[10] Best Spy Manga (Espionage Encouraged)

Nothing is more intense and awesome than a good spy story. Afterall, what could be scarier and more exciting than dropping behind enemy lines, collecting intel, and hiding your true identity? I’m so happy to say that the spy genre has found its way into manga, and in this list I’m going to go over the top spy and espionage mangas of all time!

If you just want a short sweet list, then here you go!

1. Spy x Family
2. Bloody Monday
3. Spy Classroom / Spy Kyoushitsu
4. Mission: Yozakura Family
5. Assassination Classroom
6. Jabberwocky
7. Sakamoto Days
8. Zero: The Man of the Creation
9. Kimi wa 008
10. Joker Game

If you want to know more about each of these spy manga, then keep reading below!

If you’re a collector, you can also use the Best Spy Manga list on CheckinManga to help manage and collect all of these awesome spy manga!

1. Spy × Family

If you’re here then there’s a really good chance that you’ve already heard of Spy x Family, but if not then here you go! Spy x Family is a fairly new manga series (original run in 2019) that has gained a ton of popularity thanks to its anime adaptation. Spy x Family is a manga that pretty much anyone can pick up and enjoy - it’s not made for die hard manga fans. With that being said, it still has great plots full of secrets and espionage and every single character in the manga extrudes charm. The best part is that it's truly a manga that could go on forever.

The plot of Spy x Family is simple, yet intriguing. Of course it’s set during a cold war of sorts (not the one we know, but one between Westalis and Ostania). One of Westalian’s agents, Twilight, receives a mission to spy on an Ostanian party leader. To accomplish this task, he has to form a fake family with a beautiful wife and an adorable little adopted daughter. Unfortunately, he chose a secret assassin as his wife and a mind reader for his daughter…

So, as you can imagine, Spy x Family is all about Twilight and his wife, Yor trying to hide their secrets from each other, while their daughter reads their minds and says adorably hilarious quips. Of course the manga has plenty of spy service and espionage, but it’s mostly about the family (and their dog!) It’s sort of an action-packed, spy, romantic comedy mish mash of awesomeness, which is why it tops this list.

If you’re still skeptical, though, then feel free to check out my in-depth analysis of why Spy x Family is so popular. I feel like I do a very good job of showing the appeal of the series to a wide audience, and take a harder look at whether the it is overrated or if it truly deserves its popularity.

If you're already a fan of Spy x Family (and how could you not be), and you want to check out the anime, then you should take a look at my top 10 best Spy x Family episodes!

2. Bloody Monday

Bloody Monday is the most serious spy manga on this list so far. The plot is very suspenseful and full of twists, turns, and dark tones. Bloody Monday is about an elite hacker that was tasked with recovering data from a dead Russian spy’s memory chip. Of course, things can never be that simple.

See, that memory chip holds secrets about a deadly epidemic that spread through Russia not long ago. Of course there will be people out there who do not want those secrets known. Bloody Monday follows Fujimaru Takagi, AKA Falcon, as he tries to recover data, unveil the secrets of the dead spy, and most importantly - survive.

I love everything about Bloody Monday and it’s one of my favorite spy-themed manga out right now. Spy x Family is much more popular and that’s because it’s a bit more light hearted and more fun. Bloody Monday is much more serious and the plot gets seriously dark at times, which I love, especially in spy manga.

3. Spy Classroom / Spy Kyoushitsu

If you’re a fan of the “group of failing misfits learns how to be extremely awesome” trope in TV, movies, and manga, then you’ll love Spy Classroom. If you’re not a fan of that trope, you’ll probably still love Spy Classroom. Spy Classroom is up there with Spy x Family and a lot of people may prefer it to Mission: Yozakura Family (coming up next) depending on personal tastes. The main difference between those manga and Spy Classroom is that Spy Classroom tries to be a bit more serious and has a ton of drama.

The story is pretty simple, yet gripping. Klaus, an elite spy, needs to form a team in order to complete “impossible missions” AKA missions that were previously failed by another team of spies which means higher security to deal with. Klaus forms a team of seven unique girls with their own quirks and stories to learn. The problem is that all of these girls are burnt out failures that couldn’t cut it in their spy school.

If you’ve read Assassination Classroom then you have a pretty good idea of how this story is going to go! The premise is very similar - an elite teacher has to mold some young, quirky minds and make some diamonds out of coal. There’s tons of drama, laughs, and plenty of spy action, which is why this lands at number 3 (although there’s a good case that it should be number two!).

4. Mission: Yozakura Family

I don’t know what it is about combining spy settings and romantic comedies, but it just keeps hitting perfectly. Mission: Yozakura Family is another very easy read about a young boy learning to become a spy in order to impress his crush’s family.

The main character of Yozakura Family is Taiyo. Taiyo has a very tragic past and only has his best friend, Mutsumi, to talk to. Little does Taiyo know, Mutsumi comes from a long lineage of super-powered spies, and in order to protect her Taiyo has to become a spy himself.

Mission: Yozakura Family is hilarious and charming. The characters are all written fantastically and it’s hard not to fall in love with them and care about them as you read. The artwork is amazing and this manga truly deserves a lot more love and attention than it has gotten!

5. Assassination Classroom

I mentioned it before when I was discussing Spy Classroom, but Assassination Classroom is a certified classic. While not technically about spies, it is about assassins which leads to a lot of similar situations. After all, one of the skills of being a good assassin is being a good spy.

There are no two ways about it when I say that Assassination Classroom is one of the best manga to ever be written and everyone should read it or at least watch the show. The manga is about Koro-sensei, a weird, yellow, octopus man-thing with inhuman powers. Koro-sensei destroys the moon and then threatens to destroy the entire planet in a year’s time. However, Koro-sensei also offers humanity one chance at survival - Koro-sensei gets to teach a class of misfits how to become assassins (plus more traditional classroom subjects).

The manga follows Koro-sensei and his class’s journey to becoming friends and assassins. You’ll fall in love with every character. Every student has a unique personality and we truly get to see them grow. Koro-sensei, of course, is one of the greatest manga characters of all time. Overall, the manga is a must-read and would be number 1 on this list if it focused more on spying and espionage. I’m not a cheater, though, so number 5 will have to do!

6. Jabberwocky

"Da Vinci Code meets Jurassic Park" - This is how Jabberwocky was described during a promotion at one point and I really can’t summarize it any better.

Jabberwocky follows Lily Apricot, who is (of course) a British secret agent. Lily receives a mission to steal some Russian treasure. So, as you can tell already, Jabberwocky is a classic spy tale. Well, except for the fact that while on her mission, Lily Apricot discovers that Dinosaurs are real, they walk among us, and they’re upset that they’re no longer the apex species!

Jabberwocky doesn’t get nearly as much love as it should. Considering how starved we all are of awesome spy manga, I get extremely excited whenever I see one as well done as Jabberwocky. It has all of the classic spy and espionage tropes we look for in spy media, with some extra wackiness sprinkled in.

7. Sakamoto Days

Hitmen and spies go hand in hand like martinis and black suits. If you’re a fan of John Wick, then you’re going to be right at home when reading Sakamoto Days because this manga is somewhat of a parody of the Wick franchise. Sakamoto Days is about the best hitman in the world enjoying his retirement. Of course, if he were just enjoying his retirement they would’ve never made a manga about him!

As you can tell from the cover, Sakamoto doesn’t look like a typical hitman nowadays. He looks like a regular old shopkeep / family man. What’s great about Sakamoto days is that he also acts like a regular ol’ shopkeep and family man until he has to bust out his awesome hitman moves. This manga offers plenty of comedy as well as action packed fight scenes and secret undercover missions. It’s a fantastic twist on the classic retired hitman comes out of retirement trope. Sakamoto Days is also a fairly new manga, so you can be the first of your friends to enjoy it!

8. Zero: The Man of the Creation

Zero: The Man of the Creation is a manga about a mysterious man that goes only by Zero. Zero is an expert on history, artwork, artifacts, and antiques. He’s also an expert on curses. Because of this, Zero is called upon by many to uncover forgeries, dispel curses, and solve any ancient artifact-related problems that may arise.

Zero: The Man of the Creation has that secretive, undercover goodness that we all look for in our spy manga. While Zero isn’t technically a spy, you get a good feeling that he was something at one point because of his elite-level skills, problem solving, and knowledge. He’s a mystery and he’s not normal, which is what makes this manga so fun to read as a fan of the spy genre.

9. Kimi wa 008

Kimi wa 008 is much more on the risqué side than the other manga on this list. However, Kimi wa 008 is no less secret spy x espionage than the rest! It even has the classic “pass a deadly exam to become a true spy” trope that we all know and love!

Kimi wa 008 follows Eito, who is a terrible student that fails every exam he takes. This prevents Eito from getting into every school he applied to. Well, every single school, except one - a training institution for secret agents! Eito never applied to this school, but was accepted there nonetheless because his father was a great secret agent.

So, Kimi wa 008 is similar to Spy Classroom in the sense that we’re going to be following a fledgling spy as he learns espionage and attempts to pass deadly exams. Keep in mind, though, Kimi wa 008 is a lot more lewd than the previous items on this list - you’ve been warned!

10. Joker Game

Unfortunately, since I can’t find the manga anywhere, I’m just going to talk about the Joker Game anime. I wouldn’t normally do this, but Joker Game is one of the very few manga / anime that really capture the essence of spying and Espionage.

Joker Game is not a spy story like we’re used to with movies like James Bond and it’s actually completely opposite to Spy x Family. There are no charming secret agents that capture our hearts and make us want to grow up to be like them. There’s not much character to the spies in Joker Game at all. Instead, Joker Game focuses on spy missions and the plot / universe that it takes place in. Instead of James Bond from the 007 movies, we’re treated to James Bond from the original novels.

Joker Game is an anthology of sorts. Instead of one continuous plot that develops over the series, it is a bunch of little plots that all take place in their own episode. It’s very rare for manga / anime to be episodic, which makes Joker Game unique, but it also makes it a little off-putting for many viewers. It’s not for everyone. There is no real overarching plot, per se, that will pay off in the end when everything clicks. Instead, you get to just sit down for an episodic look at how pre-WWII spies handled their business.

Yes, there are many anime about spies. Spy Classroom, Joker Game, Spy x Family, and Mission: Yozakura Family are all anime about spies. There are also many anime with spy-related themes, like Naruto, that incorporate espionage heavily into their plot without being entirely about spies.

As you can see from the list above, there are plenty of mangas about spies. However, not every manga gets an anime adaptation so we’re left with only a few anime to choose from. Spy x Family is probably the most popular spy anime at the moment, but if you want something a little more serious then I highly recommend watching Joker Game.

Joker Game is an episodic anime, so you won’t get the classic character growth of other anime. Instead, you’re going to get many smaller stories. However, these stories are all extremely spy-centric and deal with classic themes of going undercover, getting information, and performing goold old fashioned espionage.

Klaus from Spy Classroom is the best spy in anime because, not only did he serve as the boss of an elite spy agency, but he is able to teach his knowledge to several students. Klaus’s students are also “bottom of the barrel” which shows just how masterful he is when it comes to spy knowledge and techniques.

There are a ton of honorable mentions when we’re talking about spies in anime. We could talk about characters like Twilight from Spy x Family or even some of the shinobi from Naruto. I’m sure Kakashi was an excellent spy, but still I have to give it to Klaus.

Klaus has proven himself as a spy and a survivor. On top of this, he’s also proven himself as a teacher, even when his students don’t have much of an aptitude for learning. I’m not going to spoil the anime, but Spy Classroom does an excellent job of painting Klaus as the elite spy he truly is, which is why I’m rating him as the number one spy in all of anime.

Thought you'd get through this whole article without seeing some self-promotion? Think again!

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Or, if you disagree with my list (first of all, how dare you), you can create your own list you can use to manage your collection :)

Alright, now that that's out of the way, thank you for coming undercover with me and for helping me snuff out the best spy mangas of all time.

I hope you found one or two new manga series to check out while you were here - if so then I’ve done my job!

In my opinion, spy and espionage are not utilized nearly enough in anime and manga, so hopefully soon we can expand this list even more!