The undead are a pillar of the popular culture and the core of the Terror stories, but the zombies issue goes further, since it is not only a pop culture myth but is known from ancestral practices; the voodoo priests performed a ritual in which a person was given several drugs causing a kind of trance, performing the movements typical of zombies, where it seems that the person had no control over his body.
Whatever its origin, we can not deny that we are especially attracted to the stories of the living dead, because they have a certain charm that has remained forever in the popular bestiary. Also, who would not want to witness a zombie outbreak? Yes, we know we would be the first to repent, but the undead will never go out of style and the stories around them will always be interesting. Let's see a list of ten of the best zombies manga!
Top 10 best zombie manga
Mahou Shoujo of the End (Magical Girl Apocalypse)
Why do we talk about a Mahou Shoujo in a list of zombies? Because this is a manga that manages to combine elements that, at first glance, might seem incompatible: the zombie apocalypse and the magic girls. The peculiarity of these girls is that they came to Earth through a pentagram that is projected in the sky, and each victim they charge becomes zombies. The plot focuses mainly on mystery, gore and action, since every death caused by girls or zombies is very graphic and bloody, and all giving the time to explore the morals and ethics of people in extreme situations .
Kogami Kii is an average high school student, bored with his monotonous school life, who tries to spend his days unnoticed. One day, during an exam, he observes a strange situation in the entrance of the school, when one of his classmates is arguing with a girl dressed in what could seem a cosplay; this strange Gothic-looking girl soon begins to attack every person in front of her. After this event, Kogami's life will change radically, so he and a group of survivors will have to investigate the origin of these strange magical girls.
Highschool of the Dead
Undoubtedly, this work is best known for its anime version, full of fanservice; Although the manga is also full of fanservice, its length also allows to hide it and analyze its characters. This is noticeable in the second arc of the story, since in the saga of the shopping center there is time to develop the protagonists and illustrate the end of the world, with a decision making that becomes more drastic and makes the meritoriousness worthwhile.
A pandemic is spreading across the planet, which is turning humans into zombies; Soon, this unknown virus arrives in Japan, where Takashi Komuro, an average high school student, who, one day, observes how a teacher is attacked at the door of the school, and the infection begins to spread massively. In this way, Takashi and the survivors of his school - the most diverse group that has known the zombie apocalypse - must find a way to survive the attack of the undead.
Manga of the Dead
Despite how short it may seem, Manga of the Dead is a compilation of eight horror stories based on zombies. Each episode comes from a different mangaka, which makes this publication a very varied set. For example, we have the story "And I Loved Her" by Katsuya Terada, where a family keeps their zombie grandmother chained in the basement, taking care of her rotten body. Another curious story is "Shitai to Kurasu na Kodomotachi", by Sachiko Uguisu, in which two little children try to survive in a world plagued by zombies ... with their parents already transformed.
In this anthology, they are all short, compelling and easy to read stories. If you like zombies and you are not looking for anything very elaborate, this is a manga that has to be in your collection, and it's considered as one of the best zombie manga of all time.
Zombieya Reiko (Reiko the Zombie Shop)
Zombieya Reiko intelligently mixes necromancy, zombies and black humor. It would be interesting to be able to bring back the dead to know how were their last moments of life and, incidentally, to clarify cases of murder, right? In this manga, most of the episodes are presented as isolated cases, following only the plot to clarify the facts with the final testimony of the murdered person ... but these undead are not as in other works, they have full consciousness and, even, there are those who want to collect revenge by their own hand.
Despite the format used by the manga, we can catch the story of Reiko Himenzono, a girl who dedicates her life to working as a freelance necromancer, covering the orders of customers who want to bring their dead to settle accounts or simply supporting the police to clarify the strangest cases of murder. Equally, it is worth clarifying that within the clauses of their services, it is specified that she is not responsible for what the resurrected can say or do once she becomes aware ...
Gakkougurashi! (School-Live!)
Gakkuogurashi! it is also a manga that plays with genres that, at first glance, seem incompatible; unlike Mahou Shoujo of the End, however, this manga does a better job of mixing a zombie apocalypse with a series of slice of life and a design with Moe tune. Here, some high school girls have to face a world that has been devastated by zombies, while one of them lives in a state of denial, going to classes normally within the undead.
Yuki Takeya, despite everything, tries to lead a normal life, going to school regularly; Kurumi is the girl who is in charge of the zombies, very brave and always accompanied by the shovel she uses as a weapon; Yuuri is a relaxed and mature girl, who takes the role of older sister and always cares about the well-being of her friends; Megumi is a teacher and the only adult of the group, so she is responsible and balanced. All will have to face the zombies, while protecting Yuki during her denial stage.
Biohazard: Marhawa Desire
Resident Evil, known as Biohazard in Japan, was one of the pioneering video games to use zombies, reaching parallel stories in different media, including several live-action movies. It was before the release of Resident Evil 6 that it was decided to release a manga to promote the sequel to the series, a manga that became one of the best zombie manga of all time; Marhawa Desire focuses on the prestigious Marhawa school in Singapore, where a student infected with the Virus T has become a zombie and the authorities are considering preventing the spread of the virus.
Professor Doug has previously collaborated with the BSAA in other outbreaks of the Umbrella Corporation virus, for which he is requested by the Mother Superior of Marhawa. Due to the prestige of the institution, everyone tries to make the case of the infected student that take place as discreetly as possible, but soon this will get out of control and it will be necessary to bring the officers Chris Redfield and Piers Nivans to control the situation, which is even more complex than originally believed.
Mouryou no Yurikago (Cradle of Monsters)
Mouryou no Yurikago is a manga of zombies that sets us in a terrain that had not been explored before in this genre, with a story that takes place on a cruise ... although far from the luxuries and pleasures, we speak of a sinking ship. The only thing worse than a ship sinking is that there are zombies on board! This manga is a reflection of the lowest and wretched that can become a person in a hostile environment and outside the law, and how low can fall the moral of each in order to survive.
Within this cruise is a group of students who, during their end-of-course trip, are involved in this accident, where actually zombies appear. In this unenviable situation, the protagonists will have to find a way to get out alive and investigate the presence of the zombies inside the ship.
Biomega
With a chaotic and "murky" style of drawing, Biomega portrays a world in ruins where humans have managed to colonize Mars. Unfortunately, there is a price to pay for intergalactic travel: a virus called N5S, which by infecting humans makes them a kind of zombie, called Drones. Now, the surface of the planet is almost uninhabitable due to the large number of rotten beings that inhabit it, but for the hope of humanity there are humans immune to the virus, who could be used to fight the disease.
Zoichi Kanoe is a synthetic human belonging to the Toa Heavy Industries, sent on a mission to find humans immune to the N5S, accompanied by his motorcycle and an artificial intelligence that will guide him during his mission. The objective is a girl named Ion Greene, who is sought by both the agents of the Department of Public Health and by the same Drones. In short, if the manga "Blame!" It was to your liking, you can not miss "Biomega", one of its prequels and one of the best zombie apocalypse survival manga ever.
Apocalypse no Toride (Fort of Apocalypse)
Apocalypse no Toride is a manga that looks at a society where ethics and morals are at their lowest point, with laws that are no longer applicable. In this vision of the apocalypse we delve into the story of a group of survivors varied and, although they do not develop so much during the manga, the reader's interest in the past stories of each of them is maintained, achieving certain identification. In addition, we appreciate the detail that has been shown in the drawing of the bloody scenes of this manga, although Apocalypse no Toride prefers the evasion of zombies instead of direct conflict.
Maeda Yoshiaki is a young man accused of a crime he did not commit and who, without further evidence against him, is locked up in the correctional facility. Inside the prison you will realize that life is hard, and unfortunately - or luckily - your cellmates are the most dangerous criminals in the site. In spite of this, Maeda did not stay for longer to accomplish sentence, since shortly after falling prisoner a zombie outbreak spreads through the city, where these juvenile prisoners will have to do everything to survive.
I am a Hero
I am a Hero is, for many, the best zombie manga ever. The thing is ..., unlike other stories of zombies, the protagonist is not what we should aspire in a hypothetical situation with undead that plague the city; On the contrary, Hideo Suzuki is the most human and normal protagonist we've seen in any story of this style. It even takes time to realize the reality that he is living! On the other hand, our protagonist suffers from recurrent hallucinations, and with all this it is easier to empathize with him.
In this manga we follow the story of this 35-year-old failed manga artist, who works as an assistant longing to serialize a manga of his own. Hideo spends his life visiting his girlfriend, suffering hallucinations and talking sporadically with his imaginary friend, but his life will change drastically when an epidemic begins to turn people into living dead. Despite the title of the manga, there are really no heroes here; Simply, each of the survivors does their best to survive in this apocalypse.
