How Many Volumes Is Inuyashiki? (The Quick Answer)
Inuyashiki is 10 volumes total, collecting all 85 chapters. The series is completely finished — no cliffhangers, no ongoing wait. Kodansha Comics published every volume in English between August 2015 and December 2017, so all Inuyashiki manga volumes are available right now.
The manga is written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku, the creator of Gantz. It originally ran in Kodansha’s Evening magazine — a seinen publication (seinen means it targets adult readers rather than teens) — from January 2014 to July 2017. If you’re looking for a dark sci-fi thriller you can read from start to finish without waiting for new releases, this is one of the cleanest options out there — 10 books, done.
Inuyashiki Vol. 1
What Is Inuyashiki About? (Beginner’s Intro)
If you’re coming into this completely fresh, here’s the setup.
Ichiro Inuyashiki is a 58-year-old office worker — the type of quietly exhausted man you’d walk past without noticing. His family barely acknowledges him. On the same day he gets a terminal cancer diagnosis, he goes to a public park at night — and so does Hiro Shishigami, a high school student. An alien craft crashes into the park and destroys both of their bodies. The aliens, in a rush to cover their tracks, rebuild them using advanced mechanical technology. Outwardly, they look the same. Internally, they’re weapons-grade machines.
Here’s where the story splits. Ichiro — an old man who felt powerless and invisible — discovers he can heal the sick, stop bullets, and save lives. It gives him a reason to exist for the first time in years. Hiro — a teenager with no particular trauma or backstory to explain it — discovers he can kill with zero effort, and he starts doing exactly that. Casually. Repeatedly.
The series is a sci-fi thriller aimed squarely at adult readers. It deals with graphic violence, murder, moral extremes, and questions about what makes a person human when their body isn’t. Hiroya Oku is known for photo-realistic art, harsh violence, and stories that force uncomfortable questions — his earlier series Gantz ran for 37 volumes with a similar approach. You don’t need to have read Gantz or anything else to pick this up — Inuyashiki is a completely standalone story. At 10 volumes, it’s tighter and more focused than Oku’s earlier work, and that concentrated structure works in its favor.
Inuyashiki Manga Volumes: Complete Breakdown
Here’s a quick-reference table of all 10 Inuyashiki manga volumes with their English release dates, followed by a brief guide to what happens in each book. The chapter and volume structure is identical between the Japanese and English editions — no content was cut or rearranged.
Note: The “Key Events” column includes mild plot points for each volume. If you’re reading along and want to avoid any spoilers, skip directly to the buying section below.
| Volume | English Release | Key Events |
|---|---|---|
| Vol. 1 | August 25, 2015 | Ichiro’s cancer diagnosis, the park incident, both Ichiro and Hiro are transformed |
| Vol. 2 | December 15, 2015 | Ichiro discovers healing abilities; Hiro commits his first murders |
| Vol. 3 | April 26, 2016 | The family massacre storyline — Hiro’s violence escalates sharply |
| Vol. 4 | August 23, 2016 | National manhunt for Hiro begins; Ichiro saves the terminally ill |
| Vol. 5 | October 25, 2016 | Ando (Hiro’s classmate) storyline develops; police close in on Hiro |
| Vol. 6 | January 24, 2017 | Hiro’s identity is publicly revealed |
| Vol. 7 | April 25, 2017 | Ichiro and Hiro confront each other directly |
| Vol. 8 | July 25, 2017 | Mass attack storyline — large-scale destruction |
| Vol. 9 | October 24, 2017 | Asteroid threat introduced; final stakes set up |
| Vol. 10 | December 19, 2017 | The asteroid finale and series conclusion |
Volumes 1–3: Setup and Escalation
The first volume does a remarkable job of making you feel the weight of Ichiro Inuyashiki’s life before anything sci-fi happens. He’s 58, looks older, gets ignored by his own family, and then receives a terminal cancer diagnosis. That same night, both he and a high school student named Hiro Shishigami are caught in an alien crash in a public park. They wake up rebuilt — outwardly human, internally mechanical.
Volume 2 splits the story into its two parallel tracks. Ichiro discovers he can heal people, and the joy this gives him is genuinely moving. Meanwhile, Hiro discovers he can kill with terrifying ease — and does. By Volume 3, the family massacre storyline makes it very clear that this manga does not pull punches. The violence is graphic and deliberate. Oku is willing to show the worst of what people — and beings whose bodies are no longer human — can do.
Volumes 4–6: The Manhunt
The middle stretch is where the series really finds its rhythm. Ichiro quietly heals the terminally ill while Hiro becomes a national fugitive. Volume 5 develops the Ando storyline — Ando is Hiro’s classmate who gets pulled into the chaos — and the police investigation tightens. Volume 6 drops the bomb: Hiro’s identity goes public. The tension shifts from “will he get caught?” to “what happens when the world knows what he is?”
Volumes 7–10: Confrontation and Finale
Volume 7 delivers what the series has been building toward — Ichiro and Hiro face each other. It’s a raw confrontation between two people with identical mechanical bodies and completely opposite values. Volumes 8 and 9 raise the scale of destruction significantly, and then Volume 9 introduces the asteroid — a global extinction threat that reframes the entire story.
Volume 10 wraps everything up. The ending is definitive. No sequel hooks, no spin-off bait. The story asks its final question and answers it. It’s the kind of ending that stays with you.
Where to Buy the Inuyashiki Manga in English
Physical Print Volumes (Kodansha Comics)
All 10 Inuyashiki manga volumes are published by Kodansha Comics in English-language paperback editions. Volume 1’s ISBN-13 (the book’s unique identification number) is 9781632361219 — useful if you’re searching through a bookstore’s system or placing a special order.
The best places to pick up physical copies:
- Amazon — Largest selection, usually in stock for individual volumes
- Barnes & Noble — Available online and sometimes in-store
- Crunchyroll Store (formerly RightStuf) — Solid for manga orders
- Local comic shops and bookstores — Can order through their distributor if not in stock
Is There an Official Inuyashiki Manga Set?
No. Kodansha never released an official box set for Inuyashiki. When you see a “complete set” listed online, that’s a seller bundling all 10 individual volumes together — not a specially packaged product.
For a full physical Inuyashiki manga set of all 10 volumes bought new, expect to pay roughly $130–$220 USD depending on the retailer and whether all volumes are currently in stock. The price swings because some individual volumes occasionally go out of print temporarily, which lets third-party sellers charge more. Used sets on eBay can be cheaper, but check condition carefully. Buying volumes one at a time as you find good prices is a reasonable approach.
Digital Editions
If you want the cheapest and most immediate way to read the full Inuyashiki manga in English, digital is the way to go:
- Kindle (Amazon) — All 10 volumes available; watch for periodic bundle deals and price drops
- K Manga (kmanga.kodansha.com) — Kodansha’s own platform, offers chapter-by-chapter reading (some chapters available for free through the app’s daily ticket system)
- BookWalker — Check for bundle availability with all 10 volumes in a single purchase
- Manga Planet, INKR — Additional platforms that carry the full series digitally
Print vs. Digital — Which to Pick
Hiroya Oku draws in a distinctive photo-realistic style with heavy use of 3D modeling and detailed backgrounds. That art genuinely looks better at full paperback size — the detail rewards physical pages. If you care about the visual experience and want something on your shelf, go print.
That said, digital is significantly cheaper, especially if you catch a bundle deal on BookWalker or Kindle. If your main goal is reading the story, digital gets you there for less money and zero shelf space. Both options give you the exact same content.
Inuyashiki Vol. 10
Manga vs. Anime vs. Live-Action — What Covers What
Inuyashiki has three versions of its story. Here’s what each one covers and how they compare:
| Version | Length | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Manga | 10 volumes / 85 chapters | The complete, original story. Full detail, full pacing, Oku’s art at its best. |
| Anime (2017) | 11 episodes | Adapts all 85 chapters across all 10 volumes. Same ending as the manga. Produced by MAPPA (Oct–Dec 2017). Faithful but compressed — some scenes lose impact at anime pacing. |
| Live-action film (2018) | 1 feature film | Directed by Shinsuke Sato, released April 2018. Covers a portion of the manga’s story with significant changes — the asteroid finale from the manga is not included in the film. |
The manga is the fullest version of the story. Oku’s detailed art carries a lot of the emotional weight — close-up panels of faces, the eerie mechanical transformation sequences, the scale of destruction — and that visual impact doesn’t fully translate to animation or live action.
The anime is a good adaptation and covers the complete story, so if you’ve watched it, you know the plot. But reading the manga adds visual detail and breathing room that 11 episodes can’t fully provide. If you loved the anime and want more, the manga is the natural next step. If you haven’t experienced either version yet, grab Volume 1 and see for yourself.
Inuyashiki Manga FAQ
Is the Inuyashiki manga finished?
Yes. The series is fully complete. It ended in July 2017 in Japan and December 2017 in English. All 10 volumes and 85 chapters are published.
How many Inuyashiki manga volumes are there in English?
All 10, published by Kodansha Comics. Nothing was cut or left untranslated.
Is there a sequel or continuation?
No. The story is fully resolved in Volume 10. Hiroya Oku has not announced any sequel, spin-off, or continuation. The ending is conclusive.
Does the anime cover the whole manga?
Yes. The 11-episode anime (MAPPA, 2017) adapts all 85 chapters and ends at the same point as Volume 10.
Is Inuyashiki by the same author as Gantz?
Yes — both are written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. Gantz is a longer, 37-volume sci-fi series with a similarly dark tone and graphic violence. If you’ve read it and liked the art style, Inuyashiki has the same DNA in a much more compact package. If you haven’t read Gantz, that’s no barrier at all — Inuyashiki is a completely standalone story.
Is there an official box set?
No. Kodansha never released a box set for Inuyashiki. A “complete set” means buying all 10 individual paperback volumes. Digital bundles on platforms like BookWalker are the closest thing to a single-purchase complete edition.
Where can I read Inuyashiki legally?
K Manga (Kodansha’s official platform) offers chapters, with some available for free through the app’s daily ticket system. Beyond that, buying digital volumes on Kindle, BookWalker, Manga Planet, or INKR are all legitimate options. Physical volumes are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and most bookstores that stock manga.
How graphic is the violence?
Very. This is a series aimed at adult readers. Hiro’s murders are depicted in explicit detail — the manga doesn’t cut away. People are shot, crushed, and killed on-page with realistic art that makes the violence land hard. If graphic depictions of murder and mass violence are a hard line for you, be aware going in.