Women have always been huge contributors to the manga industry, so much so that, over 70% of all mangakas are female. Despite that, however, the manga industry is riddled with sex-based discrimination which forces a lot of them – especially shonen and seinen authors, to take pen names, usually male or gender neutral, so as to keep their gender hidden.
With that said, a lot of the current and older beloved series loved by everyone are written by female authors. Whilemost female mangakas write Shoujoor Josei manga, there are quite a few in the male-dominated Shounen and Seinen genre as well.
Updated June 25, 2025, by Hamza Haq:A mangaka’s job isn’t always a glorious one. By virtue of the nature of the medium, the people who write and draw manga don’t represent themselves and their identity in their works, at least not blatantly so. Some of the greatest mangaka of our time have lived and died without anyone beyond their hardcore fanbase knowing what they looked like in person. Most readers know these legends through their works, and sometimes not even that. Female mangaka have written some of the most iconic manga series of all time, including legendary stories like Fullmetal Alchemist, InuYasha, Black Butler, and many more. Two newmanga series written by female mangakahave been added to the list.
25Black Butler
Mangaka: Yana Toboso
While people might assumeBlack Butleris a Shoujo, it actually belongs to the Shonen demographic and has been an extremely popular series since its debut in 2006 in the magazine Monthly GFantasy. The manga has yet to reach its conclusion as Yana Toboso, the mangaka, is not done with the story yet, currently being on the 33rd volume. This manga has received anime seasons as well as movies. In 2023, the manga had over 34 million copies in circulation, a showcase of its popularity.
The story ofBlack Butlercenters on Ciel Phantomhive, the main character, as well as a demon disguised as a butler, Sebastian Michaelis. Ciel has made a contract with the devil to avenge his parents’ death and, in exchange, Sebastian will get to devour his soul.
24House of the Sun (Taiyou no Ie)
Mangaka: Ta’amo
House of the Sunis a romance story focusing on Mao Motomiya, a high school girl who finds herself lost and adrift until Hiro Nakamura, an old friend who lends her a hand. It’s a warm, wholesome love story between these two with an excellent cast of supporting characters who flesh out the world.
The cozy art style suits the story’s themes perfectly and emanates the feeling of home away from home in a way that’s hard to put into words. There are also themes of acceptance and forgiveness woven into it all as the protagonist’s estranged father is slowly brought back into her life. The pacing is spot-on as readers are never left feeling that the story is dragging on or moving too fast.
2010
23The Rose of Versailles
Mangaka: Riyoko Ikeda
The Rose of Versailles, sometimes also referred to asLa Rose de Versailles, is an old Shoujo manga dating back to 1972. The manga was serialized for one year until 1973 in a magazine known as Margaret. The author and illustrator is Riyoko Ikeda, who’s often included in the Year 24 Group – a group of female mangakas that revolutionized the Shoujo demographic in the 1970s and catapulted it into its Golden Age. While younger manga fans may be unaware of her story, it had a major impact during its time, and for many more years to come. A revival of this series began in 2013 and ended in 2018 in the same magazine.
The story ofThe Rose of Versaillesfocuses on two characters in particular, the French Queen Marie Antoinette, as well as Oscar François de Jarjayes. This story is set in the years before and during the French Revolution and gives an interesting twist on the historical events.
22Revolutionary Girl Utena
Mangaka: Chiho Saito
Revolutionary Girl Utena, also known as Shojo Kakumei Utena, is a manga that was created side by side with its anime adaptation. The manga, written by Chiho Saito, is an unforgettable story that targets Shoujo and Josei demographics. This manga was published in Shogakukan and its original run went from 1996 to 1998, however, it has since received sequels –Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena in 1999, and Revolutionary Girl Utena: After the Revolutionrecently in 2018.
The story of this manga, which spans over 7 volumes, focuses on the main character Utena Tenjou as she tries to protect the Rose Bride, Anthy Himemiya, who possesses a great power – that of revolutionizing the world.
21Noragami
Mangaka: Adachitoka
Noragami: Stray Godis a Shounen manga being published in the Monthly Shonen Magazine since its debut in 2010. It’s still an ongoing manga, currently stacking up 26 manga volumes. All this is the work of not one, but two female mangakas, Adachi and Tokashiki, known collectively as Adachitoka. The anime adaptation of this manga was also a sensation and certainly propelled the manga’s popularity. However, due to the authors’ health,the manga has been going through many hiatuses, which slowed the release of the manga greatly and affected its popularity in general. Despite all that, the manga has still managed to sell over 6.3 million copies, as of 2018 numbers.
This manga follows the story of Hiyori Iki, a middle school student who meets Yato, a stray god who’s determined to make a name for himself among other gods.
20Pandora Hearts
Mangaka: Jun Mochizuki
Pandora Heartsfollows the story of Oz Vessalius as he is imprisoned for a crime he does not remember committing, forcing him to not only use any means available to escape his prison but to understand what crime it was that he committed.Pandora Hearts’biggest strength is its tightly written script and expertly woven story. The overarching mystery that drives the story forward is a tragic event that occurred 100 years ago, one that’s shrouded in mystery and is likely to repeat once more unless the hero party stops it.
A key reason thePandora Heartsmanga is not even more popular is that the first 20-30 chapters are essentially just setups for what comes after. It’s the definition of a slow-burn story that only really picks up after this point. Sticking with it up to this watershed moment is definitely worth it as the way the different threads of different storylines come together and culminate in a Eureka! moment is nothing short of legendary. The anime adaptation ofPandora Heartsis also stellar, but the manga just hits differently.
19NANA
Mangaka: Ai Yazawa
NANAis a yet-to-be-completed manga that’s been on hiatus for years, since 2009. Despite that, it has its fans hoping for the mangaka, Ai Yazawa, to complete her story. The story was first published in May 2000 in Cookie, a monthly shojo manga magazine under Shueisha. As things stand, the manga has 21 volumes, and it has also had an anime adaption released in 2006 – spanning over 47 episodes. The manga has won the 48th Shogakukan Manga Award and is definitely one of the most popular Shoujo.
The story ofNANArevolves around two girls named Nana – Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu. While these girls share the same name, their personalities are very different, but that doesn’t stop them from being friends. However, their friendship is put to the test throughout the story.
18Mushishi
Mangaka: Yuki Urushibara
Mushishiis the work offemale mangakaYuki Urushibara, who also writes under the pen name Soyogo Shima. The manga debuted in 1999 and ran for 10 volumes in a seinen magazine from Kodansha known as Afternoon Season Zōkan and then Monthly Afternoon until 2008. She has won multiple awards for her work, such as the Excellence Prize at the 7th Japan Media Art Festival as well as the Kodansha Manga Award in 2006. Her manga is ranked very high on the list of best manga by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, and holds the 6th place.
The story ofMushishifollows the main character Ginko, who lives in a world that has Mushi, which are supernatural creatures most humans can’t see. Ginko is a Mushi Master who helps people around him who suffer because of the Mushi.
1999
17Fruits Basket
Mangaka: Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basketis a story written and drawn by Natsuki Takaya that was serialized in the Magazine Hana to Yume, a Shoujo magazine published by Hakusensha between the years 1998 and 2006. The manga had amassed 23 volumes over its running time. The manga is extremely successful both in Japan and outside, having reached, for example, the 15th spot in the USA Today Top 150 Bestselling Books with the release of its 15th volume in English – the highest a manga volume has ever reached. The final volume was also a New York Times best seller.
The story follows Toharu as she goes from living in a tent after her mother’s death, to living with Yuki Sohma, her classmate. She discovers that the Sohma family is possessed by the spirits of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals.
16Blue Exorcist
Mangaka: Kazue Kato
Blue Exorcist,also known asAo no Ekusoshisutoin Japanese, is a work by Kazue Kato. The manga was serialized in Jump Square in 2009 and is currently still ongoing. So far, the story has 29 volumes and counting. With its 7th volume, the manga became the first Jump Square manga to get a first print run of 1 million copies, mostly thanks to the anime adaptation.
The story ofBlue Exorciststars the main character Rin Okumura in this dark fantasy adventure. The son of Satan and a human woman, he joins the True Cross Academy to defeat his father. He becomes an exorcist and gains multiple abilities, most notably the power to ignite into blue flames.
