Top Cohabitation Manga Recommendations

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

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

Fruits Basket

Also known as Fruits Basket.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Psychological , Romance , Supernatural

After a family tragedy turns her life upside down, plucky high schooler Tohru Honda takes matters into her own hands and moves out...into a tent! Unfortunately for her, she pitches her new home on private land belonging to the mysterious Sohma clan, and it isn't long before the owners discover her secret. But, as Tohru quickly finds out when the family offers to take her in, the Sohmas have a secret of their own--when touched by the opposite sex, they turn into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac!



Note: Volume 9 includes the bonus chapter "Rain Shelter of Terror".

Tags: Shoujo , Animals , Mythology , Ensemble Cast , Tragedy , Philosophy , Shapeshifting , Heterosexual , Reincarnation , Rehabilitation , Primarily Male Cast , School , Female Protagonist , Found Family , Urban Fantasy , Family Life , Tsundere , Age Gap , Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Love Triangle , Memory Manipulation , Disability , Unrequited Love , Estranged Family , Youkai , Orphan , Crossdressing , Incest , Curses , Henshin , Delinquents , Revenge , Dissociative Identities , Teacher , Marriage , Cohabitation , Transgender

Yubisaki to Renren

Also known as A Sign of Affection.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Romance , Slice of Life

Yuki is a typical college student, whose world revolves around her friends, social media, and the latest sales. But when a chance encounter on a train leads to her meeting friend-of-a-friend and fellow student Itsuomi-san, her world starts to widen. But even though Itsuomi-kun can speak three languages, sign language isn’t one of them. Can the two learn to communicate the budding feelings between them?



Notes:
- Ranked 17th place for the Tsugimanga Award in the Print Manga Category in 2020.
- Nominated for the 45th and 46th Kodansha Manga Award in the Shoujo Category in 2021 and 2022.
- Nominated for the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award in the Shoujo Category

Tags: Shoujo , Language Barrier , Female Protagonist , Disability , Primarily Adult Cast , Heterosexual , College , Love Triangle , Bar , Chibi , Urban , Cohabitation , Tsundere

citrus

Also known as Citrus.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

Yuzuko Aihara, a high school girl whose main interests are fashion, friends and having fun, is about to get a reality check. Due to her mom’s remarriage, Yuzu has transferred to a new, all-girls school that is extremely strict. Her real education is about to begin.

From Day One, happy-go-lucky Yuzu makes enemies, namely the beautiful yet stern Student Council President Mei. So what happens when a dejected Yuzu returns home and discovers the shock of her life: that Mei is actually her new step-sister who has come to live with her? Even more surprising, when Mei catches Yuzu off-guard and kisses her out of the blue, what does it all mean?



Note: Includes 9 bonus chapters.

Tags: Yuri , Female Protagonist , Inseki , Primarily Female Cast , School , Family Life , Gyaru , LGBTQ+ Themes , Cohabitation , Arranged Marriage , Love Triangle , Work , Time Skip

Fuufu Ijou, Koibito Miman.

Also known as More Than a Married Couple, but Not Lovers..

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

Jirou, a third-year in high school, is forced to live with a gyaru named Akari under a course called the "Couple Practical". In order to be paired with their own romantic interests, they're going to act as a married couple...!?

Note: Nominated for the Tsugimanga 2020 Award in the Manga Category.

Tags: Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Gyaru , Male Protagonist , School , Family Life , Shounen , Meta , Nudity , Fake Relationship , Cohabitation

Otoyomegatari

Also known as A Bride's Story.

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

A Bride’s Story tells the tale of a beautiful young bride in nineteenth-century Asia. At the age of twenty, Amir is sent to a neighboring town to be wed. But her surprise at learning her new husband, Karluk, is eight years younger than her is quickly replaced by a deep affection for the boy and his family. Though she hails from just beyond the mountains, Amir’s clan had very different customs, foods, and clothes from what Karluk is used to. As the two of them learn more about each other through their day-to-day lives, the bond of respect and love grows stronger.



Note: Won the Prix Intergénérations ("Intergenerational Award") at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2012 and the 7th Manga Taishou award in 2014.

Tags: Ensemble Cast , Marriage , Historical , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Travel , Seinen , Foreign , Arranged Marriage , Iyashikei , Desert , Indigenous Cultures , Family Life , Rural , Matchmaking , Age Gap , Educational , Cohabitation , War , Food , Religion , Unrequited Love , Language Barrier , Twins , Archery , Nudity , Animals , Military , Female Harem , LGBTQ+ Themes , Large Breasts

Taiyou no Ie

Also known as House of the Sun.

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

As a child, Mao spent all her time at Hiro’s house across the street. Going to his house always made her feel cheerful. A few years later, Mao’s father gets remarried and Mao finds herself with nowhere to call home. Hiro ends up letting her stay with him in the house he’s been occupying alone since the death of his parents. A love story unfolds, between two childhood friends of different ages.



Note: Includes twenty extra chapters.

Tags: Female Protagonist , Family Life , Coming of Age , Love Triangle , Shoujo , Age Gap , Tsundere , Tragedy , Heterosexual , School , Adoption , Primarily Teen Cast , Orphan , Estranged Family , Cohabitation

Kakkou no Iinazuke

Also known as A Couple of Cuckoos.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Ecchi , Romance

16-year-old super-studier Nagi Umino, second-year student at the Meguro River Academy high school, was switched at birth. On his way to a dinner to meet his birth parents, he accidentally meets the brash, outspoken, Erika Amano, who is determined to make Nagi her fake boyfriend as she never wants to actually marry. But once Nagi makes it to dinner, he finds his parents have decided to resolve the hospital switch by conveniently having him marry the daughter his birth parents raised...who turns out to be none other than Erika herself!



Note: Fourteenth place of Tsugimanga 2020 Award in the Manga Category

Tags: Female Harem , Love Triangle , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Inseki , Tsundere , Family Life , School , Shounen , Twins , Cosplay , Idol , Meta , Arranged Marriage , Cohabitation

Kamisama Hajimemashita

Also known as Kamisama Kiss.

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

Nanami Momozono is alone and homeless after her dad skips town to evade his gambling debts and the debt collectors kick her out of her apartment. So when a man she's just saved from a dog offers her his home, she jumps at the opportunity. But it turns out that his place is a shrine, and Nanami has unwittingly taken over his job as a local deity!

Nanami has all kinda of new responsibilities she doesn't understand, dangers she's unaware of, and a cranky ex-familiar who's...actually pretty hot. What's a new-fledged godling to do?



Tags: Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Kemonomimi , Demons , Coming of Age , Youkai , Gods , Urban Fantasy , Monster Boy , Found Family , School , Yandere , Time Manipulation , Amnesia , Historical , Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Male Harem , Age Regression , Idol , Afterlife , Marriage , Curses , Cohabitation

Umibe no Étranger

Also known as Seaside Stranger: Umibe no Étranger.

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

"There's nothing wrong with liking another guy."

To be in the arms of the person I love... I thought that was an unobtainable dream......... On an island off the coast of Okinawa, two young men meet on a beach. Shun Hashimoto is gay and aspires to be a novelist. He is interested in Mio Chibana, a somber high school student, and starts to flirt with him. Day by day, the two of them grow closer, but then, suddenly, Mio decides to leave the island. Three years later, Mio returns and approaches Shun with the words, "I've thought about it for the past three years. I like you, Shun, even if you're a guy." However, when faced with the prospect of finally becoming lovers with Mio, Shun cannot take the first step towards commitment...

This is a tantalizing love story about a gay novelist and a younger part-time worker. It's a manga that will touch and purify your heart.



Tags: Boys' Love , LGBTQ+ Themes , Male Protagonist , Time Skip , Writing , Coastal , Nudity , Love Triangle , Yuri , Cohabitation

Shimeji Simulation

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

A girl who shut herself in a closet for the last 2 years of middle school realizes she has to go to high school. When she exits her closet for the first time in two years and looks at herself in the mirror, she notices that she grew shimeji mushrooms out of her head.

Tags: Meta , Surreal Comedy , Philosophy , Augmented Reality , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Denpa , LGBTQ+ Themes , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , 4-koma , Post-Apocalyptic , Hikikomori , Yuri , School , Episodic , Suicide , Gods , School Club , Tragedy , Religion , Trains , Cohabitation , Seinen

Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet

Also known as Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet.

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

Fumi Oono, second-year high-school student. Stuck with the debts of her father, she needs a job—fast. While she did indeed manage to find one as a housekeeper for THE Akatsuki Kibikino, it leaves much to be desired. After all, the novelist has a mean glare and an even worse attitude...And on top of that, she has to live with him?!



Note: Includes 8 extra chapters (from which two are Hirunaka no Ryuusei extras, released with this series).


Tags: Shoujo , Coming of Age , Age Gap , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Adoption , Writing , School , Love Triangle , Tsundere , Tragedy , Time Skip , Work , Cohabitation

Witch Watch

Also known as WITCH WATCH.

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

Morihito, a boy with the strength of an ogre, is about to start living together with his childhood friend Nico, who is training to be a witch. Nico's magic leads to all sorts of unpredictable trouble, and with two teens under one roof... Let the fantastical antics begin! Magical comedy series by Kenta Shinohara creator of SKET DANCE and Astra Lost in Space.



Notes:
- Ranked 2nd place for the Next Manga Award in the Print Category in 2022.

Tags: Magic , Witch , Episodic , Urban Fantasy , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Heterosexual , Youkai , Found Family , Dissociative Identities , Parody , Primarily Teen Cast , Werewolf , Vampire , Shapeshifting , Cohabitation , Otaku Culture , Age Regression , Meta , Fashion , Gore , Conspiracy , Dragons

Bonnouji

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

Fate brings two people who live in the same condo together on a typical afternoon. Ozawa (26) has just broken up with her boyfriend of five years and was in the process of trying to rebuild her life when she meets Oyamada who lives a couple floors below her. He is somewhat of a loner although he does have a few friends and his room is cluttered with all the random stuff that his impulse shopper brother sends him. Ozawa takes an interest with all the things in his room and the two start a friendship that slowly turns into something more.



Tags: Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Office Lady , Heterosexual , Iyashikei , Work , Time Skip , Mahjong , Nudity , Cohabitation

Ranma 1/2

Also known as Ranma ½.

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

Years ago, Genma promised his old friend Soun Tendo that Ranma would marry one of Soun’s three daughters and carry on the family’s martial arts school. Except that the girl picked to be Ranma’s bride doesn’t seem to like him, Ranma keeps getting into fights…and did we mention that whole changing into a girl thing?



Tags: Gender Bending , Love Triangle , Martial Arts , Henshin , Ensemble Cast , Mixed Gender Harem , Cohabitation , Episodic , Shapeshifting , Female Harem , Femboy , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist , School , Shounen , Nudity , Tomboy , Ghost , Demons , Arranged Marriage , Magic , Animals , Curses

Oya ga Urusai node Kouhai (♀) to Gisou Kekkon shitemita.

Also known as I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up.

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

Morimoto, a young professional woman in Japan, is tired of fending off her parents' questions about her being single. They want her to marry a man and settle down, and they'll insist on nitpicking her choice of groom to death. In an unexpected move, another woman in the office - who has a crush on her - offers to be her wife in a sham marriage, which might make her parents back off. But this "fake" marriage could unearth something very real!



Note: Includes the extra chapters "Anaerobic Love" and "Fake Married Life".

Tags: Primarily Female Cast , Marriage , Yuri , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Cohabitation , LGBTQ+ Themes , Office Lady , Fake Relationship , Work , Family Life , Bisexual , Drawing

Ichido dake demo, Koukai Shitemasu.

Also known as I Can't Believe I Slept With You!.

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

Twenty-four-year-old Koduka Chiyo quit her job and is wallowing in self-pity in her apartment. She’s also three months behind on her rent. Then her landlady proposes an unusual solution: have sex with her, and she’ll help with the debt, the filthy apartment, and the loneliness driving Chiyo to beer and escapism. After a one-night stand, the two women decide to keep up the arrangement. Their growing relationship leads to questions of identity, getting one’s life together, and if something tender can develop from an arrangement that started with a bang.



Notes:
- Chapter count includes 1 extra.
- Nominated for the Tsugimanga 2020 Award in the Manga Category.

Tags: Yuri , Female Protagonist , LGBTQ+ Themes , Cohabitation , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Age Gap , Seinen , Bisexual , Nudity

Akarui Kioku Soushitsu

Also known as Cheerful Amnesia.

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

When Arisa loses her memories from the past three years, her girlfriend, Mari, worries it might mean the end of their budding relationship. A needless concern, it turns out, because when Arisa lays eyes on her, she falls in love all over again! Arisa’s not about to let a little severe brain damage get her down, because she has a chance to relive all their firsts for a second time—from dates, to kisses, and even beyond…!!



Note: Chapter count includes 3 extras.

Tags: Yuri , Amnesia , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Female Cast , 4-koma , Marriage , Age Gap , Seinen , Cohabitation

Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsunomanika Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken

Also known as The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten.

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

Amane Fujimiya lives alone in a messy apartment—right next door to Mahiru Shiina, a veritable "angel" who's the smartest, prettiest girl at school. When a chance encounter on a rainy day draws them together, Mahiru finds herself spending more and more time helping Amane get his life in order. And though they both insist they have no intention of dating the other, slowly but surely, something more than friendship begins to blossom.



Tags: Male Protagonist , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Heterosexual , Iyashikei , Shounen , School , Food , Primarily Teen Cast , Estranged Family , Cohabitation , Kuudere