Manga like Favela no Mangaka

Batuque

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sports

The story of a middle school girl trying to find herself in the confusion of adolescence.

Skateboard-loving Ichiri Sanjou, nicknamed "Icchi," may look like a normal energetic kid, but whenever she sees the full moon, she is hit with a wave of emotion she cannot comprehend.

The series revolves around her learning the Afro-Brazilian martial art of Capoeira.

Tags: Martial Arts , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Seinen , Mafia , Revenge , Crime , Adoption , Ghost , Historical

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

Kore Kaite Shine

Also known as Draw This, Then Die!.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Ai Yasumi, a first-year high schooler living on the remote island of Izu Ōshima, has one obsession: manga. When she discovers that her long-idolized but reclusive favorite manga creator, Yasuno-sensei, will make a rare appearance at Comitia, Ai doesn’t hesitate—she has to meet her hero. But that single decision sets off a chain of encounters that will shatter her assumptions about art, genius, and what it truly means to create.



Tags: Otaku Culture , Shounen , Drawing , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , School , Rural , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Coastal , Writing

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 , School , LGBTQ+ Themes , School Club , Tragedy , Transgender , Bisexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Crossdressing , Suicide , Gender Bending , Nudity , Tomboy

Bakuman.

Also known as Bakuman。.

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

Average student Moritaka Mashiro enjoys drawing for fun. When his classmate and aspiring writer Akito Takagi discovers his talent, he begs Moritaka to team up with him as a manga-creating duo. But what exactly does it take to make it in the manga-publishing world?



Tags: Drawing , Work , Meta , Shounen , Writing , Educational , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Otaku Culture , Tomboy , School , Tragedy

Teppuu

Also known as Teppu.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sports

It's not easy being good at everything. First-year high school student Natsuo Ishido has always been a gifted athlete, and her ability to easily master every sport has not only bought her a life of boredom, but the resentment of everyone else who has had to work hard for their achievements. Not that Natsuo cares what anyone else thinks. All she longs for is a break from the monotony...for a real challenge worthy of pouring all her efforts into. A rival—an equal—worth beating down, crushing, and demoralizing… That all seems like a pipe dream until a pair of annoyingly peppy transfer students arrive from Brazil and start up a brand-new club that teases the challenge she craves—Mixed Martial Arts.



Tags: Martial Arts , Female Protagonist , Tomboy , Primarily Female Cast , Seinen , Wrestling , Anti-Hero , School Club , School , Tanned Skin , Yuri

Asper Kanojo

Also known as That's My Atypical Girl.

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

Yokoi is a manga artist who spends his nights delivering newspapers just to make rent, since his original works just don’t seem to sell. Suddenly, one day he gets a visit from Saito-san, a self-proclaimed fan of Yokoi’s work who made the long journey to meet him. Yokoi quickly realizes that the things Saito-san sees, feels, and thinks about are different from most people… These two struggle together to find a place to belong in this unique slice-of-life!



Note: Original serialization ran for 123 chapters. These were then combined to make up 100 chapters in the volume releases.

Tags: Primarily Adult Cast , Rehabilitation , Disability , Bullying , Suicide , Heterosexual , Seinen , Philosophy , Psychosexual , Drawing , Male Protagonist , Writing , Estranged Family , Female Protagonist , Language Barrier , Tragedy

Ashita no Joe

Also known as Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow.

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

A young drifter named Joe Yabuki wanders through the slums of Tokyo, but when the local ruffians try to give him a hard time he teaches them a rough lesson with his fists. The spectacle sparks a gleam in the eye of an old drunk who happens to be watching—Danpei Tange, a failed boxer and former coach who sees something special in the boy. He pleads with Joe to train with him off, but the cocky young fighter brushes him. Later, though, when Joe is arrested and put in a juvenile detention facility, he realizes that he’s going to need to hone his raw fighting skills if he wants to survive. Thus is born a partnership that might just take Joe all the way to the top…



Tags: Tragedy , Boxing , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Rehabilitation , Urban , Orphan , Class Struggle , Anti-Hero , Disability , Athletics , Shounen , Primarily Male Cast , Delinquents , Prison , Foreign , Historical , War , Yakuza