Never judge a book by its cover unless it is a manga.
A manga cover is the first thing a reader would see. And regardless of the genre, art style, and premise, a manga can only attract readers with a banging manga cover. Of course, established manga series are an exception, but they don’t slack off either.
But what makes a good manga cover? Is it the characters on the cover or the art style? What about color and detailing (since covers are the only colored part of most manga)? Or is it the foreshadowing of what to expect inside?
For me, it’s a little bit of everything.
The best manga covers proudly show off their main characters, stand out of the crowd with a unique art style, and tease the readers enough to pick up the volume. And the manga covers listed below do all of that beautifully!
Best Manga Covers – Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball, & More!
An insane number of manga is published every year in Japan and distributed all over the world. Everyone has their own opinion and their own preferences, so listing the best manga covers of all time is no easy task.
But we move!
Here are the best manga covers from some of the best-selling manga – 5 covers from each manga series.
Best Dragon Ball Z Manga Covers
- Mangaka: Akira Toriyama
- Volumes: 42
- Publish Date: December 3, 1984
Dragon Ball is one of the most popular manga and anime series worldwide. And Akira Toriyama’s art and storytelling played a huge part in that.
Below are some of my favorite Dragon Ball Z manga covers –
5. Dragon Ball Z Volume 17
Volume 17 of Dragon Ball Z brought Cell back to Earth in his “Perfect Form.”
Cell smirks in his perfect form, while Gohan shows respect for his mentor, Piccolo. The cover tells exactly what’s to come.
4. Dragon Ball Z Volume 9 (VIZBIG Edition)
Goku pushing his limits is so cool to watch. His shouts are anime’s thing, but the manga resorts to excellent detailing of his expressions and dripping blood and sweat.
With Goku jacked up to Super Saiyan, the whole cover gets a huge boost as well.
3. Dragon Ball Z Volume 26
The last volume of the Dragon Ball manga was a heartbreaker for fans, with Boo absorbing the Z heroes left, right, and center. But this cover and the Boo Saga really were the perfect goodbye at that time.
2. Dragon Ball Z Volume 22
Goten riding a dinosaur while grocery shopping, and then having a snack shows that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Another well-detailed Dragon Ball Z manga cover where Akira gave us a hint of Gotens following his father in every way imaginable.
1. Dragon Ball Z Volume 11
My favorite Dragon Ball Z manga cover of all time, and it should be pretty obvious why.
The 3 best characters of the Dragon Ball universe feature on a manga cover together for the very first time. If that’s not iconic, nothing is!
Best Dragon Ball Super Manga Covers
- Mangaka: Akira Toriyama and Toyotarou
- Volumes: 19 and counting
- Publish Date: June 20, 2015
While Akira’s art was good, Toyotarou’s art took Dragon Ball Super manga to a whole new level.
Here are the best Dragon Ball Super manga covers so far!
5. Dragon Ball Super Volume 14
This manga cover makes my list because of Goku’s outfit. Yes, the galactic sky-scrapers in the background are impressive, but the fit – bordering on fan service- outshines everything on this cover.
4. Dragon Ball Super Volume 8
Another fun and super-detailed manga cover, and this time the minute details win.
While Krillin and Goku are having the most fun, I love the quick date Vegeta and Belma are having in the Ferris wheel behind.
3. Dragon Ball Super Volume 11
Much like the volume itself, a lot is happening on this cover. And no matter where you look, it’s fun! Goku eating his heart out, and Vegeta having a good look at Bulma- or is it the food Bulma’s serving?
2. Dragon Ball Super Volume 15
The Kamehameha charging, Goku and Moro almost coming out of the manga cover, and the vivid coloring- this was the best Dragon Ball Super manga cover until Volume 18 came along.
1. Dragon Ball Super Volume 18
When it comes to cool manga covers, this is the coolest one from the entire Dragon Ball manga series. Bardock shining red is just too cool for words.
Best One Piece Manga Covers
- Mangaka: Eiichiro Oda
- Volumes: 104 and counting
- Publish Date: July 22, 1997
One of the longest-running manga series of all time, One Piece has some of the best manga covers, and here are 5 of them.
5. One Piece Volume 1
The manga cover that kicked off one of the greatest pirate adventures of all time is a timeless classic for manga otakus. And it came full circle with the New World Romance Dawn.
4. One Piece Volume 52
Featuring all of the Straw Hat Pirates – at that time – in full-party mode with the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh, hosting. This was an entertaining arc and the cover couldn’t have been better.
3. One Piece Volume 73
Law and Doflamingo going at it with Luffy (or was it Lucy?) gearing up for the coliseum- this manga cover tells enough of what’s to happen at Dressrosa. My favorite thing here is the bandaged Sanji-kun!
Related Read: Best Luffy Manga Panels
2. One Piece Volume 58
The Paramount War arc has some great manga covers, but this one is my favorite- the 5 strongest men in the Navy come face-to-face with the future King of the Pirates. This cover is as memorable as the war was.
1. One Piece Volume 61
To complete the list, I’ll complete the circle.
This Romance Dawn-inspired manga cover for the New World shows the OG(Luffy, Zoro, and Nami) retain their places, but it also shows that the rest of the crew has their own place.
Best Naruto Manga Covers
- Mangaka: Masashi Kishimoto
- Volumes: 72
- Publish Date: September 21, 1999
Naruto has some of the best covers when it comes to shounen manga that’s why choosing 5 of Naruto’s best manga covers was the most difficult. But, here it is.
5. Naruto Volume 43
The Man with The Truth brought two brothers against one another for the first time. The grit, the anger, and all the emotions on show here are hard to look past- and just a taste of what’s inside.
4. Naruto Volume 41
All the Akatsuki appearing together is rare, and it’s even rarer to see all of them on a Naruto manga cover. With Naruto in the background, full of conviction and focus, it’s pretty clear who he’s squaring up to.
3. Naruto Volume 34
With Team 8 reuniting – sort of – this manga cover depicts their differing personalities. And it also shows their Shippuden avatars. So, double whammy for the otakus.
2. Naruto Volume 58
This Naruto manga cover stands out for the sheer beauty of the detailing and colors on show. Naruto’s Rasengan, Itachi’s Susanoo, and the broken crow feathers flying around- I could stare at it for hours.
1. Naruto Volume 1
For me, the Volume 1 manga cover reigns supreme and it will never be topped.
This is the perfect example of how to entice a manga reader to pick up the volume. Looking at it the first time, you can’t tell what’s going to happen. But you want to read it and find out!
Best My Hero Academia Manga Covers
- Mangaka: Kohei Horikoshi
- Volumes: 37 and counting
- Publish Date: July 7, 2014
There’s no way I was leaving out one of the most popular anime and manga series of recent years.
The art, style, and coloring are far from orthodox manga covers and make MHA stand out.
5. My Hero Academia Volume 1
An innocent-looking Deku backed by the greatest hero of Japan with the rest of the cast featured as well. This is how you draw the first volume if you want readers to pick up your manga.
4. My Hero Academia Volume 30
Endeavor’s son discloses his identity and dances among his own flames like a maniac.
Scary, artistic, dark, beautiful- this is one of the best MHA manga covers for an individual character.
3. My Hero Academia Volume 27
After he was caught as a double agent, Hawks kills Twice, but not before a fight. And this manga cover indicates the Hawks and Twice fight beforehand. But it didn’t spoil the fight.
2. My Hero Academia Volume 33
This is just insane- the cover and the direction Deku is headed into which is perfectly drawn on this cover. As Deku becomes a vigilante, everyone is afraid, and rightly so. Even his friends are panicking.
1. My Hero Academia Volume 26
The MCs and the villain feature on the cover of Volume 26, and it instantly becomes the best MHA manga cover. Changing costumes, the positions of the characters, and the background tell a lot about where the story is headed.
Best Demon Slayer Manga Covers
- Mangaka: Koyoharu Gotouge
- Volumes: 23
- Publish Date: February 15, 2016
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has ended, but these manga covers will live on for ages.
Here are the 5 best Demon Slayer manga covers out of the 23.
5. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Volume 8
The Flame Hasihra takes center stage with all his fire burning up. Koyoharu expertly uses colors and objects to showcase Rengoku’s unyielding power but also shows his warm and compassionate side.
Also read: Rengoku Death: The Most Traumatic Moment In Demon
4. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Volume 1
The first manga cover perfectly shows the pain and despair of Tanjiro and his protective instincts toward Nezuko- the perfect teaser. This was the easiest choice, and Volume 1 manga covers usually!
3. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Volume 23
Followed by Volume 1 is Volume 23, much like despair is followed by joy. The two children, scared to death, have grown and successfully carved a life for themselves.
There are no spell-binding graphics on this manga cover, just pure emotion.
2. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Volume 7
Demon Slayer’s Volume 7 has another one of my favorite individual manga covers as we are introduced to the man behind the Wild Boar mask. This time it is the art that attracted me. And no, I didn’t fall for the slight fan-servicing, it’s the abs!
1. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Volume 11
Volume 11 showed the best of Koyoharu. The dark and grim background shadows the beautiful Nezuko as she starts giving in to her demon instincts.
The tattoos and the eyes are masterful, but it’s her helplessness that’s almost tangible.
And those are the best manga covers from some of the most popular manga series of recent times. Let me know which one of these is your favorite and which other manga should have made the list.