Top Cosplay 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!

Awards: - Nominated for the 14th and 15th Manga Taisho. - Winner of the 7th Next Manga Award in the print category. - Nominated for the 26th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. - Nominated for the 67th Shogakukan Manga Award in general category. - Nominated for the 46th Kodansha Manga Award.

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

Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru

Also known as My Dress-Up Darling.

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

Traumatized by a childhood incident with a friend who took exception to his love of traditional dolls, doll-artisan hopeful Gojou Wakana passes his days as a loner, finding solace in the home ec room at his high school. To Wakana, people like beautiful Kitagawa Marin, a trendy girl who's always surrounded by a throng of friends, is practically an alien from another world. But when cheerful Marin--never one to be shy--spots Wakana sewing away one day after school, she barges in with the aim of roping her quiet classmate into her secret hobby: cosplay! Will Wakana's wounded heart be able to handle the invasion from this sexy alien?!



Tags: Cosplay , Otaku Culture , Fashion , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Gyaru , Makeup , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Photography , Seinen , Educational , Primarily Female Cast , Crossdressing , School , Unrequited Love , Drawing

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

Also known as Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku.

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

Narumi Momose has had it rough: every boyfriend she’s had dumped her once they found out she was an otaku, so she’s gone to great lengths to hide it. When a chance meeting at her new job with childhood friend, fellow otaku, and now coworker Hirotaka Nifuji almost gets her secret outed at work, she comes up with a plan to make sure he never speaks up. But he comes up with a counter-proposal: why doesn’t she just date him instead? In love, there are no save points.



Notes:
- Includes 29 extra chapters.
- The English edition combines 2 Japanese volumes into one each (so e.g. the first two Japanese volumes are combined into 1 English volume).

Tags: Otaku Culture , Primarily Adult Cast , Office Lady , Video Games , Heterosexual , Work , Episodic , Josei , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Meta , Iyashikei , Office , Ensemble Cast , Cosplay , Tsundere , Crossdressing , Chibi

Masamune-kun no Revenge

Also known as Masamune-kun’s Revenge.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance

As an overweight child, Makabe Masamune was mercilessly teased and bullied by one particular girl, Adagaki Aki. Determined to one day exact his revenge upon her, Makabe begins a rigorous regimen of self-improvement and personal transformation.

Years later, Masamune reemerges as a new man. Handsome, popular, with perfect grades and good at sports, Masamune-kun transfers to Aki’s school, and is unrecognizable to her. Now, Masamune-kun is ready to confront the girl who bullied him so many years ago and humiliate her at last. But will revenge be as sweet as he thought?



Included Side Chapters:
Chapter 9.5: Investigative Report into Aki Adagaki
Chapter 12.5: A Fine Tradition of Stewardship
Chapter 14.5: Tsunade Island Incident Part 2
Chapter 20.5: Kojuurou Wants To Become A Dandy
Chapter 35.2: Piggy's Memorial Part 2


Tags: School , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Revenge , Heterosexual , Female Harem , Shounen , Ojou-sama , Love Triangle , Tsundere , Tragedy , Bullying , Kuudere , Mafia , Parody , Slapstick , Otaku Culture , Crossdressing , Foreign , Nudity , Maids , Cosplay , Tanned Skin , Guns

Ouran Koukou Host Club

Also known as Ouran High School Host Club.

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

One day, Haruhi, a scholarship student at exclusive Ouran High School, breaks an $80,000 vase that belongs to the "Host Club," a mysterious campus group consisting of six super-rich (and gorgeous) guys. To pay back the damages, she is forced to work for the club, and it's there that she discovers just how wealthy the boys are and how different they are from everybody else.



Note: Includes 14 extra chapters.

Tags: Male Harem , Shoujo , School Club , School , Female Protagonist , Crossdressing , Gender Bending , Slapstick , Mixed Gender Harem , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Tomboy , Primarily Teen Cast , Twins , LGBTQ+ Themes , Meta , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Parody , Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Agender , Cosplay , Tsundere , Chibi , Bisexual , Gyaru , Incest

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 , School , Family Life , Shounen , Twins , Cosplay , Idol , Meta , Arranged Marriage

Kuroiwa Medaka ni Watashi no Kawaii ga Tsuujinai

Also known as Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Ecchi , Romance

Mona is the cutest girl in school, and she knows it. In fact, she's worked hard to make her high school debut successful. But no matter what she does, she can't seem to catch the eye of stone-cold stoic Medaka Kuroiwa—but she's not about to give up that easy. Medaka, on the other hand, has been raised at a temple and was told to never become close to women. Who will win in this heated battle of wills?



Tags: Female Harem , Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Female Protagonist , School , Tsundere , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Kuudere , Primarily Teen Cast , Cosplay , Religion , Yandere , Nudity

Kanojo mo Kanojo

Also known as Girlfriend, Girlfriend.

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

Naoya just got a girlfriend, the gorgeous Saki-chan, and though their intensities often pit them against each other like ice and fire, they're totally, uncontrollably in love with each other. He vows never to cheat...when out of the blue he recieves another confession! Nagisa's cute, sweet, and she's made him lunch to boot! He knows he can't cheat, but he can't let a cutie like this get away...so he does the logical(?) thing: Asks Saki for permission to date them both! The confidence! The arrogance! The very gall! No matter the outcome, Naoya's future will be lively!



Tags: Female Harem , Male Protagonist , Surreal Comedy , Heterosexual , Parody , Primarily Teen Cast , Love Triangle , Satire , Nudity , Primarily Female Cast , Shounen , Tsundere , Slapstick , Polyamorous , School , Meta , Yandere , Cosplay , Bisexual , Slavery

Real mo Tama ni wa Uso wo Tsuku

Also known as Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie!.

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

Kaoru Terasaki is a gamer who’s into MMORPGs, and he’s finally meeting up with someone he’s been friends with in-game for a long while—this time, offline and in person. He’s worried that his friend will be disappointed to see Kaoru is a guy, unlike his female character in the game. But he’s the one who’s in for a surprise when, instead of another guy, his friend turns out to be a cute girl, Nanami Ousaka. On top of that, Nanami told her parents that she would be bringing a friend over—a female friend. Even worse, Nanami’s dad is the super overprotective type who won’t allow any guys near his daughter. There’s only one solution to this dilemma: Kaoru has to cross-dress as a girl! Will Kaoru’s efforts pay off in the end?! Will Kaoru and Nanami remain just friends, or will their time together IRL change everything? Follow their romantic-comedy adventures to find out!



Tags: Crossdressing , Full Color , Heterosexual , Video Games , Hikikomori , Otaku Culture , Cosplay , School , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist

Hitomi-chan wa Hitomishiri

Also known as Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers.

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

Tall and busty high school girl Takano Hitomi has shark teeth, a looming presence, and an intense facial expression. However, looks can be deceiving. Beneath her imposing frame and piercing glare, Hitomi-chan is a sweet first-year student who just wants to overcome her social anxiety and make some friends. Enter Usami Yuu, a second-year boy who is shorter than Hitomi but not put off by her intimidating looks. A friendship blossoms–and maybe more! Don’t miss this charming romcom between a scary-but-sweet girl and her smaller, loving senpai.



Tags: Tomboy , Heterosexual , School , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Female Protagonist , Athletics , Cosplay , Yuri

2.5 Jigen no Ririsa

Also known as 2.5 Dimensional Seduction.

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

“I have no interest in real girls!” So claims Okumura, the president of the school’s manga club. He’s your typical otaku, obsessed with a sexy (fictional) 2D manga character known as Lilliel. Then the new school year starts, and a (real!) 3D girl named Lilysa whose passion is cosplay joins the club. Lilysa convinces Okumura to become her photographer–and guess who her favorite manga character is? Not only that, but Lilysa is into modeling the fetishy stuff! The boundaries between 2D and 3D start to blur as this hot-blooded romantic comedy unfolds.



Note: Won 4th place of Tsugimanga 2020 Award in the Web Manga Category.

Tags: Cosplay , Otaku Culture , Female Harem , Male Protagonist , Nudity , Heterosexual , Shounen , School Club , LGBTQ+ Themes , Photography , Primarily Female Cast , Yuri , Gyaru , Kuudere , Tsundere , Full Color

Ibitsu

Also known as Ibitsu.

Status: Finished
Genres: Horror

There's an urban legend that says late at night, sometimes a young girl dressed in gothic lolita clothing will appear by garbage dumps to ask a question. Any who answer will, without fail, die a twisted death. And tonight, another young boy will find himself enveloped by this horror...



Each volume contains a side-story chapter.

Tags: Seinen , Yandere , Gore , Body Horror , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Cosplay , Nudity

Fukakai na Boku no Subete wo

Also known as Love Me for Who I Am.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance

Mogumo is a cute but lonely high school student who just wants a few loving friends. Fellow student Iwaoka Tetsu invites Mogumo to work at his family’s café for “cross-dressing boys,” but he makes an incorrect assumption: Mogumo is non-binary and doesn’t identify as a boy or a girl. However, Mogumo soon finds out that the café is run by LGBT+ folks of all stripes, all with their own reasons for congregating there.



Tags: LGBTQ+ Themes , Transgender , Agender , Coming of Age , Seinen , Crossdressing , Work , Found Family , Estranged Family , Restaurant , Maids , Femboy , Cosplay , Yuri , Love Triangle , School , Boys' Love

Genshiken

Also known as Genshiken.

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

It’s spring of freshman year, and Kanji Sasahara has a difficult dilemma. Should he declare his love for manga and anime fandom by joining an otaku club, like he has always wanted to? Is he prepared to deal with the social stigma attached to being an otaku? Meanwhile, Saki Kasakabe has her own otaku conundrum. How can she turn her boyfriend, anime fanboy Makoto, into a normal guy? Kanji follow his heart as does Saki. When both Kanji and Makoto join Genshiken: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, Saki chases Makoto through the various activities of the club from cosplaying and comic conventions, to video gaming and anime model figures. Saki finds otaku to be more than she imagined, but not necessarily in a good way.



Tags: Otaku Culture , School Club , College , Seinen , Cosplay , Primarily Adult Cast , Parody , Meta , Ensemble Cast , School , Video Games , Tragedy

NEW GAME!

Also known as New Game!.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Aoba Suzukaze may look like a middle schooler, but she’s actually a character designer fresh out of high school. Not only is she working for the company that put out one of her favorite games, she also gets to spend her days modeling and creating characters. Follow her adorable shenanigans in this 4-panel slice of life as she learns the ropes of the industry and gets to know her co-workers.



Note: Includes 30 extra chapters, 13 side chapters from volume 5, 12 color chapters from volumes 1-12 and 5 bonus chapters from volumes 1, 2, 9, 10, 11.

Tags: 4-koma , Primarily Female Cast , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Work , Female Protagonist , Software Development , Video Games , Seinen , Office Lady , Primarily Adult Cast , Yuri , Drawing , Urban , Tomboy , School , Airsoft , Cosplay , Tanned Skin , College , Time Skip , Office

Jintian De Ta Yeshi Ruci Keai

Also known as She Is Also Cute Today.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

"I'm into someone." Cang Shu, a straight-A student who always indulges in learning and has no passion for social contact, actually announces in public that she likes the poor student Qi Lin?! Thanks to a misunderstanding, the two of them begin to get to know each other. When a girl who disdains to make friends meets another girl who desires to be loved, what will occur between them?



Tags: School , Yuri , Full Color , LGBTQ+ Themes , Episodic , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Delinquents , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Video Games , Bullying , Crossdressing , Boys' Love , Body Swapping , Suicide , Cosplay

Musume ja Nakute Mama ga Suki nano!?

Also known as You Like Me, Not My Daughter?!.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Ecchi , Romance

When Ayako’s sister died, leaving her young daughter all alone, Ayako stepped up and took the child into her life. Now that her niece/adopted daughter is a teenager, a 30-something Ayako can sense first love in the air. Ayako teases her daughter about Takumi, their handsome and college-aged neighbor, who’s been tutoring her since she was young–could they be a blossoming couple, since he’s always beaming when he comes to their house? To Ayako’s surprise, Takumi isn’t interested in daughter dearest: he’s long had a crush on Ayako herself! In this age gap romantic comedy, one young man is ready to bring a little sugar to the sexy mom next door.



Tags: MILF , Age Gap , Adoption , Large Breasts , Coming of Age , Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Family Life , Primarily Adult Cast , Seinen , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Crossdressing , Cosplay , Nudity

Tokidoki Bosotto Russiago de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san

Also known as Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian.

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

Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou is Seiren Private Academy’s “solitary princess.” She’s a half-Russian beauty with silver hair, at the top of her class, student council accountant, and…completely unapproachable. For some reason, she’s also taken on the responsibility of reprimanding the slacker who sits next to her in class. Masachika Kuze is constantly frustrating her by falling asleep, forgetting his textbooks, and just being an overall unexemplary student. Or at least, that’s how it looks from the outside. She may put on a tough act, but she doesn’t mind Masachika as much as others would think. She even lets him call her by her nickname, Alya. Anyone hearing the comments she mutters in Russian under her breath might know how she really feels, but since none of her classmates understand the language, she’s free to say whatever she likes! Except…there is one person who knows what she’s saying. Masachika eavesdrops on her embarrassing revelations, pretending to be clueless, all the while wondering what her flirtatious comments actually mean!



Note: This entry includes volume 4.5.

Tags: School , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist , Language Barrier , Otaku Culture , Coming of Age , Episodic , Slapstick , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , Tsundere , Love Triangle , Ojou-sama , Parody , Cosplay , Estranged Family , Primarily Female Cast , Shounen , Tomboy , Politics

Boku no Kanojo Sensei

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

Can sensei be the heroine? Please?

Due to a traumatic experience, I have a distrust of people called “sensei”. I, Saiki Makoto, was called by after school by the most popular and beautiful teacher at my school, Fujiki Maka-sensei.

“I… love you” Eh– a confession out of the blue!? “Until you say you love me, I will continue to pursue you”

Ever since then, I’ve been called by for “guidance counselling” after school, somehow watched AV together, being given excessive skin-ship, went on dates together. Over time, I gradually became conscious of Sensei…? But isn’t it bad for Sensei to go out with her student?

A romance that is absolutely NG, the forbidden love between us two.

Lesson start!

Tags: Teacher , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , MILF , Age Gap , Female Harem , School , Seinen , American Football , Urban , Airsoft , Nudity , Cosplay , Gyaru

Youkai Shoujo: Monsuga

Also known as Yokai Girls.

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

Nishizuru Yatsuki has always considered himself a fairly normal guy–he’s graduated from school, works a part-time job, and has never had a girlfriend. Yet he does have one unusual ability: he can see yokai spirits! He usually copes with these ghostly visions by ignoring them…until he meets a mysterious young woman named Rokka. Now his normal days have taken a notably abnormal turn, as Yatsuki finds himself the sole defender of some sexy supernatural yokai!



Tags: Youkai , Nudity , Seinen , Monster Girl , Nekomimi , Cosplay , Female Harem