A Curated List of 10 Comics I Read This Year (Flying Under the Radar).

With the world of manga growing more vast by the day, it's increasingly difficult to discover every noteworthy release. Predictably, the mainstream series get all the attention, however, countless gems of overlooked works waiting to be discovered.

A key pleasure for any manga enthusiast is finding a mostly obscure series in the sea of new chapters and recommending it to friends. Here are some of the top obscure manga I've enjoyed this past year, along with motivations for they're deserving of your time prior to a potential boom.

A few of these titles have not yet reached a large audience, notably because they all lack anime adaptations. A few are harder to access due to their publishing platforms. But recommending any of these will earn you some notable geek cred.

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

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

This may seem like a strange choice, but hear me out. Manga can be silly, and that's perfectly fine. I'll acknowledge that isekai is my guilty pleasure. While the title isn't strictly an isekai, it follows many of the same tropes, including an overpowered main character and a RPG-like world structure. The charm, however, is found in the protagonist. Keita Sato is a standard overburdened office worker who relieves pressure by exploring strange labyrinths that materialized globally, armed only with a baseball bat, to pummel creatures. He doesn't care about treasures, power, or ranking; he only wants to keep his hobby secret, protect his family, and leave the office on time for a change.

Superior genre examples exist, but this is one of the few released by a leading publisher, and thus easily available to international audiences via a free service. For easy reading, this publisher sets the standard, and if you're in need of a brief, enjoyable diversion, The Plain Salary Man is a great choice.

9. Nito's Exorcists

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

Usually, the word "exorcist" in a manga title makes me hesitant due to the saturated market, but two series changed my mind this year. This series evokes the best parts of a popular supernatural battle manga, with its ominous tone, distinctive artwork, and unexpected brutality. I started reading it by chance and was immediately captivated.

Gotsuji is a formidable practitioner who kills evil spirits in the hope of finding the one that murdered his mentor. He's joined by his mentor's sister, Uruka, who is focused on his safety than supporting his vengeance. The storyline appears straightforward, but the treatment of the characters is as delicate as the art, and the stylistic juxtaposition between the comedic design of foes and the gory combat is an effective bonus. This is a series with real potential to go the distance — provided it survives.

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 the series is spectacular, meticulous, and distinctive. The story doesn't stray far of typical hero's journey beats, with individuals with abilities combating monsters (though they're not labeled as exorcists), but the characters are all quirky and the world is fascinating. The protagonists, Alma and Tao Saotome, run the Gokurakugai Troubleshooter agency, resolving disputes in a low-income area where two species live side-by-side.

The villains, called Maga, are created from human or animal corpses. In the former case, the Maga has powers relating to the way the human died: someone who hanged themselves can strangle others, one who perished by suicide causes blood loss, and so on. It's a gruesome but interesting twist that provides substance to these antagonists. It has potential for massive popularity, but it's limited due to its infrequent release pace. From the beginning, only a handful of volumes have been released, which challenges ongoing engagement.

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

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

This dark fantasy manga examines the common conflict theme from a new viewpoint for shonen. Rather than focusing on individual duels, it showcases massive army conflicts. The protagonist, Luca, is one of the Branched—people with distinct abilities. Luca's ability lets him transform noise into illumination, which helps him command armies on the battlefield, employing his instrument and background in a cruel mercenary band to become a formidable commander, fighting to eventually earn his freedom.

The setting is somewhat generic, and the insertion of sci-fi elements can seem jarring, but this series still surprised me with dark turns and shocking story pivots. It's a mature shonen with a collection of odd personalities, an engaging magic framework, and an pleasing blend of strategy and horror.

6. Taro Miyao Becomes a Cat Parent?!

• Creator: Sho Yamazaki
• Publisher: Shueisha
• Available on: Manga Plus

A cold-hearted main character who idolizes Renaissance thinker Niccolò Machiavelli and advocates for ruthless pragmatism becomes the owner of a cute cat named Nicolo—supposedly since a massage from its small claws 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