We need to get Cobra and Lupin in a room and see whose cooler.
Alternative Titles:
- スペースコブラ
Year Anime Premiered: 1982
Animation Studio: Tokyo Movie Shinsha; Magic Bus
Number of Seasons: 2 + 6 OVAs
Source Material Country of Origin: Japan
Source Material Available: Manga
Is It Officially Licensed Past Where The Anime Ends?: Original manga, no, Sequel manga, yes.
Is It Fan Translated Past Where The Anime Ends?: Yes
Entry Last Updated: May 6th, 2026
Where To Start The Space Cobra Manga After The Anime?
Space Cobra is a long-running series. So let’s go through this series-by-series.
Space Adventure Cobra: The Movie (1982)
The movie adapts roughly the first three chapters of the original manga, but is far and wide just abridging the story and working with the same overall concept of the Tattooed Woman arc. The 1982 anime also adapts this arc.
Space Cobra (1982)
If you finished the Space Cobra 1982 anime, you can start the original manga at Volume 6, Chapter 16.
The manga chapters are very long, sometimes volumes are just a single long chapter. That said, Space Cobra 1982 does stretch some elements out and has a number of anime-original moments, including the final episode.
*These chapter numbers are based on the 12-volume reprint of Cobra Space Pirate manga, so chapter numbers may vary depending on what has been ripped and translated. The original print was 18 volumes, but I think it is lost media at this point.
Cobra (2008)
The Cobra 2008 OVA adapts, not the original manga, but the sequel manga Cobra. The sequel manga is actually just a series of short one or two volume side stories all packaged in one series.
Helpfully, the stories are all labeled. The Cobra OVA adapts the first two volumes of the Cobra sequel manga, titled Cobra the Psycho Gun, as well as Volume 6, Time Drive.
Again, this sequel series is all pretty standalone adventures, so you can just read wherever if you are familiar with the series set up.
Cobra (2010)
The Cobra 2010 TV series continues to adapt the sequel manga like the OVA, and continues to do so out of order. The anime adapts Golden Door, Galaxy Knights, Black Dragon King, Ragball, and The Legend of Mandorado. Of course, all of these stories are abridged and often changed.
Is The Space Cobra Manga Over?
The original Space Adventure Cobra manga is complete. It ended in 1984 with Volume 18, Chapter 30.
The Cobra sequel manga is also complete at Volume 15. Each volume is a new short story, though some stories span two volumes.
There is also a very brief sequel that is not packaged with the 15-Volume Cobra sequel manga called Cobra: Over The Rainbow. However, the author died in 2023 after only releasing six chapters.
