Manga like Shirahata no Shoujo

COCOON

Also known as cocoon.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

A heart-wrenching chronicle of loss and resilience based on the true story of the Himeyuri corps of student nurses in WWII.

San and her best friend Mayu attend a boarding school for girls in Okinawa, but their studies are interrupted when they and the other students are recruited to help the war effort as assistant nurses. Sent to the front lines, the girls must deal with more than just the threat of enemy bombs overhead. Stuck working in the horrifying caves of a field hospital, San wishes she could wrap herself and her friends in a cocoon of protection. But invisible threads of affection are no match for the carnage that surrounds them, and day by day, more students perish. Worn down by starvation and loss, what will San and her remaining friends do when they are told to find their way home through the fields of total war?



Tags: War , Tragedy , Historical , Survival , Female Protagonist , Josei , LGBTQ+ Themes , Suicide , Gore , Rural , Primarily Female Cast , Crossdressing , Primarily Teen Cast , Medicine

Souin Gyokusai seyo!

Also known as Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths is his first book to be translated into English and is a semiautobiographical account of the desperate final weeks of a Japanese infantry unit at the end of World War II. The soldiers are told that they must go into battle and die for the honor of their country, with certain execution facing them if they return alive. Mizuki was a soldier himself (he was severely injured and lost an arm) and uses his experiences to convey the devastating consequences and moral depravity of the war.



Note: Won Best U.S. Edition of International Material at the Eisner Awards in 2012.

Tags: Military , Historical , War , Autobiographical , Tragedy , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Seinen , Guns , Suicide

Sora Yori Takaku

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

March 10, 1945. Tokyo is bombed by the United States military. The air raid which marked the defeat of Japan caused between 80 000 and 100 000 deaths. The city is completely destroyed by explosions and fires. The vast blue sky contrasts with the rubble. The survivors wander among the ruins. Immerse yourself in this romantic story that follows the lives of eight orphans in post-war turmoil.



Tags: Seinen , Historical

Hadashi no Gen

Also known as Barefoot Gen.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

1945, Japan. Gen Nakaoka is a spirited six-year-old boy who lives with his poor yet loving family in wartime Hiroshima. As the second World War rages on, Gen's father Daikichi stands among the few outspoken who are opposed to the emperor and stand for the innocent civilians bearing the brunt of the war. However, in a society with nothing but feverous support for their nation, Gen and his family are ostracized as traitors. Unbeknownst to them, a terrible fate awaits the people of Hiroshima...

One quiet morning, the US forces drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. In an instant, the city is completely destroyed, leaving thousands dead and many more exposed to radiation. Though Gen manages to survive the blast, he finds his life irreversibly changed. Regrouping with what's left of his family, Gen must now grapple with starvation, destitution, and an unsympathetic public who see survivors as little more than disease-ridden beggars.

Based on author Keiji Nakazawa's real-life experiences, Hadashi no Gen follows Gen and his fellow survivors in their struggle to survive in post-war Hiroshima. Gen resolves to soldier on with unwavering determination, while never forgiving those who caused the atrocity, never forgetting the pain of the bomb, and never letting his spirit be broken by the tragedy.

Tags: Tragedy , Historical , Delinquents , Found Family , War , Autobiographical , Male Protagonist , Gore , Adoption , Body Horror , Coming of Age , Crime , Shounen