ANN Manga and Novel Summer Reading List 2026

Fantasy

What better genre to kick back and relax with some extravagant escapism than fantasy? Manga can transport you to fantastical worlds filled with magic and wonder, danger and adventure. With so much great new fantasy out there, it's hard to pick where to start. Hopefully, the five titles listed below will help spark a sense of wonder.

I consider this to be one of the best fantasy manga ever created. Despite her difficult circumstances, the protagonist, Coco, is infectious in her enthusiasm for magic and life in general. Her journey is a mixture of light-hearted discovery, complex interpersonal interactions, and gripping adventure, as we gradually peel back more layers of author Shirahama's intricately constructed, logical world. Reading is immeasurably enhanced by Shirahama's superlative linework, where every page is practically a masterpiece.

Tower Dungeon

Tower Dungeon is sci-fi author Nihei's first foray into the fantasy genre, and it may be his best, most accessible work yet. As a master of depicting the vertiginous, Nihei's deceptively simple, organic art evokes a sense of size, of terrifying scope that reduces tiny human beings to the level of insects in comparison. The Tower is filled with the kinds of freakish abominations that only an accomplished and imaginative artist like Nihei can conjure up from the depths of their troubled psyches. The story structure's not dissimilar to other explorative fantasy adventures like Delicious in Dungeon and Made in Abyss. I can't recommend Tower Dungeon enough.

Land

With an unsettling tone reminiscent of Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World), a setting similar to YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master, and some story aspects similar to Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Land is a worthwhile read to fans of any of those series. Land follows the story of twin girls born into a strange medieval mountain village. Their mother dies in childbirth, and they are separated by their father upon the command of a creepy shaman. A deep sense of wrongness pervades almost every page. An engaging mystery box with some upsetting events and cruel twists, I'm so thankful this classic of fantasy manga is being published in its entirety in English.

Versus

From ONE, the creator of One-Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100, Versus is an over-the-top fantasy battle royale where essentially every type of popular entertainment monster or enemy that the author could think of gets thrown together to battle each other in a manner reminiscent of kids smashing their action figures together to decide who's strongest. It is ridiculous. It is also glorious.

Thirteen alternate versions of Earth, along with all their people and existential threats, have been mashed together into one enormous mess. Cue utter chaos. There's so much happening in this story, it's almost exhausting, but it's about as close as it's possible to get to a non-stop roller-coaster thrill-ride in manga form.

Centuria

Centuria makes a bloody good stab at stealing Berserk's dark fantasy crown, and the first volume wastes absolutely no time in getting started. It's a very compelling, fast-moving story with some excellent art and incredibly visceral violence. It's not exploitative, and it treats the subject of slavery with the horror and criticism it deserves. There are themes of selflessness and sacrifice, contrasted against humanity's predilection towards selfishness and brutality. Just as Berserk is more than a story about violence and pain, Centuria uses its bloodied canvas to speak to the human condition, almost fairy-tale-like in its approach. Like all the best fairy tales, there's a deeply unsettling, dark heart beating at its core.