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Since I think time travel is an excellent form of escapism, I wanted to share what I consider to be the best time travel manga in hopes that it sparks some joy in someone else’s life.
This list has a little bit of everything, from half-demons to baths. There’s plenty of YA romance, nostalgia, and regret thrown in, as well. And a touch of dystopia too, obviously.
Just be sure to keep a few tissues on hand. Most of these time travel manga will make you feel a gamut of emotions. And so long as your tear ducts are bigger than mine, you’ll probably cry more than once. Which, honestly, kinda jealous, because crying is just good for you.
If you’re looking for more than manga, you might enjoy these amazing time travel books.
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All You Need Is Kill by Ryōsuke Takeuchi, illustrated by Takeshi Obata, original story by Hiroshi Sakurazaka; original art by Yoshitoshi Abe; translated by Tetsuichiro Miyaki (2014)
Keiji Kiriya is a new recruit in the ongoing global war against Mimics, an alien species currently kicking Earth’s butt.
He is ill-prepared for war, but rushes into battle with his troop, and they are massacred. Keiji dies with the rest of them.
At least he thinks he does… until he wakes up the next morning (the morning of the day he just lived through), and thinks it must have been a dream. Throughout the day, he experiences severe deja vu… only to wind up on the battlefield again… dead.
After resetting several times, Keiji receives a message from the super soldier known as the Full Metal Bitch, which sets in motion the events that might just allow them to win the war.
All You Need is Kill was originally a light novel written by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (with illustrations by Yoshitoshi Abe). And it was also adapted into the film Edge of Tomorrow, which loses something in its whitewashing, but remains one of my favourite time loop films of all time.
This is definitely one of the best best time travel manga there is, and perfect for lovers of dystopian worlds.
Buy All You Need Is Kill:
Amazon | Bookshop USA | Bookshop UK
Orange by Ichigo Takano; translated by Lasse Christian Christiansen and Amber Tamosaitis (2012)
This YA time travel manga is one of the most endearing things I’ve read this year. And had me constantly NEEDING to know what happens next. Read it, read it now!
On the first day of 11th grade, Naho oversleeps for the first time ever. She also receives a letter that claims to be sent from herself 10 years in the future.
The letter tells her both of the two big things that will happen to her that day as proof of sender: she will be late, and there will be a new kid in class named Naruse Kakeru from Tokyo who will sit next to her.
Naho is unsure if she trusts the letter, or whether or not she should heed its warnings. Especially since it talks about past regrets and trying to undo them.
Orange is an adorable, but heartbreaking sci-fi romance that teaches us the meaning of friendship, love, regret, and so much more.
Buy Orange:
Amazon | Bookshop USA | Bookshop UK
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time by Ranmaru Kotone; translated by VIZ; original story by Yasutaka Tsutsui (2009)
Like All You Need is Kill, this was originally a YA novel – and it has been made into several film and TV adaptations. This edition is based off of the 2006 film adaptation – which is my personal favourite, and one of my top time travel movies.
This manga is pretty faithful to the movie, with a few key changes. One of those changes, which comes right at the beginning, makes this a spiritual sequel to the original book. But! You don’t need to have read that book to understand – it’s just a nice callback.
Anyway, what is this time travel manga about?
Teenage girl Makoto Konno accidentally discovers she can quite literally leap through time when she inadvertently avoids a fatal collision with a train.
Soon she is leaping through time regularly to fix big – and little – mistakes. Some of the things she chooses to change seem outrageous, but as someone who was once a teenage girl, I get it!
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is incredibly endearing and will probably make you feel all the emotions.
Buy The Girl Who Leapt Through Time:
Amazon
Tokyo Revengers by Ken Wakui; translated by Kodansha USA (2017)
26 year old Takemichi Hanagaki is going nowhere fast. He hates his job where he has to answer to a boss six years his junior who patronises him, and he dreams of his glory days as a middle schooler – the only time he’s ever had a girlfriend.
But while watching the news one afternoon he is devastated to learn that his childhood girlfriend Hinata Tachibana has been killed by a local gang.
Later that day, thinking about Hinata, Takemichi is seemingly pushed in front of an oncoming train, and his life flashes before his eyes. Or at least, that’s what he assumes is happening as he finds himself transported back to the same day, but 12 years earlier.
Can he use this new ability to change the present and protect the only girl he’s ever loved?
Tokyo Revengers has an unique time travel mechanism, and explores a lot of interesting concepts. I also find the theme of nostalgia vs reality to be all too real, and also a little funny.
However, it is worth knowing that the English name of the gang (which pops up fairly regularly throughout the manga) incorporates a swastika. If that will be triggering, I would suggest skipping this particular title.
Buy Tokyo Revengers:
Amazon
InuYasha story and art by Rumiko Takahashi; translated by VIZ (1997)
Now this one is a little fuzzy in my memory, as this is actually the first time travel manga I ever read. But I remember getting really into this one as a teenager! However, I feel confident in saying that if you are looking for an excellent historical manga with fantasy elements, InuYasha will not disappoint!
On her 15th birthday, schoolgirl Kagome falls down an ancient well and is transported back to feudal Japan… but a feudal Japan with demons, talking animals and magic.
Kagome soon discovers that she is the reincarnation of a powerful priestess who guards the Shikon Jewel. Unbeknownst to her, her arrival in this world has awakened the half-demon half-dog boy InuYasha.
Thus begins the EPIC (and I do mean that) saga of InuYasha, one of the best time travel manga of all time! It is dark and beautiful and everything in between and you should just stop reading this and go read it now.
Buy InuYasha:
Amazon | Bookshop USA | Bookshop UK
A Distant Neighborhood story and art by Jirō Taniguchi; translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian (1998)
Overworked and slightly hungover, Hiroshi Nakahara boards a train from Kyoto to Tokyo to see his wife and children. But after a short nap, he is confused to find that the scenery outside his window is not what he expected, and that he has seemingly boarded a train to Kurayoshi, the town where he grew up.
When he arrives in Kurayoshi, he wanders through the familiar, but changed streets, and winds up at the cemetery. He decides to pay his respects to his mother, who died when he was a young boy.
In the middle of a prayer, Hiroshi experiences a fainting spell, and when he comes to everything is different. Even his suit has been replaced with a school uniform. But what Hiroshi will soon realise is that he has gone back in time, and he is once again a 14 year old boy, in the year his father disappeared without warning and his mother died.
Has Hiroshi been given a second chance at life, and will he be able to change anything if so? What about his wife and daughters?
Although A Distant Neighborhood is a time travel manga, the fantasy takes a backseat here. Instead, this beautiful, but heart wrenching story is a meditative look at childhood, family and nostalgia.
Buy A Distant Neighborhood:
Amazon | Bookshop UK
Thermae Romae by Mari Yamazaki; translated by Stephen Paul (2008)
Thermae Romae is a historical manga about two of history’s greatest bath-loving cultures: Rome and Japan – as written by a bath enthusiast.
It’s Rome 128 AD, and architect Lucius Modestus has been tasked with creating a new and innovative bathhouse. The problem is that his boss hates his ideas, which are modelled after the baths of yore, and not new enough to keep up with the trendsetting Romans.
While decompressing at the baths, he is accidentally sucked into the drain and emerges into a bath… in modern day Japan. (Although he initially thanks it must be the slave baths nearby – or a dream).
This comical time travel manga is a quick and fun read – especially if you don’t mind a bit of hand drawn male nudity.
Buy Thermae Romae:
Amazon | Bookshop USA | Bookshop UK
Erased [The Town Where Only I am Missing] by Kei Sanbe (2013)
Satoru Fujinuma is a manga author (it’s a bit of a meta start), but his manga is relatively unsuccessful and he also works as a delivery driver.
While delivering a pizza Fujinuma experiences what he calls a ‘rerun’ where he experiences the same chunk of time multiple times in order to figure out what is wrong. This allows him to save a young boy’s life, although he gets hurt in the process.
It turns out these reruns are not uncommon in Fujinuma’s life, and they always occur right before something terrible happens. The reruns are normally a few minutes of time.
But then something happens that sees Fujinuma back 18 years… a month before his childhood friend died. Can he change history, or is he forced to repeat it?
When I first picked up this time travel manga, I wasn’t initially super impressed. And that seems to be a pretty common reaction.
BUT! After a bit of a slow start, Erased [The Town Where Only I am Missing] picks up and starts running. And I promise it is worth it!
Buy Erased [The Town Where Only I am Missing]:
Amazon | Bookshop USA | Bookshop UK
BONUS
Although Steins;Gate is one of the most popular time travel manga of all time, I know that there is a trans character that has questionable representation. I have not personally read Steins;Gate, though, so cannot speak to this at all. However, it makes me hesitant to fully recommend the manga. If this is something that might trigger you, I would caution you to do your own research first – this article is a pretty good starting point.
Steins;Gate by Yomi Sarachi; translated by Caleb D. Cook; original art and concept by 5pb & Nitroplus (2009)
Originally a visual novel game, Steins;Gate was then adapted into a manga and a hit anime series.
Set in 2010 in the Akihabara district of Tokyo, Steins;Gate follows self-proclaimed “mad scientist” Okabe Rintaro and his fellow teenage friends. The group are trying to discover something BIG, in particular, time travel. Which they do by hooking up a microwave oven and a cell phone.
Well, kind of. People can’t actually travel in time, but the device does allow them to send text messages back in time, which in turn can change the present.
So will the group use this newfound power for good? For personal gain? What happens if a major scientific organisation were to learn about their invention?
Buy Steins;Gate:
Amazon | Bookshop USA | Bookshop UK