Anime adaptations often breathe new life into manga, bringing their intense and unique art styles to animated form. While many popular manga series have received well-deserved adaptations, some incredible titles still remain untouched or underrepresented on screen.
Whether it’s the haunting journey of Agni in Fire Punch, the sci-fi intensity of Origin, or the otherworldly chaos of Gantz, these narratives offer compelling characters and vivid worlds that deserve to be explored in anime.
Here are five manga that not only stand out with their storytelling and art but also have all the right ingredients for unforgettable anime adaptations.
Fire Punch
Chapter: 83
Fire Punch is a famous manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto, also known for creating Chainsaw Man and Goodbye, Eri. It is a finished series, which takes place in an apocalyptic frozen wasteland caused by a witch’s curse.
The manga follows a boy named Agni, a mutant with regenerative powers. His relatively peaceful life is disrupted when army commander Doma burns his village, along with Agni and his sister, with his eternal flames. Agni’s regeneration doesn’t kill him, but he is constantly on fire.
Now Agni walks the icy wasteland as a human torch, looking for Doma to avenge his sister. Just like other works of Fujimoto, this manga is dark, creepy, and differently portrays human survival and deserves an adaptation.
Gantz
Chapter: 383
Gantz is a manga written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. This manga received an anime adaptation in 2004 but the narrative deviated from the source material and wasn’t appreciated by the fandom. The Gantz: O movie focuses only on the Osaka arc from the original manga.
The manga follows Kei Kurono, who, at the moment of his death, is suddenly teleported to a room with a bunch of other people who also just died. With no clue, everyone is greeted by a spherical robot, Gantz, who assigns them to kill dangerous aliens.
Now our protagonist has two options: win his freedom by completing a deadly mission every day or die. Gantz is a dark sci-fi fantasy with a great story and extraordinary artwork, and needs a committed studio that can adapt the essence of the manga.
Origin
Chapter: 87
This manga series is written and illustrated by Boichi, famous for his unique art style in series like Dr. Stone and Sun Ken Rock. The manga visualizes a futuristic Japan where robotics and AI are at their peak, but in the shadows, a few rogue androids hide among humans desperate for survival.
The protagonist, named Origin, who is also an advanced android prototype hiding as human while working for a big robotics company. Origin’s creator or father assigned him a mission to protect humans from rogue robots and to develop emotions to live as a normal human being.
Fans of Dr. Stone will love it if this particular manga is made into an anime. A feature film is already in works with Majestic Limited, but the manga needs an anime adaptation.
Gokurakugai
Chapter: 26
Gokurakugai is a manga series written and illustrated by Yuto Sano, who gained a lot of attention after winning the 2017 Gessan Newcomer Award Winter Season. The manga follows the main protagonists Tao Saotome and Alma, who are part of a Troubleshooter Agency in a place called Gokurakugai, a place where humans and beastmen live together.
Their work mainly focuses on finding missing people to get classified information for their clients. Currently, the Gokurakugai district is in chaos due to an increase in missing people and the appearance of mutilated animals. During one of their cases, they encounter a disaster beast, Maga, and after defeating this calamity, the much darker forces are at work in the district.
Official promotional banner for Gokurakugai’s 3rd Anniversary Pop-Up Shop! 🏮 pic.twitter.com/7Vh8xEz66s
— Gokurakugai Wiki (@gokurakugainews) July 20, 2025
Gokurakugai is definitely one of those manga series that seems like it’s just waiting for an anime adaptation, and it’s only a question of when it’ll happen. With its refined artwork and great narrative, the anime could be the next Gachiakuta or Sakamoto Days.
Tower Dungeon
Chapter: 18
This manga series is written and illustrated by Tsutomu Nihei, known for his famous sci-fi horror manga, Blame!. Tower Dungeon is a new series that centers around a powerful evil wizard who kills the ruler of an empire to take over his body. The Wizard abducts his daughter to the most dangerous place possible, the Dragon Tower.
Now the story follows our young protagonist, Yuva, a huge and unusually strong young farmer, who is called upon by the Royal Guards to replace a wounded soldier. Yuva teams up with the warriors on their perilous quest to scale the tower and rescue the princess, armed only with a pot lid for protection and a robust back to bear their supplies.
