Sanctuary

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: サンクチュアリ

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 12

Chapters: 108

Status: Finished

Published: 1990 to 1995

Genres: Drama, Suspense

Themes: Detective, Organized Crime

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Big Comic Superior

Authors: Ikegami, Ryouichi (Art), Buronson (Story)

Statistics

Score: 8.21¹ (scored by 9,432 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #434²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #524

Members: 36,892

Favorites: 978

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Recommendations
Make a recommendation

Akumetsu addpermalink

In both the protagonists are aiming to change Japan through unconventional means. 

reportRecommended by Korru

Read recommendations by 5 more users

Both manga are about changing Japan.  Read Sanctuary for a hardboiled crime thriller look at Japanese politics populated by the manliest men in manga, with emphasis on yakuza involvement.  Read Akumetsu to see Japanese politics blown up and eviscerated by a happy-go-lucky lunatic, with emphasis on unrestrained trashy violence, involving at one point a wheelchair kitted out with knives goring a politician to death. 

reportRecommended by Beatnik

Both are about politics. Both protagonists criticize the government's policies in their own ways. 

reportRecommended by rei_hino

Politics, corruption... Japan needs to change. Both manga focus on such an equation where the protagonists attempt to make a stand against the corruption of Japan and change it for the better. Sanctuary differs being an intense crime thriller, where two brothers make use of their superior intelligence to topple both the political and criminal battlefield. While Akumetsu has a complete maniac tearing up the world and showcasing his twisted love of violence and brutality. Overall, both manga are some of the manliest stories in existence that will ensure to appeal to anyone who enjoys stories with characters  attempting to enact a drastic change on the world. read more 

reportRecommended by Akoram

1.Both of them have characters which have the ultimate aim of changing the state of Japan
2.Both of them have characters who are willing to do things the dirty way so that the "Ends will justify the means." 

reportRecommended by Anime_lover987

Sanctuary is mostly a yakuza manga and I'm recommending this over Akumetsu cause they're similar, however Sanctuary tackles issues regarding Japan's half-corrupt political system in a more realistic and overall in a better course of action. 
Both have incredible manipulative MCs which has really been a sought-after element lately, really makes you wanna root for them and hope their plans execute correctly.  

reportRecommended by Euroqean

Manga: Ouroboros: Keisatsu wo Sabaku wa Ware ni Ari

Ouroboros: Keisatsu wo Sabaku wa Ware ni Ari addpermalink

Similar premise. Both have childhood friends who went to different fields in order to change society. One became a yakuza while the other worked for the government/authorities. The two friends are still in communication but they hide their relationship from public to avoid suspicion.  

reportRecommended by xxxholic_wing

Read recommendations by 2 more users

Shamo addpermalink

Both these manga series are testosterone filled, action packed stories that massage the primal male ego. They are attempts at trying to break down the cultural norms of what a male is asked to follow and build upon the primal, animalistic nature of males in the animal kingdom with a human touch. Sex, drugs, murder, rape, deception, trust, betrayal and family are ominpresent, important themes that surround and affect the main characters. 

reportRecommended by arimakenshin

Read recommendations by 1 more user

Death Note addpermalink

Both manga feature two protagonists machinating and maneuvering their way within a criminal context. 

reportRecommended by Beatnik

Read recommendations by 1 more user

Mystery to Iu nakare addpermalink

Both contain a mystery-layer motif, in which the main character(s)'s secret past is slowly being revealed. Throughout the entire series, the one to advance the plot is the main character(s). 

reportRecommended by arielpk

Trillion Game addpermalink

The artist is the same, Ryoichi Ikegami, and I believe Riichiro Inagaki had Sanctuary in his mind when he came up with the plot for Trillion game. 
The drawings are top notch.
The mood is a little more serious in Sanctuary and comic in Trillion game.
Both manga are about two young men working together to reach their goals. 
In both you can feel the impetus of careerism and self improvement while they push themselves to climb the ranks of society. They also do not despise having to play dirty in order to succeed. 

reportRecommended by maito93

Date Masamune addpermalink

Both the manga show the rise of young men who using power, cunning and influence reach the top. 
Sanctuary is fiction and politics. Masamune is a non-fiction biographical tale of a great warlord involving politics and war. 

reportRecommended by mangareader123

Gantz addpermalink

Both of them are dark, violent, action-packed, and contain sexual imagery. They both fit within the seinen demographic and are definitely similar, even as one is a political thriller (Sanctuary) and another is a science-fiction manga (Gantz).  

reportRecommended by donut_jelly

Gin to Kin addpermalink

yakuza, political intrigue, deception, manipulation, and two dudes who are definitely not gay 

reportRecommended by mammon_mashin

Harukaze no Snegurochka addpermalink

There is a very strong historical-cultural aspect in both the works. It focuses on gray aspects of the character, and has sexual violence against women. 

reportRecommended by SonatoCristo

Heat addpermalink

Except for similar art and setting, both of these manga feature specific kind of character growth - becoming more influential in yakuza society. If you liked Hojo side of Sanctuary story, and how he advanced trough the ranks you might like Heat which is about young ambitious yakuza starting to get more attention and influence. 

reportRecommended by grsh

Fourteen addpermalink

Both of them showcase the dirty, power-hungry world of politics. Sanctuary is completely a political thriller, while Fourteen involves many politicians working hard to keep their own power during crises. Both are must-reads! 

reportRecommended by donut_jelly

Banana Fish addpermalink

Banana Fish and Sanctuary are both political thrillers where you just can't turn the pages fast enough! Banana Fish deals with mafia and inner city gang politics in America while Sanctuary deals with the Japanese Diet and Yakuza in Japan. Both series are page turners as words and simple expressions are just as engrossing as gun fights. In addition, both series have two males whose relationship to each other could best be described as "bromantic" or "heterosexual life partners". If you liked one, you should check out the other. 

reportRecommended by zawa113

Jiraishin addpermalink

Both have a dark and gritty tokyo city 90's underworld/crime style to it. Both show that justice doesn't always follow the law. Both are masterpieces, but Sanctuary has a more coherent story that follows the main characters, while Jiraishin is more slice of life and episodic in nature. 

reportRecommended by ex0

Strain addpermalink

Both feature the same author Buronson, and same artist Ryoichi Ikegami.  While both stories feature lots of hard boiled action and drama, and life on the streets. 

reportRecommended by Brand

20th Century Boys addpermalink

Both mangas are high-adrenaline thrillers with a touch of mystery. In a world where rebellion against societal norms can get you killed, the main characters are pitted against greedy and corrupt enemies with terrifying political and economic power. Colorful characters, masterful cliffhangers, and powerful stories make these two mangas a Japanese thriller must. 

reportRecommended by imperius

Crying Freeman addpermalink

Sex, betrayal, mafia, politics, war. Ikegami's art is again featured and beautifully illustrated in a good testosterone driven plot.  

reportRecommended by arimakenshin

Hito Hitori Futari addpermalink

They both have a similar feel, as in both the characters are trying to change the country on a very large scale. 

reportRecommended by crimsonpheonix

Eagle addpermalink

Both are seinen titles about a politics and changing the face of said politics.  Sanctuary is more of a hard boiled story with the Yakuza  heavily involved in the story.  Where Eagle is more of a drama and features more politics.  

reportRecommended by Brand

Cesare: Hakai no Souzousha addpermalink

only if you liked the politics, intrigue, and charismatic people with ambition. 

reportRecommended by kelfounet

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