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.
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Top 20 Henshin manga you should read right now. [2026 List]
- 20. Sentai Red Isekai de Boukensha ni Naru
- 19. Kill la Kill
- 18. Date A Live
- 17. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon
- 16. Suicide Girl
- 15. Gekikou Kamen
- 14. +Anima
- 13. Nogi Wakaba wa Yuusha de Aru
- 12. Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas - Meiou Shinwa
- 11. Kibou no Shima
- 10. Saihate no Solte
- 9. Toujima Tanzaburou wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai
- 8. Gunbured x Sisters
- 7. Shugo Chara! Jewel Joker
- 6. Saint Seiya: Next Dimension - Meiou Shinwa
- 5. Saint Seiya Episode G
- 4. Bokura wa Mahou Shounen
- 3. Sentai Taboo
- 2. Saint Seiya: Saintia Shou
- 1. Saint Seiya Episode G: Assassin
20. 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
19. Kill la Kill
The story centers around two fiercely fighting schoolgirls, Ryuuko Matoi and Satsuki Kiryuuin. On a campus ruled by force, a transfer student wielding a Basami sword brings about upheaval.
KILL la KILL has finished publishing and it has 17 Chapters. It is also Known as: キルラキル, KLK
18. 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
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. 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
15. Gekikou Kamen
Moonlight Mask is currently publishing and has Chapters. It is also Known as: 劇光仮面, Gekikou Kamen
14. +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
13. 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
12. Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas - Meiou Shinwa
This manga tells the story of the previous Holy war of the universe of Saint Seiya, taking place in the XVIII century, 250 years before the original manga. The story centers on the relation between Tenma, the Pegasus Saint and his beloved friend, Alone, who would eventually become his greatest enemy, Hades.
Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas - Meiou Shinwa has finished publishing and it has 223 Chapters. It is also Known as: 聖闘士星矢 THE LOST CANVAS 冥王神話, Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas - Meiou Shinwa
11. Kibou no Shima
A group of teenage boys travels to an island where it is rumoured that only women live. They are all eager to lose their virginity but will the legends surrounding the island be true or something more sinister is happening there?
An Island Named Desire has finished publishing and it has 20 Chapters. It is also Known as: キボウノシマ, Kibou no Shima
10. 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
9. 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
8. 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
7. 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
6. 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
5. 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
4. 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
3. 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
2. 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
1. 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