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.



Notes:
Won the 50th Shogakukan Manga Award for shoujo manga in 2005 and was adapted into a movie in 2008.
Includes six bonus chapters.

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

Kimi ni Aetara Nante Iou

Also known as What Will I Say When I Meet You?.

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

Kiri and her husband, both in their 30s, have been happily married for several years. They don't have any children yet, and Kiri knows that at her age they'll need to start trying soon if they ever want to. Yet she can't seem to take that first step, knowing that once she makes a decision, she won't be able to turn back. While Kiri agonizes, feeling more drained with every pregnancy announcement she hears, her husband seems awfully detached and casual about the whole thing...? In a sudden rush of motivation, Kiri takes the plunge and manages to get pregnant, only to face a world of new, unfamiliar challenges as a first-time mom-to-be.

This story of one woman's journey into motherhood is for the women also struggling to decide, for those already expecting, for long-time mothers reminiscing about their own pregnancies, and of course for the men in all their lives. It's a story anyone and everyone can enjoy.



Tags: Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Pregnancy , Josei , Family Life , Marriage , Educational , Primarily Female Cast , Autobiographical

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

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 , Pregnancy , Seinen , Coming of Age , School , Family Life

Kamisama no Orgel

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

Yumi is a college sophomore. She's going out with Kouta, who's in her same circle. Just when she's been taken in by Kouta's boyish manner... she gets pregnant. What will become of Yumi and Kouta, who worry that they can't have this child...?

Note: Includes the one-shot "Pocket Café (ポケットカフェ)".

Tags: Shoujo , Pregnancy , Heterosexual , College , Marriage , Primarily Adult Cast , Family Life

Futsuu no Onnanoko

Status: Releasing
Genres: Slice of Life

"Burn it into your memory, our first and last baby."

Somewhere, on a certain day, a baby girl was born to a certain couple. This is the story of the child's life, named Ann.



Tags: Josei , School , Parenthood , Time Skip , Family Life

Kono Setsugen de Kimi ga Zutto Waratteirareru You ni

Also known as Snow Angel.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

Muku Shiroshika’s happy and carefree childhood comes to an abrupt end after her father’s tragic death. In the ten years since, she’s worked a thankless job as a caregiver for her dementia-suffering grandfather. Between taking care of her family, searching for a job, and enduring her grandmother’s constant criticism, Muku finds herself drowning. She’s desperate to escape, but with nowhere to go, Muku loses hope. That is, until her childhood friend Yuto appears on her doorstep one snowy day and inspires her to live for herself.



Note: Includes three extra chapters.

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

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 , Suicide , Seinen , Writing , Tragedy

Haha Naru Umi

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

Tags: Pregnancy , Primarily Teen Cast , Yuri , Female Protagonist , School , LGBTQ+ Themes