Comics Underground Japan

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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

One manga per author.

This is the Masterson Stack. A list featuring chaotic manga. Or alternatively manga that is a little bit off. A treasure trove of madness.

Welcome to a world of Pessimistic joyrides, Existential terrors, Psychosexual nightmares, Nihilistic fever dreams & Surrealism with some comedy in the madness. I hope you enjoy your time here.

Most Recent Addition to the Stack: Himizu

Most Frequently Featured Authors: Usumaru Furuya, Shuuzou Oshimi, Keiichi Koike & Tatsuki Fujimoto

This list was unlisted as it was deemed "Opinionated and not topical" when this is not true at all. Things can be on this list even if I don't personally enjoy them, I don't know if it was a bot or a person, but this was a false unlist. It just so happens I tend to like this type of stuff, but the list exists to have an accessible list of weird shit, not for me to talk about what I enjoy.

No longer using MAL, so the list here wont be updated anymore. I do however have a version of this list on my Anilist that i update, so go check that out if your'e interested.

Heta-uma (ヘタウマ or ヘタうま) is a Japanese underground manga movement started in the 1970s with the magazine Garo. Heta-uma can be translated as "bad but good", designating a work which looks poorly drawn, but with an aesthetically conscious quality, opposed to the polished look of mainstream manga.

Some of heta-uma's main artists are Teruhiko Yumura (pen name "King Terry", not on MAL yet), Yoshikazu Ebisu and Takashi Nemoto.

This stack includes what are commonly seen as heta-uma works, as well as those I personally consider to be drawn with this sensibility.

This Stack was made with the intention of listing some mangas that have narratives set in Brazilian lands or have very strong characteristics of Brazilian culture permeating their narratives.

(Warning: You may find some spoilers ahead)

If you have a recommendation, just contact me and I'll include it!

PS: I am aware of the Harlequin stories, but I don't intend to include them here.

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