Zombieshave been as inescapable in the real world as they are in the media. While the craze for the undead has died down since its peak over a decade ago, they’re still out there. They may be the classic living corpses as seen inThe Walking Dead, rage monsters like in28 Days Laterand its sequel, or people with the world’s worst fungal infection, a laThe Last of Us.
They also turn up in anime and manga.Highschool of the Deadmade them fodder for the fanservice-toting leads.Seoul Stationshowed what happened in Korea’s capital prior to thecult movie classicTrain to Busan. Then the (in)famous horror mangaka Junji Ito createdGYO, his sealife-based undead tale of terror. But there are still some zombie manga that haven’t become anime yet.
Updated July 24th, 2024 by David Heath:One of the reasons many of the manga on this list haven’t made the leap to animation is that they didn’t set the world, or at least Japan, on fire. Their premises may sound great on paper, but their execution faltered with readers, as seen in KoLD8 and Kingdom of Z. Others are part of larger series that are tricky enough to animate alone, like Blame! getting a movie, but not its zombie-like prequel Biomega.
Still, popular entries like Fort of Apocalypse and I Am a Hero are likely enough to get animated. Even cult underground strips like Tokyo Zombie could become an anime. For this update, alongside the usual tweaks, there are a few new entries whose shots of being adapted are low more due to their length. They’re fun frolics with the undead with strong artwork, storytelling, twists, and turns, but their time was cut short, limiting their options to possibly inspiring animated shorts, or a spiritual successor that could expand on their ideas.
20KoLD8: King Of The Living Dead
MyAnimeList Score: 5.74
AppearinginShonen Jump+,KoLD8: King of the Living Deadsees the undead as the backup for a new kind of anti-hero. After Japan falls to the zombies, Eito “8” Hasaba joins his mom and little sister on the road to reach a blockaded safety zone called a “sector.” They’re allowed in, but after Eito gets into an argument, he’s grievously wounded and left for dead outside the sector.
As the zombies start shuffling towards him, he hopes to die of his wounds before he gets eaten. But after he passes out, he survives, recovers, and discovers he has the ability to control the undead. With these new powers, he dispenses justice within the sectors to keep those in charge from abusing their status. It did get an English translation via MANGA Plus, though it only goes up to Chapter 23.
19Kingdom Of Z
MyAnimeList Score: 5.87
IfKing of the Living Deadis too shōnen for one’s taste, they might prefer a harem story that gives its lead more than they can handle. Seven Seas Entertainment officially translated an example of that inKingdom of Z. It’s a manga where its unlucky lead might have a better chance of survival with the zombies than with the women who saved him.
After Japan fell to the zombie apocalypse, Masaru thought he’d be eaten alive. Instead, he was rescued by Karin and Miki, the most attractive girls at his high school. Unfortunately, he soon finds out Karin is a psychopath underneath her happy-go-lucky exterior, and Miki wants to turn the zombie hordes into her own private army and take over the country. Until he can find a way to escape, Masaru is stuck serving their whims as their underling.
18Are You Alive Honda-Kun?
MyAnimeList Score: 6.07
The world may be overwhelmed by the undead, but that doesn’t mean love still can’t bloom. It’s what madeThe Last of Us: Left Behindquite compelling, and this idea at the center of the rom-zom-comAre You Alive Honda Kun?Written forShōnen Gangan, the story sees a young girl called Alice try to live an ordinary life in a world overrun by zombies. She can be a bit ditzy at times, though not ditzy enough to prioritize romance over survival.
When Honda confesses to her, love, sadly, isn’t on the cards. But that might change as they help each other survive. Provided Honda can come clean about his own secrets. Yen Press has translated Tonogai’s other works, likeSecretandDoubt, but they’ve yet to touchHonda-kunas of this writing.
17Hour Of The Zombie
MyAnimeList Score: 6.26
Originally titledIgai: The Play Dead/Alive,Hour of the Zombiealso involves love and high schoolers with zombies, only it gets a little more complicated. It starts with Akira, a student with a crush on his childhood friend Kurumi, who loves Akira’s friend Umezawa. As jealous as Akira gets, he values both Umezawa and Kurumi’s company and keeps things friendly.
Then some students start attacking others, with the wounded turning into man-eating monsters. Kurumi and Umezawa fall victim to it, and Akira expects to be killed next. But when Kurumi goes to bite him, she and the other “zombies” suddenly go back to normal,leaving the schoolsplit between the bitten and unbitten. But why did they snap? And will they snap again? Those interested can find out via Seven Seas Entertainment’s official English release.
16Versailles of the Dead
MyAnimeList Score: 6.35
Zombies can turn up in the strangest places. If it’s not enough for them to invade an inverse-harem manga, or a survival romance story, how about when they turn up in a historical, cross-dressing romance?Versailles of the Deadimagines what it would have been like if pre-revolutionary France was also overrun with zombies, as they capture Marie-Antoinette’s carriage as she’s on her way to Versailles to marry the French Dauphin (later King Louis XVI).
The only survivor is Marie-Antoinette’s (fictional) twin brother, Albert. They resembled each other so much that she used to force him to act as her double, from her makeup to her dress. But now that she’s gone, he can use the resemblance to assume his sister’s identity and live a rich life among the French nobility. Some of them know what happened and accept the disguise to prevent a scandal from breaking out. Others think he murdered Marie-Antoinette to take her place deliberately. The only way to know for sure is to check the manga out.
15Kyō Kara Zombie
MyAnimeList Score: 6.46
Not to be confused withKyō Kara Maoh, orKyō Kara Ore Wa!!,orKyō Kara Hitman,Kyō Kara Zombiehas a more tongue-in-cheek take on the undead. It’s more akin toZombie Landbut without the arcane ritual and time-displaced pop idols. The story follows Puuka, a bikini model who’s having trouble getting her career off the ground. Things take a turn for the worst when she and her manager hit a zombie with their car on their way to a photoshoot. As they try to escape, Puuka gets bitten and, slowly but surely, becomes a zombie herself.
However, it isn’t too bad compared to other zombie stories. The zombies here aren’t dumb, shambling, brain-eaters, but act just like any ordinary person. They’re just excluded from the rest of society, though that isn’t good either. Puuka practically has to give up her old human life and start from scratch in the zombie village. But maybe she can help change people’s minds about the undead, or at least become the next zombie pinup sensation.
14Tokyo Zombie
MyAnimeList Score: 6.48
Not to be confused withTokyo Ghoul, which did get animated,Tokyo Zombieis more of an out-and-out comedy. It somehow got adapted into a live-action movie in 2005, despite it being a rather short, if crazy, story. It follows Fujio and Mitsuo, two factory workers who dream of becoming martial arts masters and traveling the world. Things go wrong when they accidentally kill their boss and try to hide his body in Dark Fuji, a giant mountain of garbage.
Things only get worse when unbeknownst to them, Dark Fuji gets contaminated with industrial waste - waste that brings their boss back from the dead, alongside every other body that was stuffed inside it. They slowly infect and take over Tokyo until the city has become a feudal-era-like wasteland. As a result, Fujio and Mitsuo ironically get their dreams granted when they have to fight off the zombies for the upper class' amusement. But how long can their fun last?
13#Zombie Sagashitemasu
MyAnimeList Score: 6.50
Katsuwo made their name creating stories about young girls doing cute things, likeMitsuboshi ColorsandHitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu, both of which were adapted into anime series. Though chances are that#Zombie Sagashitemasu(“I’m Looking for a Zombie”) will remain print-only, as it’s a rather short story with a curious mix of tones. It takes place in a world where 90% of humanity died from a deadly disease, only to rise back up as flesh-eating zombies.
The day it began to spread was called ‘Red Day’, and it led to the complete collapse of society and civilization. What’s left of the world’s population struggles, hoping to rise back up. In the meantime, Aki, Haru, and Natsuki, who never knew what life was like before Red Day, go on an adventure to track down Aki’s missing father. It’s more young girls doing cute things but in a very uncute situation. The strip occasionally chills, but is more about thrills and spills, which will suit readers burned out on more popular but more po-faced fare.
12Zomviguarna
MyAnimeList Score: 6.65
Why is it calledZomviguarna? Because that’s the kind of zombie Professor Nat came across in the manga’s post-apocalyptic, Wild West setting. That and ‘Zombie Gunner’ sounded too normal. In a world overrun with zombies, Prof Nat, a teen who hopes to become a doctor, puts what he learns to the test as he joins forces with Maggie, a ‘zomviguarna’ who’ll take out any threats if it means winning the Prof over. But he’s more interested in who she is and where she came from, especially as they meet more zomviguarnas along the way.
It’s got the laughs and gags of#Zombie Sagashitemasu, albeit with a more romantic angle as Maggie is head over heels for the Prof, with a unique setting as there aren’t too many zombie westerns out there. Kitaya’s art is a good blend of cute and horrific with some neat, dynamic angles. Unfortunately, its ending was rushed as its time was cut short. As such, it’s a brief run of a series that’s really entertaining.
11Maou na Ore to Ghoul no Yubiwa
MyAnimeList Score: 6.71
Maou na Ore to Ghoul no Yubiwa, or “The Demon King and the Zombie’s Ring” in English, was originally a light novel by Yusura Kankitsu and Shugasuku. Then it wasredrawn in comic formby Yaya Hinata for Comic Dangan using Kankitsu’s original dialogue. It sees Kusumi Chiharu receive a message saying he’s been chosen as a “Monster Tamer” and must pick his partner to help him quell monster attacks.
He brushes it off until he receives another, larger package containing a scantily clad woman. This turns out to be Zonmi-chan, a ghoul who intends to be his monster-taming partner, and she wants to start with the creatures hiding in plain sight at Kusumi’s school. Some of them would rather take Zonmi’s place as Kusumi’s partner instead. Ifa harem serieswith supernatural creatures is up one’s alley, this manga will have them covered.
