Manga like Kantai Collection: KanColle Miiro no Alto Sax

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

Solanin

Also known as Solanin.

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

College graduates struggle to cope with the real world. Music offers refuge in this modern manga with an American attitude. Meiko Inoue is a recent college grad working as an office lady in a job she hates. Her boyfriend Shigeo is permanently crashing at her apartment because his job as a freelance illustrator doesn't pay enough for rent. And her parents in the country keep sending her boxes of veggies that just rot in her fridge. Straddling the line between her years as a student and the rest of her life, Meiko struggles with the feeling that she's just not cut out to be a part of the real world.



Notes:
- The chapter count contains an epilogue published in October 2017 as part of the new Japanese volumes edition release.
- It was nominated for the 2009 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Japan.
- It was nominated for the 2009 Harvey Award for Best American Edition of Foreign Material.

Tags: Coming of Age , Band , Seinen , Tragedy , Heterosexual , Found Family , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Family Life , College , Urban , Rock Music , Office Lady , Nudity

Given

Also known as Given.

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

Ritsuka Uenoyama is bored with it all—with school, with his basketball club, and even with his one true passion: playing guitar. That is, until the day he finds his favorite hidden napping spot occupied by a strange boy cradling a broken-stringed guitar. At first, Uenoyama is nonplussed by Mafuyu Sato and his slightly odd behavior, but when, on a whim, he asks Mafuyu to sing, the power of that song pierces him to the core.



Tags: Boys' Love , Band , Rehabilitation , LGBTQ+ Themes , Musical Theater , Primarily Male Cast , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Unrequited Love , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Bisexual , School , Suicide , Urban , Love Triangle , Kuudere , Tsundere

BECK

Also known as BECK.

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

For the first 14 years of his life, Yukio Tanaka has been one heck of a boring guy. He has no hobbies, a weak taste in music, and only a small vestige of a personality. He yearns for an exciting life, but his shy, and somewhat neurotic personality make him his own worst enemy. Little does he know that his life will be forever changed when he meets Ryusuke Minami, a wild and unpredictable 16 year-old fresh from America, who happens to be in a rock-and-roll band named after his Frankenstein-like patched dog—Beck.



Tags: Band , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Rock Music , Primarily Male Cast , Shounen , Foreign , Heterosexual , Female Protagonist , Crime , Love Triangle , Bullying , Work , School , Mafia , Swimming , Guns , Martial Arts

Sasayaku You ni Koi wo Utau

Also known as Whisper Me a Love Song.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance

Bubbly, energetic first-year high school student Himari falls head over heels for her senpai Yori after hearing her band perform on the first day of school. Himari tells Yori she just loves her, and to Himari's surprise, Yori says she loves Himari back! But when Himari realizes that she and her senpai are feeling two different kinds of love, she begins to ask herself what "love" really means...



Notes:
- Eighteenth place of Tsugimanga 2020 Award in the Manga Category
- First place in Yuri Navi’s best Yuri Manga of 2020

Tags: Yuri , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Band , LGBTQ+ Themes , School Club , School , Love Triangle , Primarily Teen Cast , Unrequited Love , Bisexual , Tragedy , Incest

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

Medaka Box

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

Kurokami Medaka, a first year, is elected as Student Council President, and the first thing she does is establish a suggestion box, later dubbed by students the "Medaka Box". Medaka encourages students to submit any problem to the box without hesitation and promises to take on any issue from anyone.

Since Medaka won the Student Council elections with a staggering 98% of the vote, she ends up as the Council's only member. She asks her childhood friend, Hitoyoshi Zenkichi, for help and he grudgingly agrees, becoming the Student Council's lowest ranking member. Soon Medaka recruits two more people to the Student Council, the former judo club member Akune Kouki as secretary and the current swim club member Kikaijima Mogana, on loan for 300 yen a day, as treasurer.

Now the Student Council members spend their days solving the problems submitted through the Medaka Box, whether they be hooligans in clubs where they don't belong, girls who need help writing love letters or people who've lost their pets, gradually earning the respect and admiration of the entire school.

Included chapters:
Volume 15 contains the gaiden "Good Loser Kumagawa" (グッドルーザー球磨川); Jump NEXT (2011/12/26)
Volume 22 contains the gaiden "Good Loser Kumagawa Final" (完結編).

Tags: Large Breasts , School , Super Power , Coming of Age , Shounen , Meta , Anti-Hero , Parody , Surreal Comedy , Female Protagonist , Afterlife , Martial Arts , Ensemble Cast , Classic Literature , Time Skip , Chuunibyou , Male Protagonist , Nudity , Primarily Teen Cast , Swordplay , Swimming , Yandere , Nekomimi , Assassins , Card Battle , Idol , Cyborg , Judo , Robots , Guns , Band , LGBTQ+ Themes , Incest

Kono Oto Tomare!

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance

Since the graduation of the senior members of the club, Takezou ends up being the sole member of the "Koto" (traditional Japanese string instrument) club. Now that the new school year has begun, Takezou will have to seek out new members into the club, or the club will become terminated. Out of nowhere, a new member barges into the near-abandoned club room, demanding to join the club. How will Takezou be able to keep his club alive and deal with this rascal of a new member?

Tags: School Club , School , Band , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Shounen , Bullying , Heterosexual , Delinquents , Tragedy , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Estranged Family , Found Family , Teacher , Transgender , Nudity , Maids

Tokidoki

Also known as Toki Doki.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance

A heart can only beat so many times in a lifetime. Kokuhaku disease, a rare condition that weakens the heart, leaves the victim with less heartbeats and a shorter lifespan than normal. With the right device, the amount of heartbeats remaining can be measured. When Hato Iijima accidentally walks in on Hatsu Takagi changing her clothes, he sees this device attached to her chest. Hatsu has resigned herself to an uneventful and isolated life to avoid elevating her heart rate. However, she expresses her true desire—to freely and wholeheartedly experience every second she has left. Recognizing her wish, Hato swears to help her enjoy life to the fullest and make her heart beat like crazy.

Tags: Disability , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , School , Male Protagonist , School Club , Band , Shounen , Rock Music

Doukyuusei

Also known as Classmates.

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

Hikaru always thought his classmate Rihito was kind of a snob, until he stumbles across Rihito secretly practicing a song in an empty classroom. Hikaru agrees to become Rihito’s music tutor, and with each lesson the two boys grow closer. But when Hikaru realizes that he’s fallen in love with Rihito, will they stay classmates or become something more?



Tags: Coming of Age , School , Primarily Male Cast , Boys' Love , LGBTQ+ Themes , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Band

Bocchi the Rock!

Also known as Bocchi the Rock!.

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

Hitori Gotoh just wants to be popular, but the thought of interacting with her classmates makes her fall to pieces. Her solution-become a rock legend so cool that people approach her instead! However, while spending all of middle school in her closet shredding on the guitar may have earned her anonymous internet fame, it did nothing for her social skills. Now a high schooler, Hitori’s feeling ready to shrivel up and die-when she gets a sudden request to fill in for a band! It’s like her wish came true-but does this most anxious of introverts have what it takes to perform in front of a live audience?!



Note: Includes three extra chapters.

Tags: Band , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , 4-koma , Primarily Teen Cast , Surreal Comedy , Slapstick , Hikikomori , Rock Music , LGBTQ+ Themes , Yuri , Seinen , Tsundere

Tsukiatte Agete mo Ii ka na

Also known as How Do We Relationship?.

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

Shy Miwa has always dreamed of finding love, but living in small-town Japan made finding the right match difficult—especially since she likes girls! Even going away to college didn’t seem to help, until one day her outgoing classmate Saeko suggests they might as well start dating each other since it’s not like either of them has other options.

At first it seems like things won't work out as their personalities clash and misunderstandings abound. But when their casual friendship starts to become something more, Miwa begins to wonder—can a pragmatic proposal lead to true love?



Note: This series is a reimagining of tmfly’s earlier OC doujinshi of the same name.

Tags: Coming of Age , Yuri , LGBTQ+ Themes , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , College , Nudity , Unrequited Love , Psychosexual , Josei , Love Triangle , Band , School Club , Rehabilitation

Fuuka

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

New meetings always come suddenly! The protagonist, Yuu Haruna, moves into a new town where he meets a somewhat strange girl who doesn't have a cell phone. The girl, Fuuka, seems to have a strange allure that draws people to her, very much like a summer breeze. Looks like Yuu has been caught up in one wild love story!



Note: Chapter count includes 195 regular chapters and 9 extras.

Tags: Band , Tragedy , Musical Theater , Age Gap , Agriculture , Shounen , Coming of Age , School , Bisexual

BLUE GIANT

Also known as Blue Giant.

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

Dai lived a normal high school life in Sendai: a city of hot summer days and rainy nights. Between basketball, part time jobs, and an uncertain future, something was missing. And that thing was music. With his days in senior year running out, Dai swears a heartfelt vow: “I’m gonna be the best jazz player in the world.”

But what do you need to be the best? Talent? Effort? A lucky break? Or maybe just a deep, pure love for music, and too much stubbornness to know when to quit.



Notes: Nominated to the 22nd Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.

Tags: Seinen , Band , Male Protagonist , Jazz Music , Coming of Age , Bar , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Tragedy , Ensemble Cast

Orange Marmalade

Also known as ORANGE MARMALADE.

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

Set at a time when Vampires are ubiquitous in society, but forced to stay hidden and treated as outcasts, this story tells the tale of one particular female vampire who has always had difficulties due to her nature. Feared and hated and having been driven away from several neighbourhoods, she is eager to settle down in her current city, but is disillusioned with the concepts of friendship and relationships among humans. She is fine being alone, until she is stirred by the smell of one particular man and unknowingly nips his neck. What is she to do now that the surprised man actually begins to fall for her?

Tags: School , Vampire , Female Protagonist , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Tragedy , Heterosexual , Kuudere , Full Color , Chibi , Bullying , Love Triangle , Band , Tsundere , Suicide , Basketball

Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou

Also known as Kare Kano: His and Her Circumstances.

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

Yukino Miyazawa has it all - perfect grades, looks, the admiration of her peers. She's the #1 student at her school... at least she was until he showed up. The new boy, Soichiro Arima, one-ups her in every department. And the worst thing about it is that he's sincere! With her ego in jeopardy, Yukino will do whatever it takes to regain the spotlight, but falling in love was never part of it.



Included one-shots:
Volume 1: Tora to Chameleon: Yakusoku wa Isshuukan (The Tiger and the Chameleon: A Promise for One Week)
Volume 4: Ashita Mata Mori de Aou ne (Meet Me Again Tomorrow in the Forest)
Volume 8: Abareru Ousama (The Raging King)

Note: Includes 4 extra chapters from volumes 2, 10, 11, and 12.

Tags: Coming of Age , School , Ensemble Cast , Female Protagonist , Shoujo , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Age Gap , Tragedy , Primarily Teen Cast , Yandere , Time Skip , Acting , Amnesia , Band , Tanned Skin , Tomboy , Urban , Tsundere

SHIORI EXPERIENCE: Jimi na Watashi to Hen na Ojisan

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Music

Shiori was once a guitarist in a light music club in high school, but her first live performance was dashed when her brother ran away from home with a lot of debt to become a musician in Tokyo.

A decade later, Shiori is now a high school teacher, leading a boring, uneventful life and paying off the debt... till she runs into the ghost of none other than a famous guitarist Jim-you-know-who.

A story of a 27-year-old woman on her way to a music legend begins here.

Tags: Band , Ghost , School Club , Seinen , Coming of Age , Teacher , Female Protagonist , Tomboy , Anachronism , Rock Music , Delinquents , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast

K-On!

Also known as K-On!.

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

When their high school's pop-music club is about to be disbanded due to lack of interest, four girls step up to fill the membership quota. Unfortunately, lead guitarist Yui Hirasawa has never played an instrument in her life. Ever. And although she likes the idea of being in a band, standing in front of the mirror posing with her guitar is a lot easier than actually playing it. It's gonna be a while before this motley crew is rocking out, but with their spunk and determination cranked to 11, anything is possible!



Tags: Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , School Club , 4-koma , Primarily Female Cast , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Band , Food , Female Protagonist , Seinen , Chibi , Tsundere , Tomboy , Tanned Skin

Sakamichi no Apollon

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

Nishimi Kaoru has moved from city to city and school to school because of his father’s job. So the first day at his new school was just routine for him. Being intellectual and the new transfer student, he has always been seen as an outcast and all Kaoru had to do was bear it until the next time he moved. But things were slightly different this time. First, he started to get close to the class president, Mukae Ritsuko, and, secondly, unlikely as it seemed, grew closer to Kawabuchi Sentaro. Sentaro was infamous for getting into fights, skipping class and was an overall bad boy. Strangely enough, the three of them find common ground in music, namely jazz, and Kaoru finds himself actually enjoying the new town.

Notes:
Includes 8 extra chapters.
Won the 57th Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga.

Tags: Band , Josei , Historical , Heterosexual , Coming of Age , Love Triangle , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Jazz Music , Rural , Age Gap , Time Skip , School , Tragedy , Religion

Museru Kurai no Ai wo Ageru

Also known as Choking on Love.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance

Opposites attract in this shojo romance manga about a career-focused artist and the bad-boy guitarist who turns her world upside down!

Hibari, a single-minded art student with dreams of becoming a graphic designer, feels insecure about being “ordinary” compared to her peers. Gaku, a free-spirited guitarist from the same university, turns her world upside down after a chaotic encounter at a ramen shop. Hibari wants nothing more than to escape the disorder Gaku brings to her perfectly planned life. But as he slowly breaks down her walls, Hibari starts to realize that a little chaos might be just what she needs.



Tags: Shoujo , College , Female Protagonist , Band , Heterosexual , Drawing , Male Protagonist , Love Triangle