7 best manhua (Chinese manga) that you need to read

Manhua refers to Chinese comics and print cartoons. As some of the best manhua have shown, this medium has developed its own iconic art style and storytelling sensibilities over the past century. It offers windows into Chinese culture, history, and mythology through diverse genre narratives.

The best manhua showcases China’s rich literary and artistic traditions while blending in modern pop culture elements. They depict fantastic martial arts adventures, romantic dramas, comedic slice-of-life, and thought-provoking science fiction.

Here are 7 noteworthy best manhua series spanning past and present that demonstrate why this medium has become an indelible part of Chinese contemporary culture.

Top picks: 7 best manhua that define Chinese graphic novels

1. Chinese Hero

Cover of Chinese Hero (Image via Ma Wing Shing)

Created by Ma Wing Shing, Chinese Hero captures key episodes from Chinese history and culture in comic book vignettes. Each chronological chapter focuses on a historical figure from ancient times to the modern era through dramatic narrativized accounts.

Taking artistic license for dramatization, it covers mythological heroes, warring states strategists, rebel leaders, politicians, writers, scientists, athletes, and more. Real historical texts regarding Chinese history quoted throughout add educational value.

Packed panel layouts also squeeze in plentiful background details surrounding each character. For readers seeking the best manhua and wanting a primer on the scope of China's history and legends spanning over two millennia, Chinese Hero delivers through the power of visual storytelling.

2. Ravages of Time

Cover of Ravages of Time (Image via Chan Mou)

This is one of the best manhuas that transforms historical Records of the Three Kingdoms into a cunning strategy thriller. Ravages of Time vividly portrays power players like Liu Bei and Cao Cao from Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel, detailing their intricate wars and schemes for control of China.

Dialogue and tactical planning retain the authentic poetry of Chinese literature, while visuals complement with beautiful, intricately detailed art that evokes traditional ink-wash aesthetics.

Details like battle maps and warring state emblem designs also attest to creator Chan Mou’s meticulous research in bringing this classic epic age to life. For those wanting imagery matching the intricacy of the source material’s palace intrigue, Ravages of Time stands among the crowning achievements of Chinese comics.

3. Their Story

Cover of Their Story (Image via Tan Jiu)

This ongoing best manhua follows an LGBTQ+ romance between two schoolgirls in modern China. Breaking genre conventions, Their Story forgoes male romantic leads for relatable characters and stories many queer readers could connect with.

Through daily life moments from subway commutes to text conversations, it insightfully explores the joy and struggles of their emerging relationship. Themes like societal pressures regarding careers and families parallel those in heterosexual coming-of-age stories.

Pages also occasionally quote moving messages from the story’s actual fanbase. For a touching contemporary portrayal of queer love balanced with lighthearted fluff, Their Story delivers an unprecedented milestone for Chinese comics.

4. Journey to the West

Cover of Journey to the West (Image via Yang Jigeng)

The classical Chinese novel Journey to the West has many modern reinterpretations, but Yang Jigeng’s manhua ranks among the best. This comedic adventure retells the iconic story of Monkey King and Monk Xuanzang's quest for scriptures from India with eye-catching watercolor art.

It is beloved for its loyal talking pets, love for nature, physics-defying martial arts, and the most charming hero in Chinese literature—the rogue warrior Sun Wukong, better known as the Monkey King.

Familiar creatures like Dragon King and fan favorite Pigsy look better than ever, while scenes like Monkey King rebelling against the gods receive lavishly painted spreads. It condenses a sweeping mythological epic into a concise best manhua feast for the eyes.

5. Ghost Blows Out the Light

Cover of Ghost Blows Out the Light (Image via Zhang Muye)

Ghost Blows of the Light adapts supernatural fantasy novels into manhua containing lush, watercolored webtoon-style art. Set during the Tang Dynasty in China, the story begins with young lordling Du Ping investigating a haunted mansion for clues to cure his illness when he crosses paths with beautiful maiden Huli.

Alongside Du's confidant, they soon become embroiled in solving mysteries involving the capital’s unrestrained ghost population. This is one of the best manhuas that expertly blends intrigue, action, and humor with a backdrop rich in palace drama and Taoist exorcisms.

Fluid artwork dramatically brings its mystical Tang China setting to life while never sacrificing legibility, regardless of how chaotic the scenes become. Ghost Blows Out the Light hits all the marks for a digital manhua adaptation done right.

6. The King's Avatar

Cover of The King's Avatar (Image via Butterfly Blue)

The King's Avatar, regarded as one of the best manhua in the gaming genre, follows an esports star forced to retire at his peak. He begins playing as an anonymous amateur on a new server, eventually working to rebuild his pro career from scratch.

It soon became one of China's most popular webtoons with an anime adaptation. The story's initial arcs portray the thrill of discovery, leveling up a new account, and gaining skill through relentless practice as protagonist Ye Xiu continues demonstrating inhuman expertise, even starting from nothing.

As he forms a new amateur team of fellow gaming enthusiasts, camaraderie develops while weathering setbacks and confronting tangled histories with old rivals coming into friction once more.

7. Tales of Demons and Gods

Cover of Tales of Demons and Gods (Image via Mad Snail)

Regarded as one of the best manhua in the action fantasy genre, Tales of Demons and Gods is set in a world teeming with sects and demonic beasts. It follows the exploits of the powerful cultivator Nie Li, who is reborn after losing everything in a fight against the Sage Emperor.

Blending mythology, wuxia martial arts, and magic with conspiracies across lifetimes, this manhua offers a compelling, epic-scale fantasy adventure. Reawakened as a teen before a tragedy, Nie Li uses his foreknowledge and powers to quickly strengthen himself and his allies, manipulating events against a looming demon threat.

Occasional changes adapted from the novel keep intrigue high as Nie Li schemes through new deadly challenges and revelations on his way to his ultimate destiny.

Conclusion

From ancient classics to BL romances, China’s manhua scene has entered an electrifying era with passionate readers at home and overseas. Bold story experiments and artistic innovation build on a modernizing industry infrastructure to push boundaries for the medium.

Their Story has garnered international mainstream awards for manhua. Streaming platforms like Tencent now offer extensive manhua libraries. Overseas publishers localize more Chinese comics every year, realizing their universal appeal.

There has never been a more exciting time to dive into the world of Chinese graphic fiction. These are some of the best manhua, providing perfect gateways to discover prized gems from the Middle Kingdom and instill a lifelong passion for the medium.