Everyone’s first thought when reading a manga is to get through the pages as quickly as possible. And most manga pages deserve this treatment.
But some manga panels demand you to stop, stare, and appreciate the mangakas’ hard work.
The best manga panels I’ve listed today are true works of art.
But what is the best manga panel? Is it one full of emotions or one full of beautiful artwork?
For me, it’s the latter.
The more detailed and intricate the manga panel, the more immersive the experience.
So, I’ve found and listed some of the most detailed manga panels from modern-day classics Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man, and more.
15+ Best Manga Panels To Stare At
Berserk
There are no words to describe this horrifying manga panel.
The more you look at it, the more horrors you discover and get engrossed in the beauty of it. Perhaps it is fitting that the late Kentaro Miura etched Guts’ memory of the Eclipse in every reader’s mind.
Berserk is filled with such manga panels – there’s more below- but this remains an all-time favorite.
A carnage that would make the Red Wedding look like child’s play.
What kind of a twisted mind must you have to birth a child from a hanging woman? But it is what it is. And despite the dread this panel brings, there’s no denying the importance and no overlooking the artistry.
This manga panel shows that Miura is equally good at drawing action as he is at drawing the stuff of nightmares. The armor shading, sword detailing, and the blood shower- there’s so much to stare at in this panel.
Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan is filled with iconic manga panels, but this simple one stands out for me. A mute panel filled with despair and joy- the joy of a new life with the despair of losing one, and soon, many more.
As everyone tries to save a newborn, for a few seconds, everyone forgets about the Rumbling and the Titans closing in.
Another mute panel with one sole purpose- to have fans thirsting over Eren Yeager. The best fan service ever by Hajime Isayama and absolutely lapped up by the fans.
Naruto
You might sense a theme here, but I can’t be blamed.
These full-page spreads of different Naruto characters looking over the Village are some of the best manga panels from Naruto.
All of them are of the same place but tell an entirely different story.
When Sasuke enters at night and sees some changes,
Naruto is happy to see his Village unchanged.
But the top prize goes to this double-spread Naruto manga panel of Pain looking over the village.
Chainsaw Man
The Chainsaw Man anime is cutting through charts right now – no pun intended – but it all started back in 2019 with the manga.
And below is the manga panel that really put the Chainsaw Man among the big leagues.
The Darkness Devil cut the astronauts in half and had them praying to their own legs.
But symbolic art isn’t his only strong suit.
Tatsuki Fujimoto, the Chainsaw Man mangaka, also made a name for himself with over-the-top action scenes. The anime exploits that to the fullest, but it isn’t half bad in the black-and-white of manga as well.
Here’s my favorite one- the Chainsaw himself cutting someone in half, completely disregarding the blood and limbs being sprayed around.
Dr. Stone
With a post-apocalyptic setting, Dr. Stone was a giant canvas to re-imagine the beauty of mother nature. And Boichi, the South Korean illustrator of Dr. Stone did exactly that. However, the manga has pretty much gone under the radar in the West, and I’m doing my bit to show it off.
Even if the manga art doesn’t entice you, the surprisingly original premise should.
Here’s the protagonist, Senku Ishigami, for those who don’t know.
One Punch Man
I like One Punch Man- A LOT! But even I slept on the manga for the longest time.
And once I did pick it up, I realized what I was missing out on.
While the anime will eventually catch on and Saitama’s journey will unravel, what we won’t get in the anime is the beautiful manga art- especially if J.C. Staff animates One Punch Man season 3.
And I really wish to see the following panel done right. It’s Tatsumaki single-handedly stopping a tsunami.
At least Madhouse did a great job at bringing this punch to life.
Tokyo Revengers
Ending this list with some of the best manga panels of 2023 from Ken Wakui’s Tokyo Revengers.
Ok, the ending was bad, but we can’t overlook his incredible talent for conveying the best emotions through manga art. Just look at the manga panel below-
Our crybaby hero shouts as Mikey stares at him with dead eyes. And at this moment, Mikey realizes that he is not alone!
With Tokyo Revengers season 2 out, the manga panel below is live and it’s beautiful. But the manga version of Takemichi and Kazutora vowing to take back Toman remains my favorite.
And that concludes my list of the best manga panels of a few popular manga to date.
It’s all about preferences. These are some fan favorites, but there are thousands more that you might think are better than these panels, and that’s ok. As long as we can enjoy them all!
