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 19 Henshin manga you should read right now. [2026 List]
- 19. Tai Sekaiyou Mahou Shoujo Tsubame
- 18. Toujima Tanzaburou wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai
- 17. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon
- 16. Sentai Red Isekai de Boukensha ni Naru
- 15. Suicide Girl
- 14. Saint Seiya: Next Dimension - Meiou Shinwa
- 13. Saint Seiya
- 12. Sentai Taboo
- 11. Shin Kamen Raidā
- 10. Parallel Sailor Moon
- 9. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Short Stories
- 8. Kamen Rider Kuuga (TeleCoro)
- 7. Nogi Wakaba wa Yuusha de Aru
- 6. Ao ga Cool Nante Dare ga Kimeta!?
- 5. Gunbured x Sisters
- 4. +Anima
- 3. Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas - Meiou Shinwa Gaiden
- 2. Date A Live
- 1. Date A Live: Tooka Dead End
19. 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
18. 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
17. 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
16. 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
15. 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
14. 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
13. 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
12. 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
11. Shin Kamen Raidā
As Takeshi Hongo trains for a motorcycle race, he is suddenly swallowed by a fissure in the ground. He barely escapes danger by transforming into Kamen Rider, but he is attacked by the Shocker kaijin Worm Man, who created the fissure. Rider is tormented by Worm Man's attacks until he corners him with the Rider Jump and Undercut... Published in 1972, Mitsuru Sugaya's version of "Kamen Rider", which built the golden age of Bouken-Oh magazine, is fully released in e-book format!
New Kamen Rider has finished publishing and it has 10 Chapters. It is also Known as: 新 仮面ライダー, Shin Kamen Raidā
10. Parallel Sailor Moon
The story takes place in an alternate reality from the rest of the Sailor Moon series, so it does not fit to the main storyline or canon. One of the main reasons it does not fit into the main storyline is because it is stated in the main series that Usagi Tsukino will only have one child (Chibiusa). However, the lead character created especially for this story is Usagi's second child, Kousagi Tsukino. The daughters of the other four Guardian Senshi (all in grade 3 with Kousagi) also are in the story, who look exactly like (and are named after) their mothers (though the Japanese spelling of the names are different).
Parallel Sailor Moon has finished publishing and it has 1 Chapters. It is also Known as: ぱられる せぇらぁむ〜ん, Parallel Sailormoon
9. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Short Stories
A two volume set of short stories from the world of Sailor Moon.
Volume 1
1. Beware the Exchange Student! (Tenkousei ni goyoujin!?)
2. Beware the Tanabata (July 7th Festival)! (七夕にご用心! Tanabata ni goyoujin!?)
3. Beware Cavities! (Mushiba ni goyoujin!?)
4. Mako-chan's Depression! (Mako-chan no Yuuutsu!?)
5. Ami-chan's First Love! (Ami-chan no Hatsukoi!?)
6. Rei and Minako's Girls' School Battle!? (Rei to Minako no Joshikou Batoru!??)
7. The Secret Hammer Price Hall (Himitsu no Hanmaa Puraisu Dou?)
Volume 2:
1. Lover of Princess Kaguya ( Kaguya hime no Koibito)
2. Casablanca Memory (Kasaburanka Memorii)
3. Parallel Sailormoon (Parareru Seeraamuun)
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Short Stories has finished publishing and it has 10 Chapters. It is also Known as: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Short Stories
8. Kamen Rider Kuuga (TeleCoro)
This story was based on an episode that was not aired on TV and a script which was officially provided by Toei and was released in 2001 after Kamen Rider Kuuga's full televised run.
The oneshot takes place in between Kamen Rider Kuuga's Episode 22 and Episode 23.
Kamen Rider Kuuga (TeleCoro) has finished publishing and it has 1 Chapters. It is also Known as: 仮面ライダークウガ, Kamen Rider Kuuga (TeleCoro)
7. Nogi Wakaba wa Yuusha de Aru
The story of Nogi Wakaba wa Yuusha de Aru takes place 300 years in the past, in 2018, the first days of the Divine Era. The six main characters form the first ever Hero Team: Nogi Wakaba, Nogi Sonoko's ancestor; Uesato Hinata, Takashima Yuuna, Koori Chikage, Doi Tamako and Iyojima Anzu.
Includes:
Chapter 0: Ni-satsu-me no Yuusha Gyoki (The Second Hero Diary)
Volume 1 extra chapter: Shiratori Utano wa Yuusha de Aru (Shiratori Utano is a Hero)
Volume 2 extra chapter: Takusareta Baton (The Passed Baton)
Nogi Wakaba wa Yuusha de Aru has finished publishing and it has 22 Chapters. It is also Known as: 乃木若葉は勇者である, Nogi Wakaba Is a Hero, Shiratori Utano is a Hero
6. Ao ga Cool Nante Dare ga Kimeta!?
High school student Azusa Gujo is a magical girl. She makes a contract with Pollu, a Gem Setter with mysterious powers, to fight the powerful enemies that threatens the peace as the magical knight Pure Azurite... but!
Note: Chapter count includes an extra
Who Decided That Blues Had To Be Cool!? has finished publishing and it has 27 Chapters. It is also Known as: 青がクールなんて誰が決めた!?, Ao ga Cool Nante Dare ga Kimeta!?
5. Gunbured x Sisters
In a decaying gothic city, warrior nun Dorothy is tasked with hunting down and slaughtering supernatural creatures. A member of the elite Crimson Sisters, she seeks to rid the city of the vampire population that plagues it. One fateful night, she encounters a wounded woman, Maria, only to discover that she has fangs and a strange parentage. Dorothy offers the half-vampire her best and only chance at survival: become my pet. Together, Dorothy and Maria will dive into the secrets at the heart of the vampire scourge that threatens to overwhelm their home.
Note: Includes 1 extra chapter.
GUNBURED × SISTERS has finished publishing and it has 21 Chapters. It is also Known as: ガンバレッド×シスターズ, Ganbared Sisters, Ganbareddo Shisutaazu
4. +Anima
Beings who possess animal-like powers walk among humans in this alternate universe. These mysterious mutants, the +Anima, are shunned by society. Four outcasts in particular--Cooro, a boy with crow-like powers; Husky, a fish-boy; Senri, a bear +Anima; and a girl named Nana, who wields the power of the bat--search for others like themselves while trying to gain acceptance in a world cruel to anyone or anything that is different.
+Anima has finished publishing and it has 59 Chapters. It is also Known as: プラスアニマ, Plus Anima, Parallel +Anima, ＋アニマ, プラス・アニマ
3. Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas - Meiou Shinwa Gaiden
New series of Saint Seiya focusing on the Gold Saints.
Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas - Meiou Shinwa Gaiden has finished publishing and it has 90 Chapters. It is also Known as: 聖闘士星矢 THE LOST CANVAS 冥王神話 外伝, Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas - Meiou Shinwa Gaiden
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. Date A Live: Tooka Dead End
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 11 Chapters. It is also Known as: デート・ア・ライブ 十香デッドエンド, Date A Live: Tooka Dead End
