10 manga titles to binge after the Thanksgiving feast

Football, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, running the turkey trot, and eating oneself into a food coma are among some of the top Thanksgiving traditions we all like to celebrate. But reading manga? It’s one way to pass the time either before or after the big dinner.

We’ve got 10 manga titles to binge post-feast that include food manga, long-running series about friendships, Eisner-nominees and winners such as a Hayao Miyazaki classic, and a couple of webcomics that riff off Groundhog Day themes. 

Feeling blessed? Let’s dig into the 10 manga titles to binge this holiday weekend!

ONE PIECE

Blessings for longevity

Look up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Monkey D. Luffy — One of Japan’s best-selling manga of all time makes his debut at the 97^th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Binge away on all 107 volumes of this long-running series about a young man in search of a pirate’s treasure known as the “One Piece” as he tries to become the King of the Pirates. A paragraph is not nearly enough to capture all the nuances of the series, but with the post-turkey coma, you’ll have more than enough time to partake in the fun.

SHUNA’S JOURNEY
Blessings for a golden harvest

Winner of the 2023 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material, Miyazaki’s story is a precursor to Nausicaä and Princess Mononoke. Inspired by a Tibetan folktale, Shuna is a prince in a mountain valley village whose denizens suffer from famine. Shuna comes across a dying stranger, who tells of a land of golden grains. Shuna departs the village in search of the grain, coming across a pair of enslaved sisters whom he frees. When Shuna does find the magical land of the golden grain, all is not as it appears, and he suffers the consequences for his ambitions. Miyazaki’s story about finding and fulfilling one’s destiny is a book to treasure and share.

OUR DINING TABLE
Blessings for unexpected friendships

Our Dining Table is a boy’s love manga where the dining table serves as an occasion for connection, friendship, and love. Yutaka is a salaryman who has no friends and eats supermarket meals save for the onigiri he prepares daily. Yutaka’s life changes when he meets the charming Tane and his sullen older brother Minoru. The threesome begins to spend quality time together, learning to cook and enjoy meals, leading to Yutaka’s discovery of taste through emotional bonding. A sweet and touching one-off that celebrates the joys of found families.

NATSUME’S BOOK OF FRIENDS
Blessings for spiritual epiphanies

Takashi Natsume is a high schooler with a gift that alienates him from others. He can see yokai. These yokai pursue Natsume relentlessly for his grandmother Reiko’s Book of Friends – a volume that includes the names of yokai tricked into enslavement by Reiko. And now the yokai want to be free, which Natsume obliges. Along the way, he befriends some of those same spirits that formerly haunted him. Beautifully drawn, action-packed, but reflective, Midorikawa’s manga series is a feast for the heart and the soul.

TO BE AN ACTOR
Blessings for second chances

Jang Youngkuk wants to be famous so he can escape a life of poverty. He studies the craft and becomes a famous actor in the process. In leaving his former life behind, he also neglects and eventually loses his mother to illness. Youngkuk commits suicide but reawakens to relive his adolescence and get a second chance at being the filial son. But life has a way of imposing its will, even with do-overs. A catchy binge with crisp, clean art and a compelling story that draws readers from the get-go.

INSOMNIACS AFTER SCHOOL
Blessings for kindred spirits

Ganta Nakami cannot sleep at night. At school, he’s irritable and tired and alienates himself from most of his classmates. Searching for respite, he chances upon an abandoned observatory that used to serve as the school’s astronomy club meeting space. Nakami runs into Isaki Magari, a fellow insomniac. The two form a friendship that involves daytime naps and nightly jaunts around town. And in the process, they re-establish the school’s astronomy club with the help of a mentor. Ojiro’s tender and poignant series explores the trauma and emotional issues that lead to the duo’s insomnia realistically and intimately. An instant classic that also took home the Mandō Kobayashi Manga Grand Prix 2023 award.

A MAN’S MAN
Blessings knowing that hindsight is 20/20

Yuhyeon becomes the youngest CEO in Hansung Electronics history but finds himself celebrating his promotion alone as a result of the toxic workplace his forebears have created in the company. The next morning, Yuhyeon wakes up 20 years in the past, on the eve of the start of his career at Hansung. Given his knowledge of the present, Yuhyeon attempts to change his future trajectory. Introspective and at times violent, this is a kick-ass thriller full of suspenseful turns, with a main character that compels you to read on, no matter how ethically murky the circumstances.

A SILENT VOICE
Blessings for kindness, respect, and redemption

Oima’s Eisner-nominated seven-book series masterfully explores issues of social isolation, peer pressure, and school bullying. Middle schooler Shoya Ishida bullies deaf classmate Shoka Nishimiya to the point that she leaves the school. His friends (who participated in the bullying) ostracize Shoya after the principal reprimands him, leading to self-hatred and suicidal thoughts. Many years later, Shoya runs into Shoka and befriends her through contrition. With Shoka’s help, Shoya slowly reintegrates socially with his former friends. But old rivalries resurface, leading Shoka and Shoya down a dangerous road of misunderstandings and mental distress. Oima tells emotionally compelling stories with expressive art, and this series in particular is one of her best.  

UMMA’S TABLE
Blessings for the gift of families and traditions

Spending time with parents can seem like a chore, especially if one seeks to establish one’s own identity and future while escaping the past. Such is the case with Madang, an artist and new father who moves his family to the countryside in search of the idyll. He reluctantly travels back to Seoul to take his ailing mother to doctor’s appointments but avoids their basement digs. The communal dining table becomes the desperate emotional bond between mother and son, with kimchi as the unofficial peace offering. Hong delivers an effective narrative on filial responsibility.

I WISH I COULD SAY THANK YOU
Blessings for a life well-lived

Takinami’s book is brutal, but those experiencing the death of a parent will appreciate her honesty and relate to the emotional swings she describes and illustrates while caring for an ill parent. There will not be a dry eye after reading this manga but take comfort in Takinami’s tender portrayal of family in this gem on grief and grieving.

Looking for more than the 10 manga titles to binge? Check out The Beat’s manga reviews here.