Manga like AQUA

8-gatsu no Soda Sui

Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Slice of Life

Tales of the unusual residents staying in an equally unusual seaside town.

Also includes the additional story "Uwa no Sora ga Oka Yori."

Tags: Iyashikei , Environmental , Episodic , Urban Fantasy , Full Color , Seinen , Primarily Child Cast , Rural , Female Protagonist , Coastal , Foreign , Magic

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

Also known as Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou.

Status: Finished
Genres: Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

Set hundreds of years in the future after an environmental catastrophe, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (also known as Yokohama Shopping Log) centers on the simple life of Alpha, an android who runs a small coffee shop in coastal Japan. Alpha stands witness to chronicle the end of humanity’s days with coffee, a slice of watermelon, and the sound of her moon guitar backed by distant seagulls. Quiet and bittersweet, this tale is about the melancholy beauty that can be found even as the end approaches.



Note: Includes four extra chapters.

Tags: Iyashikei , Female Protagonist , Post-Apocalyptic , Coastal , Philosophy , Rural , Coming of Age , Robots , Seinen , Lost Civilization , Time Skip , Artificial Intelligence , Episodic , Travel , Mopeds , Work , Family Life , Restaurant , Motorcycles , Nudity

Mizu Wakusei Nendaiki

Status: Finished
Genres: Sci-Fi

In the Mizu Wakusei Nendaiki (Aqua Planet Chronicle) series:

Mizu Wakusei Nendaiki (Aqua Planet Chronicle)

Zoku Mizu Wakusei Nendaiki (Aqua Planet Chronicle After)

Kan Mizu Wakusei Nendaiki (Aqua Planet Chronicle Around)

Midori Mizu Wakusei Nendaiki (Aqua Planet Chronicle Jade)

Ao Mizu Wakusei Nendaiki (Aqua Planet Chronicle Blue)

Mizu Wakusei Nendaiki Getsujou (Runyan) (Aqua Planet Chronicle Final)

Mizu Wakusei Nendaiki Gekkan Sachisachi (Aqua Planet Chronicle Monthly Sachisachi)

Tags: Seinen , Drawing , Iyashikei

Ritou no Umi

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

In a faraway archipelago to the south, a lush, peaceful landscape can be found amidst an ocean of corals. This is the story of a beautiful island bathed in sun, its inhabitants and a girl who was reared by the ocean.



Note: Includes 2 extra chapters

Tags: Full Color , Swimming , Female Protagonist , Coastal , Seinen , Outdoor Activities , Scuba Diving , Tomboy

Forget-me-not

Also known as Forget-me-not.

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

Stroll along the banks of the canals in beautiful Venice, Italy, and you’ll see the slacker—a young woman noodling on her guitar, pecking a bit at her laptop, and maybe getting a little reading in. But watch your step in this ancient town, because some of the other people you might run into—the ragged derelict, the drunken streetwalker, even that clean-cut gondolier—they’re all her, too! She’s Mariel Imari, of Italian and Japanese descent, whose skill at disguise comes from being part of a famous dynasty of detectives.

But Mariel hasn’t yet cracked the one case that would allow her to inherit her grandfather’s estate—Forget-me-not, the painting stolen from the mansion 22 years ago, which she needs to recover as a condition of his will. You see, Mariel is brilliant, but also a bit lazy and slovenly and bored…and about to be a bit embarrassed, too, when her sisters show up from Japan, under the impression that she's rich! Will Mariel ever catch the master thief standing between her and an aristocratic lifestyle?



Tags: Seinen , Work , Crime , Detective , Foreign , Female Protagonist , Nudity , Heterosexual

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 , Parenthood , Female Protagonist , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Slapstick , Shounen , Outdoor Activities , Rural , Adoption , Primarily Female Cast , Tomboy , Fishing

Otoyomegatari

Also known as A Bride's Story.

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

A Bride’s Story tells the tale of a beautiful young bride in nineteenth-century Asia. At the age of twenty, Amir is sent to a neighboring town to be wed. But her surprise at learning her new husband, Karluk, is eight years younger than her is quickly replaced by a deep affection for the boy and his family. Though she hails from just beyond the mountains, Amir’s clan had very different customs, foods, and clothes from what Karluk is used to. As the two of them learn more about each other through their day-to-day lives, the bond of respect and love grows stronger.



Note: Won the Prix Intergénérations ("Intergenerational Award") at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2012 and the 7th Manga Taishou award in 2014.

Tags: Ensemble Cast , Historical , Marriage , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Travel , Seinen , Foreign , Indigenous Cultures , Arranged Marriage , Iyashikei , Desert , Environmental , Family Life , Age Gap , Educational , War , Cohabitation , Rural , Matchmaking , Middle east , Military , Food , Religion , Unrequited Love , Language Barrier , Twins , Archery , Nudity , Animals , Female Harem , Polyamorous , LGBTQ+ Themes , Large Breasts

Barakamon

Also known as Barakamon.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

For a certain reason, a handsome, young calligrapher by the name of Seishuu Handa uproots himself and moves to an island on the westernmost edge of Japan. "Sensei," as he comes to be known, is a city boy through and through, and has never experienced rural life until now. And by the looks of it, he has much to learn! Luckily(?), he has a willing teacher in Naru, the energetic expert islander, to help show him the ropes. But can Sensei keep up with the plucky first-grader, or will he get schooled?! Here unfolds a heartfelt island comedy about a gruff on the outside, soft on the inside urbanite teacher and his new, unfailingly kind island neighbors!



Notes: One extra and four side stories are included in volume 18+1. Original serialization was completed on 2018-12-12 with 18 volumes (139 chapters). A new limited-run serialization was started on 2023-04-12 and ended on 2023-09-12 in Monthly Shounen Gangan, in conjunction with the TV-drama adaptation. This new run adds 7 chapters and 1 volume to the total count.

Tags: Iyashikei , Calligraphy , Found Family , Rural , Family Life , Coastal , Rehabilitation , Work , Male Protagonist , Food , Teacher , Fishing , Tomboy , Cars , Shounen , Agriculture , Crossdressing , Cycling

Kotonoba Drive

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Slice of Life , Supernatural

The story centres on Suu-chan, a girl who works part-time at a pasta restaurant named "Lamp." She witnesses mysterious events while riding her moped in the night, such as the past of a person or place. She can only experience these visions five minutes at a time.

Tags: Iyashikei , Episodic , Work , Seinen , Rural , Outdoor Activities , Ghost , Female Protagonist , Motorcycles , Photography , Cars

Kaijuu no Kodomo

Also known as Children of the Sea.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Supernatural

When Ruka was younger, she saw a ghost in the water at the aquarium where her dad works. Now she feels drawn toward the aquarium and the two mysterious boys she meets there, Umi and Sora. They were raised by dugongs and hear the same strange calls from the sea as she does.

Ruka's dad and the other adults who work at the aquarium are only distantly aware of what the children are experiencing as they get caught up in the mystery of the worldwide disappearance of the oceans' fish.



Tags: Philosophy , Mythology , Environmental , Seinen , Swimming , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Astronomy , Cosmic Horror , Animals , POV , Coastal , Cannibalism , Kaiju , Male Protagonist , Scuba Diving , Amnesia , Monster Boy , Urban , Educational , Ships , Body Horror , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Heterosexual , Work , Nudity