Manga like Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori

also known as Red River

What is Red River about?

Status: Finished

Yuri, a pretty Japanese girl, is ecstatic after passing her college entrance exam and having her first kiss with her childhood friend-turned boyfriend. However, her luck soon changes. She starts to notice that water becomes agitated whenever she goes near it. One night, hands appear out of a puddle on the street and drag her into the water! Transported to an ancient village in the Middle East, she is then captured by armed troops and taken to the Queen's palace for a human sacrifice.



Notes:
Winner of the 46th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shoujo category.
Chapter count includes 3 extra chapters

Tags: Historical , Foreign , Time Manipulation , Heterosexual , Female Protagonist , Shoujo , Isekai , Nudity , Slavery , Royal Affairs , War , Politics , Magic , Desert , Love Triangle , Tragedy
Where to read?

Here is a list of Manga similar to Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori

From Far Away

Kanata Kara

Also known as From Far Away.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Romance

On her way home from school one day, Noriko is unexpectedly plunged into a strange and extraordinary fantasy world. Her troubles compound exponentially when she is rescued and befriended by a handsome young man by the name of Izark. He may be brave and courageous, but inside Izark lurks the darkest evil imaginable. And according to an ancient prophecy, Noriko possesses the power to unleash that evil. Now, inexorably bound together, these two unlikely allies must navigate a world both wondrous and hostile.



Note:
Includes two side stories
Includes one epilogue
Includes one extra
Includes a sequel one-shot for "Onnanoko wa Yoyuu!" titled "Mata Ashita!" (また明日!)

Tags: Isekai , Shoujo , Language Barrier , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Demons , Politics , Magic
Where to read?
Fushigi Yûgi

Fushigi Yuugi

Also known as Fushigi Yûgi.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Miaka Yuuki is an ordinary junior-high student who is suddenly spirited into the world of a book, The Universe of the Four Gods. There she becomes the priestess of the god Suzaku, and is charged with finding all seven of her Celestial-Warrior protectors.



Tags: Historical , Isekai , Male Harem , Shoujo , Heterosexual , Foreign , Mythology , Female Protagonist , Love Triangle , Ghost , Magic , Bisexual , Crossdressing , Unrequited Love , LGBTQ+ Themes
Yona of the Dawn

Akatsuki no Yona

Also known as Yona of the Dawn.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Yona reels from the shock of witnessing a loved one’s murder and having to fight for her life. With Hak’s help, she flees the palace and struggles to survive while evading her enemy’s forces. But where will this displaced princess go when all the paths before her are uncertain?



Tags: Female Protagonist , Travel , Shoujo , Historical , Found Family , Dragons , Politics , Fugitive , Gods , Mythology , Reincarnation , War , Tragedy , Royal Affairs , Heterosexual , Foreign , Coming of Age , Primarily Male Cast , Archery , Super Power , Survival , Orphan , Kuudere , Drugs , Pirates
Basara

BASARA

Also known as Basara.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Basara is a post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure series and one of the most popular shoujo manga of the 90s in Japan. It is the story of how a young girl becomes "the child of destiny" and finds the strength to free her people and seek revenge for the death of her brother.



Note: Won the Shogakukan Manga Award for the shoujo category in 1992.

Tags: War , Twins , Shoujo , Politics , Post-Apocalyptic , Dystopian , Female Protagonist , Crossdressing , Coming of Age , Revenge , Fugitive , Slavery , Conspiracy , Heterosexual , Travel , Class Struggle , Royal Affairs , Lost Civilization , Disability , Desert , Archery , Pirates , Tomboy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Astronomy , Animals , Bisexual , Prison , Boys' Love ,
Ouke no Monshou

Ouke no Monshou

Status: Releasing
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Romance , Supernatural

Carol's family discovered an ancient Egyptian tomb that has been untouched for three thousand years. The discovery of the tomb comes with a thousand years curse. Because of that curse, Carol happy family shattered and she is brought back in time to 3000 years ago.

There, Carol meet Memphis, the handsome but cruel pharaoh. Because of her vast knowledge in Egyptian history, she was able to help Egypt through many difficulties and she becomes intertwined with the history of that time, shaping the way conflicts are played out and hailed by the Egyptian people as the Nile Goddess.

Tags: Shoujo , Historical , Foreign , Time Manipulation , Female Protagonist , Royal Affairs
Where to read?
Yume no Shizuku, Kin no Torikago

Yume no Shizuku, Kin no Torikago

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

Beginning of 16th century, Alexandra was captured by slave traders in Ukraine during one of their many raids. When the traders arrived in Greece to sell the female slaves, a young handsome man named Mateus bought her and promised to give her true freedom. He hired countless teachers, scholars, and palace ladies to train her into the one perfect woman of her time. Mateus's kindness has caused Alexandra to deeply fall in love with him, and she secretly wishes to be his concubine. But cruel fate! Mateus has already promised her to his best friend, who is Suleiman the Great, Emperor of the Ottoman Empire! Mateus promised Alexandra of true freedom, but where is freedom when she is in another man's harem and can only look at the one she loves from afar?

Not willing to endure this agony, Alexandra promises herself that one day, she will free both of them from their bird cages. But Mateus is the Grand Vizier, a power only second to the Emperor himself. So Alexandra must become the most influential concubine in order to have any hope—which also means bearing Suleiman's son. However, Suleiman already has a son by another concubine, and this woman is determined to keep her son as the only prince and only heir.

Thus begins the story of a slave that becomes the story of one of the greatest empresses of all time, Alexandra, the woman who would one day be known as Roxelana, Empress of the Ottoman Empire.

Tags: Historical , Josei , Politics , War , Kingdom Management , Biographical , Coming of Age , Parenthood , Female Protagonist , Foreign , Slavery , Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Royal Affairs , Unrequited Love , Arranged Marriage , Assassins , Class Struggle , Crime , Espionage , Maids , Marriage , Time Skip , Revenge , Nudity , Female Harem
Where to read?
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden

Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden

Also known as Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Travel back to the mystical Universe of the Four Gods in this prequel to the hit series Fushigi Yûgi!

When schoolgirl Takiko Okuda attempts to destroy her father's translation of The Universe of the Four Gods, she is instead sucked into the story, becoming the Priestess of Genbu in an epic journey to find the seven Celestial Warriors!

In her first encounter, she meets the mysterious outlaw Limdo, a Celestial Warrior with a tattoo of the Chinese character for "woman" on his chest. Limdo can not only summon the wind as one of his special powers, but he can also transform into a woman!

Takiko meets up with the bowman Chamka, who is hunting Limdo. It seems Chamka is one of the seven Celestial Warriors as well...



Note: Volume 6 includes the one-shot "Ayashi no Ceres Gaiden" (Ceres: Celestial Legend Another Story).

Tags: Shoujo , Isekai , Tragedy , War , Magic , Female Protagonist , Gender Bending , Politics , Travel , Love Triangle , Time Manipulation , Twins , Mythology , Assassins , Snowscape
Akatsuki ni Tatsu Lion

Akatsuki ni Tatsu Lion

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Mystery , Romance

Izumi Erina is a senior in high school. She only has one living relative--her older brother Takashi. However, Erina receives an arrest notice for Takashi one day, who is supposed to be in Turkey at the time!! In order to look for Takashi, a mysterious man Sinclair came to Japan and brought Erina along with him. What is the "Black Trap" that awaits Erina in a foreign country...!? A shocking Suspense Romance work filled with waves of love and hate!!



Tags: Foreign , Shoujo , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Drugs
Where to read?
A Witch's Life in Mongol

Tenmaku no Jaadugar

Also known as A Witch's Life in Mongol.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama

In the harem of the Khan, wisdom is beauty. The time: the thirteenth century. The place: Yeke Mongol Ulus, the greatest empire the world has ever known. The woman: Fatima, hailing from Persia, where medical technique and scientific knowledge have been perfected beyond all precedent. Fatima's desire for a stage where she can put all her knowledge to work has brought her to the palace of the Mongols, where she falls under the wing of Töregene, the sixth wife of Ögedei, the second Great Khan—a mighty woman with complicated feelings about the direction of the empire. These two women are the axle upon which the politics of the palace, and soon the very world, will turn... Note: Nominated for the Manga Taishou Award in 2023 and 2024.

Tags: Female Protagonist , Josei , Historical , Foreign , Slavery , War , Arranged Marriage , Educational , Royal Affairs , Time Skip
Where to read?
Aoi Horus no Hitomi: Dansou no Joou no Monogatari

Aoi Horus no Hitomi: Dansou no Joou no Monogatari

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

This manga tells the story of Hatshepsut, a woman who reigned successfully over Egypt for many years. The story begins when she is a young woman, marrying her half-brother Thutmose II and thus ensuring his rise to Pharaoh. Hatshepsut is a woman with a strong will, who is not going to accept the restrictions others might try to place on her as a woman.

Tags: Historical , Seinen , Female Protagonist , Royal Affairs , Tomboy , Biographical , Politics , Arranged Marriage , Crossdressing , Slavery , Desert , Gore , Gods , Incest , Nudity , Swordplay , Heterosexual

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