Manga like Ano Ko no Kodomo

Sunadokei

Also known as Sand Chronicles.

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

After her parents get divorced, Ann Uekusa and her mother move from Tokyo to rural Shimane. Accustomed to the anonymity of city living, Ann can't get used to the almost overbearing kindness of the people in her mother's hometown. But when personal tragedy strikes, Ann discovers how much she needs that kindness.



Note: Won the 50th Shogakukan Manga Award for shoujo manga in 2005 and was adapted into a movie in 2008.

Included bonus episodes: Canary, ~Thirty Years Ago~ Summer Vacation, The Present, Time Capsule Part One, Time Capsule Part Two, Sand Chronicles: Bonus Story: Summer, Age 19.

Tags: Rural , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Shoujo , Suicide , Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Time Skip , Unrequited Love

Kono Setsugen de Kimi ga Zutto Waratteirareru You ni

Also known as Snow Angel.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

For years, Muku has cared for her family and endured her grandmother’s constant criticism. She loses hope of an escape—that is, until her childhood friend, Yuto, appears one day and inspires her to live for herself.

Tags: Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Shoujo , Heterosexual , Snowscape , Found Family , Rural

1 Litre no Namida

Also known as 1 Litre of Tears.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

The manga is based on a dramatic tragedy diary written by Aya Kito, published shortly before her death. The diary, a true story based on her own life, was originally written in first person. It is about a girl coping with her teenage life along with a degenerative disease. She keeps a diary of not only what she does but how she feels and the hardships she must endure. Initially, the diary's purpose was for Kito to chronicle impressions she had about how the disease was affecting her daily life. As the disease progressed, however, the diary became Kito's outlet for describing the intense personal struggles she underwent in coping, adapting, and ultimately trying to survive her disease. As she notes in one entry, "I write because writing is evidence that I am still alive."



Tags: Female Protagonist , Biographical , Tragedy

Bokura ga Ita

Also known as We Were There.

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

Nanami starts high school with high hopes of making lots of friends. She develops a crush on the enigmatic Yano, but he may have too many secrets for her to handle.

At that time...

...I didn't fully understand what Yano meant.



Note: Won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shoujo in 2005.

Tags: Shoujo , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Time Skip , School , Female Protagonist , Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Unrequited Love , Suicide , Achronological Order , Primarily Teen Cast

Saturn Return

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Romance

Kaji Ritsuko, an author of short stories, finds herself unable to write. On a certain day, a remnant from Ritsuko’s past reemerges. Aoi, a male friend she used to completely confide in, appears in a dream and asks her, “Your life… is that really it?”. The next morning, Ritsuko is awakened by a phone call. Aoi has committed suicide. The glimmer of a forgotten dream, the day-to-day of a modern couple, the death of someone irreplaceable…

A life of “loss” that she had always averted her eyes from begins to move…

Tags: Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Seinen , Suicide , Writing , Tragedy

Kodomo no Kodomo

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

A playful 11-year-old girl named Haruna has been friends with a quiet boy named Hiroyuki for years. After entering the fifth grade, the two meet one spring day at the park where they have always played together. However, the unexpected occurs, and Haruna later realizes after a sex education class that she has become pregnant.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Family Life , School , Pregnant , Seinen

Kodomo no Taion

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

A single father who never had any trouble with his son discovers that his son might have impregnated his girlfriend...

Heartwarming series of short stories about a father and his son. No yaoi, but there is one story about friends of the father where we can be suspicious about their relationship.

Tags: Achronological Order , Anthology , Male Protagonist , Shoujo , Time Skip , Family Life , Coming of Age , Dancing , Rehabilitation