What is this genre all about? Japanese for "transformation" (metamorphosis or disguise).A "henshin anime" is any anime, where the characters or their costumes transform, such as Sailor Moon. The henshin switches on the character's special powers, and is frequently accompanied by a costume change. Often the change of clothing is the only outward indicator that the character has changed and yet nobody seems to notice the hero's true self.Most henshin heroes have a special item which they use to change into their heroic form. These items are usually activated by a command phrase (which is often in Engrish, for some reason), triggering a transformation sequence.
We present you the list of Henshin manga you should read right now.
Try our anime quiz: Anime Characters Guessing Quiz/Game
Top 18 Henshin manga you should read right now. [2026 List]
- 18. Suicide Girl
- 17. Sentai Red Isekai de Boukensha ni Naru
- 16. Saint Seiya: Saintia Shou
- 15. Saint Seiya Episode G: Assassin
- 14. Saint Seiya
- 13. Mahou Shoujo♡Misoji
- 12. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon
- 11. Saihate no Solte
- 10. Saint Seiya: Next Dimension - Meiou Shinwa
- 9. Sentai Taboo
- 8. Toujima Tanzaburou wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai
- 7. Saint Seiya Episode G
- 6. Shugo Chara! Jewel Joker
- 5. Tai Sekaiyou Mahou Shoujo Tsubame
- 4. Date A Live
- 3. Bokura wa Mahou Shounen
- 2. Date A Live
- 1. Mushijo
18. Suicide Girl
A story where a girl of light fights against the darkness of the world.
Suicide Girl has finished publishing and it has 40 Chapters. It is also Known as: スーサイドガール, Suicide Girl
17. Sentai Red Isekai de Boukensha ni Naru
Asagaki Togo was the Red Ranger in a heroic Ranger squad. During their final battle against the ultimate evil organization, he suffers a crushing defeat and resigns himself to death... That is, until he finds himself reborn in an entirely different world! Embracing his new role as an adventurer, he transforms into Kizuna Red and continues his pursuit of justice, helping those in need. Enjoy this heroic tale of a Ranger becoming the protector of another world!
The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World is currently publishing and has Chapters. It is also Known as: 戦隊レッド 異世界で冒険者になる, Sentai Red Isekai de Boukensha ni Naru
16. Saint Seiya: Saintia Shou
In the wake of a space-wide civil war instigated by Saga–the Gemini Gold Saint–a new team of Saints comes together with the goal of protecting their goddess Athena. This first all-woman team of armored warriors, powered by the Zodiac, will use their cunning, strength, and compassion to defend their worlds and oppose their very destinies. Mangaka Chimaki Kuori is also known for working on manga for Gundam Seed and the Persona series.
Saint Seiya: Saintia Shou has finished publishing and it has 86 Chapters. It is also Known as: 聖闘士星矢 セインティア翔, Saint Seiya - Saintia Shou
15. Saint Seiya Episode G: Assassin
This story starts after events in Episode G, when Aiolia is called by Great Master with a mission: He must search and kill the Sanctuary's traitors.
Saint Seiya Episode G: Assassin has finished publishing and it has 188 Chapters. It is also Known as: 聖闘士星矢 EPISODE.G アサシン, Saint Seiya Episode G: Assassin
14. Saint Seiya
Ages ago, the goddess Athena was served by fighters called Saints who channeled the power of the Cosmos within them. Now a youth named Seiya has trained to become a Saint himself by earning the mystical Cloth of Pegasus. He is joined by other Saints with Cloths of their own to fight for Athena.
Note: Chapter count includes an omake story "The Swan's Tale: Natassja of the Lands of Ice."
Knights of the Zodiac has finished publishing and it has 110 Chapters. It is also Known as: 聖闘士星矢, Zodiac Knights
13. Mahou Shoujo♡Misoji
This is a story about a 35-year old office lady that turns into a magical girl one day.
Mahou Shoujo♡Misoji is currently publishing and has Chapters. It is also Known as: 魔法少女♡三十路, Mahou Shoujo Misoji
12. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon
Tsukino Usagi is 14 years old and in her second year of middle school. She's a bit of a crybaby and klutzy. However, she can transform into a warrior of justice, Sailormoon! An eternal classic that should be read by all.
Sailor Moon has finished publishing and it has 61 Chapters. It is also Known as: 美少女戦士セーラームーン, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
11. Saihate no Solte
As a result of a large war, the world was eroded by a magical infection that distorted the time and space around it. Though magic has been outlawed since then, the effects of that war still remain. To uncover all the secrets of the world, "Lucky Solte," begins her adventure.
Solte the Traveler is currently publishing and has Chapters. It is also Known as: 最果てのソルテ, Solte of the Far Reaches, World End Solte
10. Saint Seiya: Next Dimension - Meiou Shinwa
In 1990 (previously 1986), in Elysion; the five Bronze Saints Seiya, Hyōga, Shun, Shiryū and Ikki, having wreaked havoc in the Underworld's army and succeeding in resurrecting the God Cloths, engage the god Hades in a final duel to the death.
During the battle, Hades remembers that he has seen Seiya's face before and comes to the conclusion that he faced him before. He thus starts reminiscing about his previous host body, and the story starts 247 years prior, in the 18th century.
The protagonist, the Pegasus Saint of this era, is an orphan who is best friends with a boy named Alone, the host of Hades. Former Bronze Saints Dohko and Sion, two prominent characters in Kurumada's original manga as the sole survivors of the holy war of that century, have just been promoted to Gold Saints and eventually the two duos meet.
Note: The chapter count includes 118 regular chapters, 2 special chapters included in volume 10, and a prologue.
Saint Seiya: Next Dimension - Meiou Shinwa has finished publishing and it has 121 Chapters. It is also Known as: 聖闘士星矢 NEXT DIMENSION 冥王神話, Saint Seiya: Next Dimension - The Myth of Hades
9. Sentai Taboo
"In the face of justice, there are no taboos that should not be violated."
In the near future, humanity is in the depths of fear due to the onslaught of monsters. To protect world peace, the united Cross Rangers will enforce justice today! ...Or so it was supposed to be.
Cross Red, also known as Akama Retsuo, is a man who is passionate about justice. With an overflowing sense of justice, he commits a taboo one night with Cross Pink. And so begins the days of muddy, terrifying, immoral and ruinous...!
A suspenseful story of justice and immorality!
Sentai Taboo is currently publishing and has Chapters. It is also Known as: 戦隊タブー, Sentai Taboo
8. Toujima Tanzaburou wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai
An older man aims to become a Kamen Rider.
Tojima Tanzaburo Wants To Be A Masked Rider is currently publishing and has Chapters. It is also Known as: 東島丹三郎は仮面ライダーになりたい, Tanzaburo Tojima Wants To Be Kamen Rider, Tōjima Tanzaburō wa Kamen Raidā ni Naritai
7. Saint Seiya Episode G
In ancient times, the Titan Cronos (son of Uranus the sky and Gaia the earth) and his wife Rhea gave birth to six children. Five of them were swallowed by Cronos, and only one was saved, Zeus, hidden from Cronos by Rhea. Upon reaching adulthood, Zeus forces his father to vomit the other five gods. Zeus, along with his brothers and sisters, decide to battle the Titans for control of the universe. Cronos and the other eleven Titans lose the battle and are sent to Tartarus.
Thousands of year later, in Greece, the Pope visits the room of the recently reincarnated infant Athena, with a golden dagger. Before he can kill her, the Gold Saint Saggitarius Aiolos saves her, and unmasks the Pope. Aiolos, horrified, flees. The Pope declares him a traitor to the Sanctuary, and has Capricorn Shura murder him. This causes his younger brother, Leo Aiolia, to grow under the shadow of his "traitor" brother, suffering from all manner of abuse and scorn. This leaves him with a grudge against the Gold Saints and Sanctuary as a whole, which causes the Pope and most of the Sanctuary to distrust him. To make things worse, the enemies of God Zeus, the Titans, are revived and begin to seek vengeance against him and the Sanctuary. This marks the start of Aiola's story and the battle of the Gold Saints against the Titans.
Saint Seiya Episode G has finished publishing and it has 87 Chapters. It is also Known as: 聖闘士星矢 エピソードG, Saint Seiya Episode G
6. Shugo Chara! Jewel Joker
After graduating from Seiya Elementary School, Amu is ready to start junior high school. Amu is glad to be with her dear friends, but then she is asked to undertake a "secret mission" and has to transfer to a new school…? A new adventure of Amu and Shugo Chara is about to begin!
Shugo Chara! Jewel Joker is currently publishing and has Chapters. It is also Known as: しゅごキャラ！ジュエルジョーカー, Shugo Chara! Jewel Joker
5. Tai Sekaiyou Mahou Shoujo Tsubame
The world is in danger! Who will rise to protect it? Introducing Tsubame, an ordinary high school student who dreams of becoming a magical girl. But if she has to choose between the world and her friends... A new adventure from Mapollo 3, the creator of PPPPPP! Buckle up for some passion, magical girls, and a dash of madness!
Magical Girl Tsubame: I Will (Not) Save The World has finished publishing and it has 42 Chapters. It is also Known as: 対世界用魔法少女つばめ, ! Anti-World Magical Girl Tsubame
4. Date A Live
Shidou Itsuka has a problem. The world has been racked by massive quakes of an unknown source for years now, though life goes on. Then one day, Shidou's calm life ends forever when in the middle of a quake in his city, he meets a girl who's apparently a spirit-and the cause of all the destruction! When a team arrives to eliminate the threat, Shidou becomes embroiled in a war to protect these spirits-by making them fall in love with him?!
Date A Live has finished publishing and it has 146 Chapters. It is also Known as: デート・ア・ライブ, Date A Live
3. Bokura wa Mahou Shounen
Rambunctious Kaito Odagiri, who longs to be a hero, is suddenly invited by mysterious transfer student Makoto Kaibara to take up the mantle of a hero who protects their town. But contrary to his expectations, he suddenly finds himself with the gaudy appearance of a kind of hero known as a "Magical Boy"! And though at first Kaito cries "why did it have to be something as embarrassing as this?! I won't do it!" with a tear-stained face, before long he finds himself enchanted by his own unbelievable cuteness...!
Boys are cute – and strong! The curtain rises on this tale of super righteous magical boys!
We Are Magical Boys is currently publishing and has Chapters. It is also Known as: ボクらは魔法少年, Bokura wa Mahou Shounen
2. Date A Live
April 10th. Yesterday was the last day of spring vacation, so starting this morning it was a school day. After being woken up by his cute little sister, Itsuka Shidou believed that it would be the start of another normal day. As for predicting the chance meeting with the girl who called herself a spirit......
Along with a sudden shockwave, the townscape vanished without a trace. In a corner of the street which had now become a crater, the girl was there.
"—You, have you come to kill me too?"
She is the disaster that will destroy humanity, a monster of unknown origin, and a being rejected by the world. There are only two ways to stop this girl: annihilation, and conversation. His little sister Kotori, wrapped in a military uniform, thus said to Shidou: "Since it's like this, just go date her, and make the spirit fall for you!" "Wh.. whaaaaaaaat!?" Enter a new age of boy meets girl!!
has finished publishing and it has 6 Chapters. It is also Known as: デート・ア・ライブ, Date A Live
1. Mushijo
The main character, Hinako Momotsuki, is a high school girl who loves the anime "Puri Puri" and devotes all her energy into otaku activities. However, in actuality, when she unites with a mysterious "Maji" centipede life form, she becomes a distorted hero who saves people. Now she fights both to save the town assailed by "Maji" and to protect her unrequited crush, Himoru-senpai.
Mushijo is currently publishing and has Chapters. It is also Known as: ムシジョ, Mushijo
