Like more traditional books, manga covers a broad range of genres from romance, to mystery, to sci-fi. Many believe that there is always at least one manga that would appeal to each person since the themes presented and the general outlines of the stories vary so greatly.

Firstly, it is important to note the first major classification among manga, which is the division that deals with the target audience. These divisions can sometimes be considered genres in and of themselves, and although the target audience does not necessarily give a general outline of the genres that are present in a manga, it can often times be a good indicator of what themes that can be expected.

Genre Groups
The first target audience is known as kodomo (children's) manga. As the name suggests, these manga are targeted towards young children, generally those who are between ages six and eleven. These manga have child-friendly themes and often stress family values. An example of a well-known kodomo manga is Doraemon, written by Fujiko Fujio.

The next two target audiences are known as shojo and shonen, girl's and boy's manga respectively. Each of these are targeted to the younger ages within the given gender. Shojo manga is aimed towards girls around ages eight to eighteen, while shonen manga is aimed towards boys in the same age range. Shojomanga often include a romance involving the main character, who is usually a teenage girl. Shonen manga most often contain the genres of action, adventure, and comedy. Today, a popular shojo manga is Natsuki Takaya's 'Fruits Basket' and a popular shonen title is 'Dragonball' by Akira Toriyama.

The final two groups are the more adult versions of the aforementioned groupings: Josei manga, appealing to women aged eighteen to thirty and seinen manga, appealing to men of the same age range. Josei manga tend to contain themes of romance or of entering the work force or the position of a housewife. Seinen manga, similar to shonen, often contains action and adventure stories, though comedy is not common, since these manga are more serious in nature. Seinen manga may also contain more explicit sexual content than shonen manga. Kimi wa Petto - usually translated as Tramps like Us - by Yayoi Ogawa, is an example of a josei manga and Berserk by Kentaro Miura is a well-known seinen manga.

The following is a list of various genres that can be found within different manga. As can be seen, some manga can fall under more than one genre. A brief description of genres that may not be self-explanatory is provided.

	Action - Fullmetal Alchemist – Arakawa Hiromu - Inuyasha – Rumiko Takahashi - Naruto – Kishimoto Masashi
	Adventure - Dragonball – Akira Toriyama - Inuyasha – Rumiko Takahashi - Yu Yu Hakusho – Togashi Yoshihiro
	Comedy - Dragonball – Akira Toriyama - Love Hina – Akamatsu Ken - Naruto – Kishimoto Masashi
	Drama - Aishiteruze Baby – Maki Youko - Doubt!! – Izumi Kaneyoshi - Eden no Hana – Suetsugu Yoshi
	Ecchi - Will have mature subject matter, but falls short of being called hentai (see below) - Elfen Lied – Okamoto Lynn - Futari Ecchi – Katsu Aki - Love Hina – Akamatsu Ken
	Fantasy - Ah! My Goddess – Fujishima Kosuke - Merupuri – Hino Matsuri - Please Save my Earth – Hiwatari Saki
	Gender Bender – Will include the main character dressing up as the opposite gender or otherwise switching to the other gender - Girl Got Game (Power!) – Seino Shizuru - Hanazakari no Kimitachi E – Nakajo Hisaya - Never Give Up – Mutou Hiromu
	Hentai – Contains detailed and adult sexual content. This is often pornographic material - Daijoubu – Shiwasu no Okina - Insai Zukan – Fukada Takushi - Patriot – Juubaori Mashumaro
	Historical - Emma – Mori Kaoru - Hikaru no Go – Hotta Yumi and Obata Takeshi - Rurouni Kenshin­ - Watsuki Nobuhiro
	Horror - Battle Royale– Takami Koushun - Goth – Ooiwa Kenji - Pet Shop of Horrors – Akino Matsuri
	Lolicon – Involves sexual relations with young, under-aged females - Kodomo no Jikan – Watashiya Kaworu [review here] - Tokyo Akazukin – Tamaoki Benkyo - Yurihime – Mikuni Hazime
	Maho Shojo– 'Magical Girl', manga revolving around a female character(s) who have magical powers - Cardcaptor Sakura – CLAMP - Magic Knight Rayearth – CLAMP - Sailor Moon – Naoko Takeuchi
	Martial Arts - Ranma ½ – Rumiko Takahashi - Rurouni Kenshin­ - Watsuki Nobuhiro - Saint Seiya – Kuramada Masami
	Mecha - Involving and often centralized around large machines (such as gundams) - Astro Boy – Tezuka Osamu - Gundam Wing – Koichi Tokita - Neon Genesis Evangelion – Sadamoto Yoshiyuki
	Mystery - Banana Fish – Yoshida Akimi - Death Note – Obata Takeshi, Ohba Tsugumi, and Asami Yuuko - Detective Conan – Aoyama Gosho
	Psychological - Anne Freaks – Kotegawa Yua - Battle Royale – Takami Koushun - Death Note – Obata Takeshi, Ohba Tsugumi, and Asami Yuuko
	Romance - Absolute Boyfriend - Yuu Watase - Hot Gimmick – Miki Aihara - Fruits Basket – Natsuki Takaya
	School Life – Stories following the life of a character who is in school Aishiteruze Baby – Maki Youko - Alice 19th – Yuu Watase Ouran Koukou Host Club – Hatori Bisco
	Sci-fi / Cyberpunk – Short for science fiction - Appleseed – Shirow Masamune - Battle Angel Alita – Kishiro Yukito - Ghost in the Shell – Shirow Masamune
	Shotacon - Involves sexual relations with young, under-aged males - Complex – Manda Ringo - Kawaii Gatte – Hoshino Lily - Oh My Maid – Itsuki Kaname
	Shojo Ai – literally 'girls' love', is about homosexual female relationships, but is portrayed less graphically than in yuri (see below) - Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ – Akahori Satoru - Pieta – Haruno Nanae - Strawberry Panic! – Takumi Namuchi
	Shonen Ai - literally 'boys' love', is about homosexual male relationships, but is portrayed less graphically than in yaoi (see below) - Gravitation – Murakami Maki - FAKE – Matoh Sanami - Thief and Detective – Itsuki Kaname
	Slice of Life – more realistic stories of a character(s) trials and tribulations - Emma – Mori Kaoru - Kare Kano – Tsuda Masami - Nana – Yazawa Ai
	Smut –these manga contain sexually graphic love relationships, though less extreme than what can be seen in hentai (see above) manga - Akuma na Eros – Shinjo Mayu - Haou Airen – Shinjo Mayu - Sensual Phrase – Shinjo Mayu
	Sports - Hajime no Ippo – Morikawa Jyoji - Prince of Tennis – Konomi Takeshi - Rough – Adachi Mitsuru
	Supernatural - Ayashi no Ceres- Yuu Watase - Death Note – Obata Takeshi, Ohba Tsugumi, and Asami Yuuko - Psychometrer Eiji – Ando Yuma - Code Geass – Ichiro Okouchi
	Yaoi – Involves homosexual male relationships, can often times portray graphic sexual scenes - 17 Guyz – Nitta Youka - Gakuen Heaven – Higuri You - Yes Master – Riko Nekota
	Yuri - Involves homosexual female relationships, can often times portray graphic sexual scenes - Hands Off My Girl! – Minami Q-ta - Moonlight Flowers – Tsukumo Mutsumi - Yurihime – Mikuni Hazime