers off is the excessive fanservice. The manga features copious amounts of nudity, and constantly shows Geeko, a teenager, in skimpy outfits and exaggerated poses. Yet the manga doesn’t even try to justify it. No, it wants to be trashy; it thrives on it, and goes the full way.
The art is rough, but it suits the chaotic tone. Action scenes are energetic, if occasionally messy, and the monster design is genuinely creative and gross. Unfortunately, the characters suffer from same-face syndrome and anatomical oddities.
Still, for all its flaws, Chimamire Sukeban Chainsaw is an unfiltered exploitation manga. It’s grotesque, stupid, loud, but also incredibly fun if you’re in the mood for something outrageous. This isn’t just brutal. It’s the equivalent of a shitty midnight movie, and boy, do I love it.
Genres: Horror, Action, Gore, Comedy, Ecchi
Status: Finished (Seinen)
6. Dorohedoro
Dorohedoro is one of the most brutal manga you’ll ever read, but also one of the strangest. Q Hayashida blends grotesque violence with slapstick humor and surreal world-building in a way that feels uniquely unhinged, but never incoherent.
Set in the bleak, run-down city of Hole, where magic users treat humans as disposable test subjects, Dorohedoro kicks off with a reptile-headed man named Kaiman. Immune to magic and cursed with amnesia, he hunts sorcerers to find the one responsible for his transformation.
Violence is a constant in Dorohedoro. Heads explode, limbs are torn off, and guts spill across city streets. Yet it isn’t the gore that makes Dorohedoro so memorable, it’s the way it plays horror for laughs, while still delivering disturbing body horror with a straight face. The tonal whiplash is part of its brilliance. One moment you’re chuckling about a joke, the next you watch someone being brutally dismembered.
Later arcs ramp things up to outright nightmare fuel. The final arc is especially vicious. We witness grotesque transformation, ritualistic slaughter, and outright carnage. Kaiman himself becomes a walking nightmare, sprouting twisted, tumor-like heads from his body in scenes that are as visually stunning as they are disturbing.
Q Hayashida’s gritty art seals the deal. Her dense, grimy linework gives texture to both the dingy Hole and the bizarre elegance of the Sorcerer’s World. Every panel feels alive with grime, chaos, and character.
Dorohedoro is surreal, hilarious, and deeply violent. The fact it can be this brutal while also being fun is a testament to just how original and bizarre a masterpiece it truly is.
Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Supernatural, Mystery, Slice of Life
Status: Finished (Seinen)
5. Shigurui
Shigurui is arguably the most brutal samurai manga ever created. Not just in terms of violence, but in its unflinching portrayal of a culture built on cruelty, hierarchy, and dehumanization.
Based on the first chapter of Norio Najo’s novel, Shigurui begins with a grim spectacle: a one-armed swordsman, Gennosuke Fujiki, is set to fight the blind and lame Seigen Irako in a martial arts tournament using live blades. Rather than jumping straight into the bloodbath, however, the manga pulls back and shows us the path that led both men to this moment.
Make no mistake, Shigurui is astonishingly brutal. Bodies are cleaved open, intestines spill, and limbs fly. The gore is anatomical, detailed, and deeply grounded in its era’s cold reality. But what makes Shigurui truly disturbing is how violence reflects the character’s inner corruption.
Author Takayuki Yamaguchi doesn’t romanticize the bushido code. Instead, he tears it apart, revealing a world where honor is pretext for sadism, and loyalty becomes an excuse for subjugation. Nowhere is this clearer than in the brutal treatment of women. Characters like Mie are reduced to tools for producing heirs, with no agency beyond what their male masters allow. The manga doesn’t exploit this; it condemns it.
Shigurui is visually stunning. Its art is meticulous, with breathtaking spreads and richly rendered characters that heighten both the beauty and horror of every moment. It’s one of the best-drawn manga out there.
Grim, elegant, and absolutely unrelenting, Shigurui is not for the faint of heart. If you’re looking for a samurai manga that dares to be brutally honest about the cost of its code, there’s nothing else like it.
Genres: Action, Historical, Drama, Tragedy, Martial Arts
Status: Finished (Seinen)
4. Ichi the Killer
Ichi the Killer is one of the most depraved, disturbing, and brutal manga ever created, and yet, it’s also one of my favorites.
The story follows two heavily damaged men: Ichi, the titular killer, a repressed emotionally unstable young man, manipulated into committing gruesome acts of violence; and Kakihara, a sadistic yakuza enforcer obsessed with pain, chaos, and finding his missing boss. Their paths collide in a blood-soaked descent into the darkest corners of human desire and cruelty.
Ichi the Killer is soaked in violence. It features graphic mutilations, torture, rape, and murder. But it’s no mere gorefest. What elevates Ichi the Killer is its psychological depth. It explores sadism and masochism, trauma, manipulation, and identity in ways that are as horrifying as they are thought-provoking. These aren’t caricatures of madness; they’re disturbing reflections of broken psyches pushed to the extreme.
There’s no filter here. Hideo Yamamoto drags us through the filthy underbelly of society, presenting some of the most twisted characters you’ll ever meet. It’s sick, yes, but it’s also incredibly compelling. The tension between revulsion and intrigue is where Ichi the Killer thrives.
It’s not a manga for the faint of heart. In fact, it might be too much for many readers. If you can stomach its depravity, however, you’ll find one of the rawest, most psychologically intense stories ever told. Brutal, unsettling, and unforgettable.
Genres: Crime, Psychological, Gore
Status: Finished (Seinen)
3. Gantz
Gantz is one of the most insane, violent and over-the-top brutal manga ever created, and that’s exactly why it stands out.
The story begins with Kei Kurono and his childhood friend Katou getting killed in a train accident. Instead of dying, they wake up in a strange Tokyo apartment with a group of other recently deceased people and a mysterious black sphere named Gantz. It gives them weapons, suits, and a mission: hunt and kill aliens hiding among humans. Refusal means death; success means survival, at least until the next mission.
What starts off as a gritty survival manga quickly spirals into something much larger. The enemies become bigger, weirder, and more grotesque, the action becomes increasingly chaotic, and the body count never stops climbing. Gantz is brutal in every sense. People are torn apart, crushed, sliced, and dismembered. The manga thrives on violence, both in and out of combat.
It doesn’t shy away from sexual violence, bullying, mass shootings, or psychological breakdowns either. Everything is exaggerated, explicit, and unfiltered.
Gantz is not just mindless gore, though. It’s fast-paced and endlessly unpredictable. It builds momentum through escalating absurdity and pushing characters to their limits. It’s not always coherent, but it’s never boring. Interestingly enough, the character writing in Gantz is fantastic. Kurono starts out as an unlikeable, selfish teenager, but slowly develops into a dependable leader.
If you’re looking for tight, polished storytelling, Gantz isn’t it. But if you want a relentless, hyper-violent manga that constantly one-ups the madness, there’s nothing quite like it.
Genres: Horror, Action, Psychological, Sci-Fi, Alien
Status: Finished (Seinen)
2. Tomie
Tomie might be Junji Ito’s most brutal manga. While Uzumaki and Gyo are disturbing and grotesque in their own right, Tomie stands apart for the sheer number of mutilations, murders and acts of psychotic obsession that play out across its many chapters.
The story begins with the death of a beautiful high school student named Tomie. After she’s caught in a scandal involving both a classmate and her teacher, tensions explode during a school trip. Tomie is killed, dismembered by her classmates, and her remains are hidden. Yet the very next day, she returns to class, alive and completely unbothered.
This moment sets the tone for the rest of the series. Tomie isn’t a normal girl, but an entity with terrifying regenerative abilities. No matter how many times she is killed, stabbed, or torn to pieces, she always comes back.
What makes Tomie so brutal is not just the repeated violence done to her body. It’s that every man she meets becomes obsessed by an uncontrollable desire to have her, and eventually to destroy her. Again and again, we witness her suitors succumb to madness, reenacting her death with disturbing glee. The cycle of desire, murder, and regeneration is horrifying, and strangely tragic.
The manga’s episodic format is uneven. Some chapters are brilliant, others forgettable. When Tomie hits, though, it contains some of Junji Ito’s most unsettling and gory imagery. Ito doesn’t flinch away from the carnage. If anything, he leans into it, showing the full consequence of obsession and the horror of beauty that can’t die.
IF you only read one Junji Ito manga and you’re here for the brutality, Tomie is the one to choose.
Genres: Horror, Supernatural, Psychological
Status: Finished (Seinen)
1. Berserk
Rest in peace Kentaro Miura, thanks for sharing your gift with the world.
Berserk is not only one of the greatest manga ever created but also one of the most brutal.
This dark fantasy epic follows Guts, the Black Swordsman, a lone warrior wielding a sword as tall as himself on a relentless quest for revenge.
At first glance, Berserk may seem like a simple revenge story. But with the second arc, The Golden Age, Miura reveals the depth of both his world and his characters. It’s here that we come to understand Guts’ past, and meet the enigmatic Griffith, one of the most unforgettable characters in manga.
The world of Berserk is grim, violent, and merciless. War, rape, torture, ritual sacrifice, and religious fanaticism are ever-present. The brutality isn’t just for shock; it serves the narrative, painting a world where survival demands strength, and morality often doesn’t matter.
The battles are savage and spectacular, whether its medieval warfare or Guts clashing with Apostles. Limbs fly, bodies are torn apart, and blood floods the pages. And then there’s the Eclipse. It’s perhaps the single most horrifying event ever depicted in manga. It’s an event of such overwhelming violence and despair that it leaves a permanent mark on anyone who reads it.
The Apostles themselves are a masterclass in grotesque design. They are magnificent, monstrous, and merciless. Their presence signals carnage, and their victims rarely die clean.
Yes, Berserk is a brutal manga, but it’s also a masterpiece. It’s a work of staggering emotional and artistic power. If there’s one manga that deserves the top spot on this list, it’s this one.
Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Action, Tragedy, Psychological
Status: Ongoing (Seinen)
