Top Drawing Manga Recommendations

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

Jumyou wo Kaitotte Moratta. Ichinen ni Tsuki, Ichimanen de.

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

A twenty-year-old with little hope for the future discovers a shop that buys lifespan, time, and health. This is a story dealing with the ensuing consequences.

Note: Includes 2 extra chapters.

Tags: Coming of Age , Tragedy , Philosophy , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban Fantasy , Heterosexual , Suicide , Shounen , Photography , Drawing , Mopeds

Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san

Also known as Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro.

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

Nagatoro is a freshman in high school who loves teasing and torturing her older male classmate! What’s her motivation and why does Senpai put up with her? Does Nagatoro just want to create misery for Senpai? Or maybe she secretly likes him?



Note: Includes 34 extra chapters.

Tags: Bullying , Heterosexual , Tsundere , Male Protagonist , Tanned Skin , Female Protagonist , School , Drawing , School Club , Shounen , Primarily Female Cast , Martial Arts , Tomboy , Primarily Teen Cast , Gyaru , Slapstick , Judo , Nudity , Time Skip , Urban , Yandere

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

Tongari Boushi no Atelier

Also known as Witch Hat Atelier.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy

In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: she wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch … until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician. After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she’s never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody “knows” might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem...



Notes:
- Nominated for the 11th Manga Taishou Award in 2018.
- Won the Daruma d'Or at Japan Expo in 2019.
- Won Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia at the Eisner Awards in 2020.
- Won the Best Manga Award at the Harvey Awards in 2020.

Tags: Witch , Magic , Memory Manipulation , Female Protagonist , Teacher , Drawing , Revenge , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Female Cast , School , Primarily Child Cast , Conspiracy , Tragedy , Politics , Disability , Philosophy , Seinen , Spearplay , Rehabilitation , Foreign , Amnesia , Travel , LGBTQ+ Themes , Iyashikei , Boys' Love , Found Family

Look Back

Also known as Look Back.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Fujino is a fourth grader who draws a manga strip for the school newspaper. Her art makes her the star of the class, but one day she's told that Kyomoto, a student who refuses to come to school, would also like to submit a manga for the paper...



Note: The one-shot was compiled in a special volume, released on September 3, 2021.

Tags: Drawing , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Hikikomori , Primarily Female Cast , Coming of Age , Work , School , Autobiographical , Meta , Shounen , Primarily Child Cast

Bakuman.

Also known as Bakuman。.

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

Average student Moritaka Mashiro enjoys drawing for fun. When his classmate and aspiring writer Akito Takagi discovers his talent, he begs Moritaka to team up with him as a manga-creating duo. But what exactly does it take to make it in the manga-publishing world?



Tags: Drawing , Work , Meta , Writing , Educational , Shounen , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Otaku Culture , Tomboy , School , Tragedy

Sabishisugite Rezu Fuzoku ni Ikimashita Report

Also known as My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness.

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

A hugely popular comic on Pixiv, My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness offers readers an honest and heartfelt look at one young woman’s exploration of her sexuality, mental well-being, and growing up in our modern age.



Note: Includes 1 extra chapter.

Tags: Autobiographical , Coming of Age , Non-fiction , Female Protagonist , LGBTQ+ Themes , Rehabilitation , Family Life , Disability , Yuri , POV , Philosophy , Drawing , Psychosexual , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Survival , Achronological Order , Urban , Nudity , Full Color , Denpa

Billy Bat

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

The story is set in 1949 and follows Japanese-American comic book artist Kevin Yamagata as he draws the popular detective series "Billy Bat" for "Marble Comics." When he learns he may have unconsciously copied the character from an image he saw while serving in occupied Japan, he returns to Japan to get permission to use Billy Bat from its original creator. Upon arriving there, however, he becomes embroiled in a web of murder, cover-ups, and prophecy that all leads back to Billy Bat.

It is soon evident, however, that the truth of Billy Bat's nature is far larger than Kevin could ever guess, spanning millennia and across the world.



Note: Won the Max und Moritz Prize for "Best international Comic" in 2014.

Tags: Drawing , Historical , Politics , Time Manipulation , Philosophy , Conspiracy , Urban Fantasy , Ensemble Cast , Seinen , Travel , Primarily Adult Cast , Foreign , Achronological Order , War , Time Skip , Police , Male Protagonist , Dystopian , Anachronism , Religion , Espionage , Nudity , Terrorism

Mikkakan no Koufuku

Also known as Three Days of Happiness.

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

HOW MUCH IS LIFE TRULY WORTH?
Kusunoki used to believe he was destined for great things. Ostracized as a child, he held on to a belief that a good life was waiting for him in the years ahead. Now approaching the age of twenty, he's a completely mediocre college student with no motivation, no dreams, and no money. After learning he can sell his remaining years-and just how little they're worth-he chooses to divest himself of all but his last three months. Has Kusunoki truly destroyed his last chance to find happiness...or has he somehow found it?



Tags: Tragedy , Philosophy , Urban Fantasy , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Urban , Seinen , Hikikomori , Heterosexual , Writing , Suicide , Photography , Drawing , College , Mopeds , Autobiographical , Amnesia

Gintama

Also known as Gin Tama.

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

The samurai didn't stand a chance. First, the aliens invaded Japan. Next, they took all the jobs. And then they confiscated everyone's swords. So what does a hotheaded former samurai like Sakata "Gin" Gintoki do to make ends meet? Take any odd job that comes his way, even if it means losing his dignity.



Included Bonus Chapters:
Volume 1: Dandelion (One-shot).
Volume 2: Shirokuro (One-shot).
Volume 24: 13 (One-shot).
Volume 38: Bankara-san Ga Tooru (One-shot).
Volume 41: Special Lesson.

Tags: Parody , Samurai , Found Family , Meta , Swordplay , Male Protagonist , Aliens , Shounen , Philosophy , Episodic , Tragedy , Space , Historical , Anachronism , Time Skip , Ensemble Cast , Police , War , Dystopian , Robots , Ninja , Ghost , LGBTQ+ Themes , Homeless , Assassins , Crossdressing , Fugitive , Idol , Shrine Maiden , Body Swapping , Gender Bending , Judo , Drawing , Gangs , Female Harem , Dissociative Identities , Afterlife , Amnesia , Cult , Military , Reincarnation , Nekomimi , Conspiracy , Politics

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

Also known as Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Romance

The boy of her dreams...is a girl's manga artist?! To the eyes of high school student Chiyo Sakura, classmate Umetarou Nozaki--brawny of build and brusque of tongue--is a dreamboat! When Chiyo finally works up the courage to tell Nozaki how she feels about him, she knows rejection is on the table...but getting recruited as a manga-ka's assistant?! Never in a million years! But for someone who makes a living drawing sweet girly romances, Nozaki-kun is a little slow on the uptake when it comes to matters of the heart in reality. And so Chiyo's daily life of manga making and heartache begins!



Tags: Drawing , Parody , Ensemble Cast , 4-koma , Work , School , Heterosexual , Otaku Culture , Tomboy , Tsundere , Shounen , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , School Club , Unrequited Love , Educational , Bisexual

Nan Hao Shang Feng

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

A comedy about two ordinary high school boys.

Tags: Male Protagonist , Episodic , Full Color , Surreal Comedy , Primarily Male Cast , Meta , Primarily Teen Cast , Slapstick , Delinquents , School , Parody , Drawing , Athletics , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Crossdressing , Crime

Yuragi-sou no Yuuna-san

Also known as Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs.

Status: Finished
Genres: Ecchi , Romance , Supernatural

Homeless and haunted by ghosts, high schooler Kogarashi thinks his luck has finally turned when he finds Yuragi-sou-a cheap boarding house that was formerly a hot springs inn, now full of super sexy, scantily clad female tenants. If Kogarashi can use his spirit abilities to banish the ghost that haunts the inn, he can even live there rent-free! But when the ghost, a beautiful teenage girl named Yuuna, appears before him, Kogarashi takes pity on her and is suddenly not so sure about the exorcism. Will he help save Yuuna from becoming an evil spirit? And what supernatural secrets do the other boarders hold?



Note: Includes five extra chapters

Tags: Ghost , Female Harem , Nudity , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Inn , Shounen , Youkai , Large Breasts , Tragedy , Amnesia , Economics , Martial Arts , Ninja , Nekomimi , Gender Bending , School , Age Regression , Kemonomimi , Super Power , Drawing , Love Triangle , Succubus , Teacher

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai

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

A short-length comedy about Matsuboshi Raidou-kun and his seatmate Aharen Reina-san, who has problems determining how chummy she has to be when approaching other people. Get up close and personal with the small, quiet but unfathomable girl, Aharen-san!

Tags: School , Iyashikei , Heterosexual , Meta , Episodic , Kuudere , Parody , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Shounen , Martial Arts , Drawing , Primarily Female Cast , Gyaru , Teacher , Crossdressing , Yuri

Futsuu ni Kiite Kure

Also known as Just Listen to the Song.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Supernatural

A student presents his crush with a love song that he wrote, recorded himself performing, and uploaded to YouTube, and he tells her to watch it before giving him a reply. When he returns to school the next day, he finds that the girl has shown the video to the entire class over LINE. Amid the jeering of his classmates, she snidely apologizes to him and explains that his video was hilarious enough to warrant sharing. However, his decision to remove the upload is curbed after a ghost is spotted within the video, and a classmate advises against its deletion. His YouTube post eventually gains popularity as the growing audience discovers more anomalies, all intent on deciphering the hidden messages that its very uploader had not even intended.

A unique one-shot from the mad genius behind Chainsaw Man and the rising star of To Strip the Flesh.

Tags: Satire , Meta , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Surreal Comedy , Shounen , Ghost , Denpa , Drawing , Urban Fantasy

Kuragehime

Also known as Princess Jellyfish.

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

Tsukimi Kurashita has a strange fascination with jellyfish. She’s loved them from a young age and has carried that love with her to her new life in the big city of Tokyo. There, she resides in Amamizukan, a safe-haven for girl geeks who regularly gush over a range of things from trains to Japanese dolls. However, a chance meeting at a pet shop has Tsukimi crossing paths with one of the things that the residents of Amamizukan have been desperately trying to avoid—a beautiful and fashionable woman! But there’s much more to this woman than her trendy clothes! This odd encounter is only the beginning of a new and unexpected path for Tsukimi and her friends.



Note: Chapter count includes 10 extra chapters

Tags: Josei , Female Protagonist , Fashion , Crossdressing , Foreign , Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Otaku Culture , Language Barrier , Primarily Adult Cast , LGBTQ+ Themes , Found Family , Urban , Makeup , Age Gap , Drawing , Male Harem , Gender Bending , Animals , Coming of Age

Mata, Onaji Yume wo Miteita

Also known as I Had That Same Dream Again.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Slice of Life , Supernatural

An unhappy girl who engages in self-harm, a woman ostracized by society, and an old woman looking to live out her twilight years in peace–what could three such different people have in common? That’s what grade schooler Nanoka Koyanagi is trying to find out. Assigned by her teacher to define what “happiness” means to her, Nanoka tries to find her place in the world by exploring her relationships with these three strangers, and through them, comes to know herself.



Tags: Educational , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Bullying , Time Manipulation , School , Seinen , Drawing , Tragedy , Suicide , Time Skip

Reiraku

Also known as Downfall.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Selling copies is the only thing that matters.

So what if your first series just ended and you have no idea how to start the next one, your marriage is breaking up, your pure love of manga has been destroyed by the cruel reality of the industry and nothing seems to fill the sucking void inside you...

Find the secret combo for a new hit manga series and everything will be okay.

Right?



Tags: Drawing , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Prostitution , Heterosexual , Work , Nudity ,

Kakukaku Shikajika

Also known as Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

High schooler Akiko has big plans to become a popular mangaka before she even graduates, but she needs to get much better at drawing if she ever wants to reach her goal. Looking for an easy fix, she signs up for an art class, thinking all her problems will soon be solved. She’s in for a surprise: her new instructor is a sword-wielding taskmaster who doesn’t care about manga one bit. But maybe this unconventional art teacher is just what she needs to realize her dreams!



Notes:
- Kakukaku Shikajika is an autobiography detailing the life of author Akiko Higashimura.
- The manga won the Grand Prize at the 8th Manga Taisho Award in 2015.

Tags: Drawing , Coming of Age , Otaku Culture , Teacher , Autobiographical , Josei , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Non-fiction , College , Time Skip , Meta , Work , Writing , Primarily Adult Cast , Rural , Swordplay , Philosophy , Educational , Mopeds