Dragon Head

Minetaro Mochizuki crafted a harrowing survival story in Dragon Head, which ran from 1994 to 1999 within Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine. The narrative follows a group of high school students trapped underground after a catastrophic earthquake strikes Tokyo, forcing them to navigate collapsing tunnels and dwindling resources without adult supervision. This intense seinen manga spans ten collected volumes and explores themes of human endurance, moral decay, and the fragility of civilization when society crumbles overnight. The series earned significant recognition, taking home the 21st Kodansha Manga Award in the general category during 1997. Western readers first encountered the work through Tokyopop before Kodansha USA continued its distribution.[edit]