ANN Manga and Novel Summer Reading List 2026

Science Fiction

Distant planets, bleeding-edge technology, and intergalactic warfare are just a few of the many roads a science fiction story can travel. Brand-new sci-fi epics are hitting bookshelves all the time, but it also seems like a great time to investigate the classics that've inspired them. Especially when said classics have received new releases of their own. The following titles represent that mix of titles—ones new, old, and made new again through recent anime adaptations.

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Trigun & Trigun Maximum

By Yasuhiro Nightow
Dark Horse(Trigun)
Dark Horse(Trigun Maximum)
On a planet light-years away, there's a gunslinger so deadly, he's a natural disaster just waiting to happen. This man's known as the humanoid typhoon—Vash the Stampede. As he trudges through the deserts of this god-forsaken no-man's-land, Vash encounters quirky insurance agents, a traveling priest, and the machinations of his twin brother. What starts off as a stylish shoot-out quickly evolves into a sci-fi western for the ages.

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The Graveyard Shift

By Yoshimi Sato
Kodansha Comics
Sometime in the near-to-distant future, a vengeful samurai spirit confuses a street-cleaning robot girl for his first meal in centuries! What follows is an odd coupling of the occult and the cutting edge in this zany one-shot comedy!

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Rai Rai Rai

By Yoshiaki
VIZ Media
You think your life sucks? Well, between swimming in debt, working as a bargain bin exterminator, and being abducted by aliens, I'd say Sumire's got it way worse. Even more so now that she can transform into an all-powerful, kigurumi-shaped monster! Some might be reminded of Kaiju No. 8 in its setup, but Rai Rai Rai stands apart thanks to its deeply tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.

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The Ghost in the Shell

By Shirow Masamune
Kodansha Comics
Living in the near-future and dealing with a government conspiracy, a covert operation gone wrong, or just having a little existential crisis? You're in luck, because Major Motoko Kusanagi and Public Security Section 9 are on the case. A cyberpunk cornerstone, this series of high-tech mysteries is cerebral, sexy, and hella slick. There's a reason the Major's been a certified baddie since the '80s.

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Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin

By Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Kodansha Comics
The dawn of the Universal Century, as retold by one of its architects. Jam-packed with gorgeous full-color art, new takes on old Gundam favorites, and a whole boatload of “wow, cool robot” moments, The Origin serves as a compelling companion piece to the original Mobile Suit Gundam television series.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Anime News Network, its employees, owners, or sponsors.

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Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. Yen Press, BookWalker Global, and J-Novel Club are subsidiaries of KWE.