Top 13 World War II manga you should read right now. [2024 List]

World War II manga you should read right now.

What is this genre all about? World War II, or the Second World War (often abbreviated WWII or WW2), was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's nations, including all great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. The war involved the mobilisation of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in history. In a state of "total war," the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Over seventy million people, the majority civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.The start of the war is generally held to be September 1, 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by most of the countries in the British Empire and Commonwealth, and by France. Many countries were already at war before this date, such as Ethiopia and Italy in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War and China and Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. Many who were not initially involved joined the war later, as a result of events such as the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the attacks on Pearl Harbor and British colonies, and subsequent declarations of war on Japan by the United States, the Netherlands, and British Commonwealth.In 1945, the war ended in a victory for the Allies. The Soviet Union and the United States subsequently emerged as the world's superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War which continued for the next 46 years. The United Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another world conflict. The acceptance of the principle of self-determination accelerated decolonization movements in Asia and Africa, while Western Europe itself began moving toward integration.------About the pictureTop left: Battle of WuhanTop right: Second Battle of El AlameinMiddle left: Battle of StalingradMiddle right: German dive bombers over Eastern Front winter 1943-1944Bottom left: Wilhelm Keitel signing German Instrument of SurrenderBottom right: Invasion of Lingayen Gulf

We present you the list of World War II manga you should read right now.

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13. Adolf ni Tsugu

Adolf ni Tsugu

This is a story about three Adolfs. Sohei Toge, a Japanese reporter for 1936 Berlin Olympics was surprised that his younger brother, an international student in Germany, was mysteriously murdered right after informing him about an important document. To add more confusion to his sadness, all information regarding his younger brother as a student in Germany have been erased systematically, as if he never existed. Meanwhile in Japan, a half-German, half-Japanese boy named Adolf Kauffmann and his best friend, a Jewish-German boy named Adolf Kamil, were accidentally involved in this incident. Their lives and fates are now inevitably interwoven around the biggest secret of the third Adolf—Adolf Hitler.

Message to Adolf has finished publishing and it has 36 Chapters. It is also Known as: アドルフに告ぐ, Adolf, Tell Adolf, The Stories of Three Adolfs

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12. Kutsuzure Sensen: Majo Vasenka no Sensou

Kutsuzure Sensen: Majo Vasenka no Sensou

It is 1943 in Soviet Russia during the war. Nadya, an officer, and Vasenka, a witch, are looking for their allies. All they can do is walk until they find them. In the mean time, they get into silly little adventures and experience some weird stuff.

Kutsuzure Sensen: Witch Vasenka's War has finished publishing and it has 22 Chapters. It is also Known as: 靴ずれ戦線 -魔女ワーシェンカの戦争, Kutsuzure Sensen: Majo Vasenka no Sensou

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11. Tokkou no Shima

Tokkou no Shima

This story takes place in 1944. Japan is entering a crucial phase in the war against the United States. Cities and towns in Japan fall one after the other under America's continuous bombing. They even get hold off the pacific coast due to their mighty force of 230 submarines, but Japan refuses to admit defeat. They must stop the enemy's advances at all costs. Testings for their new weapon are done - the Kaiten, a suicide torpedo with a built-in cockpit was ready to be mobilized into the battlefield. The time is now perfect for Japan to recruit pilots and station them at a military base on a remote island. Volunteers will forfeit their lives, but recruiters do their patriotic duty: the fate of Japan rests on their shoulders! A fascinating and psychological story on these suicide missions told from the Japanese soldiers' perspective.

The Isle of Tokkou has finished publishing and it has 70 Chapters. It is also Known as: 特攻の島, The Island of Tokkou

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10. Teito Seihai Kitan: Fate/type Redline

Teito Seihai Kitan: Fate/type Redline

A remake of the comedy spin-off manga Koha-Ace GO: Teito Seihai Kitan.

Teito Seihai Kitan: Fate/type Redline is currently publishing and has Chapters. It is also Known as: 帝都聖杯奇譚 Fate/type Redline, Teito Seihai Kitan: Fate/type Redline

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9. Shiroi Majo: Utsukushiki Sniper

Shiroi Majo: Utsukushiki Sniper

Simo Häyhä's adventures continue after the Winter War.

In June 1941 Finland launches an attack to reclaim the territories lost to the Soviet Union in what ended up being called the Continuation War.

The White Witch: Beautiful Sniper has finished publishing and it has 15 Chapters. It is also Known as: 白い魔女 美しきスナイパー, Белая Ведьма 2, Shiroi Majo 2, Shiroi Majo - Utsukushiki Sniper

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8. Cocoon

Cocoon

San and Mayu are two schoolgirls living in Okinawa during the closing months of the Pacific War. Together with their classmates, the two friends are drafted into the war effort as nurses for wounded soldiers. When ordered to die for their country, the remaining members of the group escape only to face the harsh environment of a tropical paradise that has become a hellish battlefield.

Cocoon has finished publishing and it has 15 Chapters. It is also Known as: コクーン, Kokuun

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7. Shiroi Majo

Shiroi Majo

Depicts the events of the Finnish Winter War from the eyes of the legendary sniper Simo Häyhä with the added bonus of him being a woman this time.

The White Witch has finished publishing and it has 6 Chapters. It is also Known as: 白い魔女, Shiroi Majo

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6. Schäferhund

Schäferhund

This is the fictional story of an all-female German tank squad, which was "lost in the darkness of history," called Schaferhund. They're fierce fighters who don't fear death, and who think of themselves as expendable. They are typically up against the resistance, who will even use children to murder German soldiers. One day, they get a new commander, a young man who values the human lives of the people under his command. There's plenty of friction between the former acting commander of the squad, Kaya, and the new commander--and not only because he accidentally saw her (and many other female soldiers) mostly naked. What will the future hold in store for Schaferhund?

Schaferhund has finished publishing and it has 50 Chapters. It is also Known as: シェイファー・ハウンド, 战车美少女

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5. El Alamein no Shinden

El Alamein no Shinden

The Temple of El Alamein is a compilation of World War II short stories from the perspective of the German military personnel. As the saying goes, the winner writes history, and these stories are the untold, unwritten part of the history of WWII. Taking place between 1940 and 1945, when the war was at its most violent peak, each story takes place in a different part of the world where Germans were fighting.

One story takes place in Egypt where soldiers find an ancient ruin that prove the existence of dinosaurs that helped build the Great Pyramids. Another story tells how one German fighter jet was able to take down a B-47 Stratojet 40,000 ft. in the air, far above what a fighter jet could achieve at the time.

The Temple of El Alamein has finished publishing and it has 6 Chapters. It is also Known as: エル・アラメインの神殿, El Alamein no Shinden

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4. Kuro Kishi Monogatari

Kuro Kishi Monogatari

Fall, 1943, eastern front. The story follows the 8th Panzer company as they meet the advance of the Soviet forces after the failure of Operation Citadel.

The Black Knight Story has finished publishing and it has 16 Chapters. It is also Known as: 黒騎士物語, Kurokishi Monogatari

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3. Peleliu: Rakuen no Guernica

Peleliu: Rakuen no Guernica

Peleliu - Rakuen no Guernica follows the daily lives of Japanese soldiers taking part in the Battle of Peleliu during World War II: a high-casualty, months-long campaign. The main character, Tamaru, dreams of returning home to become a mangaka, and sees their island outpost as a wild paradise that can one day be used as a setting for one of his stories. Most of his comrades, however, are prepared for the more realistic scenario -- that they will not be leaving Peleliu alive.

Note: Nominated to the 25th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.

(Souce: Anilist)

Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise has finished publishing and it has 87 Chapters. It is also Known as: ペリリュー~楽園のゲルニカ~, Peleliu: Rakuen no Guernica

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2. Shirayuri wa Aka ni Somaranai

Shirayuri wa Aka ni Somaranai

Tells the story about the women's air force units from Soviet Union in World War II.

Note: Chapter count includes one extra chapter.

White Lilies Do Not Stain Crimson has finished publishing and it has 12 Chapters. It is also Known as: 白百合は朱に染まらない, Shirayuri wa Ake ni Somaranai, Shirayuri wa Shou ni Somaranai

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1. Olanda-san

Olanda-san

A semi fictitious oneshot by author Maruo Suehiro, intersecting the life of Polish Franciscan Friar missionary, Maximilian Kolbe (a real life historical person) and a young Japanese prior to the Nagasaki Bombing.

Olanda-san has finished publishing and it has 1 Chapters. It is also Known as: オランダさん, 奥兰达先生, 奧蘭達先生, Olanda san

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