The comic and the manga fandom may share certain things, but their members are definitely not into the same stuff. This is especially true for those who only watch anime. However, there’s plenty of material for them if they want to dive into the Marvel universe.
Immortal Iron Fist‘s characters give major shonen vibes, while Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye combines superhero adventures and slice-of-life. Additionally, Marvel Mangaverse is a whole event that reimagines the Marvel universe as a manga, including fan-favorite tropes. Whether it is thanks to their art or their thrilling storylines, these comics are perfect for anime lovers.
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10 X-Men & The Power Pack
In 2006, Marc Sumerak and Gurihiru joined forces to create Earth-5631’s Power Pack: Zero-G, Mass Master, Lightspeed, and Energizer. This superteam worked alongside Marvel’s most iconic heroes, such as the X-Men. The four-issue series X-Men & the Power Pack follows their adventures against the Marauders and Mr. Sinister, with the help of Cyclops, Wolverine, Beast, and Nightcrawler.
Intergenerational friendship is a very common anime trope. Having adults take care of kids – often unwillingly – makes for some of the cutest moments in anime. Anyone who enjoys this trope and wants to read a low-stakes, low-commitment story should check X-Men & the Power Pack.
9 Immortal Iron Fist
Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja, Travel Foreman, and Duane Swierczynski created Immortal Iron Fist relaunching Danny Rand’s adventures as a superhero. This comic follows Iron Fist through some of its most iconic storylines, such as the Tournament of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven, the battle against Hydra, and the investigation of the Eight City.
Iron Fist doesn’t get the love he truly deserves, but anime fans could change this. Immortal Iron Fist has incredible Shonen vibes. The series is full of epic martial art sequences and as Danny delves into the Eight City’s mystery, the lore only gets more and more interesting.
8 The Unbelievable Gwenpool
Originally from the real world, Gwen Poole was a comic fan who traveled to Earth-616 and decided to become a main character. The Unbelievable Gwenpool – by Christopher Hastings, Gurihiru, Danilo Beyruth, Tamra Bonvillain, and Clayton Cowles – sees some of Gwen’s first adventures in the Prime Marvel Universe, mocking its rules from the first issue, in which she tries to open a bank account without much success.
The Unbelievable Gwenpool is definitely inspired by manga. Its art style is more serious, but Gwen’s chaotic vibe as she abuses Earth-616’s physics (and fangirls about the many superheroes she gets to meet) will remind readers of their favorite genki girl immediately.
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7 Samurai: Legend
Samurai: Legend tells the story of Taeko, a samurai investigating his own past. As Taeko learns more about himself, he digs deeper into a political conspiracy against the Emperor. This is only made more complicated when the mysterious figure of the 13th Prophet appears.
Samurai: Legend – created by Fr?d?ric G?net and Jean-Fran?ois Di Giorgio – is an obscure story, especially compared with anything else Marvel, but it’s definitely worth it, even if it isn’t a superhero tale. Jidaigeki fans will love its take on Feudal Japan and samurai adventures.
6 Ultimate Spider-Man
Brian Michael Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Man has been widely praised for its incredible storytelling and its fun, witty dialogues. This series reimagines Peter Parker’s life, adding new elements, such as his job as a web designer at the Daily Bugle – a very ironic career decision for him.
Ultimate Spider-Man is a fine comic choice for hardcore Shonen fans. Peter is hilarious, and his adventures as Spider-Man are both epic and inspiring like Goku, Luffy, or Naruto’s. The comic’s art (by Mark Bagley, Sturt Immonen, and David Lafuente) is very different from anime, but the story has many great parallels that will remain anime fans of ther favorite OP shonen protagonist.
5 Thor & Loki: Double Trouble
When Loki summons a serpent god, he must team up with Thor to stop it. However, during the fight, they end up in a different universe where Jane Foster aka The Mighty Thor and Loki, the Goddess of Mischief, are in the middle of their own conflict.
Thor & Loki: Double Trouble is a multiversal adventure with cute, anime-like art and wholesome humor. Anime fans who enjoy slice-of-life series and low-stakes magical narratives will find it highly entertaining. Since it only has four issues, it’s a great introduction series to the God of Thunder’s more lighthearted stories.
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4 Daredevil
Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil is one of the most prominent runs on the Man Without Fear. It introduced central characters for Daredevil’s mythos, such as Elektra and Stick, helped turn Kingpin and Bullseye in the iconic villains they are now, and cemented Matt’s role as an antihero in the Marvel universe.
Miller’s Daredevil reads a lot like a seinen manga. It touches on serious topics and goes extra hard on the violence without becoming too explicit. Additionally, Matt Murdock’s tormented past follows him and motivates his journey, often between good and evil, like certain anime heroes, such as Eren Yaeger in Attack on Titanor Guts in Berserk.
3 Hawkeye
Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction and David Aja, is an absolute fan-favorite when it comes to this beloved character. Clint Barton, and Kate Bishop star in it together, sometimes joining forces to take down the Tracksuit Mafia or just bickering over the most random stuff together while chilling with Lucky the Pizza Dog.
Bishop and Barton have faced cosmic threats before with their respective superteams, but this comic isn’t that kind of story. Instead, Hawkeye sees them act like street-level heroes. This series is a fun mix between a slice-of-life, hilarious anime, and an easygoing shonen, like Gintama or One Piece.
2 Marvel Mangaverse
Between 2000 and 2002, Marvel released the Marvel Mangaverse, an alternate universe that reimagined Marvel’s most iconic heroes and villains like anime characters and tropes. For instance, the Hulk is a Godzilla-like kaiju and Iron Maiden’s gundam design references the 1991 OVA, Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory.
Both the art and the writing style of Marvel Mangaverse – set on Earth-2301 – aim to copy anime and manga from the 90’s and earlier 00s. Anime lovers will find it easier to jump into comic books from this series, even if Earth-616’s heroes are very different.
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1 The Momoko-Verse
Starting in 2021, Peach Momoko created the Momoko-Verse, a new Marvel alternate reality inspired by Japanese lore. This comic follows Mariko Yashida (Wolverine’s love interest in Earth-616), a human/oni hybrid who must unite both worlds to save them. The Momoko-verse is currently divided in two stories: Demon Days based on Days of Future Past, and Demon Wars, loosely inspired by Civil War.
For this comic, Momoko redesigned Marvel’s most popular characters as if they were part of Japanese mythology. Hulk is an oni, Thor and Storm are Shinto gods, and Venom is the legendary Orochi. Japanese culture lovers will have a blast learning about Japanese lore and Marvel comics at the same time.
With seinen antiheroes and magical lore, Marvel comics like Daredevil and Momoko-Verse would be perfect reads for any anime fan. Read More