The meaning of survival will vary from one person to the next, depending on who they ask.
Others would say that survival is fighting against any threat to your life.
The concept of survival can be applied to many different things.
This is why it’s possible to use the same idea in the manga.
We will be looking at the top 30 survival manga.
The mangaka has a lot of freedom to create with the theme of survival.
You’ll see that our list includes stories about everything from end-of-the-world scenarios to games that encourage people to be their true selves.
No matter what genre you choose, our list will help you find the right survival story.
Updated June 1, 2024, by Shagun Singh: In recent years, the world of manga has been graced with numerous renowned additions. Several lesser-known treasures gained the recognition they deserved once their corresponding anime adaptations were unveiled. This greatly contributed to the manga receiving the love and attention it rightfully deserved.For those who are new to manga, it can be quite overwhelming to decide which ones to start with. Choosing the incorrect series could potentially discourage them from exploring any other titles. Here is a list of the top survival manga of all time, which has been recently updated to be more organised and informative. It includes detailed information on the best manga series to read.
Here Are the Best Survival Manga Of All Time
30. Darwin’s Game
Manga plotlines often feature characters who are entangled in a game to death.
These characters can experience endless despair and then succeed in a sickly twist of fate.
In Darwin’s Game, we see Kaname Sudo, the protagonist, accept an invitation to play an app game online.
However, it turns into something very dangerous, sometimes leading to death and life-threatening fights.
However, they are not completely unassisted as they gain different powers that can be used to fight other people.
With his power, the protagonist has been able to win all matches so far and is determined to achieve victory.
He plans to even kill the person pulling the strings behind him.
29. Mad Chimera World
Mad Chimera World is a world where chimaera-like creatures have overrun the land.
The females kill and eat males.
To survive in this world, Usagi and her younger brother Mitsuki must battle to save him.
Mitsuki continues to read books and learn about the world before this one.
28. Dragon Head
Teru just survived a terrible train accident.
He is overjoyed to find that at least two others were not hurt in the train wreck.
Teru, Ako and Nobuo team up to get out of the wreckage and find the fresh air.
Teru and his friends suddenly feel the earthquakes, which leads them to realise that the disasters in the wreck are not the only problem they will need to face if they burst.
Mangaka Mochizuki Minetaro’s Dragon Head really brings out the essence of survival.
Mochizuki’s creation demonstrates the horror that can strike a person’s brain and challenge their sanity.
As Teru’s main characters, Ako and Nobuo will be your favorite characters.
You’ll get to know their stories better as the manga goes on.
If you are looking for a real survival story, Dragon’s Head is a great choice.
27. Survivant
Did you know that Japan is surrounded by water on all sides?
Our main character, Survival, is about to be made aware of this fact when an unexpected incident causes Japan’s sinking to the bottom.
The young boy, who barely survived, now has to face a terrifying reality.
The once prosperous land of Japan is now an island.
If he wants to survive, the young boy must use every skill he has learned in his life.
The classic, but powerful art gives readers a glimpse into a different era of manga design.
As the boy struggles against the harsh world, the story is full of drama.
This story, which is also the title of our list of survival manga, has a lot of drama and uses very few concepts to make it interesting.
26. Shibuya Kingyo
Hajime Tsukiyoda, a normal boy, decides to help his classmate.
In return for his kindness, Shibuya is given food.
Hajime and his companions set out to eat as many people as possible.
To survive, they must be defeated.
25. Humanity Has Declined
This survival manga series is set in a post-apocalyptic universe where only a handful of humans remain.
The protagonist is a young girl who acts as a mediator between her race, and the fairies.
Human civilization has fallen apart, and the number of people is continuing to decline.
The fragile relationship between the fairies and humans could be what keeps them from disappearing.
These fairies can be mischievous and often cause trouble for the protagonist.
Because she is the only one who can create sweets, this is how she tries to control and appease the fairies.
The story is difficult to understand with only a brief description.
You will still be able to understand the relationships between the characters and their contributions to keeping the planet from being destroyed if you spend some time reading this book.
Although it is a fight for survival, we have the mediator and her delicious sweets to be grateful for.
24. Doubt
A group of friends are kidnapped and forced to play the popular “Rabbit Doubt” game in real life.
The remaining five must find out who the liar is.
The barcodes on their bodies that allow them to open doors are their only hope of escape.
This forces the group to work together, even though they know one is a murderer.
Will their paranoia cause them to collapse or will they manage to survive this terrifying survival game?
23. Let’s Lagoon
Yamada, a young man, looks around and sees himself on an island with water and trees.
Yamada begins to wonder what has happened and realises that he doesn’t have any memories.
Yamada discovers several clues among the debris that indicate Yamada was most likely on a school trip.
Yamada is shocked to find that the food supply has decreased to a minimum when a young girl named Imaise Chika appears.
If they want to survive on the island, they will have to work together.
Yamada is lucky to have a girl beside him, so he doesn’t feel completely alone.
Mangaka Okazaki Takeshi’s Let’s Lagoon is a romance story with a survival story as the main theme.
If you are looking for a story about survival that isn’t too disturbing, we recommend Let’s Lagoon.
22. Metro Survive
Mishima will soon learn this as he transforms from being weak-willed to a leader.
Mishima has been working as a repairman at Exopolis Tower.
This is a well-known business building. He is used to being pushed around.
Mishima is still being pushed around like an expert dog, even though he broke a promise to his son to be there on his birthday.
When Mishima finally boards the train, a sudden earthquake causes the tower to collapse and traps him along with several others.
A true survival story is about characters evolving and rising to their challenges.
Metro Survive is a compelling story about a man becoming a leader and saving himself and others.
Mangaka Fujisawa Yuki did an excellent job in incorporating many elements into Metro Survive, including character development and strong dramatic tones.
Fujisawa’s stories are less about the disaster than they are about surviving it, which is why there are so many survival manga stories.
Metro Survive is a great story about a parent who wants to ensure his child’s survival.
21. Judge
Hiro, who is indirectly responsible for the death of his brother, is kidnapped and finds himself in the company of eight mask-wearing people.
Each of them has committed a major sin, and they are required to vote every 12 hours to execute one other member.
They are given an incentive to either escape or judge each other.
20. The Vinland Saga
This manga is based on historical events and follows the lives of Vikings from Iceland.
There is betrayal and conquest. But most importantly, everyone can fight and kill anyone.
You won’t be bored by it.
19. Secret
The Third Installment is the spiritual successor to Judge and Doubt.
It tells the story of six students who are involved in a bus accident that results in the death of the rest of their class.
It is discovered that three of the murderers are among the six students.
If they don’t make their crimes public and answer them, the police will bring them to justice.
The survival horror of the students is made more terrifying by the mystery surrounding each one.
18. 51 Ways to Save Her (Kanojo wo Mamoru 51 no Houhou)
An unexpected encounter, a job and a terrible earthquake lead to an amazing story.
Jin Mishima’s job search leads him to Odaiba’s most famous TV station, where he can find the job of his dreams.
Nanako Okana is still in grief from her friends’ cruel trick with tickets to an unexistent concert.
They meet up and it seems like they are on the verge of a romance.
Both Jin and Nanako are left in terrible circumstances after an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale strikes.
But add some people who are not kind to the mix and mangaka Furuya Usamaru has created 51 Ways To Save Her.
This is a tragic story that combines the themes of survival and humanity.
51 Ways to Save Her is a must-read for anyone who loves survival stories.
Although 51 Ways to Save Her has romance, readers will also enjoy the psychological aspects.
You will be more disturbed by the cruelty of man at times than the earthquake’s aftermath.
17. Drifting Classroom
One day, a whole middle school is transported to a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Sho Takamatsu is part of this group.
The reality slowly sets in and Sho’s friends, mostly the adults, start to become insane.
He and the other children realise this, and they do their best to survive in an unknown world with many dangers that will make it difficult to notice.
16. Alice in Borderland
Many survival manga series revolves around alternate worlds where characters are transported from one world to another.
This is what happened to the characters of Alice In Borderland.
Here, people play life-or-death as if that were normal.
This manga is full of humour and tenacity, without going into too many details.
This is solving puzzles in escape rooms, and only then are you dead.
15. The Cage of Eden
Akira Sengoku, along with other survivors, is stranded on an island full of prehistoric animals and plants that have been extinct since the modern era.
The survivors realise dangers are lurking on the island and must work together to find ways to escape them while uncovering secrets.
14. Jisatsutou
This story is about surviving dark thoughts.
Japanese authorities realize dealing with suicide-minded people takes too long and drains resources.
A new rule was implemented. Doctors will ask patients if they want to live.
The government will surprise the patient if the answer is no.
The patient, like our main character Sei, will be sent to an isolated island.
Suicide is a dark theme, but it is also a battle to prove that one can overcome any challenge in this world.
Jisatsutou seeks to make that reality visible through unexpected methods.
Mangaka Mori Kouji tells a story about what-ifs, and how someone can survive without everything.
With its impressive art style, readers are transported to a dark world filled with background effects and emotions.
If you are interested in seeing what a human does when they accept death as a possibility, Jisatsutou is worth a look.
13. 6000
It was destroyed by an accident that killed all of its workers at a facility located below the waterline.
A new company bought it and sent a team to open it again.
Kadokura Kengo is part of the crew that descends to the underwater facility.
Kadokura Kengo is left alone after another accident that injures his colleague.
However, he knows there’s more to the deep ocean than just the crew of people surrounding him.
12. Ousama Game
Ousama, or King’s Games, are just as the title implies: they’re a game in which you must follow a king’s order.
The rules for this manga title are more complex than that.
This game can be played with your friends and classmates.
Fun, right?
A whole class of high school students begins to receive messages from a “King” on their cell phones.
The messages seem simple at first but become more complex as the story progresses.
Some commands are violent or criminal and others will reveal the secrets of others.
The punishment for failing to follow or executing the order is death.
11. This Man
This Man manga is inspired by the urban legend about the anonymous man whose face was seen in dreams all over the globe.
It tells the story of a serial killer with a very similar face.
Hakaru Amano starts to investigate the case of a man who was illegally trespassing upon residences.
This is where the real horror begins.
10. Btooom!
Many gamers were open to the idea that they could fight and kill one another online even before shooting games were made available.
It’s all fun until you suddenly forget everything that happened and find yourself trapped in a game-like environment where you must kill real enemies to survive.
Btooom! They are trying to be destroyed, hence the onomatopoeic name.
This is not your usual shooting/war game. You don’t need to have a steady aim and a high-calibre rifle.
Strategy is key.
You need to find out where your enemies are hiding and lure them to your bombing range.
I don’t know if that’s enough to ensure survival.
9. Psyren
High school student Ageha Yoshida discovers a calling card called Psyren on her way home from school one day.
After learning that Sakurako Amamiya, his classmate, received a similar call card, he asks her about it.
He eventually answers the calling card and finds himself on an unknown planet full of monsters with Sakurako.
They must battle to get to the end where they can finally return home.
8. Dr. Stone
Imagine waking up on a planet where all humans have been turned into stone by a mysterious catastrophe.
Do you want to wander, or live off the land like prehistoric nomads?
Would you rather try to make rapid progress by leveraging your past knowledge?
This manga shows how a group of people attempt to rebuild civilization using science and other modern world knowledge.
It’s also good that they found a way to reverse the petrification of other people to help add to their group.
Some people want to keep the world imprisoned, while others have the ability to turn people into stone.
It’s a constant tug-and-pull between these two groups.
7. Battle Royale
Battle Royale is the story of what you would expect: a battle royale that ends in death.
A group of junior high students are brought together and forced to fight to the death to win.
Although every manga on this list has dark themes, there are still darker areas.
This manga may not be for everyone.
6. Girls’ Last Tour
Yuuri and Chito are the protagonists of this series.
They are two young girls who “tour” the ruins after an unspecified world-ending event.
They are the only characters that we see throughout the story.
Other minor characters meet along the journey, but they are the main focus of the series.
Their Kettenkrad is a half-track motorcycle that carries all their necessities and acts as their mobile home.
The story focuses on the difficulties of finding food and supplies, and how to survive.
They are exposed to the elements, including the weather and terrain.
This is a tale of survival told through the eyes and experiences of adorable little girls.
5. Made in the Abyss
It’s difficult to not get a hint from survival with a title such as this.
You’d be wrong to think that this title doesn’t have survival elements.
It includes exploring alone in unfamiliar places, getting lost, following your mother’s lead, and following her instructions at the bottom.
This is irresponsible parenting in some cases. It’s an adventure story. Or disaster.
Made in Abyss will keep you smiling until the very end. You will love the characters and their approach to exploration.
4. School-Live!
School-Live is a survival title that follows a few high school girls who are members of the School Living Club.
The reader is shown the daily activities of these girls, including how they attend classes, eat lunch together, clean up after school, and much more.
As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that they are not choosing to stay in school.
They have been forced to hide in their classrooms while the rest is destroyed by the zombie apocalypse.
One of their classmates believes that all is normal and that their teachers and classmates are still alive.
No flesh-eating monsters roam outside their house.
It’s a fun survival element to see the world through the eyes of a classmate who is deluded.
This book is a refreshing take on the zombie genre.
It gives readers an intimate look into the relationships between survivors, and how they can maintain “peace” and normalcy in the best interests of a friend.
3. Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest
Manga often features a bullied protagonist standing up against his tormentors.
Arifureta takes the story to a new level by giving the bullied protagonist a transformation that gives him a lot of power.
The class idol was bullied and the main character got betrayed immediately by one of his classmates.
They were taken to fantasy land, where he was later taken, hostage.
He didn’t gain any magical abilities, but he did get the ability to transmute and use alchemy.
He survives thanks to his thick plot armour. He is determined to make his enemies stronger and eat them to gain their power.
He was able to swiftly track his revenge by meeting and saving a vampire who was being held prisoner.
Other powerful and beautiful characters made it easier for him to climb the ladder of power.
The main character’s willpower is his greatest asset. It allows him to survive and thrive even though he began in a hellish dungeon.
2. I Am A Hero
Hideo is a 35-year-old Japanese male.
This all changes when ZQN, a virus that turns people into hostile zombies, forces Hideo Suzuki into a desperate fight for his life with his only gun.
Hideo meets various survivors of the apocalyptic world and the manga describes the consequences for people.
It also outlines the moral choices that they have to make to ensure their survival.
1. Corpse Party
After performing the ritual Sachiko Ever After, a group of students and teachers are thrown into another world.
They are trapped in an abandoned Tenjin Elementary school and must find a way to escape.
Corpse Party, which includes both evil and malicious members, is a survival horror story that every fan of this genre should see.
It can be difficult to find a good manga.
There are many options, so it can be hard to choose the right one.
We hoped to help you make your search easier by providing a list of recommended manga.
Even though you can make lists like these, survival is not an easy task.
Please let us know if there are any good survival manga out there.
