Summary
If shōnen is anime and manga aimed at young boys, and anyone else who likes its stories about fighting, friendship, and fun, seinen is for the older crowd. They’ll often tell more mature stories, with more complex plots and/or extreme content. For example,Holy Landgets into the nitty-gritty of what taking up street fighting for a living is really like compared to, say,Dragon Ball.
There are plenty of great seinen strips out there too, whether they’re heavy historical epics likeVinland Sagaor fun, dining-based frolics likeDelicious in Dungeon. They may even join the ranks of these iconic and influential seinen manga, as the appeal of these strips went beyond the printed page.
1Lupin The 3rd
Gentleman Thief Fights Off the Law And His Libido To Swipe Priceless Valuables
Seinen is more well-known for its rougher, harder stories and characters, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have fun. For example, despite being more popular for its family-friendly anime adaptations,Lupin the 3rdstarted as a seinen series. The adventures of the French gentleman thief’s grandson were darker, more sexual, and more self-aware in the original manga, playing out like a pulp novel rather than a Saturday morning cartoon.
Still, it’s more of a fun romp compared to other seinen stories. This might be why it had such a broad appeal, inspiring shōnen strips likeOne Pieceand mature series likeCowboy Bebopwith their character dynamics (Spike and Jet’s relationship isn’t a world away from Lupin and Jigen’s). EvenMetal Geartook some tips from it, withMGS1’s version of Solid Snake andMGS3’s EVA being based on Lupin and his frenemy Fujiko Mine, respectively.
2Golgo 13
Hitman Keeps Things Strictly Professional For Over 60 Years
IfLupin’s mix of James Bond-like charm withAustin Powers-esque yuks didn’t do it for readers, the heavier stories inGolgo 13likely did. It’s essentiallyHitman30+ years before the games were made, as no one knows who its titular assassin really is. His real name, age, birthplace, etc., are all mysteries. All they know is that he’s one of the best at taking on jobs, big or small.
It’s the oldest manga that’s still being published, andthe one with the most volumes. Despite its relative obscurity in the West, it was a hit in Japan, popularizing the darker, more hard-boiled stories in gekiga (an older term for mature manga) over its fluffier manga contemporaries.It popularized stoic antiheroes, withFist of the North Star’s Kenshiro andJojo’s Bizarre Adventure’s Jotaro Kujo being more direct descendants ofGolgo 13.
3Lone Wolf And Cub
Ronin Tries To Bring Up His Child While Killing Rival Samurai
Even if people aren’t familiar withLone Wolf and Cub, they are likely to recognize the projects it inspired. The story of a samurai avenging the death of his family while raising his only surviving son has inspired other similar works directly and indirectly. The comic and movie,Road to Perdition, is a direct example, given it essentially tells the same story with American gangsters. But its DNA can be seen in many more projects.
It’s seen in games like theYakuzaseries with Kiryu and Haruka, andThe Last of Usthrough Joel and Ellie. That’s not to mention TV shows likeThe Mandalorian. There’s just something about a tough person showing their sensitive side that gets people hooked. Yet the closest it’s come to being adapted was via its live-action movies, with one becoming the infamous “video nasty"Shogun Assassin. It’s not every day a strip gets to inspire both an Oscar-nominated picture and a movie that joined the likes ofCannibal Holocaustin upsetting the censors.
4Violence Jack
Amnesiac Giant Murders Reprehensible Villains After The End Of The World
This one might raise a few eyebrows, asViolence Jacktechnically started as a shōnen series. It wasn’t classified as seinen until it switched publishers in 1983 asViolence Jack: Part 2. Yet its content has always been extremely violent, being on par with its predecessor,Devilman, if not more so. Its OVA adaptation was infamous for depicting its graphic portrayals of murder, abuse, cannibalism, and other cheery topics.
Though its stomach-churning brutality could make even the edgiest edgelords feel queasy, it has its place in manga history as the first big post-apocalyptic action strip. There would likely be noLand of the Lustrous,Fire Force, orDr. Stonewithout it. Its most notable influence can be seen inFist of the North Star, which toned down the extreme content in favor of martial arts action to be a top shōnen strip.
5Maison Ikkoku
Student’s Love For Grieving Widow Sets New Bar For Romcoms
Seinen isn’t all about hitmen, murder, and pervy thieves. After having practically invented the harem manga withUrusei Yatsura, Rumiko Takahashi broke new ground withMaison Ikkoku, where hapless college student Yusaku puts up with his wacky neighbors in his apartment complex to woo Kyoko, its new manager. It showed Takahashi’s talent worked beyondYatsura’s sci-fi shenanigans, asIkkoku’s mix of yuks and genuine tenderness made it a hit.
Yusaku wasn’t seeking to make Kyoko a notch on his belt, but genuinely grew to care for her and consider her feelings, on top of his varying attempts to express himself to her. The series practically became the textbook example of a romcom manga, as successors likeKimagure Orange RoadandStop! Hibari-kunfollowed its lead with its complex character interactions and funny gags.
6Akira
Biker Punks In Future Tokyo Revolutionize Sci-Fi Seinen Manga
DoesAkirareally need explaining? Younger manga and anime fans might not get the hype behind it nowadays, and even some older ones may prefer its alternatives. Yet even before the movie popularized anime as its own thing in the West, the original manga was a smash hit. It arguablyinvented Japanese cyberpunkwith its dystopian setting and conspiracy-filled plot.
It’s hard to imagine later works likeBattle Angel AlitaandSerial Experiments Lainhappening withoutAkiracatching on. Its characters also inspired strips in other genres, with Masashi Kishimoto and Toru Fujisawa citingAkiraas a major inspiration forNarutoandGreat Teacher Onizuka, respectively. Their lead characters do share Kaneda’s roguish charm and attitude, as has every series that has shown off his slick bike-sliding skills.
7Ghost In The Shell
Cyborg Cops Contend With Cyber Crimes And Humanity
Akirawasn’t the only name in cyberpunk to inspire swathes of creators over the decades.Ghost in the Shelltook the themes of identity and transhumanism from movies likeBlade Runnerand ran further with them. On the surface, it was a futuristic romp with cyborg cops and AI tanks, especially in the more jokey and outgoing manga, though it didn’t take long to reveal its deeper themes.
The disparity between mind and body, whether sufficiently smart enough AI could count as sentient, independent life or not, the frailty of memories, and more kept readers hooked. They certainly struck a chord with other sci-fi maestros, with the Wachowskis and James Cameron citing the series as a key influence onThe MatrixandAvatar,respectively.
8Berserk
Guts' Quest Of Revenge And Regret Becomes The Bedrock Of Modern Dark Fantasy
LikeAkira,Berserkdoesn’t need an introduction. It took the brutality ofDevilman, the vengeance ofFist of the North Star, and the dramatic storytelling ofRose of Versailles(yes, really), and became the premier dark fantasy series in manga and anime. Though it’s not to everyone’s taste (even Miura regretted the number of assault scenes),its influence is undeniable.
Attack on Titan’s Hajime Isayama,Vinland Saga’s Makoto Yukimura, and the crew behind theCastlevaniaseries have all citedBerserkas direct inspirations for their work. People can find its mark inFullmetal Alchemist,Demon Slayer, theDark Soulsgames, and theFinal Fantasyseries. Wherever there’s a guy with a giant sword, there’s arguably a touch ofBerserkin it.
9Vagabond
Musashi Miyamoto Fights Battles Externally And Internally
It’s easy to see the influenceLupin the 3rdhad onOne Piece, as despite their vastly different plots and settings, their cast have similar archetypes to each other. ButVagabond’s influence on Eiichiro Oda’s pirate masterpiece is less obvious. At least at first glance, given one’s a realistically-drawn sober seinen series, and the other’s a wacky cartoon adventure.
It follows the life of the famous samurai Musashi Miyamoto, starting from his debut at the Battle of Sekigahara onwards. It touches on the usual bushido topics like honor and duty while examining Musashi’s inner struggles and motivations. Like Oda, anyone going into it expecting just cool sword fights ends up coming away with something more philosophical and intriguing. It made him expand his art and storytelling skills and could inspire other would-be writers and artists to do the same.
10Kingdom
War Orphans' Quest To Unite China Inspires Thousands To Draw One Of Its Volumes
There aren’t many manga out there that inspire fans so much that they end up redrawing it. Artists worldwide recreated theAkiramanga with characters fromThe Simpsonsas “Bartkira.“Kingdomwent a step further and got everyone to redraw an entire volume for the “Social Kingdom” campaign.
FollowingLi Xin’s questto become the greatest military general and unite Ancient China’s warring states,Kingdomis a historical epic that’s impressed some significant figures in the industry.Vagabond’s Inoue,One Piece’s Oda, andJojo’s Hirohiko Araki were just some of the artists who took part in the “Social Kingdom” campaign, helping it earn a Guinness World Record for most manga authors.
