Top Acting Manga Recommendations

[Oshi no Ko]

Also known as [Oshi no Ko].

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Gorou is a gynecologist and idol fan who’s in shock after his favorite star, Ai, announces an impromptu hiatus. Little does Gorou realize that he’s about to forge a bond with her that defies all common sense! Lies are an idol’s weapon!



Notes:
- Nominated for the 14th and 15th Manga Taisho.
- Nominated for the 26th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.
- Nominated for the 67th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category.
- Nominated for the 46th Kodansha Manga Award.
- Winner of the 7th Next Manga Award in the print category.
- Chapter count includes 2 extra chapters.

Tags: Revenge , Idol , Acting , Reincarnation , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Seinen , Twins , Detective , Time Skip , Work , Otaku Culture , Age Gap , Love Triangle , Female Harem , Heterosexual , Anti-Hero , Suicide , Bullying , Educational , Urban Fantasy , Denpa , Tsundere , Primarily Female Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Urban , Pregnancy , Filmmaking , VTuber , Cosplay

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Steel Ball Run

Also known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 7–Steel Ball Run.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Mystery , Supernatural

Originally presented as an unrelated story, this series was later officially declared a part of the JoJo storyline. The series stars Gyro Zeppeli, who uses a set of steel balls that spin incredibly fast, and Johnny Joestar (Jonathan Joestar), a former hot-shot jockey who was crippled by an ambusher and lost his fame and fortune. They race, along with others, in a mad-dash across America for 50 million dollars, reminiscent of The Cannonball Run.



Tags: Travel , Male Protagonist , Super Power , Cowboys , Seinen , Conspiracy , Primarily Adult Cast , Disability , Foreign , Alternate Universe , Tragedy , Environmental , Philosophy , Ensemble Cast , Historical , Outdoor Activities , Terrorism , Gore , Primarily Male Cast , Crossdressing , Desert , Guns , Coming of Age , Body Horror , Nun , Trains , Espionage , Acting , Dinosaurs , Time Manipulation , Gambling , Nudity , Delinquents , Shapeshifting , Curses

Fire Punch

Also known as Fire Punch.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

Orphaned siblings Agni and Luna, like the Ice Witch who cursed their world, are two of the “blessed,” humans who hold special abilities. However, not all who are blessed are friendly, and after another of their kind attacks Agni and decimates the orphans' village, Agni fights to survive, vowing revenge.



Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Suicide , Tragedy , Dystopian , Revenge , Philosophy , Cult , Anti-Hero , Super Power , Survival , Religion , Body Horror , Meta , Cosmic Horror , Gore , Male Protagonist , Coming of Age , Torture , Acting , Time Skip , Cannibalism , Urban Fantasy , Incest , Filmmaking , Transgender , Slavery , Surreal Comedy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Denpa , Gods , Memory Manipulation , Snowscape , Politics , Heterosexual , Shounen

SAKAMOTO DAYS

Also known as Sakamoto Days.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Comedy

Taro Sakamoto was the ultimate assassin, feared by villains and admired by hitmen. But one day...he fell in love! Retirement, marriage, fatherhood and then... Sakamoto gained weight! The chubby guy who runs the neighborhood store is actually a former legendary hitman! Can he protect his family from danger? Get ready to experience a new kind of action comedy series!



Tags: Assassins , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Family Life , Crime , Found Family , Male Protagonist , Gangs , Konbini , Guns , Shounen , Espionage , Conspiracy , Gore , Dissociative Identities , Heterosexual , Triads , Mafia , Acting , Slapstick , Super Power , Survival , Motorcycles , Gambling , Crossdressing , Urban

Sayonara Eri

Also known as Goodbye, Eri.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

With his mother dying, Yuuta attempts to capture her last days on his phone. After her death, Yuuta heads to the roof of the hospital to commit suicide, but a meeting with a strange girl leads him on the path to making a movie.



Note: The one-shot was compiled in a special volume, released on July 4, 2022.

Tags: Meta , POV , Filmmaking , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Acting , Female Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Vampire , Family Life , Time Skip , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Shounen , Disability , Suicide

Go-toubun no Hanayome

Also known as The Quintessential Quintuplets.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance

One day, a poor high school second-year named Futaro Uesugi comes across a private tutoring gig with good pay. But his pupils are his classmates!! And they’re quintuplets!! A-and they’re all gorgeous girls, but they’re also troublemakers who hate to study and are on the verge of flunking out! And his first task is simply gaining the sisters’ trust?! Every day is a party! The curtain is rising on the Nakano quintuplets’ quirky romantic comedy with five times the cute!!



Note: Winner of the Shounen Manga category of the 43rd annual Kodansha Manga Awards.

Tags: Twins , Female Harem , Primarily Female Cast , Coming of Age , Love Triangle , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Marriage , School , Tsundere , Shounen , Family Life , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Ojou-sama , Time Skip , Kuudere , Nudity , Acting , Adoption , Tanned Skin

Kanojo, Okarishimasu

Also known as Rent-A-Girlfriend.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Ecchi , Romance

In today’s Japan, “rental” services can deliver an afternoon with a “friend,” a “parent,” even a fake girlfriend! After a staggering betrayal by his girlfriend, hapless freshman Kazuya gets just desperate enough to give it a try. But he quickly discovers how complicated it can be to “rent” an emotional connection, and his new “girlfriend,” who’s trying to keep her side hustle secret, will panic when she finds out her real life and Kazuya’s are intertwined in surprising ways! Family, school, and life all start to go wrong, too… It’s sweet but naïve boy meets cute but ruthless girl in this 21st-century manga rom-com!



Tags: Gambling , Male Protagonist , Love Triangle , Shounen , Primarily Female Cast , Prostitution , Unrequited Love , Female Harem , Work , Heterosexual , Tsundere , Fake Relationship , Acting , Primarily Adult Cast , College , Agriculture , Filmmaking , Aliens , Coming of Age , Meta , Slapstick , School , Nudity , Cohabitation

Yagate Kimi ni Naru

Also known as Bloom Into You.

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

Yuu has always loved shoujo manga and awaits the day she gets a love confession that sends her heart aflutter with bubbles and hearts, and yet when a junior high classmate confesses his feelings to her…she feels nothing. Disappointed and confused, Yuu enters high school still unsure how to respond. That’s when Yuu sees the beautiful student council president Nanami turn down a suitor with such maturity that she’s inspired to ask her for help. But when the next person to confess to Yuu is Nanami herself, has her shoujo romance finally begun?



Note: Includes 8 extra chapters.

Tags: Yuri , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , LGBTQ+ Themes , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Love Triangle , School Club , Unrequited Love , Acting , Philosophy , Aromantic , Shounen

GTO

Also known as GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Ecchi

Former juvenile delinquent Onizuka finds himself thrust into to role of high school teacher, facing students who behave just as he used to and an administration that doesn't trust him. Using the brash an unorthodox methods he picked up in his youth, Onizuka manages to reach through to his kids and help them with their problems.



Notes:
- Won the 22nd Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shounen Manga.
- The chapter count includes the 7 chapters extra GTO: Great Toroko Oppai♡ (Tomoko's Big Adventures) published in volumes 11 and 12, and one extra published in volume 25.

Tags: Teacher , School , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Work , Male Protagonist , Bullying , Terrorism , Tragedy , Rehabilitation , Delinquents , Nudity , Gangs , Shounen , Age Gap , Family Life , Motorcycles , Dragons , Crime , Revenge , Heterosexual , Yakuza , Detective , Acting , Guns , Police , Espionage , Drugs , Slapstick , Primarily Teen Cast

BEASTARS

Also known as BEASTARS.

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

One night at Cherryton Academy, an herbivore student is brutally murdered. Among the members of the Drama Club, the herbivores’ suspicions naturally turn to their carnivore classmates… The prime suspect? Gray wolf Legoshi. But he wouldn’t hurt a fly. Or would he? Will dwarf rabbit Haru bring out the beast in him? Or are his feelings for her…something else?



Notes:
- Winner of the 11th Manga Taisho Award in 2018.
- Winner of the 42nd Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2018.
- Winner of the New Face Award from the 21st Japan Media Arts Festival Awards in 2018.
- Winner of the New Creator Prize of the 22nd Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2018.

Tags: Anthropomorphism , Animals , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Cannibalism , School , Ensemble Cast , Urban , Crime , Philosophy , Psychosexual , Politics , Gangs , Primarily Animal Cast , Tragedy , Revenge , Shounen , School Club , Yakuza , Primarily Teen Cast , Love Triangle , Class Struggle , Bullying , Heterosexual , Adoption , Survival , Acting , Cultivation , Martial Arts

Domestic na Kanojo

Also known as Domestic Girlfriend.

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

High schooler Natsuo is hopelessly in love with his cheerful and popular teacher, Hina. However, one day at a mixer, he meets a moody girl by the name of Rui and ends up sleeping with her. Soon after, his father announces that he's getting remarried to a woman with two daughters of her own. And who shows up in tow, other than both Hina and Rui?! Natsuo's outrageous new life starts now!



Note: Includes 23 extra/side chapters.

Tags: Inseki , Love Triangle , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Writing , Age Gap , Family Life , Teacher , Heterosexual , Female Harem , Nudity , School Club , School , Crime , Acting , Time Skip , MILF , Food , Shounen , Drugs , Transgender , Yandere , Bisexual

Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu

Also known as The Dangers in My Heart.

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

Ichikawa Kyoutarou, a boy barely clinging to the bottom rung of his school’s social ladder, secretly believes he’s the tortured lead in some psychological thriller. He spends his days dreaming up ways to disrupt his classmates’ peaceful lives and pining after Anna Yamada, the class idol. But Kyotaro’s not nearly the troubled teen he pretends to be…and it turns out Anna’s a bit odd herself!



Notes:
- Winner of the Tsugi ni Kuru Web Manga 2020 Award.
- Nominee for the 2020 Manga Taisho Award.

Tags: Heterosexual , School , Male Protagonist , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Shounen , Iyashikei , Meta , Chuunibyou , Acting

Skip to Loafer

Also known as Skip and Loafer.

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

Excellent student Iwakura Mitsumi has always dreamt about leaving her small town, going to a prestigious university, and making positive change in the world. But she’s so focused on reaching her goals that she’s not prepared for the very different (and overwhelming) city life that awaits her in a Tokyo high school. Luckily, she makes fast friends with Shima Sousuke, a handsome classmate who’s as laid-back as she is over-prepared. Can this naive country girl make it big in Tokyo with Sousuke by her side?



Notes:
- Nominated for the 2020 Manga Taisho Award.
- Winner of the 47th Kodansha Manga Award in the Best General Manga category in 2023.

Tags: Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist , Seinen , Iyashikei , Urban , Acting , Love Triangle , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes

act-age

Also known as ACT-AGE.

Status: Cancelled
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Slice of Life

Lights! Camera! ACTION! Kei Yonagi wants to be an actress! But an already-difficult dream to achieve has become much harder since her father left and her mother died. She's now taking care of her two little siblings on her own.

Without much money left, will she have to give up her dream?!



Tags: Acting , Work , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Filmmaking , Shounen , Philosophy , Educational , Primarily Adult Cast , Twins

Giji Harem

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

A first year high school girl likes a second year boy in her drama club. She acts out various character archetypes that you would find in a typical manga harem as their friendship deepens.

Notes:
- Originally a Twitter manga, it was picked up for serialization by Gekkan Sunday on January 12, 2019.
- Chapter count includes 27 extras from the volume release.

Tags: Acting , School , Slapstick , Heterosexual , Iyashikei , Parody , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Shounen , School Club

EDEN: It's an Endless World!

Also known as Eden: It's an Endless World!.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological , Sci-Fi

In the near future, a large portion of humanity is wiped out by a brutal, new virus that hardens the skin while dissolving internal organs. Those who aren't immune are either severely crippled or allowed to live with cybernetically enhanced bodies. Taking advantage of a world in chaos, a paramilitary force known as the Propater topples the United Nations and seeks world domination. Elijah, a young survivor searching for his mother, travels towards the Andes Mountains with an artificially intelligent combat robot. When he encounters a group of anti-Propater freedom fighters, a maelstrom of unique characters unfolds. Graphic, cyberpunk, and philosophical, Eden is a place where endearing heroes face a constant struggle for survival and violent surprises wait around every corner!

Note: The chapter count included 5 extra stories.

Tags: Foreign , Tragedy , Gangs , War , Anti-Hero , Drugs , Seinen , Post-Apocalyptic , Politics , Primarily Adult Cast , Ensemble Cast , Philosophy , Cyberpunk , Gore , Terrorism , Revenge , Dystopian , Pandemic , Male Protagonist , Guns , Conspiracy , Gods , Alternate Universe , Religion , Travel , Survival , Artificial Intelligence , Environmental , Heterosexual , Prostitution , Military , Coming of Age , Nudity , LGBTQ+ Themes , Class Struggle , Time Skip , Tanned Skin , Age Gap , Acting , Cult , Suicide , Cosmic Horror , Fellatio , Cunnilingus

Akane-banashi

Also known as Akane-banashi.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama

Rakugo--the ultimate form of storytelling, where everything in a story is expressed with just your body and words. Shinta and his daughter Akane have been seduced by this wonderful form of classical entertainment. Having observed her father strive to pass the shin'uchi rakugo test, Akane will take her own steps into this unique world!



Tags: Rakugo , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Acting , Primarily Adult Cast , Work , Shounen , Found Family , Family Life , Revenge , Time Skip , School

Haruman Nega Doego Sipeo

Also known as Your Throne.

Status: Hiatus
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Romance , Thriller

Tensions are brewing under the seemingly calm surface of the Vasilios Empire, a kingdom ruled by the Imperial Family and the Temple. Lady Medea Solon has lost her place next to Crown Prince Eros, but resolves to do whatever it will take to win back what's rightfully hers. Will she reclaim her throne?



Tags: Female Protagonist , Revenge , Foreign , Anti-Hero , Body Swapping , Survival , Super Power , Politics , Tragedy , Villainess , Full Color , Primarily Adult Cast , Royal Affairs , Conspiracy , Ojou-sama , Mythology , Gods , Philosophy , Love Triangle , Swordplay , Historical , Assassins , Religion , Heterosexual , Magic , Yandere , Kuudere , LGBTQ+ Themes , Crime , Slavery , Acting , Adoption , Amnesia , Crossdressing , Battle Royale , Long Strip

Boy meets Maria

Also known as Boy Meets Maria.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Romance

Taiga dreams of becoming an actor, so the first thing he does upon entering high school is join the drama club. There, he meets the beautiful, enigmatic Maria and immediately falls in love with her. Not long after, Taiga is told that she is actually a boy—but is that all there is to Maria's story? This beautifully illustrated, single-volume tale explores the nature of personal expression and the fluidity of the power of love.



Note: Volume contains an extra chapter.

Tags: LGBTQ+ Themes , School , Crossdressing , Acting , School Club , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Boys' Love , Male Protagonist , Agender , Philosophy , Tragedy , Bisexual , Coming of Age , Dancing

Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaete mo Omaera ga Warui!

Also known as No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Kuroki Tomoko is a super popular, high school girl, who has had 50 years of dating experience, and 100 boys... in the Otome game world. In the real world, she is a 15 year old shut in, who has all of the qualities of a "mojo" (喪女, a gloomy or unpopular woman).

However, when school isn't going as she expected, and she isn't as popular as she had thought she was, she takes a look at herself in the mirror for the first time in a few years, and has some shocking revelations...

Tags: School , Female Protagonist , Rehabilitation , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Otaku Culture , Satire , LGBTQ+ Themes , Bisexual , Parody , Hikikomori , Yuri , Coming of Age , Meta , Chuunibyou , Female Harem , Shounen , Yandere , Acting