Sankarea: Undying Love — The Original Zombie Girlfriend Manga
If you searched “zombie girlfriend manga,” this is almost certainly the series you’re looking for. Sankarea: Undying Love is the most literal take on the concept: a boy who’s obsessed with zombies accidentally turns a girl into one, and then they start a relationship.
Sankarea: Undying Love, Vol. 1
Creator: Mitsuru Hattori
Volumes: 11 (completed)
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Tone: Romantic comedy with horror undertones
Chihiro Furuya is a zombie-obsessed high school student who’s been trying to create a resurrection potion. Rea Sanka is a beautiful girl from a wealthy family with a deeply troubled home life. When Rea drinks Chihiro’s experimental potion and then dies in an accident, she comes back as a zombie — and moves in with him.
What makes Sankarea work is that it takes its premise seriously even when it’s being funny. Rea’s zombie condition isn’t just a gimmick — it creates real tension. Her body is slowly deteriorating. She has to eat poisonous hydrangea leaves to slow the decay. The romance is genuine and sweet, but there’s always this undercurrent of dread: how long can this last?
The series balances comedy, romance, and creeping horror in a way that feels unique. It’s also relatively short at 11 volumes, so it’s easy to pick up and finish. Volume 1 is the perfect starting point and is widely available — you can usually grab a copy for under $15.
Who it’s for: Anyone who wants the most direct answer to “zombie girlfriend manga” — a genuine romance where the girl is literally undead. Start here if this is your first time exploring the subgenre.
Undead Unluck — Undead Romance in Action Manga
Undead Unluck isn’t a zombie story in the traditional sense, but if you’re looking for manga where an undead character IS the love interest, this is one of the best recent action manga answers.
Author: Yoshifumi Tozuka
Volumes: 27 (completed, ended January 2025)
Publisher: Viz Media
Anime: 2023 adaptation available for streaming
Andy is an immortal undead man — he literally cannot die. Fuuko Izumo has the power of “Unluck,” meaning anyone who touches her suffers catastrophic misfortune. When these two meet, they realize Andy’s immortality might be the only thing that can survive Fuuko’s curse. What starts as a partnership becomes a genuine love story that drives the entire series.
This is a shōnen manga — meaning it originally ran in a magazine aimed at teen boys — so the action here is huge and inventive. Tozuka throws wild supernatural threats at the pair constantly, and the battles are creative and unpredictable. But the emotional core is always Andy and Fuuko’s relationship — two people defined by their curses finding something real with each other.
At 27 volumes, it’s a complete story with a proper ending. The anime adaptation is a great entry point if you want to test the waters before committing to the manga.
Who it’s for: Readers who want action-heavy manga with genuine undead romance at its center. If you enjoy big battles alongside emotional love stories, give this a look.
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead — Zombie Apocalypse with Romance
Here’s a zombie manga that flips the script on the entire genre. Instead of despair, the apocalypse brings freedom.
Story: Haro Aso
Art: Kotaro Takata
Volumes: 18+ (ongoing)
Publisher: Viz Media
Anime: 2023 adaptation available for streaming
Akira Tendō has spent three miserable years at an exploitative company, working himself to the bone with no life outside the office. Then one morning, he wakes up to discover zombies have overrun the city. His reaction? Pure joy. He’s finally free from his dead-end job, and he immediately starts writing a bucket list of 100 things he wants to do before he becomes a zombie.
The romance develops between Akira and Shizuka Mikazuki, a pragmatic and level-headed survivor who’s initially baffled by Akira’s relentless optimism. Their dynamic is fun — she’s the brains, he’s the unstoppable ball of enthusiasm — and the romantic tension builds naturally over the course of the series.
Fair warning: the romance is a subplot, not the main event. Zom 100 is primarily about reclaiming your life and refusing to let the world (zombies or otherwise) grind you down. But the romantic elements are there, and they’re some of the warmest in any zombie manga.
The art is gorgeous, too. Kotaro Takata draws some of the most vibrant, colorful zombie carnage you’ll ever see. It looks nothing like what you’d expect from a horror series.
Who it’s for: Readers who want a fun, upbeat zombie manga where romance develops naturally amid the chaos. If dark, bleak zombie stories exhaust you, Zom 100 is a breath of fresh air.
I Am a Hero — Psychological Zombie Horror with a Complex Love Story
This is the dark end of the spectrum. I Am a Hero is a seinen zombie manga — “seinen” meaning it’s aimed at adult readers, so expect more mature and psychologically intense content than the other entries on this list.
Author: Kengo Hanazawa
Volumes: 22 (completed, 2009–2017)
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics (available as 11 omnibus editions — each omnibus collects two original volumes into one larger book)
Hideo Suzuki is a struggling manga artist with anxiety issues and a shaky grip on reality. When a mysterious infection starts turning people into zombie-like creatures called ZQN (the in-universe name for the infected), Hideo’s paranoia turns out to be justified. Armed with a shotgun (one of the few legally owned firearms in Japan), he becomes an unlikely survivor.
The “zombie girlfriend” angle here is Hiromi — a young girl Hideo encounters who has been infected but retains partial humanity. Their relationship is central to the story, but it’s deeply uncomfortable and complex. Hiromi is both a person Hideo cares about and a constant source of horror. Her condition blurs the line between living and dead in ways that feel genuinely unsettling.
I Am a Hero is also one of the most realistic zombie manga out there. Hanazawa’s art is detailed and grounded, and the early chapters move slowly and deliberately, building Hideo’s mundane life before everything falls apart. The payoff is enormous. Think slow-burn, character-driven horror rather than constant action — if that kind of storytelling appeals to you, this series will reward your patience.
Who it’s for: Mature readers who want serious psychological horror — meaning the scares come more from paranoia, dread, and the characters’ mental states than from jump scares or gore. This is not lighthearted. If you want one of the best zombie manga ever made and don’t mind a heavy read, this is it.
Highschool of the Dead — The Classic Zombie Survival with Harem Romance
Highschool of the Dead is the big, loud, unapologetic action-horror entry on this list. It’s a zombie survival story with heavy fanservice (sexualized imagery included for audience appeal) and harem romance elements — meaning multiple characters compete for the protagonist’s affection — and it was massively popular in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Story: Daisuke Satō
Art: Shōji Satō
Volumes: 7 (discontinued)
Publisher: Yen Press
Anime: 12 episodes + OVA (an “OVA” is a bonus episode released direct-to-video rather than on TV), produced by Madhouse, 2010
A sudden zombie pandemic hits a high school, and a group of students fight their way out and try to survive in the collapsing world outside. Multiple female characters compete for the protagonist Takashi’s attention amid the zombie carnage, giving the series a distinct harem feel layered over its survival horror foundation.
The action is genuinely thrilling — Shōji Satō’s art is dynamic and explosive, and the zombie battles have real weight to them. The fanservice is extremely prominent, though. If sexualized content in your manga bothers you, this probably isn’t your pick. If you don’t mind it (or actively enjoy it), the series delivers a fun ride.
Important note: Highschool of the Dead will never be finished. Writer Daisuke Satō passed away in March 2017, and the story was discontinued at 7 volumes. The anime covers roughly the first 4 volumes and has a more satisfying stopping point, so that might be the better way to experience it.
Who it’s for: Readers who want action-horror with ecchi (mildly sexual/fanservice-heavy) harem elements. Go in knowing it’s unfinished.
More Zombie Manga with Romance Worth Checking Out
The entries above are the heavy hitters, but there are a few more titles worth knowing about — especially if you’re digging deep into this niche.
Is This a Zombie? (Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?)
Here’s a fun twist: instead of a zombie girlfriend, the protagonist is the zombie.
Ayumu Aikawa is murdered and resurrected as a zombie by the necromancer Eucliwood Hellscythe — a necromancer being someone with the power to raise the dead. He then accidentally absorbs the powers of a magical girl (yes, really) and ends up surrounded by supernatural women in a harem comedy setup (one guy, multiple love interests played for laughs).
The series started as a light novel — a short, illustrated prose novel format popular in Japan that’s distinct from manga — by Shinichi Kimura, with an 8-volume manga adaptation by Sacchi. Yen Press published all 8 manga volumes in English. If you’d rather watch than read, the anime ran for 2 seasons (2011–2012) and is available on anime streaming services like Crunchyroll. It’s goofy, irreverent, and fully committed to its absurd premise.
Who it’s for: Fans of romantic comedies who want a reversed take — he’s the zombie boyfriend surrounded by supernatural girlfriends.
Reiko the Zombie Shop
Author: Rei Mikamoto
Volumes: 11 in Japanese; 6 published in English (Dark Horse Comics)
Reiko Himezono is a schoolgirl necromancer — someone who raises the dead for a living. Need to talk to your dead relative? Reiko can make it happen — for a price. Things go horribly wrong more often than not, and the series is gory, darkly funny, and completely unhinged.
This isn’t a romance series, but it features a female protagonist who’s deeply connected to the zombie world. It’s structured as a horror-comedy with standalone stories tied together by a recurring cast, rather than one continuous narrative. The problem is availability — only 6 of the 11 volumes were ever released in English, and they’re out of print (meaning they’re no longer being manufactured, so finding copies takes some hunting and they can be expensive).
Who it’s for: Horror manga completists who want something weird, gory, and off the beaten path. Don’t go in expecting romance.
How to Choose the Right Zombie Girlfriend Manga for You
Here’s a quick breakdown to help you pick:
| Title | Romance Level | Horror Level | Tone | Volumes | Can You Buy It in English? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sankarea | High | Medium | Rom-com with horror | 11 | Yes — widely available (Kodansha Comics) |
| Undead Unluck | High | Medium | Action manga | 27 | Yes — widely available (Viz Media) |
| Zom 100 | Medium | Medium | Comedy-adventure | 18+ (ongoing) | Yes — widely available (Viz Media) |
| I Am a Hero | Medium | Very High | Psychological horror | 22 | Yes — omnibus editions (Dark Horse) |
| Highschool of the Dead | Medium | High | Action with fanservice | 7 (unfinished) | Yes (Yen Press) |
| Is This a Zombie? | Medium | Low | Harem comedy | 8 manga volumes in English (Yen Press) | Yes — in print (the anime also streams on Crunchyroll) |
| Reiko the Zombie Shop | Low | Very High | Gore-comedy | 6 in English — out of print and hard to find | Secondhand only |
Quick picks based on what you’re looking for:
- “I want a real romance where the girl is a zombie” → Sankarea: Undying Love is exactly this. Start here.
- “I want action-romance with an undead twist” → Undead Unluck — complete at 27 volumes with a satisfying ending.
- “I want fun zombie comedy with romance on the side” → Zom 100 — colorful, upbeat, and still going.
- “I want intense psychological horror where a zombie relationship is central” → I Am a Hero — dark, gripping, and one of the best zombie manga ever made.
- “I want zombie action with harem fanservice” → Highschool of the Dead — just know it’s unfinished.
- “I want something totally off the wall” → Is This a Zombie? flips the concept by making the guy the zombie in a harem comedy.
Where to Start Reading
If you’ve never read zombie girlfriend manga before and the concept is what drew you in, Sankarea is the perfect starting point. It’s the most direct match for what you’re probably imagining, it’s a manageable 11 volumes, and it balances romance and horror in a way that works even if you’re not usually a horror reader. Volume 1 is widely available and typically costs under $15.
From there, branch out based on your taste. Want more action? Go to Undead Unluck or Zom 100. Want something darker and more mature? I Am a Hero is waiting for you.
Whatever you pick, this is a surprisingly rewarding niche. There’s something compelling about love stories that have to contend with death in the most literal way possible — and manga handles that tension better than almost any other medium.
Grab volume 1 of whichever series caught your eye and see for yourself. You’ll know pretty quickly if it’s for you.