Manga like Mashiro no Oto

Kono Oto Tomare!

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance

Since the graduation of the senior members of the club, Takezou ends up being the sole member of the "Koto" (traditional Japanese string instrument) club. Now that the new school year has begun, Takezou will have to seek out new members into the club, or the club will become terminated. Out of nowhere, a new member barges into the near-abandoned club room, demanding to join the club. How will Takezou be able to keep his club alive and deal with this rascal of a new member?

Tags: School Club , School , Band , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Shounen , Bullying , Heterosexual , Delinquents , Tragedy , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Estranged Family , Found Family , Teacher , Transgender , Nudity , Maids

3-gatsu no Lion

Also known as March Comes in Like a Lion.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Rei Kiriyama is a child prodigy. Rei Kiriyama is also an orphan who lives alone in an empty apartment. Rei Kiriyama is a teen working in an adult's world. Life is complicated for Rei. He's an up-and-coming shogi player on the verge of turning pro, but he has no homelife, or much of a life period,outside his board game, but thankfully with the help of some life-long friends he has an opportunity start all over again.

Note: Won the Grand Prize at the 4th Manga Taishou Award in 2011, the 35th Kodansha Manga Award in 2011, the Grand Prize at the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2014 and the Grand Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2021.

Tags: Coming of Age , Philosophy , Family Life , Seinen , Rehabilitation , Shogi , Found Family , Male Protagonist , Iyashikei , Bullying , Food , Tragedy , Heterosexual , Age Gap , Adoption , School Club , Love Triangle , Board Game

Chihayafuru

Also known as Chihayafuru.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Sports

Chihaya is a girl in the sixth grade, still not old enough to even know the meaning of the word zeal. But one day, she meets Arata, a transfer student from rural Fukui prefecture. Though docile and quiet, he has an unexpected skill: his ability to play competitive karuta, a traditional Japanese card game.

Chihaya is struck by his obsession with the game, along with his ability to pick out the right card and swipe it away before any of his opponents. However, Arata is transfixed by her as well, all because of her unbelievable natural talent for the game. Don't miss this story of adolescent lives and emotions playing out in the most dramatic of ways!



Notes:
It won the 2nd Manga Taisho Award and the 35th annual Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shoujo.
It was nominated for the 20th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2016.

Tags: Karuta , Josei , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , School Club , Card Battle , Love Triangle , Primarily Teen Cast , Educational , Ensemble Cast , Slapstick , School , Tomboy , POV , Heterosexual , Bullying

Blue Period

Also known as Blue Period.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

The studious Yatora leaves a dry life of study and good manners behind for a new passion: painting. But untethering yourself from all your past expectations is dangerous as well as thrilling…



Note: Nominated for Manga Taisho Awards in 2019, Kodansha Manga Awards in 2019 and the 24th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2020. Winner of the 13th Manga Taisho Awards. Winner of the General Manga category of the 44th annual Kodansha Manga Awards.

Tags: Drawing , Coming of Age , College , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Educational , Philosophy , LGBTQ+ Themes , School , School Club , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Transgender , Bisexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Crossdressing , Gender Bending , Nudity , Suicide , Tomboy

Ao no Orchestra

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Music

Hajime Aono was a prodigy violinist until he grew jaded with playing the violin due to personal reasons. Now in his third year of middle school, he struggles to decide his academic path. One day in school, he meets Ritsuko Akine, a hotheaded novice violinist who wants to enroll in a high school with a distinguished orchestra club. When he finds himself getting closer to Ritsuko and being brought back to the world of violinists, time starts moving again for him.

This is the beginning of a youthful drama where sounds and hearts alike resound in harmony.

Tags: School , Musical Theater , Seinen , Rehabilitation , School Club , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Classical Music

Barakamon

Also known as Barakamon.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

For a certain reason, a handsome, young calligrapher by the name of Seishuu Handa uproots himself and moves to an island on the westernmost edge of Japan. "Sensei," as he comes to be known, is a city boy through and through, and has never experienced rural life until now. And by the looks of it, he has much to learn! Luckily(?), he has a willing teacher in Naru, the energetic expert islander, to help show him the ropes. But can Sensei keep up with the plucky first-grader, or will he get schooled?! Here unfolds a heartfelt island comedy about a gruff on the outside, soft on the inside urbanite teacher and his new, unfailingly kind island neighbors!



Notes: One extra and four side stories are included in volume 18+1. Original serialization was completed on 2018-12-12 with 18 volumes (139 chapters). A new limited-run serialization was started on 2023-04-12 and ended on 2023-09-12 in Monthly Shounen Gangan, in conjunction with the TV-drama adaptation. This new run adds 7 chapters and 1 volume to the total count.

Tags: Family Life , Iyashikei , Calligraphy , Rural , Found Family , Work , Male Protagonist , Coastal , Food , Rehabilitation , Teacher , Fishing , Shounen , Cars , Agriculture , Crossdressing , Cycling

Carole & Tuesday

Also known as Carole & Tuesday.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Sci-Fi

When orphan Carole meets runaway Tuesday, an uptown girl who wants nothing more than to make music, it’s as if they were fated to find each other. With their shared dream, the duo charges headfirst into the world of entertainment—but on colonized Mars, with a consumer base accustomed to “perfect” A.I.-produced songs, is there any hope their organic sound and heartfelt lyrics will reach their audience?



Tags: Musical Theater , Seinen , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Artificial Intelligence , Coming of Age

K-On! Shuffle

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Music , Slice of Life

There was once a high school band whose pop songs warmed and thrilled the hearts of all who listened. Now, three girls have been inspired to start a pop music club of their own, but will things turn out like they hope? It’s a new generation of slice-of-life hijinks from kakifly, the original author of K-ON!

Tags: 4-koma , Primarily Female Cast , Band , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , School , School Club , Seinen

Hashikko Ensemble

Status: Finished
Genres: Music

Fujiyoshi Akira and Kimura Jin are new students at Hashimoto Technical High School. Akira sports an unusually deep voice that cracks when he tries to raise it, so he generally avoids speaking if he can help it. Jin is anything but quiet. Notorious throughout the school for his undaunting enthusiasm and his loud, boisterous tunes between classes, Jin wants to recruit fellow students to form a vocal ensemble.



Tags: Seinen