Manga, a captivating blend of art and storytelling, has transcended its Japanese origins to become a global phenomenon. Its unique style allows readers to immerse themselves in the story through intricately crafted artwork.
Some manga panels are so striking that they can dazzle the reader, leaving them staring at the page for moments. These panels not only showcase the artist’s skill but can become an iconic symbol for the manga series.
In this article, we will explore 15 such manga panels that have the power to captivate and mesmerize. Whether you’re a seasoned manga enthusiast or new to this fascinating world, these selections are sure to leave a lasting impression.
15. The World Shall Know Pain (Naruto)
Everyone knows Naruto, one of the most famous Manga and anime ever. The Manga began with extreme popularity with its one-shot in the 90s, leading to a standalone manga that fans know and love.
“The World Shall Know Pain” is a quote by one of the antagonists in Naruto, Pain. Pain belongs to Akatsuki, the villainous group in Naruto. This panel was the epitome of Masashi Kishimito’s drawing; so detailed that you can see the major landmarks of the village.
In this panel, we can see Pain flying atop the Hidden Leaf Village to give them a taste of ‘Pain.’ Pain uses his ultimate ability, “Shinra Tensei,” to destroy every inch of the village.
14. Clothing Details (Otoyomegatari)
Otoyomegatari is a criminally underrated manga with less than 20,000 readers (According to My AnimeList.) The art quality can easily dazzle anyone with the astounding details and character design.
Otoyomegatari (The Bride’s Story) stands out in both story and art departments, showing us the creativity of its author, Kaoru Mori. The story takes place in the 19th century in the middle of Asia.
This panel shows the main protagonist, Amir Halgal, trying out a bridal dress. Amir is a twenty-year-old woman who is married to Karluk Eithon, a boy who is eight years younger than her.
The series focuses on age-gap marriages and has undoubtedly one of the sweetest romances ever.
13. A Cultist Dystopia (20th Century Boys)
Anything that is written and illustrated by the god hands of Naoki Urasawa is bound to be a major hit. Naoki Urasawa is best known for the most praised psychological mystery manga, Monster.
In this panel, we are shown the city where a cultist with the pseudonym ‘Friend’ has brainwashed everyone in his city, making them praise him as the newfound god. This panel shows the time-skip era, where the city is now a dystopia controlled by Friend himself.
20th Century Boys is full of self-explanatory and beautiful panels and focuses on psychological and mystery themes.
Also Read: Top 19 Strongest One Piece Characters of All Time, Ranked
12. Glorious (Bakemonogatari)
Bakemonogatari is a light novel, but the manga adaptation of the light novel surpasses the source material itself. The top-notch art quality of Ito Oogure is called ‘Eye Candy.’
In this panel, we can witness the destruction of a vampire by a self-proclaimed priest in the series. It shows the glorious end of the vampire. The panel feels like a real-time image and brings out the feeling of evocativeness.
Bakemonogatari is a fantasy-drama novel written by NISIOISIN and is a part of the renowned Monogatari Light Novel Series. It is considered one of the best-written light novels ever and no stranger to accolades.
11. War of The Moon (Land of The Lustrous)
Perhaps the manga with the most peculiar style a reader can ever witness. Land of The Lustrous takes place in a fictional world inhabited by gem-like lifeforms.
Apart from the art department, it has a really well-written story with one of the best character developments in manga. The series reflects the genius of the author, Haruko Ichikawa.
This panel shows the war breaking out between the Gems on the world and the creatures that inhabit the moon, The Lunariarians.
The series is all about character development and slice-of-life genre, adding little elements of tragedy and action.
You Might Like: Top 10 Must-Watch Romance Anime of All Time
10. A Visit To The 6th Layer (Made in Abyss)
While the Manga is controversial due to some inappropriate (gore) scenes, Made in Abyss does not hold back in portraying beautiful scenery impeccably. The above panel shows all of the peculiar elements of Akihito Tsukushi’s art.
This panel shows the group of our main characters, Riko, Reg, and Nanachi, descending to the sixth layer of the Abyss. The sixth layer of the Abyss is the most dangerous point, also known as a point of no return.
The manga deals with adventure and drama genres, adding a few elements of science fiction and dark fantasy.
9. Catching The Stars (Oyasumi Punpun)
Oyasumi Punpun is one of the most famous and highest-rated manga of all time. It takes place in Japan, following a little boy named Punpun living an upside-down life because of his parents.
The series majorly has dark and depressing themes, but it does not hold back in joyous and wondrous panels. Inio Asano, the author of Oyasumi Punpun, is known for his masterpiece of art in all of his works.
This panel shows the friend group of Punpun looking at the vast sky, full of stars and a shooting star, forgetting about their tragic daily lives. The series never fails to deliver beautiful and detailed panels.
8. Blood Shed In a War (Blade of The Immortal)
Blade of The Immortal is one of the best manga based on the feudal Japanese era. It provides top-notch art and a quality story.
This panel shows our main character ‘Majin’ fighting a fellow friend in the story. The manga panel features insane art that can make the reader feel the fluidity of the character’s movement.
Blade of The Immortal is full of thrilling action and bloodshed, long adventures, and a little supernatural spice. Worth the read!
7. Playing With The Human Mind (Innocent: Rouge)
Easily the most detailed artwork in manga history by the magnificent artist Shinichi Sakamoto. The series depicts mostly historically accurate work on the French Revolution between the 1600s and 1700s.
This panel shows the sequence of Charlie-Henri Sanson, the main character, and his dreams visualized. Every character in the Innocent series is portrayed according to their mindset and psychological pacts, the brilliance of Shinichi Sakamoto.
Innocent Rogue does not hold back in gore and action, making the perfect use of psychological pacts to destroy other characters. The Manga has a significant focus on Drama elements.
Something That Will Interest You: Top 10 Japanese Music Artists Similar To Oshi no Ko’s YOASOBI
6. Initiation of What’s To Come (Akira)
One of the best classical manga that came out in the 80s still upholds today’s standard of art and storytelling in manga.
This panel shows the destruction of Neo-Tokyo in the year of futuristic 2019. The cause of the destruction is not exclusively mentioned. The details of Neo-Tokyo being destroyed by the explosion can not be found even today.
Akira is written by Katsuhiro Ootomo and focuses on Mystery, Action, and Drama elements.
5. Split of The Earth (One-Punch Man)
One-punch Man is widely praised, all thanks to Yuusuke Murata, the artist of the series. Murata has arguably crafted some of the best manga panels of all time with One-Punch Man.
This panel shows the destruction caused to the earth by an attack of a monster, causing a part of the earth to rise. The usage of light and darkness together is exquisite and perfect in this panel.
One-Punch Man is one of the best-selling and award-winning manga, adapted from the webcomic bearing the same name. The Manga follows Action, Drama, and Comedic elements.
You Might Like: Generation Z’s Top 10 Anime Picks for the First Half of 2023
4. The Scenery of Doomsday (Monster)
Unarguably the best psychologically written manga of all time. Monster has garnered attention from worldwide critics and fans, claiming the throne of the best psychological manga, written by the author of 20th Century Boys, Naoki Urasawa.
This panel shows the ‘Doomsday Scenery,’ the final showdown between the protagonist Kenzo Tenma and the main antagonist, Johan Liebert. Doomsday Scenery basically portrays Johan’s mind, showing the vastness and his hunger for playing with people’s minds.
Monster deals with the themes of drama, adventure, mystery, and, most importantly, Psychological pacts of the human mind.
Must Read: Top 10 Mystery Manga That Are Worth Reading
3. Appearance of The War Lord (Kingdom)
Kingdom has never failed to amaze its reader with the release of every chapter. Yasuhisa Hara, the author of Kingdom, releases weekly chapters with the art being consistent every week.
This panel shows the struggle of the main character, Xin Li facing the dominant warlord Houken in the war in China. Certainly, Houken strength and persistence have amazed Xin Li, even though he is awfully wounded.
Kingdom is one of the best-selling manga in history, selling over 100 million copies in total. The manga takes place in China’s warring states in the 500s and focuses on drama with action themes.
2. Beyond Infinity (Vagabond)
As of 2023, Vagabond has become a worldwide phenomenon and one of the most loved manga of all time. Vagabond takes the reader back to the historical era of Japan, following the greatest swordsman of all time, Musashi Miyamoto, and his growth as a character.
This panel shows the nemesis of Musashi Miyamoto, Kojiro Sasaki, finally reaching his peak and is set to fight Musashi Miyamoto. Kojiro is reflecting on his life and laughs it off.
Vagabond is a manga written by the legendary Mangaka, Takehiko Inoue, and focuses on themes of action, adventure, and drama.
1. God’s Hand (Berserk)
Berserk is the highest-rated manga of all time (According to MyAnimeList,) and everybody can see the reason why—going from a well-written story to the most detailed artwork that was bestowed upon this world by the hands of the late Kentaro Miura.
This panel shows the majestic entrance of the fan-favorite character Skull Knight. Skull Knight appears out of the blue to stop the atrocities of the main antagonist, Femto. The details of Femto, Skull Knight, and even the background are better than most of the manga panels.
Berserk is a fan-favorite dark fantasy manga that has been published since 1989. Due to the death of the author Kentaro Miura, the manga is under Miura’s fellow Mangaka friend, continuing the original work and legacy.
The series focuses on dark fantasy, action, and adventure, majorly consisting of dark and depressing themes.
These are one of the manga panels that can make the reader dazzle for hours. Including these panels, there are many other ones too that we did not include but definitely deserve a spot here. Let us know in the comments what you think of this list!
For more articles, you can visit Anime Senpai’s homepage. Please let us know if we missed any of your manga panels in the comment section below.
