Manga like Genkaku Picasso

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

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 , Teacher , Autobiographical , Josei , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Non-fiction , College , Time Skip , Meta , Work , Writing , Primarily Adult Cast , Rural , Swordplay , Philosophy , Educational , Mopeds

Muchuu sa, Kimi ni.

Also known as Captivated, By You.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Hayashi’s frank, guileless demeanor quietly draws the attention of classmates and strangers as he counts all the stairs in school, photographs street signs, and dries sweet potatoes on the classroom balcony. In a world shaped by conformity, Hayashi is refreshingly and unapologetically true to himself. Conversely, Nikaidou has worked very hard to perfect a gloomy, dour façade that keeps his classmates far, far away. While much of the school regards Nikaidou as a bad omen, one student catches a glimpse behind the mask and—undeterred by rumors of bad luck and supernatural powers—begins to pick away Nikaidou’s carefully crafted persona…



Note: Winner of the Short Work Prize category of the 24th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (2020).

Tags: Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , School , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Slapstick , Seinen , Boys' Love , Bullying , Drawing , LGBTQ+ Themes , Primarily Child Cast , Ojou-sama

Homunculus

Also known as Homunculus.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Nakoshi Susumu, age 34, is living out of his car. Between spending his days with the homeless and his nights in his vehicle, he has little to his name–but not so little that he’ll agree to be the subject of a scientific experiment. An unnerving medical student is stalking him and offering to pay Nakoshi a significant sum to test trepanation: the ability to draw out a sixth sense by drilling into the skull. Nakoshi refuses. When Nakoshi’s beloved car is towed, though, he finally agrees to cash and the operating table. At first, the experiment seems to bear no fruit, and Nakoshi’s life is unchanged. That is, until Nakoshi realizes his vision has warped in his left eye…showing him the twisted homunculus inside every human.



Tags: Seinen , Philosophy , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Amnesia , Primarily Adult Cast , Denpa , Anti-Hero , Gore , Homeless , Body Horror , Psychosexual , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes , Masturbation , Crossdressing , Heterosexual , Economics , Boys' Love

Sen wa, Boku wo Egaku

Also known as The Lines that Define Me.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Sosuke Aoyama is a college student adrift on his own...until a chance meeting with suibokuga artist Kozan Shinoda brings him into the world of India-ink painting. But though he finds connection with the art and Shinoda himself, there's more to both the art world and Shinoda's family than Sosuke realizes...



Tags: Shounen , Drawing , Primarily Adult Cast , Rehabilitation , Calligraphy , College

ES: Eternal Sabbath

Also known as ES: Eternal Sabbath.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Ryousuke Akiba calls himself ES, a code name taken from a mysterious scientific experiment. Ryousuke will live to be at least two centuries old and possesses strange mental powers: He can enter people’s minds, discover their darkest secrets, even rearrange their memories so that complete strangers will treat him like family. Ryousuke acts not out of malice but for survival–wandering Tokyo for reasons known only to him. No one recognizes him for what he is . . . until Dr. Mine Kujyou, a determined researcher, meets someone who challenges everything she knows about science–ES, possessor of the Eternal Sabbath gene. But is he the only one?



Tags: Seinen , Super Power , Male Protagonist , Clone , Primarily Adult Cast , Suicide , Urban Fantasy , Nudity

Usotoki Rhetoric

Also known as Usotoki Rhetoric.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Supernatural , Thriller

Sixteen-year-old Kanoko Urabe knows that someone is lying if she can hear the strange, echoing sound of clanging metal in their voice. As a young and overly honest child, she would point out the lies of other villagers, and was ostracized as a result. She is eventually forced to leave her hometown and tries to find a place for herself in the city of Tsukumoya in 1920s Japan.

In a chance encounter, Kanoko meets Souma Iwai, a gifted but penniless detective. After she is forced to demonstrate her ability, he expresses appreciation for what she can do and agrees to take her in, asking the girl to be his assistant. The Iwai investigation firm soon makes a name for itself helping clients by solving cases with Souma's sharp wits and Kanoko's power. In the process, Kanoko's life is enriched by the various people she encounters in her investigations.

Tags: Shoujo , Historical , Detective , Super Power , Work , Female Protagonist , Crime , Heterosexual , Police , Episodic , Found Family , Rehabilitation , Ojou-sama , Bullying , Twins , Food , Ships , Trains , Travel , LGBTQ+ Themes

Mahou Gyoushounin Roma

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Supernatural

Roma is a mysterious girl that is on a mission to collect “human greed” through the use of various magical objects that have unique powers. When humans use these magical items to satisfy their own personal emotions, such as love, their greed level increases and Roma is able to steal their excess greed.

The people that use Roma’s objects seem to always let their greed destroy themselves, putting themselves in a worse situation than before.

Tags: Magic , Tragedy , Anti-Hero , Shounen , School , Female Protagonist

Pet

Status: Finished
Genres: Psychological , Supernatural

The story revolves around people who possess the ability to infiltrate human minds and manipulate memories. Their powers have been used in the underworld for covering up accidents, assassinations, and all manner of crimes. However, these powers not only destroy others' spirits but also corrupt the users' own hearts. They chained to one another, protecting their fragile and insecure hearts. Out of fear and contempt, others called them "pets".

Tags: Memory Manipulation , Seinen

Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Romance

Katsuragi Keima is known on the net as the god of getting the girls while in real life he’s known as otamegane and he hates all real girls. However he is approached by Elsie, a devil from hell, to help her in catching runaway spirits that hide in people. Apparently the spirits only hide in the hearts of girls and the only way to get the souls out is by making the girl fall in love so the spirit gets forced out. And he’s not allowed to fail or he will lose his head.

Tags: Female Harem , School , Video Games , Primarily Female Cast , Otaku Culture , Male Protagonist , Gods , Demons , Heterosexual , Time Manipulation , Urban Fantasy , Slapstick , Age Regression , Denpa , Shounen , Philosophy , Memory Manipulation , Anti-Hero , Amnesia , Tsundere , Kuudere , Bullying , Dissociative Identities , Love Triangle , Coming of Age , Family Life , Chibi , Crossdressing , Idol , Band , Body Swapping