Manga like Bakuman.

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 , Suicide , Gender Bending , Nudity , Tomboy

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 , Primarily Female Cast , Hikikomori , Shounen , Coming of Age , Work , Meta , School , Philosophy , Primarily Child Cast , Rehabilitation , Yuri

Time Paradox Ghostwriter

Also known as Time Paradox Ghostwriter.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Sci-Fi

On a cold and stormy night, I decide to give up on my dream. But lightning strikes! And now I have an issue of Shonen Jump from the future! Teppei Sasaki is a passionate rookie manga artist who dreams of getting a series in Weekly Shonen Jump. One day, he gets a copy of Jump from ten years in the future. Is it all a coincidence, or is it fate? Whatever the case, destiny is about to change... Time warps! Destinies intersected! For a tomorrow that was never meant to be! The future of Jump is here!



Note: Includes the epilogue.

Tags: Time Manipulation , Male Protagonist , Drawing , Shounen , Otaku Culture , Meta , Writing , Time Skip

Show-ha Shou-ten!

Also known as Show-ha Shoten!.

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

Reach the Top of the Comedy World, One Laugh at a Time!

Shy Azemichi Shijima has secretly been studying the art of comedy. His outgoing classmate Taiyo Higashikata has big dreams of being funny but no follow-through. When the two team up, they just might take the comedy world by storm!

Higashikata ropes Shijima into performing in a comedy duo with him at a school show. Inspired by their guaranteed success, Higashikata asks Shijima to join him in an audacious dream—to rise to the top of Japan’s comedy scene by winning major events in both stand-up and sketch comedy!



Tags: Coming of Age , Slapstick , Male Protagonist , Manzai , Shounen , Acting , Educational , School , Heterosexual

Kakukaku Shikajika

Also known as Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

High schooler Akiko has big plans to become a popular mangaka before she even graduates, but she needs to get much better at drawing if she ever wants to reach her goal. Looking for an easy fix, she signs up for an art class, thinking all her problems will soon be solved. She’s in for a surprise: her new instructor is a sword-wielding taskmaster who doesn’t care about manga one bit. But maybe this unconventional art teacher is just what she needs to realize her dreams!



Notes:
Kakukaku Shikajika is an autobiography detailing the life of author Akiko Higashimura.
The manga won the Grand Prize at the 8th Manga Taisho Award in 2015.

Tags: Drawing , Coming of Age , Otaku Culture , Autobiographical , Teacher , Josei , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Non-fiction , College , Time Skip , Meta , Work , Writing , Primarily Adult Cast , Rural , Swordplay , Philosophy , Educational , Mopeds

Tenmaku Cinema

Also known as Tenmaku Cinema.

Status: Finished
Genres: Slice of Life , Supernatural

The exciting new series from the creators of Food Wars! Extreme movie-lover Hajime Shinichi and the ghost of the mysterious genius screenwriter Takihiko Tenmaku--their meeting will provide some serious plot twists! It's ready, set, action for this coming-of-age series!



Tags: Acting , Ghost , Shounen , Male Protagonist , School Club , School , Filmmaking , Work , Educational , Urban Fantasy

Hitman

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Ecchi , Romance

Kenzaki Ryuunosuke is a new editor for Weekly Shounen Magazine, but his love for an unpopular series gets him no love with his coworkers. He meets Takanashi Tsubasa, an aspiring mangaka, and seeks to prove himself by making her the number one manga artist in Japan.

Tags: Drawing , Work , Meta , Urban , Heterosexual , Shounen , Nudity , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast

BEAT&MOTION

Also known as Beat & Motion.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance

Tatsuhiko is burned-out and grinding at a corporate job, having given up on his dreams of becoming an animator long ago. On a seemingly normal night out, he meets a wild, driven girl who bluntly inspires him to change his perspective. Will this one moment jolt him onto a new path?



Notes:
Winner of the MILLION TAG manga competition in 2021.
Includes one extra chapter.

Tags: Coming of Age , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Drawing , Heterosexual , Band , College , Urban , Gyaru , Shounen

Monochrome no Futari

Also known as Monochrome Days.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy

A reliable office worker, Hanaichi Fudo, undoubtedly had a gift for the arts but gave up on his dreams of becoming an artist to lead a normal life. One day, his senior at work, Saori Wakaba, asked Hanaichi for help in writing her manga. Will he take up the pen again?! Written by Yosuke Matsumoto, author of "The Lady Becomes an Idol", a unique new take on aspiring manga artists!

Tags: Drawing , Primarily Adult Cast , Office Lady , Work , Office , Shounen , Heterosexual , Educational , Meta

Ryuu to Chameleon

Also known as Dragon and Chameleon.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Supernatural

Garyo Hanagami is a best-selling manga artist praised as a genius of the craft. Shinobu Miyama is a bitter rookie with a knack for copying other people's art styles. When an accident causes the two to switch bodies, Miyama is more than happy to take Hanagami's place, forcing the veteran to rebuild his career from the ground up. Now, the dragon must reclaim his throne from the chameleon who replaced him!



Notes:
Thirteenth place and winner of the U-Next Prize at the 9th Next Manga Award in the Print Manga Category in 2023.
Winner of the Manga Kingdom Tottori Prize at the 53rd Japan Cartoonists Association Award in 2024.

Tags: Drawing , Body Swapping , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Shounen , Otaku Culture , Work