Can you guys recommend romance manga?
Hello everyone. For a long time i’ve been reading only manga with a dark and serious atmosphere like Dorohedoro, Ajin or Ganzt. Somehow I need a break to see some light. So i hope you guys can give me some good romance manga recommendations.
I would appreciate any recommendations but I would prefer one where the characters feel real, no the imaginary or stereotypical prefect "woman or man".
Thanks in advance.
Alright, this is an extremely subjective type of question, but here are some of mine with a couple thoughts:
Telework convinced me to brush up on my Japanese. I've really enjoyed the author's work because adults communicate and actually have sex, so there's so much less toxic behavior and false tension (read: padding) than in most of the other things I've read. Telework is also a single volume if OP wants a taste before diving into the longer series.
Go read it! It's only a single volume
The manga I've read with the most real characters by far was Skip and Loafer. It's great! It's one of my favorites! But honestly I'd say it's only 1/3 romance with the other 2/3 being slice of life and coming of age. Still, I highly recommend it.
If you want something where romance is a bit more of a focus I also recommend Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku. It's a story about a couple of awkward office workers who slowly develop their relationship.
My favorite romance manga though is Kaguya-sama: Love is War. These people definitely feel more like cartoon characters than people sometimes. Not in a bad way (I love how these characters are written), but their traits are pretty extreme for good and for ill. The first few chapters all follow the same basic formula, which might trick you into thinking that this manga is a one-trick pony, but it changes things up often enough that it ended up being one of the most satisfying manga I've ever read.
All 3 of these have excellent anime adaptations by the way, though none of them are completed yet.
Thanks for the recommendations. Skip to loafer looks nice but i honestly didn't like Kaguya-sama hehe.
The 1st is a romcom about 2 office couples who are also otaku. The chemistry between the characters is amazing.
The 2nd is a nice and comfy read.
The 3rd follows a middle school couple where one is a witch. The initial premise sounds dodgy, but it's actually not.
The 4th follows 2 women who live close to each other. The title is pretty succint tbh.
The rest are by Yamada Kintetsu. Also adult romances. They're absolutely brilliant at writing sensible characters and rarely use the stereotypical tropes.
+1 for Sweat and Soap
Here are a few lesser known manga
+1 for Kesa Mo Yuraretemasu / They are Still Being Shaken This Morning
+1s for Alice-san and Ao no Hana. Both include some interesting stuff about open hearths and pottery, respectively.
I don't really read any romance, but I really liked My Monster Secret: Actually I Am.... More of a Rom-Com. There's also an anime adaption that's sub-only.
Edit:
A few of the titles had a limited print run and can be very hard to find under $150, but ebook versions should be normal price. I still need volume 7 but it's like $200 💀.
Edit 2: just reread post.
Each character has a few glaring faults that make them feel more real. None of them are "perfect" in any way.
I was thinking of how I found some of the ones I've really enjoyed recently. Mangadex has a decent filter system that can have inclusion and exclusion criteria, like must have ninjas but can't have lolis. And the most important criteria of all: only showing ones that are completed. Some of us aren't made to read things as they trickle out only to have them suddenly cancelled (looking at you, Dress up Darling).
I just use it to describe what I'm looking for and then sort the results by rating. That's how I came across Alice-san Chi no Iroribata (others have mentioned it) and Ao no hana.
For ones not mentioned elsewhere:
Sono Koi wa Ichigo no Youni - Strawberries and farming and romance.
Insomniacs after school - I usually can't stand a school setting, but really enjoyed this. Astronomy themed.
Unless the last chapter is an absolute banger, I can't imagine a bigger fumble of a manga than this. I'm guessing the author either has health issues or is simply burnt out, because the plot is nowhere close to wrapping up. There's multiple ongoing plot threads, including big ones that were just introduced 2 or 3 chapters ago. I'm hoping it's just an excuse for her to take a break and come back with a sequel, but I don't know how common that is.
i also cant stand with a school setting but i really liked Insomniacs after school. Thanks for the recommendations
If I'm interpreting this criterion right, it means you don't want a character like Usui from Kaichou wa Maid-sama!.
I can't think of a good way to describe these characters.I realised this is just a rephrase, but: they are so flawless, and no such person can exist in real life.I think these may fit your definition of "real":
Unsure if they fit your criteria - because it's been a while since I read them- but they are good:
I'm recommending just the 10/10s that I've read, otherwise the list would be too long.
P.S. I noticed there's a serious lag of yaoi in this list. Too bad.
the full time wife escapist if you want something that’s more about realistic characters while also challenging the patriarchal dominance that so many Japanese romcoms fall into though (mild spoiler, I don’t know how to use the spoiler tag) the ending is a bit unsatisfying on that front. It cheapens it a bit but not enough to ruin what is ultimately a great and often overlooked series
Also the translation of the title is garbage. The translation of the manga is good but I have no idea why they settled on such a shit title. They also made it a tv drama and translated the title of that to “we married as job”, which fits better, but still isn’t great. The literal translation of the title is “running away is shameful, but useful” which I think ultimately reflects the work best.
It’s great to read if you’ve felt aimless and disillusioned in your early adulthood (like late twentys/early thirties) as well
I wonder if you would like strawberry panic?
https://anilist.co/manga/33039/Strawberry-Panic/
https://anilist.co/manga/58226/Bonnouji/ is mostly normal adults.
https://anilist.co/manga/110140/Futari-Ashita-mo-Sorenari-ni/ is exceedingly normal adults.
https://anilist.co/manga/106983/Arasa-Dakedo-Hatsukoi-desu/ is stereotypical naive adults.