For simplicity’s sake, I’ve defined “the golden age of manga” here as “manga that debuted between 1980 and 1999. That’s a wide swathe of Japanese comics, and perhaps a tad too narrow, since it excludes both Urusei Yatsura and Chobits — two titles that most manga fans would agree came out of the golden age. But I have to draw the line somewhere, so do forgive me for excluding any of your favorite titles. If you haven’t read the titles on the list below, be forewarned. Although most of the manga story arcs on this list happen early on in their respective titles, there’s still some degree of spoilage here. I try to keep huge plot revelations to a minimum, but it’s impossible to talk about some of these arcs without giving away some pretty critical details about the series involved. Here are the eight best story arcs from manga’s golden age.
The Best Story Arcs From Manga’s Golden Age
Want to see more manga content? Check out this list of One Piece read-alikes! And if long series are your thing, consider swapping out old volumes for manga 3-in-1s.
