5 Best Surreal Horror Manga

Key Takeaways

Surreal horror manga can offer captivating and horrifying experiences for readers, delving into twisted and immersive storytelling.
Iconic works like Uzumaki, The Drifting Classroom, and Gyo showcase the creativity and boundary-pushing nature of horror mangaka.
Fans of the genre should explore titles like Dementia 21 and Franken Fran for unique, grotesque, and chilling tales that push the boundaries of body horror.

Horror manga is a lot of fun to read if the artist in question knows how to terrify readers with their twisted art. These stories can be daunting to flip through at times, but those who don’t mind scaring themselves by reading an unnerving and immersive story will love what these tales bring to the table. Of course, horror comes in all shapes and sizes, and many fans of the genre tend love creepy tales that venture into surreal territory.

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It can be hard to find a good surreal horror manga worth a reader’s time and money, but fans can rest assured that there are several amazing stories worth checking out if these hard-to-comprehend tales are what they’re seeking. Horror stories that delve into the realm of the surreal are tricky to do well, which is why mangaka who pull off a captivating tale in this genre deserve their plaudits.

5 Uzumaki

The Idea Of A Town Being Tormented By A Spiral Is As Surreal As It Gets

Mangaka: Junji Ito
Publisher: Shogakukan
Release Date: January 19, 1998

Junji Ito has become a household name in modern times, and one of his most popular stories that fans can’t get enough of is Uzumaki. It’s the perfect depiction of what makes Ito’s horror work, with an entire town being plagued by something otherworldly. This horror doesn’t come in the form of a monster or a spirit, but a shape that readers are familiar with. This is where Ito flexes his creative muscles, turning something as simple as a spiral into one of the most nightmarish things that fans can find in a horror story.

Watching the residents of Kurozu-Cho slowly lose their minds as they are consumed by the idea of a spiral is both captivating and horrifying to witness. It’s easy to see why this horror story is as surreal as they come, with fans failing to understand what is plaguing this town until the final chapters. Even then, the explanation is vague at best, and readers are left with a sinking sense of dread as they finish one of the finest horror stories of all time.

4 The Drifting Classroom

It’s Hard To Understand How A Classroom Was Transported To A Different World

Mangaka: Kazuo Umezu
Publisher: Shogakukan
Release Year: 1972

An iconic manga that has inspired many works, The Drifting Classroom channels a lot of the energy of Lord of the Flies but is way more twisted, with a school being transported to a post-apocalyptic future. As one would expect, children and adults slowly lose their minds in this harrowing tale, with the lack of social and legal boundaries causing people to channel their inner demons and take part in monstrous acts that are hard to fathom.

There’s an element of surrealism to everything that happens in The Drifting Classroom, with the biggest being the mystery surrounding the phenomenon that led to the school being whisked away to this unfamiliar future in the first place. This manga can be rather disturbing to read at times and should only be checked out by readers who can fathom the events that take place when people lose all sense of decency.

3 Dementia 21

A Surreal Horror Story Depicting A Nursing Home In The Future

Mangaka: Shintaro Kago
Publisher: Comicloud
Release Date: January 27, 2011

Shintaro Kago’s signature work can be a tough ask for readers who aren’t prepared for his grotesque artwork. However, this horror mangaka is still one of the most reputed names in the genre, and those who want to slowly ease themselves into the mind of this fascinating artist will find Dementia 21 to be an easy starting point. The premise seems simple enough, with the manga focusing on Yukie Sakai and her job as a nurse for the elderly.

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However, the manga wastes no time in displaying its strangeness for everyone to see, with readers being whisked on surreal adventures with horrific elements that will take them by surprise. The fact that this series is one of Kago’s tamer works makes it clear why this horror mangaka is known for pushing the boundaries of body horror and surrealism.

2 Gyo

The Monsters Taking Over The World Are Hard To Comprehend

Mangaka: Junji Ito
Publisher: Shogakukan
Release Date: November 12, 2001

The zombie apocalypse has been done to death in the realm of horror, and some people may unfairly categorize Gyo in the same department. However, there’s so much more to this monster invasion than what meets the eye. What seems like a bunch of fish on legs taking over the world turns into a surreal horror story about man-made machines that use the mysterious Death Stench to infect living organisms and turn them into a source of fuel for these nightmarish machines.

The weird and surreal nature of Gyo‘s monster invasion is hard to digest, especially when the Death Stench is shown to have demonic faces etched into its very essence. In Gyo, Ito manages to turn a ridiculous concept into something chilling, with this page-turner keeping fans captivated till the very end.

1 Franken Fran

Features Moments Of Surreal Body Horror That Are Twisted In Every Way

Mangaka: Katsuhisa Kigitsu
Publisher: Akita Shoten
Release Month: September 2006

Body horror can be a tough sell for people who get nauseated at the sight of these gross depictions, and surreal body horror can be even harder to get into. However, readers who have the stomach to brave these sights should give Franken Fran a shot. It’s a relatively easy horror story to get into once readers stop grossing out over the weird artwork on display.

The manga focuses on an artificially created surgeon who is tasked with working on her patients, only to leave them mortified as she leaves them worse off than before. The surreal nature of the manga becomes apparent in each self-contained story, culminating in a finale that flips the script to make for one of the most memorable conclusions to a horror story.