Seinen anime and manga are aimed at older male audiences, featuring not only mature content but also mature themes and ideas. Some shonen series, like Devilman, Violence Jack and Fist of the North Star, get mistaken for seinen due to their extreme content but were still aimed at teenagers. Any number of genres can fall under the seinen demographic, from intense fantasy to inspirational sci-fi to mature romance. The following nine seinen series are some of the most influential and impactful of them all.
Lone Wolf and Cub
One of the major classics of seinen manga is Lone Wolf and Cub, written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Goseki Kojima. Running from 1970 to 1976, the story centers on the shogun's executioner, shamed by false allegations that send him down the path of the assassin. He sets out on a brutal revenge scheme, where his only companion is his three-year-old son. Lone Wolf and Cub was adapted into a beloved series of six films and is a clear source of inspiration for The Mandalorian. It's a work of art.
Akira
When discussing great anime and manga, it's only a matter of time before Akira comes up in conversation. Katsuhiro Otomo both wrote the manga and directed the anime, and while the anime is one of the most influential films of all time, its manga counterpart arguably surpasses it. The series tells an epic story about class conflict, religious fanaticism and youthful rebellion against corrupt systems of control. Decades later, both comics and animation are still constantly referencing and drawing inspiration from Akira.
Oh My Goddess!
Oh My Goddess! by Kōsuke Fujishima is one of the classics of seinen romance. This domestic comedy offered an idealistic but also surprisingly down-to-Earth portrait of what life would be like if you had a beautiful Goddess for a partner. What Oh My Goddess! lacks in terms of a greater narrative structure, it compensates for both in terms of its magical hijinks of the week and surprisingly human, tender moments. The manga lasted from 1988 until 2014, entertaining generations of readers.
Berserk
Berserk by Kentaro Miura is one of the greatest fantasy manga ever created. The saga centers on Guts, an extremely angry man with a giant, dull sword who really wants to kill Griffith, his former friend who betrayed him. What makes Berserk so brilliant is how Miura develops his characters, showing them at both their cruelest and at their most vulnerable. While the world of demonic monsters and despotic rulers is cynical and bleak, what makes it compelling is how Miura remembers to keep his characters human.
Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow is one of the greatest works of cyberpunk ever created, following the exploits of Section 9 and the cyborg Motoko Kusanagi. The manga's ideas were later refined by Mamoru Oshii in his iconic film of the same name, and Ghost in the Shell has been revived every few years since then, remaining a mainstay in sci-fi anime. Few other stories have offered the same insightful discourse on the human condition, while simultaneously offering memorable characters, dramatic tension and haunting visuals.
Initial D
Initial D is another iconic seinen manga and anime franchise that has been adapted several times. The original manga by Shuichi Shigeno offered some of the best portraits of the Japanese racing scene ever conceived. The series centers on initially reluctant racer Takumi Fujiwara as he partakes in illegal street races, all in order to become the best racer ever. While the plot is distinctly shonen, it adapts that conflict for a more mature audience. Initial D helped popularize the concept of drifting in modern pop culture, beating film franchises like The Fast and the Furious to the punch by several years.
Monster
Monster by Naoki Urasawa is one of the darkest, most cynical seinen manga ever written. Dr. Kenzo Tenma saves a young child named Johan from a traumatic brain injury. Years later, Tenma learns that Johan has grown into a truly vile human being, described by those who encounter him as simply a "Monster." What Monster does so brilliantly is that it concocts a compelling cat-and-mouse chase, where it is uncertain who is the mouse and who is the cat. Along the way, the characters delve into a world of true human depravity and wickedness. It is one of the most horrific manga ever written.
FLCL
Has any anime ever been as truly bizarre as FLCL? Gainax made this six-episode OVA as a way to have fun following the draining release of The End of Evangelion. The series centers on a young boy named Naota, who, after being beaten over the head by a guitar wielded by a Vespa-riding lunatic known as Haruka Haruharu, finds weird creatures emerging from an interdimensional portal in his skull. It is hard to explain the madness that follows, but it somehow works. Many have tried to recreate FLCL's brand of insanity, including two sequel series, but nothing matches the original.
Hellsing
There's a lot of seinen horror series out there, but few are as prolific or as beloved as Hellsing by Kouta Hirano. Hellsing is the story of the Hellsing Organization, a British paramilitary group that kills vampires. The series focuses on its tough-as-nails leader, Integra Hellsing, the new recruit Seras Victoria and the nightmarish vampiric vampire hunter known as Alucard. The series presents memorably gruesome violence in its three-way war between Britain, the Vatican and Nazis. Hellsing walked so later seinen horror titles like Tokyo Ghoul could run.
