Top Slice Of Life Manga Recommendations

Oyasumi Punpun

Also known as Goodnight Punpun.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Slice of Life

Meet Punpun Punyama. He’s an average kid in an average town.
He wants to win a Nobel Prize and save the world.
He wants the girl he has a crush on to like him back.
He wants to find some porn.
That’s what he wants, but what does he get…?



Tags: Coming of Age , Seinen , Tragedy , Philosophy , Denpa , Psychosexual , Suicide , Urban , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Anti-Hero , Time Skip , Fugitive , Surreal Comedy , School , Cult , Meta , Work , Nudity , Gods , Body Horror , Love Triangle , Ghost

SPY×FAMILY

Also known as SPY x FAMILY.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

The master spy codenamed <Twilight> has spent his days on undercover missions, all for the dream of a better world. But one day, he receives a particularly difficult new order from command. For his mission, he must form a temporary family and start a new life?! A Spy/Action/Comedy about a one-of-a-kind family!



Notes:
- Includes 2 "Extra Missions" and 11 “Short Missions”.
- Nominated for the 24th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2020.
- Nominated for the 13th and 14th Manga Taisho Award in 2020 and 2021.
- Nominated for the 44th Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2020.

Tags: Family Life , Espionage , Found Family , Surreal Comedy , War , Assassins , Female Protagonist , Adoption , Male Protagonist , Work , School , Aliens , Shounen , Politics , Heterosexual , Ensemble Cast , Super Power , Fake Relationship , Slapstick , Orphan , Marriage , Guns , Terrorism , Parody , Episodic , Foreign , Satire , Iyashikei , Urban , Parenthood , Anachronism , Historical , Tsundere , Hikikomori , Gore

Horimiya

Also known as Horimiya.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

At school, Kyouko Hori is known for being smart, attractive, and popular. On the other hand, her classmate, the boring, gloomy Izumi Miyamura tends to get painted as a "loser fanboy." But when a liberally pierced and tattooed (not to mention downright gorgeous) Miyamura appears unexpectedly on the doorstep of secretly plain-Jane homebody Hori, these two similarly dissimilar teenagers discover that there are multiple sides to every story...and person!



Notes:
-Includes 20 extra chapters.
-The 17th volume got released on July 18, 2023. This was 2 years after its original ending. This new volume included 10 extra chapters.

Tags: Heterosexual , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Tsundere , School , Family Life , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Slapstick , Episodic , Shounen , Love Triangle , Bullying , Urban , Time Skip

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensaitachi no Renai Zunousen

Also known as Kaguya-sama: Love is War.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Psychological , Romance , Slice of Life

As leaders of their prestigious academy’s student council, Kaguya and Miyuki are the elite of the elite! But it’s lonely at the top… Luckily for them, they’ve fallen in love! There’s just one problem—they both have too much pride to admit it. And so begins the daily scheming to get the object of their affection to confess their romantic feelings first… Love is a war you win by losing.



Notes:
- The first 10 chapters were published in Monthly Miracle Jump. It switched to Weekly Young Jump starting with Ch. 11, with the chapter count being reset. This entry still includes the first 10 chapters from Miracle Jump.
- Winner of the 65th Shogakukan Manga Award for "Best General Manga" category in 2019.

Tags: Heterosexual , School , Tsundere , Female Protagonist , School Club , Ojou-sama , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Slapstick , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Parody , Meta , Episodic , Love Triangle , Politics , LGBTQ+ Themes , Philosophy , Bullying , VTuber , Conspiracy , Crossdressing , Foreign

Komi-san wa, Komyushou desu.

Also known as Komi Can't Communicate.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

Timid Tadano is a total wallflower, and that’s just the way he likes it. But all that changes when he finds himself alone in a classroom on the first day of high school with the legendary Komi. He quickly realizes she isn’t aloof—she’s just super awkward. Now he’s made it his mission to help her on her quest to make 100 friends!



Note: Winner of the 67th Shogakukan Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2021.

Tags: School , Coming of Age , Kuudere , Ensemble Cast , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Episodic , Love Triangle , Slapstick , Disability , Heterosexual , Shounen , Meta , 4-koma , Gyaru , Yandere , Surreal Comedy , Chuunibyou , Agender , Crossdressing , Football

Koe no Katachi

Also known as A Silent Voice.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Based on a one-shot that won the 80th Weekly Shounen Magazine Newbie Best Mangaka Award.

Shouya is a bully. When Shouko, a girl who can't hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes their favorite target, and Shouya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children's cruelty goes too far. Shouko is forced to leave the school, and Shouya ends up shouldering all the blame. Six years later, the two meet again. Can Shouya make up for his past mistakes, or is it too late?



Note: Includes 2 extra chapters.

Tags: Rehabilitation , Language Barrier , Bullying , Coming of Age , Disability , Time Skip , Denpa , School , Suicide , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Kuudere , Shounen , Tragedy , Tomboy , Filmmaking

Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru

Also known as My Dress-Up Darling.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Ecchi , Romance , Slice of Life

Traumatized by a childhood incident with a friend who took exception to his love of traditional dolls, doll-artisan hopeful Gojou Wakana passes his days as a loner, finding solace in the home ec room at his high school. To Wakana, people like beautiful Kitagawa Marin, a trendy girl who's always surrounded by a throng of friends, is practically an alien from another world. But when cheerful Marin--never one to be shy--spots Wakana sewing away one day after school, she barges in with the aim of roping her quiet classmate into her secret hobby: cosplay! Will Wakana's wounded heart be able to handle the invasion from this sexy alien?!



Tags: Cosplay , Otaku Culture , Fashion , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Gyaru , Makeup , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Photography , Seinen , Educational , Primarily Female Cast , Crossdressing , School , Drawing , Unrequited Love

Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san

Also known as Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Ecchi , Romance , Slice of Life

Nagatoro is a freshman in high school who loves teasing and torturing her older male classmate! What’s her motivation and why does Senpai put up with her? Does Nagatoro just want to create misery for Senpai? Or maybe she secretly likes him?



Note: Includes 34 extra chapters.

Tags: Bullying , Heterosexual , Tsundere , Male Protagonist , Tanned Skin , Female Protagonist , School , Drawing , School Club , Shounen , Primarily Female Cast , Martial Arts , Tomboy , Primarily Teen Cast , Gyaru , Slapstick , Judo , Nudity , Time Skip , Urban , Yandere

Blue Period

Also known as Blue Period.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

The studious Yatora leaves a dry life of study and good manners behind for a new passion: painting. But untethering yourself from all your past expectations is dangerous as well as thrilling…



Note: Nominated for Manga Taisho Awards in 2019, Kodansha Manga Awards in 2019 and the 24th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2020. Winner of the 13th Manga Taisho Awards. Winner of the General Manga category of the 44th annual Kodansha Manga Awards.

Tags: Drawing , Coming of Age , College , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Educational , Philosophy , Primarily Adult Cast , LGBTQ+ Themes , School , School Club , Tragedy , Transgender , Bisexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Crossdressing , Gender Bending , Suicide , Nudity , Tomboy

Gokushufudou

Also known as The Way of the Househusband.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

He was the fiercest member of the yakuza, a man who left countless underworld legends in his wake. They called him “the Immortal Dragon.” But one day he walked away from it all to travel another path—the path of the househusband! The curtain rises on this cozy yakuza comedy!



Tags: Parody , Episodic , Yakuza , Male Protagonist , Slapstick , Gangs , Family Life , Primarily Adult Cast , Seinen , Heterosexual , Food , Urban , Iyashikei , Animals , Marriage , Otaku Culture , Tanned Skin

Grand Blue

Also known as Grand Blue Dreaming.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life , Sports

After moving out on his own to a seaside town, Iori Kitahara makes a college debut he never anticipated. A new chapter of his life unfolds, full of diving with beautiful girls and shenanigans with a gaggle of lovable bastards! Idiot-expert Kenji Inoue and au naturel authority Kimitake Yoshioka bring you a glorious college tale filled with booze-fueled antics!



Tags: Slapstick , Surreal Comedy , Male Protagonist , College , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Nudity , Coastal , Bar , Scuba Diving , Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Otaku Culture , Kuudere , Meta , Tsundere , Female Harem , Gore , Bisexual , Yandere , Gyaru , LGBTQ+ Themes

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

Also known as Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

Narumi Momose has had it rough: every boyfriend she’s had dumped her once they found out she was an otaku, so she’s gone to great lengths to hide it. When a chance meeting at her new job with childhood friend, fellow otaku, and now coworker Hirotaka Nifuji almost gets her secret outed at work, she comes up with a plan to make sure he never speaks up. But he comes up with a counter-proposal: why doesn’t she just date him instead? In love, there are no save points.



Notes:
- Includes 29 extra chapters.
- The English edition combines 2 Japanese volumes into one each (so e.g. the first two Japanese volumes are combined into 1 English volume).

Tags: Otaku Culture , Primarily Adult Cast , Office Lady , Video Games , Heterosexual , Work , Episodic , Josei , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Meta , Iyashikei , Office , Ensemble Cast , Cosplay , Tsundere , Crossdressing , Chibi

Yagate Kimi ni Naru

Also known as Bloom Into You.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Yuu has always loved shoujo manga and awaits the day she gets a love confession that sends her heart aflutter with bubbles and hearts, and yet when a junior high classmate confesses his feelings to her…she feels nothing. Disappointed and confused, Yuu enters high school still unsure how to respond. That’s when Yuu sees the beautiful student council president Nanami turn down a suitor with such maturity that she’s inspired to ask her for help. But when the next person to confess to Yuu is Nanami herself, has her shoujo romance finally begun?



Note: Includes 8 extra chapters.

Tags: Yuri , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , LGBTQ+ Themes , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Love Triangle , School Club , Unrequited Love , Acting , Philosophy , Aromantic , Shounen

Ao Haru Ride

Also known as Ao Haru Ride.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Futaba Yoshioka thought all boys were loud and obnoxious until she met Kou Tanaka in junior high. But as soon as she realized she really liked him, he had already moved away because of family issues. Now, in high school, Kou has reappeared, but is he still the same boy she fell in love with?



Includes two side stories and two oneshots.

Tags: Shoujo , School , Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Tomboy , Unrequited Love , Coming of Age , Tsundere , Kuudere , Tragedy , Time Skip , Age Gap

Yotsuba to!

Also known as Yotsuba&!.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Hello! This is Koiwai Yotsuba, Yotsuba Koiwai...um, YOTSUBA! Yotsuba moved with Daddy to a new house from our old house waaaaaaay over there! And moving's fun 'cos people wave! (Ohhhh!!) And Yotsuba met these nice people next door and made friends to play with (one of 'em acted like one of those bad strangers Daddy told Yotsuba not to go with, but it was okay in the end). I hope we get to play a lot. And eat ice cream! And-and-and...oh yeah! You should come play with Yotsuba too!



Notes:
- Includes an interlude.
- Won the Excellence Award for Manga at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2006 and the Grand Prize of the 20th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize in 2016.
- Was nominated for the Manga Taishō award in 2008 and for the 12th and 20th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize in 2008 and 2016.
- Was nominated for the Eisner Award in the "Best Publication for Kids" category.

Tags: Family Life , Iyashikei , Episodic , Female Protagonist , Slapstick , Shounen , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Parenthood , Rural , Adoption , Primarily Female Cast , Tomboy , Fishing

Yofukashi no Uta

Also known as Call of the Night.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Psychological , Romance , Slice of Life , Supernatural

One sleepless night, Ko slips out to walk the streets. Life after dark is a revelation! When flirtatious Nazuna invites Ko to spend the night at her place in an abandoned building, he’s stoked! But then he awakens to kisses on his neck with a little too much bite to them... Is it just the delicious taste of his blood that makes her meet him night after night for late-night adventures, conversation and...naps? Or something else? Then, when a cute girl from Ko’s past shows up and competes for his attention, his budding relationship with the undead is put to the test!



Notes:
-Seventh place of Tsugimanga 2020 Award in the Manga Category.
-First place of Daruma 2023 Award (France) in the new manga category (released in 2022 in France).

Tags: Vampire , Urban Fantasy , Age Gap , Male Protagonist , Monster Girl , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Yandere , Surreal Comedy , Hikikomori , Heterosexual , Outdoor , Shounen , Female Protagonist , Urban , Monster Boy , Detective , Primarily Teen Cast , Philosophy , Gore , Maids , Suicide , Gyaru , LGBTQ+ Themes , Iyashikei , Boys' Love , Yuri , Femboy

Look Back

Also known as Look Back.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Fujino is a fourth grader who draws a manga strip for the school newspaper. Her art makes her the star of the class, but one day she's told that Kyomoto, a student who refuses to come to school, would also like to submit a manga for the paper...



Note: The one-shot was compiled in a special volume, released on September 3, 2021.

Tags: Drawing , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Hikikomori , Primarily Female Cast , Coming of Age , Work , School , Meta , Autobiographical , Primarily Child Cast , Philosophy

Nisekoi

Also known as Nisekoi: False Love.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

As a child, Raku Ichijou made a secret promise with his childhood sweetheart, keeping a pendant as a memento while his love took the key. He dreams of one day meeting his past love, but years later, reality smashes his hopes when Chitoge Kirisaki accidentally knees him in the face...

Though Raku’s a normal high schooler, his family heads the notorious yakuza gang the Shuei-Gumi faction! And he’s dragged into family affairs when he’s forced into a relationship with Chitoge, the daughter of a rival gang’s boss!

Despite their constant spats, the two somehow fool everyone with their false relationship. Raku then discovers that Chitoge has a mysterious key from her past, which she can’t remember... Plus, two other girls appear with keys as well—Kosaki Onodera and Marika Tachibana!

Caught in the midst of this love maelstrom, even more complications arise for Raku when his class decides on Romeo and Juliet as the class’s play for the school festival. Can the two false lovebirds pull off the impossible and make the play a success?



Note: Chapter count includes 229 regular chapters and 11 extras.

Tags: Love Triangle , Female Harem , Primarily Female Cast , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Slapstick , Primarily Teen Cast , Tragedy , Tsundere , School , Coming of Age , Fake Relationship , Yakuza , Gangs , Time Skip , Chibi , Nudity , Arranged Marriage , Animals , Crossdressing , Police , Amnesia , Marriage , Gender Bending

ReLife

Also known as ReLIFE.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Psychological , Romance , Slice of Life

When the responsibilities of being an adult and the ugly side of corporate bullying betrays one's childhood dreams, many would wish to return to their innocent childhood to relive their life and make the right decisions. Dumbfounded by the offer presented to him, 27-year-old Arata Kaizaki hopes to turn his life around through a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Returning home from his part-time job, Arata is persuaded by Ryou Yoake, an employee of ReLife Research Institute, into participating in an experiment which will help him overcome his difficulties and re-enter corporate life. As part of the ReLife experiment, Arata's physique is reverted to that of a 17-year-old, and all he must do is relive his high school life for one year. Waiting for him at the end of the experiment is a job offer that he has been struggling to get ever since he left his first company.

With few other options, he decides to go along with this plan. However, with adult-like tendencies and many years since his last formal education, Arata steps into an unexpectedly challenging territory—a normal day of high school.



Note: Includes 16 extra chapters

Tags: Age Regression , Memory Manipulation , Shapeshifting , School , Full Color , Rehabilitation , Amnesia , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Seinen , Kuudere , Male Protagonist , Work , Heterosexual , Tragedy , Time Skip , Age Gap , Love Triangle , Volleyball , Suicide

NANA

Also known as Nana.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance , Slice of Life

Nana Komatsu is a young woman who's endured an unending string of boyfriend problems. Moving to Tokyo, she's hoping to take control of her life and put all those messy misadventures behind her. She's looking for love and she's hoping to find it in the big city.

Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is cool, confident and focused. She swaggers into town and proceeds to kick down the doors to Tokyo's underground punk scene. She's got a dream and won't give up until she becomes Japan's No. 1 rock'n'roll superstar.

This is the story of two 20-year-old women who share the same name. Even though they come from completely different backgrounds, they somehow meet and become best friends. The world of Nana is a world exploding with sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties.



Note: Winner of the 48th Shogakukan Manga Award in the Shoujo Category in 2002.

Tags: Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Band , Shoujo , Tragedy , Time Skip , Philosophy , Netorare , Found Family , LGBTQ+ Themes , Bisexual , Heterosexual , Achronological Order , Love Triangle , Age Gap , Urban , Rock Music , Nudity , Drugs , Mahjong , Bar