Top Basketball Manga Recommendations

SLAM DUNK

Also known as Slam Dunk.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

Hanamichi Sakuragi's got no game with girls--none at all! It doesn't help that he's known for throwing down at a moment's notice and always coming out on top. A hopeless bruiser, he's been rejected by 50 girls in a row! All that changes when he meets the girl of his dreams, Haruko, and she's actually not afraid of him! When she introduces him to the game of basketball, his life is changed forever...



Tags: Basketball , Male Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Shounen , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Delinquents , Rehabilitation , Philosophy , Tragedy

Ao no Hako

Also known as Blue Box.

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

Taiki Inomata is on the boys' badminton team at sports powerhouse Eimei Junior and Senior High. He's in love with basketball player Chinatsu Kano, the older girl he trains alongside every morning in the gym. One Spring day, their relationship takes a sharp turn ... And thus begins this brand-new series of love, sports and youth!



Tags: School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Athletics , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Coming of Age , Badminton , Love Triangle , Female Protagonist , Shounen , Basketball , Cohabitation

Real

Also known as Real.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sports

A motorcycle accident, bone cancer, a speeding truck crashing into a boy on a stolen bicycle--tragic life-changing events turn the worlds of three young men upside down. These three very different personalities have only one thing in common--their passion for basketball.



Note: Won an Excellence Prize for manga at the 2001 Japan Media Arts Festival.

Tags: Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Disability , Male Protagonist , Seinen , Rehabilitation , Basketball , Tragedy , Primarily Male Cast , Athletics , Fitness , Delinquents , Philosophy , Meta , Bullying , Wrestling

AKIRA

Also known as Akira.

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

Welcome to Neo-Tokyo, built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by a blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, making him a target for a shadowy agency that will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like the one that leveled Tokyo. At the core of the agency's motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear of an unthinkable, monstrous power known only as Akira.



Tags: Dystopian , Cyberpunk , Military , Post-Apocalyptic , Seinen , Tragedy , Super Power , Male Protagonist , Gore , Survival , Delinquents , Philosophy , Body Horror , Drugs , Anti-Hero , War , Cult , Gangs , Motorcycles , Coming of Age , Afterlife , Terrorism , Basketball , Nudity , Reincarnation , Bullying

Tamen De Gushi

Also known as SQ: Begin W/Your Name!.

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

The funny romantic story of how Qiu Tong and Sun Jing met and fell in love.

Tags: Yuri , Female Protagonist , Episodic , LGBTQ+ Themes , Full Color , Coming of Age , School , Slapstick , Iyashikei , Urban , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Tomboy , Primarily Teen Cast , Basketball , Primarily Female Cast , Delinquents , Long Strip

Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo

Also known as Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Ecchi , Romance , Supernatural

Class troublemaker Ryu Yamada is already having a bad day when he stumbles down a staircase along with star student Urara Shiraishi. When he wakes up, he realizes they have switched bodies—and that Ryu has the power to trade places with anyone just by kissing them! After figuring out the workings behind this new and amazing ability, Ryu and Urara take full advantage of the situation to improve their lives. But with such an oddly amazing power, just how long will Ryu and Urara be able to keep their secret under wraps?



Included one-shot:
Volume 9: Maou no Kyoushitsu

Note: Includes 2 extra chapters.

Tags: School Club , School , Male Protagonist , Witch , Magic , Super Power , Body Swapping , Time Manipulation , Time Skip , Female Harem , Shounen , LGBTQ+ Themes , Amnesia , Gender Bending , Delinquents , Primarily Teen Cast , Coming of Age , Bisexual , Dissociative Identities , Basketball

Namaiki Zakari.

Also known as Cheeky Brat.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Sports

Basketball club manager Yuki has a secret—she’s in love with the team captain! But when Naruse discovers her secret, she’s in trouble! Just how long is he going to keep teasing her about it? Stupid pretty playboy…



Note: Chapter includes one epilogue.

Tags: Shoujo , Basketball , Female Protagonist , Tsundere , Heterosexual , School Club , School , Love Triangle , College , Kuudere , Age Gap , Crossdressing

Kuroko no Basket

Also known as Kuroko's Basketball.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Sports

When incoming first-year student Taiga Kagami joins the Seirin High basketball team, he meets Tetsuya Kuroko, a mysterious boy who’s plain beyond words. But Kagami’s in for the shock of his life when he learns that the practically invisible Kuroko was once a member of “the Miracle Generation”— the undefeated legendary team—and he wants Kagami’s help taking down each of his old teammates!



Note: Chapter count includes Chapter 62.5 "Tip Off."

Tags: School , Basketball , Shounen , Super Power , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Tomboy , Tragedy , Found Family

Lovely★Complex

Also known as Love★Com.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance

Rather than bow to the inevitable, Risa and Atsushi join forces to pursue their true objects of affection. But will their budding friendship become something more complex?



Note: The chapter count includes the one-shots "Hoshi ni Nattemo Aishiteru" and "Bokura no Ibasho".

Tags: School , Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Slapstick , Coming of Age , Unrequited Love , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Tsundere , Love Triangle , LGBTQ+ Themes , Transgender , Chibi , Basketball

Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai

Also known as A Condition Called Love.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Romance

Hotaru is a 16-year-old high school first-year who has always been ambivalent about love, preferring instead to have a lively life with her family and friends. So when she sees her schoolmate, Hananoi-kun, sitting in the snow after a messy, public breakup, she thinks nothing of offering to share her umbrella. But when he asks her out in the middle of her classroom the next day, she can’t help but feel that her life is about to change in a big way...



Tags: Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Yandere , Rehabilitation , School , Love Triangle , Bullying , Basketball , Primarily Teen Cast

Haru Matsu Bokura

Also known as Waiting for Spring.

Status: Finished
Genres: Romance , Sports

Mizuki is a shy girl who’s about to enter high school, and vows to open herself up to new friendships. Of course, the four stars of the boys’ basketball team weren’t exactly the friends she had in mind! Yet, when they drop by the café where she works, the five quickly hit it off. Soon she’s been accidentally thrust into the spotlight, targeted by jealous girls. And will she expand her mission to include … love?



Tags: Shoujo , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Basketball , Female Protagonist , Love Triangle , Work , Heterosexual , School Club

Orange Marmalade

Also known as ORANGE MARMALADE.

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

Set at a time when Vampires are ubiquitous in society, but forced to stay hidden and treated as outcasts, this story tells the tale of one particular female vampire who has always had difficulties due to her nature. Feared and hated and having been driven away from several neighbourhoods, she is eager to settle down in her current city, but is disillusioned with the concepts of friendship and relationships among humans. She is fine being alone, until she is stirred by the smell of one particular man and unknowingly nips his neck. What is she to do now that the surprised man actually begins to fall for her?

Tags: School , Vampire , Female Protagonist , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Tragedy , Heterosexual , Kuudere , Full Color , Chibi , Bullying , Love Triangle , Band , Tsundere , Suicide , Basketball

Ben Jian Xian Jue Bu Chi Ruan Fan

Also known as Sword King In A Women's World.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Ecchi , Fantasy , Romance , Supernatural

After rebirth, how can this sexy smoking girl told me to be her toy-boy? I'm a master in cultivation! How can I succumb to this world of women? Look at how I fight my own way in this world of women!



Tags: Female Harem , Cultivation , Martial Arts , Urban Fantasy , Male Protagonist , Full Color , Urban , Wuxia , Nudity , School , Heterosexual , Swordplay , Gore , Basketball , Guns , Reincarnation , Drugs , Crossdressing , Transgender , Cars , Love Triangle , Revenge , Marriage , Dragons , Arranged Marriage , Assassins , Time Skip , Military , Tsundere

Senpai wa Otokonoko

Also known as Senpai is an Otokonoko.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance

Can true love really overcome any obstacles? Saki, a high school student, confesses her feelings to Makoto. Taken aback, Makoto reveals his secret, but the sudden discovery doesn’t seem to bother Saki who is already head over heels for him. After being rejected, Saki asks Ryuji, Makoto’s childhood friend, for some advice on how to win his heart. A love triangle unfolds when Ryuji realizes that he might also have some feelings for his old friend.



Tags: Coming of Age , Crossdressing , LGBTQ+ Themes , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Josei , Bisexual , School , Female Protagonist , Agender , Love Triangle , Full Color , Transgender , Boys' Love , Femboy , Bullying , Yuri , Basketball , Long Strip

Ao no Hako

Status: Finished
Genres: Romance , Sports

A boy from the volleyball team comes in early to the gym everyday, and falls in love with the senpai from the girl's basketball team who's always there practicing, too.

Tags: Shounen , School , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Basketball , Volleyball

Imaizumi-chi wa Douyara Gal no Tamariba ni Nattteru Rashii: DEEP

Also known as Imaizumi Brings All the Gals to His House.

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

Imaizumi lives a life that most high school boys could only dream of! During the day, he attends his classes like any dutiful student, only to return each evening to a home full of hotties! It seems his home has become the go-to hangout for the coolest gyarus in town. From endless gossip fests to snack binges to getting downright physical with his three new housemates, his once-quiet abode is now buzzing with non-stop energy and exciting escapades. Can Imaizumi keep up with the lively antics of his lusty gal pals?



Tags: Female Harem , Gyaru , Seinen , Nudity , Male Protagonist , Polyamorous , Love Triangle , School , Basketball , Crossdressing

Tetsugaku Letra

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

In middle school, Ichinose Kimitaka taught his friends how to play basketball. Despite his experience with the sport, his friends quickly outmatched him in skill. After an incident brought on by his frustration and jealousy, he was crushed to overhear those same 'friends' discussing how they wished he'd just kill himself.

On his way to toss out his special basketball shoes, he met a girl who was just as frustrated, throwing her own dancing shoes away. She was so tall, and her hands and feet are so large, that she had been rejected from her chosen hobby of Spanish dancing. He urged her to give basketball a try, and the two exchanged their shoes instead of throwing them away.

As he enters high school, Kimitaka learns that meeting him changed that girl's life for the better, and she is now a happy, social basketball player. Will Kimitaka be able to find the courage to make new friends and pursue his own talents?

Tags: Coming of Age , Dancing , School , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Bullying , Basketball

Hirano to Kagiura

Also known as Hirano and Kagiura.

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

Basketball players. Bad boys who aren’t really bad boys. Roommates. Senpai-kouhai BL romance. It all started when Kagiura moved into the school dorms with what seemed to be a bad-boy upperclassman. But after he’s left in the tender care of his mother hen of a roommate, Hirano, it’s too much to ask for Kagiura not to fall in love…right?!



Tags: Boys' Love , LGBTQ+ Themes , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist , Unrequited Love , Primarily Male Cast , School , Basketball , School Club , Josei , Chibi , Boarding School

School Rumble

Also known as School Rumble.

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

Second-year student Tsukamoto Tenma learns that her secret crush, Karasuma Oji, will be transferring to a school in America. In a last-ditch effort to reveal her love to him, she writes a long (but anonymous) love letter. When Karasuma ends up postponing his transfer for another year, Tenma realizes she has to tell him how she feels before time runs out again. But her extreme nervousness around him prompts her to try and setup all sorts of schemes to get close to him and let him know, without actually coming out and saying it. Meanwhile, unknown to Tenma, the school delinquent, Harima Kenji, has the biggest crush on her, as well as the same anxieties about being direct. Around this love triangle of clueless people are a few of Tenma's friends, and her younger (but older looking, more mature, and more popular) sister, Yakumo.



Note: This manga consists of 283 sharp chapters and 62 flat chapters. Sharp and Flat refers to the musical notations.

Tags: School , Love Triangle , Ensemble Cast , Delinquents , Drawing , Shounen , Teacher , Basketball

Kuroko no Basket: Extra Game

Also known as Kuroko's Basketball: Extra Game.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Sports

Kuroko and his team square off American street basketball challengers.

Tags: School , Shounen , Basketball , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast