Is This a Zombie? Manga Volumes: All 8 Books Guide

If you’re searching for how many Is This a Zombie? manga volumes there are, here’s the answer up front: there are 8 volumes, and the series is fully complete. Whether you watched the anime, stumbled across a wild-looking cover featuring a chainsaw-wielding zombie boy in a magical girl outfit, or just heard about the series for the first time — you can collect the whole thing from start to finish without any loose ends on the publishing side.

Is This a Zombie? Has 8 Manga Volumes and the Series Is Complete

To spell it out clearly: the Is This a Zombie? manga (known in Japanese as Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?) ran for 8 volumes total, and the series is fully complete. No cliffhanger waits, no “on hiatus” anxiety, no checking monthly for updates. It’s done.

All 8 volumes are available in English from Yen Press (the U.S. publisher that handles the English edition) in both paperback and digital formats. The series carries an OT (Older Teen) age rating, which makes sense given its blend of fantasy, comedy, romance, and action — there’s slapstick humor alongside supernatural battles, and some suggestive comedy typical of the genre. The tone gets surprisingly heartfelt at times despite the absurd premise.

For anyone looking for a quick, complete manga to pick up, this is a strong candidate. Eight volumes is compact enough to read over a weekend or two, and you get a full story with a beginning, middle, and ending without the commitment of a 20+ volume series. It’s a fun ride that doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Publication History and Volume Breakdown

The Is This a Zombie? manga was originally published chapter by chapter — a process called serialization — in Monthly Dragon Age, a Japanese manga magazine published by KADOKAWA (one of Japan’s largest publishers). In Japan, manga chapters typically appear in magazines first and are then collected into the paperback volumes you see on shelves. The Japanese volumes came out between August 2010 and December 2013 — a roughly three-and-a-half-year run.

The English edition followed closely behind, published by Yen Press with all 8 volumes released through July 2014. That means English readers didn’t have to wait years for the final volume to be translated and released — the whole series was wrapped up relatively quickly after the Japanese run ended.

One important thing to understand: the manga is an adaptation of a light novel series with the same name and premise. Light novels are a format popular in Japan — they’re short, illustrated novels, usually published in series, that often serve as source material for manga and anime (animated TV series) adaptations. The original light novels were written by Shinichi Kimura and the manga was illustrated by Sacchi. The two are separate works — the manga tells its own version of the story rather than recreating the novels page for page. This distinction matters when you’re figuring out what to read and what to expect, which we’ll get into more below.

Key Volumes at a Glance

While every volume contributes to the overall story, here are a few landmarks to orient yourself:

• Volume 1 sets up the entire premise: Ayumu Aikawa is a high school boy who gets murdered, then resurrected as a zombie by a necromancer — someone with the power to raise the dead — named Eucliwood Hellscythe. Things escalate quickly when he accidentally absorbs the powers of a magical girl named Haruna and ends up fighting supernatural threats while wearing a frilly outfit. It’s exactly as ridiculous as it sounds, and the series leans into that absurdity with genuine enthusiasm. If the humor clicks for you in this volume, you’ll enjoy the rest.

• Volume 4 marks the midpoint of the series. By this point, the full main cast is assembled — including the vampire ninja Seraphim — and the stakes start shifting from monster-of-the-week battles to conflicts that are more personal for Ayumu and his growing circle. If you’ve been on the fence through the first few volumes, this is roughly where you’ll know whether the series has hooked you.

• Volume 8 is the final volume, wrapping up the storylines the manga set in motion and giving closure to the main character relationships. It brings the manga to a definite ending, even though the broader world of the story extends beyond what these 8 books cover (more on that below).

The Anime Connection

A lot of people find this manga because they watched the anime first, so let’s connect those dots.

The Is This a Zombie? anime — an animated TV adaptation — had two seasons. Season 1 aired starting in January 2011, and Season 2, subtitled “Of the Dead”, followed in April 2012. There was also an OVA (a standalone video episode released separately from the main TV series) in June 2011 between the two seasons.

The anime was many people’s introduction to Ayumu and crew, and it did a solid job of capturing the series’ blend of comedy, action, and surprisingly emotional character moments. If you loved the anime’s energy — the over-the-top battles, the dry humor, Eucliwood’s silent composure — the manga delivers a similar vibe in a different format.

Here’s the key thing to know: the manga and anime cover overlapping but not identical story ground. Both are adaptations of the same source light novels, but they make different choices about what to include and how to pace things. The anime isn’t a direct adaptation of the manga, and the manga isn’t a retelling of the anime. Think of them as two different windows into the same world. You can enjoy both without one spoiling the other completely, though the broad strokes of the premise and early story beats will be familiar.

If you’re coming from the anime hoping for a continuation of where Season 2 left off, the manga won’t exactly provide that — it follows its own adaptation path. But it does offer more time with these characters and a complete ending, which is more than the anime gives you on its own.

How the Ending Landed

The question on every collector’s mind: does the Is This a Zombie? manga end well?

The manga wraps its story in 8 volumes, which is a tight conclusion compared to the longer-running light novel source material. The advantage of this is pacing — the manga doesn’t drag, and you’re never stuck in stretches of padding or detours. The disadvantage is that 8 volumes simply can’t cover everything the light novels explore.

General reader reception tends to land in a pretty consistent place: people appreciate the comedy, the character dynamics — especially Ayumu’s reluctant role as a zombie-slash-magical-girl hero and his relationships with Eu, Haruna, and Seraphim — and the manga’s willingness to be both silly and sincere. The art does a good job of selling both the action sequences and the comedic timing.

Where opinions split is on the ending’s scope. The manga concludes its own storyline — the threads it set up get resolved, and you’re not left hanging on a cliffhanger. But readers who know the light novels exist are sometimes left wanting more, because the manga ends before the full light novel plot plays out. The broader story — including later developments in the novels — simply isn’t covered.

Spoiler-free take: expect a satisfying stopping point for what the manga set out to do. You’ll get closure on the main character relationships and the central conflict of the manga’s run. If you want the complete, extended story beyond that, the light novels are where it continues — though English availability of the light novels is a separate question and may require some searching. As a self-contained manga experience, though, 8 volumes tell a complete and enjoyable story.

Where to Buy Is This a Zombie? Manga in English

Ready to start collecting? Here’s what you need to know about getting your hands on the series.

Publisher: Yen Press

Available formats: Paperback and digital

Total volumes: 8 (all released)

You can find the series at major bookstores and digital manga platforms. Since all 8 volumes are already out, there’s no waiting for future releases — you can buy the whole set and read straight through.

One thing worth mentioning for anyone looking for physical copies: since this series completed its English run back in 2014, the paperback volumes have been on shelves for over a decade now. Some volumes may still be readily available at retailers, while others might take a bit more effort to track down. If a specific volume proves hard to find new, secondhand options on sites like eBay, ThriftBooks, or your local used bookstore can fill the gaps. Digital editions tend to be consistently available regardless, so if you want a guaranteed way to read the full series without hunting for out-of-stock paperbacks, digital is your most reliable path.

Volume 8 — the final volume that wraps everything up — is a particularly satisfying one to have on your shelf. It brings Ayumu’s manga story to its conclusion and gives you that sense of completion that makes collecting finished series so rewarding.

If you’re the type who likes to test a series before committing, grabbing Volume 1 in digital format is a low-risk way to see if the humor and style click for you. The first volume does a great job of establishing the tone — if you’re laughing by the end of chapter one, you’ll enjoy the rest of the ride.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many volumes of Is This a Zombie? manga are there?

There are 8 volumes total, covering the complete manga series.

Is the Is This a Zombie? manga finished?

Yes. The manga is fully complete. The Japanese run ended in December 2013, and all 8 English volumes were published by July 2014.

Who publishes Is This a Zombie? in English?

Yen Press handles the English edition, available in both paperback and digital formats.

Is the manga the same as the anime?

Not exactly. Both the manga and the anime are separate adaptations of the same light novel series. They share the same premise, characters, and general setup, but they cover different amounts of story and make different adaptation choices. You can enjoy one without having experienced the other.

Do I need to read the light novel to understand the manga?

No. The manga stands on its own as its own adaptation. You don’t need any prior knowledge of the light novels to follow and enjoy the manga’s story. The light novels offer a longer and more detailed version of the story, but the manga is self-contained. If you finish the manga and want more, the light novels are where the story continues in greater depth — though English availability of the light novels may require some searching.

What age group is this manga for?

Yen Press rates it OT (Older Teen). There’s comedic violence, supernatural action, and some suggestive humor — typical for this genre blend. It’s not aimed at younger kids, but it’s not extremely graphic either.

Is there a box set available?

As of this writing, there isn’t a widely available box set for the series. Collecting it means picking up individual volumes, which at 8 books total is still a very manageable set to put together.