Shoujo Tsubaki
Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show

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A selection of titles from the gekiga scene, a short-lived yet influential artistic movement that flourished during the 1960s to the 1970s and maintains a prominent underground presence today. While mostly known as a pioneer of cinematic paneling and close attention to realism, it would be more accurate to consider gekiga as a counterculture. Surrealistic, autobiographical, and experimental works emerged as an alternative to the Tezuka school of aesthetics and paved the way for other artists to different modes of expression.

This is in NO WAY a comprehensive list and should be treated more as a starting point for diving into this movement. There are so many more important artists and titles in the scene that MAL unfortunately does not have entries for, and probably never will. Since I can't speak Japanese, there may also be some titles that I am unfamiliar with. The 50-title limit doesn't help either, but I hope this gets you started in this often-unexplored side of manga.

Note: Not all of these titles are available in English.
11/04/2022 Updated to include more underground artists.

If you enjoyed this interest stack and want to learn more about gekiga, feel free to check these other outlets:
The MAL Gekiga Club
Taniguchi Scanlations
Habanero Scans
Illuminati-Manga
Hox Scanlations
Stinky Scans
Ryan Holmberg's translations
Star Fruit Books
Glacier Bay Books
Koenji Shawn Reviews
The Comics Journal
Breakdown Press
Drawn and Quarterly
New York Review Comics
AX Volume 1: A Collection of Alternative Manga

Many stories, many art styles, many genres and demographics.

A list made for and from a manga lover, delve into the diverse and extensive world of manga

this list is growing as my readings, patience 🕴️

These lists don't just focus on whether or not a job is good, they focus on whether a job has value and is worth reading.

so there will be some that for a general public are very rare and others that can be very bad for you but I hope you can understand the value of each one 🕴️

obviously there is a standard, the idea is not to frustrate the reader or put worthless and boring stories

Finally, these lists are just a part of the vast and wonderful world that the Manga.

Just manga that are creepy af. Good writing is optional. DECENT writing is optional. The spook is all that matters.

Can be creepy in terms of visuals, atmosphere/tension, or content matter (e.g. dystopian, psychological horror, etc)

all of them are under 16 chapters, and most are 1 volume long.

some contain guro, so check the description if you don't want to see that.

not all manga here are necessarily disturbing (or at least not as much as others), but are still dark/twisted. at the same time, some are disturbing/twisted, yet not necessarily (that) dark (take Kanojo wa Sore wo Gaman Dekinai, for example).

Manga that aren't on MAL:
- Bibliomania, by Obaru & Macchiro
- Goths Cage, by Yasushi Suzuki
- Yuugatou, by Arima Tomasu (one shot)

Come one, come all- under the manga big top! Happy trapeze artists to martial artist acrobats to dark freak shows, it is all in here.

Manga featuring intersex characters. Some are not human.


Not on MAL (yet):

Ore ga Ryousei Nante Mitomenai!
Kiri (intersex boy) (main)
Kiri's mom (intersex woman) (supporting)

Me wo Tojite Daite
Hanafusa (intersex woman) (main)

Ryouseika Majiwaru Unmei no Tsugai
Aritoki Ujou (intersex man) (main)

Merry Tuesday
Hwayo (intersex woman?) (protagonist)

Mangosteen no Koibito
? (intersex) (main?)

"Seibetsu ga, Nai!" Hito-tachi no Hoken Taiiku
Anokoro Ore wa Joshikousei
Asia o Futari de Aruite Mita - Chuusei Oji-san to Otokonoko no Ryokouki
Chuusei Furo e Youkoso!
Ore no Mawari no "Seibetsu ga, Nai!" Hitotachi - Arai Shou no Sekumai Kouyuuroku
Saikin sa Otona to Wakamono ga sa... Suggoi Chigaku ne!?
Seibetsu ga, Nai!
Seibetsu R!
Seibetsu x Renai Hakusho
Shou Arai (intersex man) (protagonist)

Manga version of https://myanimelist.net/stacks/19098

LGBTQ+ characters in horror manga. Not all are great representations. A couple are not listed as horror on MAL but I thought they were horror-adjacent.


Queer Horror Anime List: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/31015

brief, underrated works that stand out visually or thematically
key themes: gore, boy's love, youth, despair
most of these contain on-page sexual assault and other extremities
still a work in progress

All of the entries in this stack are in order
not on mal
-Yaijin
-continue to be killed summer
-shoujo kaitai -akai hon
-fukushuu no. 31 -Bibliomania
-Yin Yang road -remake no touko
-chainsaw -bizarre crime division
-comedy station massacre
Hentai
-Mai chans daily life -applicant for death
(part 1 https://myanimelist.net/stacks/37639)
(his youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oigP5s7kiM&t=6s)

List of manga that encompurate pictures from real life somewhere in their panels.

Trippy mangas constantly unfolding like a dream