Manga like Life

Sachi-iro no One Room

Also known as One Room of Happiness.

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

That day, she was abducted. But to her, that abduction was a ray of hope -- the beginning of a new life. The girl promises to marry her abductor, and the abductor offers plenty of "happiness." This is the story of an abductor and his victim... How could it be so warm?
Note: Chapter count includes one bonus chapter.

Tags: Denpa , Rehabilitation , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Bullying , Crime , Philosophy , Suicide , Detective , Found Family , Yandere , Age Gap , Homeless , Heterosexual , Delinquents , Coastal , Time Skip , Primarily Adult Cast , Crossdressing

Vitamin

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

High school student Sawako is caught in a compromising situation. As a result, the other students in her school bully and ostracize her to the point she looks to suicide and drops out of school. She starts drawing manga and the hobby becomes her "vitamin."



Tags: Bullying , School , Coming of Age , Drawing , Female Protagonist , Shoujo , Nudity ,

Aku no Hana

Also known as The Flowers of Evil.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Romance

The story opens as middle school student Takao Kasuga receives an F on a math test. But he doesn't even seem to notice because he's too engrossed in surreptitiously reading Beaudelaire's The Flowers of Evil. And the day goes downhill from there. In a moment of weakness, he finds and takes home the gym clothes belonging to sweet, pretty Nanako Saeki on whom he has a major crush. Unfortunately for Takao, there's a witness to the theft: Nakamura, who has a huge chip on her shoulder and a sadistic streak.

As the saga unfolds, we see Takao struggling to decide whether to confess or cover up his misdeeds at the same time that he tries to win over the girl of his dreams, and avoid the blackmail attempts of Nakamura, his new ”BFF.”

Smart, funny, and emotionally engaging, The Flowers of Evil introduces a character who's not a hero, but just an ordinary teenager in search of true love and real friendship.



Note: Includes 1 extra chapter.

Tags: Coming of Age , Psychosexual , Philosophy , Denpa , Love Triangle , School , Rehabilitation , Classic Literature , Tragedy , Time Skip , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Sadism , Bullying , Suicide , Female Protagonist , Writing , Rural , Urban , Heterosexual , Blackmail , Nudity , Crossdressing

My Broken Mariko

Also known as My Broken Mariko.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

Tomoyo Shiino has stood by her friend Mariko through years of abuse, abandonment, and depression. However horrific her circumstances, their friendship has been the one reassuring constant in Mariko's life-and Tomoyo's too. That is, until Tomoyo is utterly blindsided by news of Mariko's death. In life, Tomoyo felt powerless to help her best friend out of the darkness that ultimately drove her over the edge. Now, Tomoyo is determined to liberate Mariko's ashes for one final journey together... to set free her dear, broken Mariko.



Notes:
Includes the one-shot "YISKA".
includes the extra "Home Sweet Home!".

Tags: Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Suicide , Yuri , Josei , Primarily Adult Cast , Coming of Age , Primarily Female Cast , Philosophy , Rehabilitation , LGBTQ+ Themes

Onani Master Kurosawa

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Romance

Kakeru Kurosawa is an asocial junior high school student. He rarely associates with his classmates, and he looks down on them. But this behavior is topped off by a certain bad habit, his closely guarded secret: every day after school, he sneaks in to the rarely used girls' toilet on the 3rd floor and masturbates in a stall. Kakeru's shadowy routine remains undisturbed until one day, when a diminutive girl from his class, Aya Kitahara, almost discovers him. Their meeting begins a coming-of-age story dealing with blackmail, bullying, revenge, heartbreak, and ultimately, redemption.



Note: Includes a side story.

Tags: Coming of Age , Masturbation , Bullying , Male Protagonist , School , Revenge , Primarily Teen Cast , Anti-Hero , Philosophy , Tragedy , Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Delinquents , Tsundere ,

Satougashi no Dangan wa Uchinukenai: A Lollypop or A Bullet

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Thriller

Yamada Nagisa is a bored teenager who finds everyday life extremely unappealing: thus her plans to join a military academy as soon she graduates. On the last term of middle school, a strange girl named Mokuzu Umino, who claims to be a mermaid, transfers into Nagisa's class and, much to her bewilderment, begins to follow her around incessantly.

An annoyed and discomfited Nagisa initially strives to avoid these encounters, but then she begins to catch glimpses of the pain...

Tags: Tragedy , Female Protagonist , School , Primarily Child Cast , Bullying , Hikikomori , Shounen , Rural , Disability , Yuri , LGBTQ+ Themes , Class Struggle

Oboreru Knife

Also known as Drowning Love.

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

"I don't know what this feeling is … I don't know what I should do now … all I know is, I want him." They fight one another, they chase after one another, they capture one another—a turbulent tale of preteens on the brink of self-destruction, masterfully brought to life by George Asakura!

Tags: Shoujo , Gods , Heterosexual , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Psychosexual , Rural , Tragedy , Mythology , Fashion , School , Photography , Love Triangle , Crime , Delinquents , Acting , Gangs , Coastal , Suicide

Peach Girl

Also known as Peach Girl.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

It's not easy being beautiful. The envy, the jealousy, the vicious rumors spread by your best friend. That's life for young Momo. While everyone thinks that Momo is a wild party girl, the reality is that she is shy and lonely. Can Momo confess her love to her classmate, Toji, or will her best friend Sae steal him away. It's a bittersweet drama of growing up and fitting in that will charm readers everywhere.



Volumes 1-8: Peach Girl; Peach Girl Authentic (2nd English Edition)
Volumes 9-18: Peach Girl - Change of Heart



Tags: Shoujo , Love Triangle , Bullying , Tanned Skin , School , Swimming , Revenge , Heterosexual , Female Protagonist

Fruits Basket

Also known as Fruits Basket.

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

After a family tragedy turns her life upside down, plucky high schooler Tohru Honda takes matters into her own hands and moves out...into a tent! Unfortunately for her, she pitches her new home on private land belonging to the mysterious Sohma clan, and it isn't long before the owners discover her secret. But, as Tohru quickly finds out when the family offers to take her in, the Sohmas have a secret of their own--when touched by the opposite sex, they turn into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac!



Note: Volume 9 includes the bonus chapter "Rain Shelter of Terror".

Tags: Animals , Shoujo , Mythology , Ensemble Cast , Tragedy , Philosophy , Shapeshifting , Reincarnation , Rehabilitation , Heterosexual , School , Female Protagonist , Found Family , Urban Fantasy , Family Life , Tsundere , Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Age Gap , Disability , Unrequited Love , Estranged Family , Youkai , Primarily Male Cast , Love Triangle , Orphan , Crossdressing , Memory Manipulation , Incest , Curses , Henshin , Delinquents , Revenge , Dissociative Identities , Teacher , Marriage , Cohabitation , Transgender

Mondaiteiki Sakuhinshuu

Also known as Confidential Confessions.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Romance

Confidential Confessions is a shocking new manga series that deals with many of the hard-hitting issues that teens face today. Using emotionally moving story lines and multi-dimensional characters, each groundbreaking volume tackles such topics as teen prostitution, rape, HIV, stalkers, suicide, and sexual harassment.



Tags: School , Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Anthology , Drugs , Primarily Female Cast , Prostitution , Coming of Age , Suicide , Bullying , Yuri , Nudity , Teacher