Manga like MARS

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 , Age Gap , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Band , Tanned Skin , Tomboy , Tragedy , Primarily Teen Cast , Urban , Tsundere , Yandere , Time Skip , Acting , Amnesia

Paradise Kiss

Also known as Paradise Kiss.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

Yukari wants nothing more than to make her parents happy by studying hard and getting into a good college. One afternoon, however, she is kidnapped by a group of self-styled fashionistas calling themselves "Paradise Kiss." Yukari suddenly finds herself flung into the roller-coaster life of the fashion world, guided by George, art-snob extraordinaire. In a glamorous makeover of body, mind and soul, she is turned from a hapless bookworm into her friends 22 own exclusive clothing model.



Tags: Josei , Coming of Age , Fashion , Female Protagonist , School , Heterosexual , LGBTQ+ Themes , Meta , Bisexual , Ensemble Cast , Love Triangle , Transgender , Time Skip , Unrequited Love , Nudity , Boys' Love

NANA

Also known as Nana.

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

Banana Fish

Also known as Banana Fish.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Psychological , Thriller

Nature made Ash Lynx beautiful; nurture made him a cold ruthless killer. A runaway brought up as the adopted heir and sex toy of "Papa" Dino Golzine, Ash, now at the rebellious age of seventeen, forsakes the kingdom held out by the devil who raised him. But the hideous secret that drove Ash's older brother mad in Vietnam has suddenly fallen into Papa's insatiably ambitious hands--and it's exactly the wrong time for Eiji Okamura, a pure-hearted young photographer from Japan, to make Ash Lynx's acquaintance...



Tags: Mafia , Tragedy , Gangs , Conspiracy , Noir , Drugs , Primarily Male Cast , Crime , Revenge , Criminal Organization , Ensemble Cast , Anti-Hero , Fugitive , Coming of Age , Shoujo , Delinquents , Urban , Foreign , Male Protagonist , Politics , Guns , Primarily Adult Cast , Adoption , Orphan , Tanned Skin , Assassins , LGBTQ+ Themes , Boys' Love , Police , Cars , Bisexual , Photography , Classic Literature , Heterosexual , Time Skip , Prison

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

Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai Suru

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

Jeremy, a sensitive but outgoing 15 year old, is delighted to hear the news of his neurotic and excitable mother's remarriage to a wealthy British man. However, much to his horror, his sweet-talking new step-father Greg, soon begins to exhibit a disturbing trait...he is a sadistic pedophile and loses no time in making Jeremy his target. Zankoku na Kami ga Shihaisuru portrays the tale of two stepbrothers - Jeremy and Ian - as they each pursue their separate paths towards redemption.

Tags: Foreign , Tragedy , Revenge , Family Life , Josei , Suicide , Inseki , Philosophy , Urban , Denpa , Body Horror , Torture , Blackmail , Male Protagonist , Drugs , LGBTQ+ Themes , Nudity , Boys' Love , School , Detective , Marriage , Boarding School , Incest , Rehabilitation , Bisexual

Tenshi Nanka Janai

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

In a rainy spring day, first year high schooler Midori Saezima saw a tall, handsome fellow student took care of a stray kitten. Without knowing the boy's name, she fell in love with him at the first sight. Due to sickness, Midori returned to school three days after summer vacation -- only to find out that she was "volunteered" as a candidate for student council. After a series of embarrassing accidents, both she and the mysterious boy she had a crush on, Akira Sudo, were elected as members of the student council. Being the first student council of this newly established high school, they are about to create "new traditions" for their school and a bittersweet love story for themselves...



Tags: School , Shoujo , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , School Club , Love Triangle , Coming of Age , Motorcycles

CIPHER

Also known as Cipher.

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

Anise can't believe her luck when she finds herself in the same high school as famous former child star Siva. Although the cool and handsome Siva seems unapproachable, Anise manages to become his friend. But her happiness turns to surprise when she discovers Siva's secret: for years, he's been switching identities with his twin brother, Cipher!


Tags: Shoujo , Twins , Foreign , Acting , Drugs

Cat Street

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

The story centers around Keito Aoyama, a former famous child actor. Due to a childhood incident, she retired from her career early and withdrew from normal society. Now 16, she passes her days in boredom and without purpose. But one day she runs into a stranger who takes her to El Liston--a free school for high school students like herself, who don't have a place where they belong. Though hesitant at first, Keito decides to enter El Liston and subsequently, she begins a new stage in her life. With the help of her only remaining childhood friend, Taiyou, and her new classmates Rei, Momiji, and Kouichi, Keito slowly finds the courage to open up to others and to accept their support. Will Keito return to acting? Will she find true friends? Love?

Tags: Shoujo , Hikikomori , School , Bullying , Coming of Age , Heterosexual , Female Protagonist , Acting , Rehabilitation , Love Triangle , Software Development , Time Skip

Tokyo Crazy Paradise

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

Life in the year 2020 in Tokyo is tough, as crime rates are high, and crimes against women rank second only to murders. To prevent their daughter from being exposed to these crimes, Tsukasa's parents raised her to be a male. Tsukasa aspires to be a policeman fighting against the yakuza, just like her parents. However, her parents died in the line of work, leaving behind Tsukasa and her 3 brothers to fend for themselves. Tsukasa must thus work as a bodyguard for her classmate, Ryuji, who happens to be the leader of the most powerful yakuza group in Tokyo, to pay off the family's debts.



Note: Includes an epilogue chapter.

Tags: Shoujo , Yakuza , Crossdressing , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Crime , Gender Bending , Guns , Love Triangle , Tsundere , Age Gap , Slapstick , Tomboy , Dystopian , Tragedy , Body Swapping , Cyborg , Drugs , Nudity , Police , Revenge , Urban