Authoring a successful, serialized manga is the dream of every up-and-coming mangaka. However, the challenges of accomplishing this are plentiful, and big companies like Jump need ample proof of a mangaka’s skill in order to invest time and money into their stories.
One-shots are the manga equivalent of short stories, a bite-sized way to show off one’s skills while telling a compelling story. Some one-shots are eventually turned into full series, while some are simply created to speak for themselves. Either way, the world of one-shots is full of many compelling stories that are more than worth one’s time.
7 Tenko
From the mangaka that would later go on to make My Hero Academia, Tenko was a one-shot released back in 2007 which mainly centers on a young woman aiming to be a warrior in feudal Japan, despite everyone’s insistence that women can’t fight. She runs across the titular Tenko, a young boy with the ability to destroy anything he puts both hands on.
Tenko was seemingly an early form of MHA’s Shigaraki, as they share a name and power. The story is rather simple, but Tenko’s relatable, childlike rage at the violence of the world provides a strong emotional core that keeps the story enjoyable throughout.
6 Kimetsu no Yaiba: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (Demon Slayer: Special One-shot)
One of the most impactful characters in the Demon Slayer series is easily Kyojuro Rengoku. Especially after the Mugen Train film’s amazing success, his popularity has skyrocketed, resulting in him having some of the best supplemental material in the series.
This includes a special one-shot released just before Mugen Train aired, which details Rengoku’s first mission as a demon slayer. It’s rather short but shows off the strengths of his character such as his selflessness and even his complex relationship with his father.
5 Rengoku no Ashe (Ashe of Purgatory)
Just like Tenko shows off the origins of MHA’s Shigaraki, Ashe of Purgatory acts as a traceable origin for at least the design concept behind Spy x Family’s Anya Forger, as the titular character Ashe has an unmistakable resemblance to Anya, both in her clothing and hair style/color.
AoP itself is a wild departure from Spy x Family, focusing on the relationship between the witch Ashe and a young knight named Bell. The magical concepts portrayed in the story are quite interesting, but the real draw here is the loveable relationship between the two leads and Tatsuya Endou’s soft yet evocative artwork.
4 Sekai no Owari no Pen-friend (Pen Pal at the End of the World)
One-shots are a great place for stories that are strong in concept, yet too short to be fully serialized. One such story is this one, which sees an unlikely friendship blossoming in a disaster-stricken world, simply due to the power of stories, and the human capacity for forming connections.
In a post-apocalyptic landscape, a young girl named Kasumi finds solace in the remains of an old store, where she goes to draw her favorite anime character. Eventually, someone else finds her drawings, and the two share a heartwarming exchange through nothing but their drawings and written messages. It’s classic positivity in the face of adversity.
3 Gokurakugai: Sanban-doori no Ken
In the translation from a successful one-shot to an eventual full manga adaptation, a lot of things can change, meaning that the original story can still be worth reading in its own rights. Gokurakugai is a manga series that started publication in 2022 but originally debuted as a one-shot in 2020.
The original of course shares the same strong characters and art as the series but lacks supernatural elements. This means it’s a more down-to-earth, Yakuza-styled crime story. And its protagonists, Tao and Alma are endlessly cool no matter the version of the story.
2 Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice)
Many anime fans might know this story from its eventual movie and manga adaptations, but it originated as a one-shot. The core premise and two main characters are the same as in the later adaptations, but there’s a certain strength to the one-shot that makes it worth reading even after seeing the film.
Yoshitoki Ooima’s artwork is beautiful, yet has a raw quality to it that adds weight to the heart-wrenching events they portray. The story feels much grittier in this form. Plus, the shorter length means the two leads end the story at the start of their newfound friendship, leaving the audience with a strong sense of hope for their future.
1 Sayonara Eri (Goodby Eri)
Capturing one medium of art within another is a difficult task. Adaptation exists specifically because books, films, and so on all have different strengths and weaknesses. With Goodbye Eri however, Tatsuki Fujimoto managed to create a manga that feels like a home video. This helps it portray a story that is clearly in love with films and filmmaking.
It frames a young man named Yuta’s experiences of his mother’s death and other resulting issues through camera footage, even blurring panels on purpose. It’s an extremely emotional and meta-story that leaves readers feeling happy and wholesome despite its dark subject matter. It can easily be called a 200-page masterpiece.