What is Dystopia manga?

A dystopia (from Ancient Greek: δυσ-, "bad, ill", and Ancient Greek: τόπος, "place, landscape"; alternatively cacotopia, or anti-utopia) is, in literature, an often futuristic society that has degraded into a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian. Dystopian literature has underlying cautionary tones, warning society that if we continue to live how we do, this will be the consequence. A dystopia, thus, is regarded as a sort of negative utopia and is often characterized by an authoritarian or totalitarian form of government. Dystopias usually feature different kinds of repressive social control systems, a lack or total absence of individual freedoms and expressions and constant states of warfare or violence. Dystopias often explore the concept of humans abusing technology and how humans individually and collectively cope with technology that has evolved too quickly such as the car, the flamethrower or the microwave. A dystopian society is also often characterized by widespread poverty and brutal political controls such as a large military-like police.

Trending Dystopia Manga You might like

Berserk

(Berserk)

8.47

Description:

His name is Guts, the Black Swordsman, a feared warrior spoken of only in whispers. Bearer of a gigantic sword, an iron hand, and the scars of countless battles and tortures, his flesh is also indelibly marked with The Brand, an unholy symbol that draws the forces of darkness to him and dooms him as their sacrifice. But Guts won't take his fate lying down; he'll cut a crimson swath of carnage through the ranks of the damned—and anyone else foolish enough to oppose him! Accompanied by Puck the Elf, more an annoyance than a companion, Guts relentlessly follows a dark, bloodstained path that leads only to death...or vengeance. (Source: Dark Horse) Notes: - Volumes 1-5 contain the 16 prequel chapters 0A - 0P. - Chapter 83 was omitted from Volume 13 due to the author’s request. - Volume 14 includes “Berserk: The Prototype”. - Due to the author's passing, starting from Chapter 365, the manga is illustrated by Studio Gaga (Miura's assistants) and supervised by Kouji Mori (a close friend of Miura's).
Type

manga

Volumes

0

Rating

Horror

Status

current

Started

1989-08-25

Claymore

(Claymore)

8.19

Description:

In a world constantly haunted by demonic predators known as "Youma", the everyday life of humans is full of fear and suspicion, as these monsters easily blend into human society to hunt their hapless prey. However, in this world, there is also a mysterious organization, employing half-human, half-Youma warriors to effectively track down and kill the demons. Called "silver eyed witches" or "Claymores" after the huge Claymore swords they carry, these female warriors are eyed with suspicion and distrust by most because of their inhuman powers. But there are many currents flowing in the shadows, from the mysterious machinations of the Claymore "Organization" and the twisted ambitions of the powerful "Abyssal Ones" to the hopes and desires of each Claymore warrior. This story follows the fate of Clare, one of the Claymore operatives as she sails deeper and deeper down the currents of conspiracies and revenge. Note: 4 Extra chapters are included in the chapter count on this page.
Type

manga

Volumes

27

Chapters

159

Rating

Horror

Status

finished

Started

2001-05-06

Gunnm

(Battle Angel Alita)

8.15

Description:

In a dump in the lawless settlement of Scrapyard, far beneath the mysterious space city of Zalem, disgraced cyber-doctor Daisuke Ido makes a strange find: the detached head of a cyborg woman who has lost all her memories. He names her Gally and equips her with a powerful new body, the Berserker. While Gally remembers no details of her former life, a moment of desperation reawakens in her nerves the legendary school of martial arts known as Panzer Kunst. In a place where there is no justice but what people make for themselves, Gally decides to become a hunter-killer, tracking down and taking out those who prey on the weak. But can she hold onto her humanity as she begins to revel in her own bloodlust? (Source: Kodansha USA, edited)
Type

manga

Volumes

9

Chapters

53

Status

finished

Started

1990-11-01

Gunnm: Last Order

(Battle Angel Alita: Last Order)

8.07

Description:

The sequel to the Battle Angel Alita/Gunnm manga, ignoring the original ending. When Doc Ido, a talented cyber-physician, finds Gally's head in a junk heap, she has lost all memory of her past life. But when he reconstructs her, she discovers her body still instinctively remembers the Panzer Kunst, the most powerful cyborg fighting technique ever known. In the postapocalyptic world of the Scrapyard, as the secrets of Gally's past unfold, each day is a struggle for survival. (Source: Kodansha USA, edited)
Type

manga

Volumes

19

Chapters

124

Status

finished

Started

2001-07-19

Innocent

()

8.02

Description:

In the 18th century, seeking "freedom and equality", the event that became the starting point of modern French society, the French Revolution, began. There was one more protagonist that lived within the darkness, Henry Charles Sanson. He was the fourth generation family head of the Sanson Family, and executioner of Paris. This is the historie of him nobly facing the harsh fate...
Type

manga

Volumes

9

Chapters

99

Rating

full nudity

Status

finished

Started

2013-01-31

Eden: It's an Endless World!

(Eden: It's an Endless World!)

8.01

Description:

In the panic surrounding a worldwide pandemic which kills 15 percent of the population and cripples many more, a secret organization, the Propater, topples the UN and seizes control of much of the world. A boy and a girl, raised in an abandoned virology research center, immune to the virus, are attacked by the Propater and escape. 20 years later the boy is the most powerful drug lord in South America. He aids his son from behind the scenes as he evades and eventually with the help of mercenaries from Nomad (some of them former Propater operatives) fights the Propater. As the plot develops focus shifts away from the main character and develops many sub-plots dedicated to terrorism, Human-improvement, the struggle of the developing countries and the power battles between the drug cartels and Propater. Based strongly on Gnostic mythology, all major characters are named after gnostic deities, and have analogous roles. Warnings: Eden contains a lot of very graphic violence and some sex scenes. (Source: MU)
Type

manga

Volumes

18

Chapters

127

Rating

Mature

Status

finished

Started

1998-09-25

Hokuto no Ken

(Fist of the North Star)

7.85

Description:

The year is 199X. The Earth has been devastated by nuclear war. The seas have dried up and the land is cracked and desolate. Most living things on the planet have become extinct apart from the human race. In this new age violence rules as civilization is lost and the strong rule the weak in a world where food and water are the only thing wth value. At this time a mysterious man named Kenshiro appears with his deadly martial art, the 2000 year old Hokuto Shinken. With his deadly style eliminating the evil is he the saviour of the new era?
Type

manga

Volumes

27

Chapters

245

Status

finished

Started

1983-09-13

Fire Punch

(Fire Punch)

7.72

Description:

In the not-too-distant past, the Ice Witch blanketed the world in snow, starvation and madness, leading the inhabitants to seek their salvation in fire. With that, an unusual destiny unfolds for two young orphans, Agni and Luna, blessed with the ability to regenerate. But will this ability prove to be more of a curse than a blessing?(Source: VIZ Media)
Type

manga

Volumes

8

Chapters

83

Status

finished

Started

2016-04-18

Battle Royale

7.67

Description:

Under the guise of a "study trip," a group of students from Shiroiwa Junior High School in the fictional town of Shiroiwa (Kagawa Prefecture) are gassed on a bus. They awaken in the Okishima Island School on Okishima, an isolated, evacuated island. They learn that they have been placed in an event called the Program. According to the rules, every year since 1947, 42 third-year high school students are isolated, and each student is required to fight to the death until one student remains. Their movements are tracked by metal collars around their necks, which contain tracking and listening devices; if any student should attempt to escape the Program, or enter declared forbidden zones, a bomb will be detonated in the collar, killing the wearer. If no one dies in a 24 hour time period, there will be no winner and all collars will be detonated simultaneously. (Source: Wikipedia)
Type

manga

Volumes

15

Chapters

119

Rating

Horror

Status

finished

Started

2000-11-01

Shimoneta to Iu Gainen ga Sonzai Shinai Taikutsu na Sekai

7.63

Description:

16 years after the "Law for Public Order and Morals in Healthy Child-Raising" banned coarse language in the country, Tanukichi Okuma enrolls in the country's leading elite public morals school and is soon invited into the Anti-Societal Organization (SOX) by its founder, Ayame Kajou. As a member blackmailed into joining by Ayame, Tanukichi ends up taking part in obscene acts of terrorism against the talented student council president Anna (for whom Tanukichi has a crush on). (Source: ANN)
Type

novel

Volumes

11

Chapters

64

Rating

Ecchi

Status

finished

Started

2012-07-18

Kowloon Generic Romance

7.63

Description:

Welcome to Kowloon Walled City: a dystopian townscape where the people are brimming with nostalgia, and where the past, present, and future converge. Amid the hidden emotions and extraordinary daily lives of the men and women working in its confines, a tale of romance begins to unfold for real estate agent Reiko Kujirai—one that feels as familiar as Kowloon itself… (Source: Yen Press) Note: - Nominated for the 14th Manga Taisho Award in 2021. - Nominated for the 6th Tsugimanga Award in the Print Manga Category in 2020.
Type

manga

Status

current

Started

2019-11-07

Hataraku Saibou Black

7.59

Description:

In the manga's story, cells work in a "black" environment in the body of a human in poor health. The person drinks and eats too much, has insufficient physical activity, and has high stress. Note: Chapter count includes 2 side stories.
Type

manga

Volumes

8

Chapters

50

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Started

2018-06-07

Marginal

(Marginal)

7.53

Description:

In the year 2999, only eleven cities still survive on Earth. The climate has changed drastically, and a biochemical apocalypse has made women extinct. For centuries, the male population of Earth has survived by depending on only one woman, called the Holy Mother, whose ova are harvested to create genetically engineered children. By now, any concept of a world in which women exist as ordinary people is long gone. Society has re-structured itself around all-male families, and relationships between men and adolescent boys have become the norm. At the beginning of Marginal, the Holy Mother is assassinated by a terrorist known as Grinja. The government in power doesn't want to start a mass panic, so it pretends that the Holy Mother has only shed her vessel, and that she will be miraculously "reborn" in the near future. The public, which is superstitious and devout, believes this easily. Only government officials know that behind the scenes, there is a frantic effort to create a being able to give birth. The manga's story revolves around Kira, who becomes involved in a three-way relationship with Grinja, the aforementioned terrorist, and Ashijin, a young man who calls himself Kira's owner. A complex plot and flawless world-building make the story irresistible, and Kira's search for freedom is as symbolic as it is gripping. (Source: The Pink Panzer)
Type

manga

Volumes

5

Chapters

24

Rating

Sexual Violence

Status

finished

Started

1985-08-01

Alma

7.45

Description:

Ray and Trice grew up together in this post apocalyptic world. She was his only friend. But then one day... An unwelcome guest arrives and proclaims "Glory to Humans"... (Source: MU)
Type

manga

Status

current

Started

2019-10-03

Mitsuami no Kamisama

7.34

Description:

A story about a girl being kept in isolation in a world that appears to have experienced an earthquake and nuclear disaster.
Type

manga

Volumes

1

Chapters

20

Status

finished

Started

2011-08-25

Wild Strawberry

7.27

Description:

Plants have evolved. They can now feed on humans and become terrible monsters known as Jinka. Kingo and Kayano do their best to survive in a Tokyo overrun by plants, but when Kayano becomes a Jinka, Kingo will do anything he can to get her back! (Source: MANGA Plus)
Type

manga

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

current

Started

2023-07-14

Coppelion

7.23

Description:

In 2016 a meltdown of a nuclear power plant creates a big catastrophe in Tokyo. 20 years later, the city has become a ghost town due to the high levels of radiation. From that area a distress signal is received. The Self Defence forces dispatch 3 girls from the special unit Coppelion to search for survivors. But why aren't they wearing any protection against radiation? (Source: MU)
Type

manga

Volumes

26

Chapters

226

Rating

Status

finished

Started

2008-06-09

Imawa no Michi no Alice

(Alice on Border Road)

7.16

Description:

The manga follows "another Alice," a female high school student who curses her everyday life. When by chance she loses her way on the "Borderroad," she is forced to participate in deadly survival games with other female high school students. (Source: ANN)
Type

manga

Volumes

8

Chapters

31

Rating

Horror

Status

finished

Started

2015-08-19

Route 20

7.14

Description:

In Route 20 people live in a metal city surrounded by a glass dome, that protects its inhabitants from the polluted air of the outside, and controlled by a paranoic and oppressive police state. They feel free and sure, albeit they are like imprisoned. But some "rebel" boys have different feelings. Ushiji is one of them, a boy that follows his dream... or, better, rides his dream: his motorcycle and its metaphoric meaning of freedom, with the memories of his grandfather's tales about the absence of rules and hypocrisies of the outer world.
Type

manga

Volumes

1

Chapters

5

Status

finished

Started

1993-01-01

Battle Royale: Tenshi-tachi no Kokkyou

(Battle Royale: Angels' Border)

7.12

Description:

The Program is a brutal military experiment that pits junior high students against each other every year in a brutal battle to the death. Most of the students from Shiroiwa Junior High scatter as soon as they reach the remote island where they must participate in the latest round of the Program. But Yukie Utsumi and five of her friends lock themselves in the lighthouse, clinging to a desperate hope of survival. They all trust each other, but they also know that only one can survive the Battle Royale... (Source: MU)
Type

manga

Volumes

1

Chapters

9

Rating

Horror

Status

finished

Started

2011-01-01

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