A Curated List of 10 Comics I Enjoyed in 2025 (Which Are Mostly Unknown).

As the manga industry continues its relentless expansion, it's increasingly difficult to keep up with every worthwhile title. As always, the biggest series capture the spotlight, yet a treasure trove exists of overlooked works waiting to be discovered.

A key pleasure for any manga enthusiast is stumbling upon a mostly obscure series amidst the weekly releases and then sharing it to friends. Here are some of the top obscure manga I've read in 2025, along with reasons why they're worth checking out before they gain widespread popularity.

Some of these series lack a broad readership, partly due to they are without anime adaptations. Some could be trickier to read due to their publishing platforms. However, suggesting any of these provides some serious bragging rights.

10. The Ordinary Office Worker Who Was a Hero

• Writing Team: Ghost Mikawa, Yuki Imano, Akira Yuki, Raika Mizuiro
• Released by: Shueisha
• Available on: Manga Plus

This may seem like a strange choice, but bear with me. The medium embraces absurdity, and that's perfectly fine. I'll acknowledge that isekai is my guilty pleasure. While this series isn't strictly an isekai, it embraces familiar conventions, including an incredibly strong protagonist and a RPG-like world structure. The unique hook, however, lies in the protagonist. Keita Sato is an archetypal exhausted salaryman who unwinds by exploring strange labyrinths that emerged suddenly, armed only with a baseball bat, to defeat foes. He has no interest in treasures, power, or ranking; he only wants to maintain his double life, protect his family, and finish work early for a change.

Superior genre examples exist, but this is a rare example published by a major house, and thus conveniently readable to international audiences through a popular app. Regarding online access, this publisher remains a leader, and if you're looking for a few minutes of silly fun, the series is a great choice.

9. The Exorcists of Nito

• Artist: Iromi Ichikawa
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Find it on: Manga Plus

Ordinarily, the word "exorcist" in a manga title turns me away due to the genre's overpopularity, but two series changed my mind this year. The Nito Exorcists evokes the best parts of a popular supernatural battle manga, with its ominous tone, stylized art, and unexpected brutality. A random click got me hooked and got hooked instantly.

Gotsuji is a formidable practitioner who kills evil spirits in the hope of avenging his teacher's death. He's joined by his mentor's sister, Uruka, who is more interested in protecting Gotsuji than supporting his vengeance. The plot may seem basic, but the character development is subtle and refined, and the visual contrast between the silly appearance of the spirits and the gory combat is an effective bonus. This is a series with great promise to go the distance — should it get the chance.

8. Gokurakugai

• Creator: Yuto Sano
• Released by: Shueisha
• Find it on: Manga Plus; Viz

If breathtaking art is your priority, then search no more. Yuto Sano's work on this manga is stunning, intricate, and distinctive. The narrative hews close from classic shonen conventions, with superpowered people fighting evil spirits (though they're avoiding that specific term), but the cast is wonderfully eccentric and the world is fascinating. The protagonists, Alma and Tao Saotome, run the Gokurakugai Troubleshooter agency, resolving disputes in a poor neighborhood where two species live side-by-side.

The villains, called Maga, are formed from human or animal corpses. When human-based, the Maga wields magic reflecting the way the human died: someone who hanged themselves manifests as a choking force, one who perished by suicide induces hemorrhaging, and so on. It's a disturbing but creative twist that provides substance to these antagonists. It could be the next big hit, but it's limited due to its slower publication rate. From the beginning, only five volumes have been released, which can test a reader's patience.

7. Bugle Call: War's Melody

• Creators: Mozuku Sora, Higoro Toumori
• Released by: Shueisha
• Find it on: Viz

This bleak fantasy manga tackles the ever-present fight narrative from a fresh perspective for shonen. Instead of centering on individual duels, it depicts large-scale medieval warfare. The protagonist, Luca, is one of the Branched—those granted singular talents. Luca's ability allows him to manifest sound as light, which lets him guide troops on the battlefield, using his trumpet and upbringing in a cruel mercenary band to become a formidable commander, fighting with the hope of one day stepping away.

The setting is somewhat generic, and the inclusion of futuristic tech feels forced at times, but it still surprised me with dark turns and surprising narrative shifts. It's a grown-up battle manga with a group of eccentric individuals, an engaging magic framework, and an interesting combination of warfare and grim fantasy.

6. Taro Miyao: Unexpected Feline Guardian

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

A emotionally distant main character who idolizes Renaissance thinker Niccolò Machiavelli and believes in using any means necessary takes in a cute cat named Nicolo—supposedly since a massage from its little feet is the only thing that relieves his stiff shoulders. {If that premise isn't enough|Should that not convince you|If the setup doesn't grab you