Over the last few decades, many manga have come out, ruled the hearts of fans over time, and left a lasting legacy. While the chapters are released in black and white, the mangaka get to show off their colorful artistry on the manga volume covers. There are many popular manga that have eye-catching volume covers, and the first and last covers hold special significance. They usually tend to signify the complete journey of our beloved heroes, showing us how they’ve grown as individuals. So, I’ve today compared the first and last volume covers of some of the most popular manga below.
15. The Promised Neverland
Yakusoku no Neverland fans still adore their manga despite the anime’s second season butchering its legacy. The tale of orphans who had to escape from their nefarious orphanage was riveting from start to end in the manga. The first volume cover of The Promised Neverland highlighted the three kids, namely Norman, Emma, and Ray, who are the brilliant minds behind the escape.
The final volume 20 cover of the series featured the Grace Field Orphans reuniting together as they yearned for. This series has always been about family and the bond between the orphans, and well, the final cover wonderfully emphasizes those themes.
14. Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket is one of the Shoujo animanga I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone to experience a rollercoaster of emotions. The series began with the orphan, Tohru Honda, who got taken in later by the miraculous Souma family. Hence, the first volume cover of Fruits Basket featured the adorable Tohru Honda smiling wide.
If you have watched the Fruits Basket anime, you would already have met Tohru’s mother, Kyoka Honda. Without spoiling much, I can say that Kyoka was a vital character who linked the lives of the Fruits Basket’s protagonists. So, the final volume cover of the series featured Kyoka with a wide grin, similar to her daughter’s smile on the first volume cover.
13. Tokyo Ghoul
Anime fans have a love-or-hate relationship with the Tokyo Ghoul anime, but they absolutely adore the source material. Tokyo Ghoul tells the story of Ken Kaneki who became a hybrid human x ghoul and delves into more dark and psychological themes than your typical shonen.
The first volume cover of Tokyo Ghoul featured the eminent Ken Kaneki. He is seated with his hand partially covering his iconic ghoul eye shining in red. Mangaka Sui Ishida brought back Kaneki for the final cover, where he can be seen completely covering his ghoul eye with his hand.
This is a much softer portrayal of our favorite ghoul and his smile in the end completely won the hearts of the fans.
12. Fairy Tail
Fairy Tail chronicles the adventures of Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia who joined the infamous Fairy Tail Guild. To commemorate this beginning, the Volume 1 cover featured the aforementioned stars along with Happy (one of the best anime cats). The first volume cover highlights the dauntless spirit of our heroes in a rugged landscape.
Fairy Tail was a significantly grander escapade, and the guild continued to grow bigger as the story progressed. So, Hiro Mashima brought in all the treasured members of the guild in a celebratory group pose, signifying the happy ending of the series.
The first and final volume covers of the Fairy Tail manga expressed the jovial themes of the Shonen series.
11. Death Note
Death Note will remain the gateway to the world of anime for centuries to come. It was a perfect mini-series that probed through complex themes of power and judgment. The series’s protagonist, Light Yagami, acted as a self-proclaimed god of judgment after he got his hands on the mysterious Death Note.
Mangaka Tsugumi Ohba handed his protagonist the scythe of the Grim Reaper to symbolize his role in the series. In the first volume cover, Ryuk stood behind him.
Light indeed transcended to the position of God with the almighty power of the Death Note at the end of the series. Ohba encapsulated the protagonist’s spirit by recreating Light with angelic wings in a crucifix pose along with the other main characters of the show at his feet.
Moreover, he stood at the top of a pile of skulls which further depicts the death toll due to the wrath of a self-proclaimed god. The first and final covers of Death Note were a fitting portrait of Light, the god-like character.
10. Gintama
Gintama was a parody anime with a heart that continued to entertain the fans for more than a decade with the protagonist Gintoki Sakata. The manga Volume 1 cover introduced the nonchalant Gintoki with his wooden sword. He was seen wearing his classic white and blue kimono in a cosmic background.
Author Hideaki Sorachi brought back the cosmic backdrop for the final cover, but Gintoki is joined by our beloved characters this time around. He did the same leaping pose here, and the final cover signifies the cheerfulness and camaraderie of the Gintama ensemble.
9. Demon Slayer
Demon Slayer told the heartful story of Tanjiro Kamado who wanted to save his sister after she got turned into a demon. They were the only survivors of an attack by the wicked beings that killed their entire family. Therefore, the first volume cover featured the troubled brother Tanjiro hugging his demon sister.
Koyoharu Gotouge penned a happy ending for this brother-sister duo in the final cover. To signify their journey, she drew Tanjiro and Nezuko smiling and bidding goodbye to the audience, which is the opposite of the distressed Volume 1 cover.
8. Jujutsu Kaisen
2024 marked the end of many shonen manga like Jujutsu Kaisen. This animanga series created by Gege Akutami instantly became a global sensation among the new generation of anime viewers. The first JJK manga cover is a classic one where the series’s hero Itadori Yuji got the limelight. Gege also hinted at the final battle between the vessel Yuji and the king of curses in the end.
The Jujutsu Kaisen manga ended with Yuji emerging as the winner against the king of curses. To achieve this tremendous feat, Yuji underwent an extraordinary transformation towards the end of the series, and the final Volume 30 cover sublimely captured Yuji’s evolution. Yuji’s dead-cold stare while performing his domain expansion has turned out to be a fan favorite.
7. Attack on Titan
Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan is an exemplary example of how to make a perfect manga series. It kicked off with the introduction of humans vs man-eating titans. So the volume 1 cover included the series’s protagonist Eren Yeager taking on the colossal titan on his own. This cover is revered as one of the finest volume covers to this day.
After an excellent 11-year-old run, Isayama ended this fan-favorite manga in 2021. Even though the ending of Attack of Titan faced a conflicted reception, many prefer this to be the ideal ending to the legendary animanga.
To top it off, AOT’s final cover featured the three main kids, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin who changed the course of history, running up to the tree. This cover perfectly encapsulates the vivid moment of the trio back in their childhood.
6. My Hero Academia
Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia exploded in popularity as he explored a superhero story set in Japan. The MHA animanga series shaped up as one of the best shonen of the modern era and concluded earlier this year. My Hero Academia is about the heroic tale of Izuku Midoriya who dreamed of becoming a superhero but wasn’t gifted with a quirk at birth.
The first MHA volume cover featured Deku looking up to the greatest hero All Might, who granted his powers to our hero, along with many prominent heroes of that time.
In the end, Horikoshi kickstarted a new era of heroes where all our favorite characters got to shine as the new pro heroes. The end is not just about Izuku as the tale is about how they all became the greatest heroes.
In celebration of that, Horikoshi drafted a cover that looks similar to Volume 1. Thus, the final cover got the grown-up version of Deku in the front along with his friends behind him. Similar to the first cover, the final one featured a kid whom Deku now inspires to become a hero.
5. Haikyuu
Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate is undoubtedly one of the best sports animanga of the modern era. The series has amassed a fanbase equal to a battle shonen series, thanks to the Shoyo Hinata and Tobio Kageyama. The first cover of Haikyuu had the setter and middle blocker of Team Karasuno leaping in the air towards the volleyball.
The last volume cover of Haikyuu once again featured the setter and middle blocker duo, grown-up but with the same look on their faces. This symbolizes the strides they made during their volleyball journey. The joy of playing their dream sport, volleyball, can be seen in both the first as well as the final volume covers.
Hinata and Kageyama started as high school volleyball players and achieved their dream of becoming professionals. They will be remembered as a supreme duo in animanga history.
4. Bleach
Next up, we have another series from the “The Big Three” category, Bleach by Tite Kubo. In Bleach, we follow the life story of Ichigo Kurosaki who could see ghosts and spirits. This carefree student’s life turns upside down when he meets Rukia Kuchiki. He became the new soul reaper by inheriting the powers and had the duty to protect his world from the deadly hollows.
The first volume of Bleach introduces the new soul reaper, Ichigo, wielding his Zangetsu sword in true heroic fashion. Fast forward to the last volume cover, it features the two primary leads of the story, Ichigo and Rukia, all grown-up and focused on how far they have come so far.
The duo have been instrumental in each other’s lives and Kubo perfectly captured the character’s growth in the final cover.
3. Dragon Ball
Akira Toriyama sensei’s Dragon Ball series is renownedly known as the “Father of Shonen.” It has inspired countless shonen authors and is the reason behind many of the series’ existence. And well, it started with the charming Son Goku putting his hand up and looking for the dragon balls while riding a dragon in a cloud backdrop.
Now, everyone is well aware of how Goku transformed into the strongest character not just in the series but also in the entire history of Shonen. The final volume cover of Dragon Ball Z featured a throwback to volume 1 where the grown-up Goku thanked and waved goodbye to fans along with Majin Buu in a spectacular space background.
We are forever indebted to the late Toriyama sensei for presenting us with the eternal hero, Goku.
2. Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist tells the tale of the Elric brothers who wanted to bring their mother back to life. However, their alchemy experiment to resurrect their dead mother ended up in a much bigger loss as Alphonse’s physical form crumbled and Edward lost his leg. Thus, the brothers went on a quest to get the philosopher’s stone to restore their bodies to their original forms.
The first volume featured the iconic Elric brothers duo gearing up for their vital journey. After they went to hell and back, Edward saved his brother at the end of the series. The final manga cover has Ed returning with his brother from “The Gate” after all the struggles, marking the completion of the journey they set out on.
1. Naruto
There is no one out there who hasn’t heard about the inspiring tale of the mischievous kid, Naruto. His adventurous yet arduous journey to achieving his dream of becoming the Hokage has motivated millions of fans (including me) and has left a long-lasting impression on them. The first volume cover of the Naruto manga featured a playful Naruto showcasing his Ninja skills.
And in the final volume, the day every fan had waited for finally arrived. Naruto finally became the seventh Hokage in the manga series, and the final volume cover portrays him as the new Hokage as he watches over the Konoha village.
The first and final volume covers of Naruto manga make Naruto’s Hokage journey come full circle. Mashashi Kishimoto sensei’s series will continue to inspire many more people starting to watch his journey.
These are the best manga series I came up with after comparing the first and last volume covers. We hope you liked all the covers showcased here. But if you think we missed out on any of your favorite manga covers, let us know in the comments below.
