Long ago, experiments were done on humans by using a surgery known as Trepanation. Doctors and scientists would drill a hole into the skull which could have different effects such as increased blood circulation. However, there was a secret to the art of Trepanation. Some doctors and scientists believed that if you performed this procedure, a patient could gain special powers akin to seeing ghosts or gaining other various ESP powers. What if this surgery was successful despite the lack of evidence and documentation?

Beginning our list of 6 Manga Like Oyasumi Punpun is Homunculus which is a very similar story by mangaka Yamamoto Hideo. Here we see deadly medical practices—which are real by the way—being performed on patients with some devastating results. While Homunculus might be more outlandish than Oyasumi Punpun, it does have a similar theme of people having to deal with different trials and tribulations in their life because of their circumstances. Homunculus also echoes the themes of humanity and the darkness that sometimes lies within. If you want a very dark manga with impressive art, an interesting story and a pseudo real theme, then you’re going to want to check out Homunculus.

Success should have made Tachi Miroku happy. Only recently, Tachi was recognized as a Best New Writer in a literary competition. However, the stress of his life and his desire to surpass his family’s expectations have begun to haunt Tachi. Sleep is nothing but a nightmare filled affair with Tachi thinking about abuse, harsh words and an odd stench of blood that seems to emanate from nowhere. Can Tachi change his life or will the stress of the weight upon him crush him like many other writers in the past?

Tachi’s pain reminds us of Punpun’s in Tsumi to Batsu: A Falsified Romance. Here we have a young soul already wrapped up in various stresses that should only be for those who have reached adulthood. Tsumi to Batsu: A Falsified Romance deals with various issues of life that younger crowds may have to deal with and makes it in some ways realistic. Those who enjoyed the darker coming of age narrative seen in Oyasumi Punpun will find that Tsumi to Batsu: A Falsified Romance a good alternative to enjoy. Though be ready for a narrative thrill ride that will keep you glued to your screen or book—depending on your manga reading preference—until it ends on volume 10.

Keisuke Isobe and Koume Satou have always had a boring life living in their seaside town. However, things change when Koume is rejected by a guy she fell in love with causing her to become depressed. During Koume’s weakness she decides to enter a no strings attached relationship with Keisuke who long before rejected herself. Now the two begin to use each other for various sexual acts and rely on each other for a twisted sense of love. Though like most friends with benefits, the illusion of a false love begins to shatter when romance begins to get involved.

One of the central themes in Oyasumi Punpun is romance but to be more specific, warped ideals of romance. Early on Punpun himself gains a girlfriend in the form of Aiko Tanaka who has a poisonous sense of love. This early on causes various issues to engulf Punpun and leads to dark times for our main protagonist. That’s why it’s not surprising that mangaka Asano Inio—creator of Oyasumi Punpun—used a similar theme in Umibe no Onnanoko. Follow Keisuke and Koume as they learn the harsh realities of the situation they put themselves in and what love really is when not artificially fake. Umibe no Onnanoko may be a short 2 volume work but we’re sure you’ll enjoy it if you loved Asano’s Oyasumi Punpun.

For The Perverted Boy’s Club with its members in the form of Tajima, Katsu, Sae and Tsukasa the only worry shared for them was how to pull of another perverted move. Everyday these four friends found life to be an adventure and filled with excitement. Though just like any young man or woman, time marches on. Watch as The Perverted Boy’s Club become men and women and deal with the various issues life throws at those who become adults. Enter the world of D-ash where life begins simple and then slowly becomes more complex.

D-ash might not be as bizarre and extremely mature as Oyasumi Punpun but it made our list nonetheless. Just like Oyasumi Punpun, D-ash is a tale of maturing and realizing what makes life so wonderful and scary in equal measures. We really enjoyed this older manga series and we know that many of you manga readers out there will find a lot to love in D-ash thanks to a realistic narrative with amazing character development and wonderful art. Maybe you didn’t like Oyasumi Punpun’s over the top mature them but still loved it for what its story focuses on. If that is the case you’ll want to check out D-ash which deserves to be on our 6 Manga like Oyasumi Punpun list.

Several years ago, Tokyo experienced a very odd event. A large alien vessel entered Tokyo’s airspace and begun to assault the world with alien weapons and beings. The Tokyo government alongside others began to fight back but the battle wasn’t going in their favor. While the world around them burns, Koyama Kadode and Nakagawa Ouran still go to High School and act just like all normal school girls. As they begin to age, the fight for the world still ravages on but soon these girls will realize that humanity might not be the victims it seems like they are…

Asano’s Dead Dead Demon’s Dedededestruction takes our fifth spot on our list of 6 Manga Like Oyasumi Punpun. Instead of being a romance based tale like his other works on our list, Dead Dead Demon’s Dedededestruction aims at telling a coming of age tale with girls being the main characters and talks more about seeing the world from two sets of eyes one being a high schooler’s eyes and the other an adult’s eyes. Though that doesn’t mean Asano’s themes aren’t here, there are still a slew of weird characters, seinen based character development and dialogue and Asano’s usual wonderfully unique art style. Dead Dead Demon’s Dedededestruction should be your next manga to read if you’ve been lost without Oyasumi Punpun being in your life.

In life there will always be one event that changes everything. That event befell Kasuga Takao when he left his book Les Fleurs du Mal in his classroom. When Takao returns to the classroom he’s relieved to find his book but he also notices a pair of gym clothes left by a female student he knows called Saeki Nanako who he admires from afar. Without thinking, Takao steals the gym clothes and runs back home thinking no one saw his actions. Unfortunately, there was one pair of eyes that saw Takako steal Saeki’s clothes and when she confronts Takao about it his life begins to spiral out of his hands.

We knew when we were about to wrap up our 6 Manga Like Oyasumi Punpun list, we had to end it on a bang. That’s why we here at Honey’s Anime knew it had to be mangaka Oshimi Shuuzou’s work in the form of Aku no Hana. This dark romance story will leave readers breathless as they begin to dive further in Takao’s warped world of lies, love and self-hatred. If the narration of Aku no Hana isn’t enough to leave you speechless then the art will certainly do it as Aku no Hana looks incredible and truly instills an odd world for our characters to inhabit. If you loved the dark world of Oyasumi Punpun, then you’re not going to have any issue going into Aku no Hana. Just be prepared to see what one stupid action in life can do to someone when the consequences begin to form around them.