This Underrated Manga’s Art May Be On Par With Kentaro Miura and Junji Ito’s Works

In the last few years, the dark fantasy genre of the anime and manga industry has grown exponentially with some great works. From Hell’s Paradise to Kagurabachi, these works have made their way to the top and are now earning praise as some of the greatest dark fantasy projects ever. However, there is one manga that is highly underrated and can very well overtake all of them in the future.

Julian in Centuria | Credit: Manga Plus

This manga is called Centuria, and it is written and illustrated by Tohru Kuramori. Kuramori is already an established name in the industry, as he was the former assistant of Tatsuki Fujimoto, creator of Chainsaw Man. Centuria started serializing in April 2024, and in a short period, it has earned a lot of praise and recommendations from many prominent manga artists.

In fact, it has become one of the 20 most-read series on Shonen Jump’s manga app, Manga Plus. This proves that the series is indeed intriguing. However, one of the main reasons why Centuria is gaining so much appreciation is because of its art, which is believed to be on par with legends like Kentaro Miura and Junji Ito.

The dark fantasy manga that is earning everyone’s praise

Although Centuria has only started serializing, it has earned praise from the entire manga community, including some big manga creators. When it first started serialization back in April 2024, it was recommended by Tatsuki Fujimoto, and his appreciative comments were shared in the second volume of the Centuria manga series.

Recently, the series started trending again as Dandadan’s creator, Yukinobu Tatsu, who was also a fellow assistant for Fujimoto along with Kuramori, recommended his work. Tatsu appreciated the artwork of Kuramori’s manga and pointed out the development of the Centuria narrative, which is quite underrated compared to others.

Centuria by Tohru Kuramori | Credit: Manga Plus

The series is continuously moving forward on the path of success and will soon join the ranks of prominent stories like Dandadan, Hell’s Paradise, Chainsaw Man, etc. It is currently in its initial phase, and as the story progresses, it becomes more enticing and dramatic, which in turn attracts more readers.

The reason behind Centuria’s underrated success

Centuria follows the story of Julian, who was sold to a blacksmith by his own mother. After summoning the courage to kill the blacksmith, Julian takes off on a ship filled with 100 slaves who welcome him and treat him like their own. Among the slaves, he meets Mira, who is pregnant but still cares for Julian and treats him well. However, this happiness is only for a short time.

Monsters in Centuria | Credit: Manga Plus

As soon as the captain of the ship discovers that Julian is on the ship, he starts killing off all the slaves who try to save Julian. Ultimately, fantasy takes over, and Julian is granted the power of the 100 slaves, their lives, and the newly born baby of Mira. This is where his journey starts, which is filled with more dark fantasy and adventure.

While the series indeed offers an intriguing plot, one of the main reasons why it is compared to the industry giants is because of the marvelous artwork by Kuramori.

Monster designs in here are great! pic.twitter.com/bP9O6bTO5C

The creation and depiction of characters and events certainly bring out the darkness and fright of the story. From the creativity in the monsters to the portrayal of emotions through art, Centuria offers everything that a perfect dark fantasy story should be capable of.

Centuria is available to read on Manga Plus.