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By: Rickie Mascia, OverDrive Social Media Specialist

2017 was an exceptional year for manga readers. As new volumes were added to popular series and new series were introduced, there was a story for every fan to enjoy. Our partners, Kodansha Advanced Media and VIZ Media, released numerous titles that received recognition as some of the best manga of the year, including a new volume of one of the most popular series in North America, Tokyo Ghoul. While manga fans eagerly await new titles to be released in 2018, these 6 manga series can help pass the time.

Here is a list of the 6 most popular manga series of 2017:

To Your Eternity, by Yoshitoki Oima (Kodansha Comics

A new manga from the creator of the acclaimed A Silent Voice, featuring intimate, emotional drama and an epic story spanning time and space…A lonely boy wandering the Arctic regions of North America meets a wolf, and the two become fast friends, depending on each other to survive the harsh environment. But the boy has a history, and the wolf is more than meets the eye as well… To Your Eternity is a totally unique and moving manga about death, life, reincarnation, and the nature of love.

Rated: T

Tokyo Ghoul, by Sui Ishida (VIZ Media)

Shy Ken Kaneki is thrilled to go on a date with the beautiful Rize. But it turns out that she’s only interested in his body—eating it, that is. When a morally questionable rescue transforms him into the first half-human half-Ghoul hybrid, Ken is drawn into the dark and violent world of Ghouls, which exists alongside our own.

Rated: T+

Land of the Lustrous, by Haruko Ichikawa (Kodansha Comics)

In a world inhabited by crystalline lifeforms called The Lustrous, every unique gem must fight for their way of life against the threat of lunarians who would turn them into decorations. Phosphophyllite, the most fragile and brittle of gems, longs to join the battle. When Phos is instead assigned to complete a natural history of their world, it sounds like a dull and pointless task. But this new job brings Phos into contact with Cinnabar, a gem forced to live in isolation. Can Phos’s seemingly mundane assignment lead both Phos and Cinnabar to the fulfillment they desire?

Rated: T+

Golden Kamuy, by Satoru Noda (VIZ Media)

In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi “Immortal” Sugimoto scratches out a meager existence during the postwar gold rush on the wild frontier of Hokkaido. When he stumbles across a map to a fortune in hidden Ainu gold, he sets off on a treacherous quest to find it. But Sugimoto is not the only interested party, and everyone who knows about the gold will kill to possess it! Faced with the harsh conditions of the northern wilderness, ruthless criminals and rogue Japanese soldiers, Sugimoto will need all his skills and luck—and the help of an Ainu girl named Asirpa—to survive.

Rated: M

Descending Stories, by Haruko Kumota (Kodansha Comics)

A hapless young man is released from prison with nothing to his name, but he knows exactly what he wants: to train in the art of rakugo comedic storytelling. After seeing an unforgettable performance from one of Japan’s greatest masters, Yakumo Yurakutei VIII, during his time in jail, he will settle for nothing less than to become apprentice to the best. Yakumo, notorious for taking no students, is persuaded to take him on, and nicknames him Yotaro—the fool. Yotaro has no formal training or elegance, but something about his charisma reminds Yakumo of someone from his past.

Rated: T

Assassination Classroom, by Yusei Matsui (VIZ Media)

Meet the would-be assassins of class 3-E: Sugino, who let his grades slip and got kicked off the baseball team. Karma, who’s doing well in his classes but keeps getting suspended for fighting. And Okuda, who lacks both academic and social skills, yet excels at one subject: chemistry. Who has the best chance of winning that reward? Will the deed be accomplished through pity, brute force or poison…? And what chance does their teacher have of repairing his students’ tattered self-esteem?

Rated: T+

*Check out our full manga selection for more reading recommendations. *

Age Ratings:
All Ages– Recommended for any age group.
Teen (T) – Recommended for early to mid-teens, ages 13+. May feature intense fantasy violence and crude humor.
Teen+ (T+) – Recommended for older teens and adults, 16+. May feature realistic violence and sexually suggestive situations.
Mature (M)– Recommended for adults. Mature themes and depictions.