What Counts as an “Undead Knight” in Manga?
Before diving into recommendations, a quick note on what this article covers. The term “undead knight” in manga spans a few different character types:
- Skeleton knights — Warriors reborn in skeletal bodies, often wearing armor from their previous life
- Death knights — Powerful undead soldiers, sometimes commanded by a necromancer (a sorcerer who controls the dead) or dark lord
- Liches — Undead sorcerer-kings who retain their intelligence and magical power after death
- Immortal fighters — Characters who can’t die, constantly regenerating from fatal wounds
- Undead mentors — Skeletal or ghostly warriors who guide living protagonists
Some of these series are isekai, a popular genre where the main character is transported from the real world into a fantasy world. Some are dark fantasy set in their own original settings, and one is a Korean manhwa (the Korean equivalent of manga) rather than Japanese manga. They’re all grouped here because readers searching for manga undead knight stories tend to be interested in the same vibe: dark, action-oriented stories where death isn’t the end — it’s the beginning.
Best Manga Undead Knight Series Where the Hero IS Undead
These are the series where you’re following an undead character as the main hero. If you want to see the world through skeletal eye sockets, start here.
Skeleton Knight in Another World
A regular guy dies and wakes up inside a fantasy game world — except he’s now inhabiting the body of his game avatar, which happens to be a full skeleton hidden inside a suit of gleaming knight’s armor. He keeps his helmet on at all times because, well, showing people your skull face tends to cause problems.
This is probably the most literal manga undead knight concept you’ll find. The protagonist, Arc, is a skeleton wearing plate armor, wielding a sword, and trying to do good deeds while desperately hiding his true nature. The tone is lighter than you might expect — there’s genuine humor in watching a skeleton knight try to eat at a restaurant or interact with people who’d run screaming if they saw what was under the visor.
Skeleton Knight in Another World is published by Seven Seas Entertainment in English. The manga is ongoing with 10 volumes available so far.
- Story by: Ennki Hakari
- Art by: Akira Sawano
- English publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
- Volumes: 10 (ongoing)
- Best for: Readers who want the most straightforward “undead knight” concept — a literal skeleton in armor as the hero
Overlord
Momonga is the most powerful sorcerer in an online game who gets stuck in the game world when the servers shut down. He’s now an elder lich — a high-tier undead being of immense magical power — ruling over the Great Tomb of Nazarick and its army of loyal game characters who have suddenly come to life, including death knights and other undead warriors.
Overlord isn’t just about one undead knight — it’s about an entire kingdom of undead. Momonga (who takes the name Ainz Ooal Gown) commands death knights as front-line soldiers, and he himself is one of the most powerful undead beings in any manga series. The series leans into the “what if the villain was the protagonist?” angle, as Ainz’s actions become increasingly morally gray.
The manga adaptation is based on a light novel series (light novels are short Japanese novels, often illustrated, that serve as the source material for many manga adaptations). Published in English by Yen Press, the manga currently has 19 volumes available.
- Story by: Kugane Maruyama
- Art by: Hugin Miyama
- English publisher: Yen Press
- Volumes: 19 (completed)
- Best for: Readers who want an undead ruler commanding death knights and building an empire of the dead
The Unwanted Undead Adventurer
Rentt Faina is a low-rank adventurer who’s been doing repetitive dungeon runs for over a decade without much to show for it. One day he stumbles into a part of the dungeon way beyond his level, gets killed by a dragon — and wakes up as a skeleton.
Here’s where it gets interesting: Rentt doesn’t just stay a skeleton. He discovers he can evolve through undead forms — skeleton to ghoul and beyond — by defeating monsters and absorbing their energy. The whole series is a slow-burn story built around this undead evolution system (a type of fantasy where the main character steadily grows stronger through specific mechanics), and it’s genuinely satisfying to watch Rentt claw his way up from the weakest undead form while trying to maintain his identity and pass as human.
A 12-episode anime adaptation aired in January 2024, which is a great way to sample the story before committing to the manga.
- Story by: Yu Okano
- Art by: Haiji Nakasone
- English publisher: J-Novel Club
- Volumes: 9 (ongoing)
- Best for: Readers who want a detailed undead evolution system and an underdog story
The Faraway Paladin
This one flips the script. The protagonist, Will, isn’t undead — but his entire family is.
Will is a human child raised from infancy by three undead guardians in an abandoned temple: Blood, a skeleton warrior (and absolutely an undead knight in every sense); Mary, a mummified priestess; and Gus, a ghost sorcerer. These three dead people pour everything they have into raising Will, teaching him to fight, pray, and use magic.
Blood is one of the most memorable undead knight characters in manga. He’s a towering skeleton in battered armor who trains Will in swordsmanship with a gruff, fatherly warmth that’s genuinely moving. The dynamic between Will and his undead guardians is the emotional heart of the entire series, and it resonates deeply — especially when you learn why these three undead are bound to the temple.
The Faraway Paladin has two anime seasons (2021 and 2023) and is one of the more thoughtful, emotionally rich isekai stories out there.
- Story by: Kanata Yanagino
- Art by: Mutsumi Okuhashi
- English publisher: J-Novel Club
- Volumes: 12 (ongoing)
- Best for: Readers who want emotional depth and a coming-of-age story with undead mentors
The Executed Sage Who Was Reincarnated as a Lich and Started an All-Out War
That title tells you almost everything. A hero saves his kingdom, gets betrayed and executed by the very people he fought to protect, and comes back as a lich — an undead sorcerer-king of terrifying power. Then he wages war against all of humanity.
This is the darkest entry in the “undead protagonist” category. It’s a revenge fantasy with real emotional weight behind the rage. The protagonist isn’t just angry — he’s heartbroken, and his transformation into an undead monster mirrors his loss of faith in the living. If you want a tragic, vengeful undead character who straddles the line between knight and monster, this delivers.
- English publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
- Volumes: 7 (ongoing)
- Best for: Readers who want a vengeful undead with a tragic backstory and dark, morally complex storytelling
Manga Where Undead Knights Steal the Show
In these series, the undead knight isn’t the main character — but they’re so iconic, so memorable, that they help define the story. Sometimes a supporting character can leave a bigger impression than any protagonist.
Berserk
If there’s one undead knight who towers above all others in manga, it’s the Skull Knight from Berserk.
The Skull Knight is a mysterious figure in ornate skeletal armor who rides an equally skeletal horse. He appears at crucial moments to oppose the God Hand — a group of five god-like beings who serve as the series’ ultimate villains — and his interventions have saved the protagonist Guts on more than one occasion. Who he was in life, why he exists in this form, and the full extent of his power are questions that Berserk parcels out slowly across its massive story.
He’s not the main character. Guts is the protagonist, and Berserk is primarily about Guts’s brutal journey of survival and revenge. But the Skull Knight’s presence elevates every scene he’s in. His design alone — the skull face, the thorned crown, the massive sword forged from the remains of enemies — is one of the most striking character designs in all of manga.
Berserk was created by Kentaro Miura and is continued by Kouji Mori and Studio Gaga (the assistant team Miura trained, now finishing the series based on his notes) following Miura’s passing in 2021. It spans 43 volumes in Japan (42 in English) by Dark Horse Comics. The deluxe hardcover editions collect three standard volumes into one oversized book and are a popular starting point for new readers — they showcase the art at a larger size and are a better value than buying individual volumes. Fair warning: Berserk is extremely violent and covers very dark subject matter.
Berserk Deluxe Volume 5 collects volumes 13–15 and is one of the most popular entries in the deluxe line, though most readers will want to start from deluxe volume 1.
Berserk Deluxe Volume 5
- Volumes: 42 (14 deluxe editions available)
- English publisher: Dark Horse Comics
- Best for: Readers who want the most iconic, artistically stunning undead knight in all of manga
Solo Leveling (Manhwa)
A quick note: Solo Leveling is a Korean manhwa — the Korean equivalent of manga. Manhwa is typically published in full color and read left-to-right (like a Western comic), unlike Japanese manga which is black-and-white and read right-to-left. It’s included here because the readership overlaps heavily, and if you’re searching for undead knight content, this one absolutely belongs in the conversation.
Sung Jinwoo starts as the weakest hunter in a world full of monsters and magical portals called dungeon gates. After a near-death experience, he gains the ability to level up without limits — and more importantly for this article, he can extract shadow soldiers from defeated enemies, building an army that includes undead knights, shadow assassins, and eventually some of the most powerful beings in the story.
The undead knights in Solo Leveling aren’t the protagonist — they’re his weapons. Watching Jinwoo’s shadow army grow from a handful of weak soldiers to a world-ending force is one of the series’ biggest draws. The art is phenomenal, especially during large-scale battles where ranks of undead knights charge across the page.
- English publisher: Yen Press
- Volumes: 8 (completed — this is the full manhwa series)
- Best for: Readers who want undead knights as an army and weapon, with jaw-dropping action art
Helck
Helck is a sneaky one. It looks like a comedy at first — a cheerful, impossibly buff human hero named Helck enters a demon kingdom’s tournament to become the next Demon King, claiming he “hates humans.” The demon administrator Vermilio is suspicious, and rightly so.
What unfolds is something much darker and more emotional than the goofy premise suggests. The series explores what happens when heroes become monsters, features undead soldiers and dark transformations, and builds to some genuinely devastating revelations about Helck’s past.
The undead elements aren’t the sole focus, but they’re woven throughout — and the way the series handles themes of death, corruption, and what it means to keep fighting when everyone you love is gone resonates strongly with the undead knight aesthetic.
- By: Nanaki Nanao
- English publisher: Viz Media
- Volumes: 12 (completed)
- Best for: Readers who want a completed series with undead themes, surprising emotional depth, and a tonal shift that will catch you off guard
Undead Unluck — A Different Kind of Undead Protagonist
Undead Unluck deserves its own section because it doesn’t fit neatly into the “knight” category — but if you’re searching for manga with undead themes, you’ll almost certainly encounter it, and you should know about it.
Andy is an immortal fighter who literally cannot die. Cut him in half, he regenerates. Blow him up, he pulls himself back together. He’s paired with Fuuko, a girl cursed with catastrophic bad luck that affects anyone who touches her. Together, they fight against a powerful organization called the Union that enforces the rules of the universe — rules that both Andy and Fuuko’s abilities violate.
Andy isn’t a knight in armor — he’s a wild, reckless brawler who uses his own undead body as a weapon in creative and sometimes hilariously grotesque ways (detaching limbs, launching body parts, etc.). The series is a high-energy action manga aimed at a teen-and-up audience with an incredibly inventive power system, and Andy’s “undead” ability is central to everything.
An anime adaptation is also available for those who want to sample the story first.
- By: Yoshifumi Tozuka
- English publisher: Viz Media
- Volumes: 27 (completed January 2025)
- Best for: Readers who want a fast-paced, creative action manga where “undead” is a superpower rather than a curse
What to Read First — A Quick Decision Guide
With this many options, here’s a fast way to narrow things down based on what you’re actually looking for:
| What You Want | Read This |
|---|---|
| A literal skeleton knight as the hero | Skeleton Knight in Another World |
| Undead protagonist who evolves and grows | The Unwanted Undead Adventurer |
| An undead ruler commanding death knights | Overlord |
| Emotional storytelling with undead mentors | The Faraway Paladin |
| The most iconic undead knight in manga | Berserk (for Skull Knight) |
| Dark revenge with a tragic undead lead | The Executed Sage |
| Undead knights as an army/weapon | Solo Leveling |
| A completed series with undead themes | Helck (12 vols), Undead Unluck (20 vols), or Solo Leveling (8 vols) |
If you can only pick one, here’s an honest suggestion: The Faraway Paladin if you want something with heart, Skeleton Knight in Another World if you want something fun, or Berserk if you want something that will haunt you.
Where to Buy These Manga in English
All of these series are available in English. Here’s a quick breakdown by publisher:
Viz Media (Undead Unluck, Helck)
Available on Viz.com, Amazon, bookstores, and through the Shonen Jump digital app — a Viz Media subscription service that offers a huge digital manga library for a monthly fee. If you read a lot of manga, it’s great value.
Seven Seas Entertainment (Skeleton Knight in Another World, The Executed Sage)
Available on Amazon, at bookstores, and digitally on various platforms. Seven Seas has a strong catalog of isekai and dark fantasy manga.
J-Novel Club (The Unwanted Undead Adventurer, The Faraway Paladin)
J-Novel Club focuses heavily on digital distribution through their own platform, where subscribers can read new chapters as they’re translated. Print editions are available through Amazon.
Yen Press (Overlord, Solo Leveling)
Available on Amazon, at bookstores, and digitally through Yen Press and various other platforms. Both Overlord and Solo Leveling are popular enough that you’ll find them at most major bookstores.
Dark Horse Comics (Berserk)
Available on Amazon, at bookstores, and through Dark Horse’s digital platform. Berserk’s 42 volumes represent a significant investment, but the deluxe hardcover editions (which combine three standard volumes into one oversized book for a lower per-volume price) are the most popular way to start the series.
Getting Started
The manga undead knight concept hits a sweet spot in fantasy storytelling — there’s something irresistible about a warrior who’s already died and keeps fighting anyway. Whether that takes the form of a skeleton trying to hide his face, a lich building an empire, or a mysterious figure in bone armor who appears when all hope seems lost, these stories deliver on the premise in wildly different ways.
Pick the one that sounds most interesting to you, grab volume 1, and see for yourself. You’ll know within a few chapters whether it’s your thing — and if it is, you’ve got plenty of volumes waiting.