Manga like Vagabond: 6 series to read in English

Vagabond is about Miyamoto Musashi. He was a real swordsman of the early Edo period. Takehiko Inoue reimagines his early years and uses the novel Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa as a starting point. The picks below are the series on Mangainfo that share the most themes and genres with Vagabond in AniList's tags and have English volumes out with a more popular series winning a close call. All volume counts and dates here are as of October 2026.

Vinland Saga

Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura shares a historical setting with Vagabond along with travel and rural life. The genres match too. Both are action, adventure and drama.

The story takes place in the early eleventh century. Danish Vikings are fighting for control of England. Thorfinn is a teenager. He serves in a band of Viking mercenaries.

Vinland Saga finished in Japan at 29 volumes. All 29 are out in English. You can read it to the end right now.

Blade of the Immortal

Samurai and swordplay tie this one most closely to Musashi. Martial arts are part of it as well. Blade of the Immortal is by Hiroaki Samura.

Manji is a wandering swordsman in Edo-period Japan. He has killed a hundred men. An ancient nun has put sacred bloodworms into his body.

The series finished in Japan with 30 volumes. English readers have all 30.

Lone Wolf and Cub

Kazuo Koike wrote Lone Wolf and Cub and Goseki Kojima drew it. It shares samurai, swordplay and gore with Vagabond. Its genres are action and drama. Its themes point to a historical samurai story driven by revenge.

It is finished in Japan at 28 volumes. All 28 are available in English.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 7-Steel Ball Run

This pick leaves Japan behind. What links Steel Ball Run to Vagabond is travel and a historical setting. Disability is a shared theme too. Hirohiko Araki made it.

The Steel Ball Run is a horse race across the whole United States. It starts on a beach in San Diego in 1890. The winner gets a fortune.

Steel Ball Run finished in Japan at 24 volumes. In English 18 of them are out. Mangainfo has no date for the next English volume yet.

Golden Kamuy

Survival and the outdoors are the big overlap here. Travel and history are shared as well. Golden Kamuy is by Satoru Noda and adds comedy to action, adventure and drama.

The story starts in Hokkaido shortly after the Russo-Japanese War. Saichi Sugimoto survived so much fighting that soldiers called him Immortal Sugimoto.

Golden Kamuy finished in Japan at 31 volumes. All 31 are out in English.

Kingdom

Readers who want war on a large scale should try Kingdom by Yasuhisa Hara. It shares war, swordplay and tragedy with Vagabond.

Kingdom is set in China in the third century BC. Seven warring states are fighting for control.

This is the only pick still releasing in Japan. It has 80 Japanese volumes. In English 11 are out. Volume 12 comes from VIZ Media on 20 October 2026.