Manga With The Best Character Arcs

Summary

• Fire Punch portrays Agni’s transformation amidst a cursed world, pushing past vengeance for growth.
• The Climber follows Buntarou Mori’s journey from hikikomori to renowned explorer, battling inner demons.
• Real delves into the painful life journey of three basketball enthusiasts facing hardships but staying resilient.

The medium of showing the indomitable human spirit making the host do the unthinkable is phenomenal in all ways. But a certain story-telling medium that dives deep into how a human mind works to solve the incoming hindrances to become a better version of themselves remains unmatched: manga.

From old literary adaptations to original story-telling, manga shows how a multi-layered protagonist with an intricate personality can find themself in a situation that later builds up to an event that changes them as a whole. While the genre is saturated, these manga show the struggle of their protagonists to become a better person.

8

Fire Punch

A classic hit by Chainsaw Man’s author, Fire Punch opens up to earth covered in ice by a curse, later mutating and forming humans with peculiar superpowers, called Blessed. While the series has some rough, grotesque moments that can make the reader uncomfortable, Agni’s development is what makes it even.

With regenerating powers and someone setting Agni on fire eternally, his brain remains undeveloped even if his body grows, but his ideology to take revenge on that individual suddenly shifts when he’s hit with a certain reality check. This is a story of a man constantly on the verge of death that is a horrible reminder of someone’s atrocity, and yet he decides to part ways with vengeance.

7

The Climber

Inspired by an original scenario, The Climber is a monumental story about Buntarou Mori, a hikikomori who later finds the beauty of climbing buildings. This transforms into a passion, allowing him to change his shut-in self into a well-known explorer who visits around the world and climbs mountain peaks while battling his own demons.

Combined with Shinichi Sakamoto’s extraordinarily detailed art style, every panel of The Climber speaks volumes, and it’s a treat to see Mori grow as a human and escape his anti-social self as he confronts his past.

6

Real

Real is a unique, three-in-one adventure where three youngsters go through uncertain events in life, changing them forever, but the only thing that ties them along is the love of basketball, unable to play forever. It’s an eccentric and painful journey of three men by the prestigious Takehiko Inoue.

What increases the shock value of Real is the relatability on a personal level; watching someone so passionate about their goals, but due to severe tragedies, they lose their light and still find a way to circumvent everything to continue growing no matter the situation. Real feels extremely ‘real’ at some points.

5

The Legend Of The Strongest, Kurosawa!

Not all superheroes wear a cape; some rather stick to the normal engineering attire. This manga follows the story of a humble construction worker, Kurosawa, who is often bullied by his fellow workers for shenanigans that he adores to do, but everything surrounding him takes a turn when nobody wishes him on his birthday.

With everyone’s true colors in sight, Kurosawa decides to break the cycle and step out of his comfort zone to finally achieve something in life, as well as change as a person. But nobody knows how long that lonely man can go on for.

4

Homunculus

Homunculus is a classic manga mainly focusing on the psychological horrors of a human mind, but behind all the traumatic, ‘drilling inside the head’ experiences, the elements of superior character development stand out, whether it is for the better or worse for the protagonist, Susumu Nakoshi.

The whole story revolves around a scientific experiment that Susumu agrees to be a part of, which initially has no effects until later parts of the story, allowing him to see the twisted desires and homunculus of every human. This ultimately affects his mental health, and he comes out of his shell after learning about how unjust and weird human desires are.

3

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run

The seventh and most praised entry of the long-running series, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run takes the fans back into the Wild West with a reboot of the series, following the story of the physically challenged protagonist, Johnny Joestar, and the ever-eccentric Gyro Zeppeli, keeping the flow continue with Stands.

From strangers to adventure sidekicks, the adventures through the snowy mountains to discovering one hell of a mystery as their bond continues to grow to an ultimate conclusion. Steel Ball Run can fulfill all your slapstick comedy and adventure needs, including stupendous character progression.

2

20th Century Boys

Coming from the mind of the legendary mangaka Naoki Urasawa, 20th Century Boys is a coming-of-age adventure following the story of a group of friends, but the pace turns in the future when one of them secretively forms a world-controlling cult.

The manga has an edge-of-your-seat mystery, and watching the main character Kenji Endou grow from a kid to a badass uncle carrying a rock-ish guitar is truly one of its kind. An ensemble cast with well-balanced screen time and individual character arcs is something that makes 20th Century Boys different from your typical manga.

1

Vagabond

Vagabond is the ever-influential story about Musashi Miyamoto, the loved historical figure from Japanese history. With breathtaking visuals and inking that encapsulates the feeling of every panel, the manga shows how a mischievous young man tackles the hardships of life and ultimately becomes the strongest, ‘infinite under the sun’ of his land.

With jaw-dropping character writing, a breathtaking rivalry between the protagonist and antagonist, and significantly portraying how mentally taxing uncertainties of life are, Vagabond is a manga worthy of being the zenith of its medium.