Top Karuta Manga Recommendations

Chihayafuru

Also known as Chihayafuru.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Sports

Chihaya is a girl in the sixth grade, still not old enough to even know the meaning of the word zeal. But one day, she meets Arata, a transfer student from rural Fukui prefecture. Though docile and quiet, he has an unexpected skill: his ability to play competitive karuta, a traditional Japanese card game.

Chihaya is struck by his obsession with the game, along with his ability to pick out the right card and swipe it away before any of his opponents. However, Arata is transfixed by her as well, all because of her unbelievable natural talent for the game. Don't miss this story of adolescent lives and emotions playing out in the most dramatic of ways!



Notes:
- It won the 2nd Manga Taisho Award and the 35th annual Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shoujo.
- It was nominated for the 20th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2016.

Tags: Karuta , Josei , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , School Club , Card Battle , Love Triangle , Primarily Teen Cast , Educational , Ensemble Cast , Slapstick , School , Tomboy , POV , Heterosexual , Bullying

Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen Dai 2-bu - Shinden no Miko Minarai

Also known as Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 2.

Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Slice of Life

Part 2 of Honzuki no Gekokujou.

With her baptism ceremony complete, Myne begins work in the temple as an apprentice shrine maiden. Awaiting within is what she always wanted: a room full of books! But her new life isn't quite the dream she was hoping for; she's surrounded by nobles who scorn her commoner origins, and even her own servants are causing her trouble. On top of that, she has to constantly battle the weakness of her own body. But with her love for books burning in her heart, she gives her all to her new apprentice duties. Thus begins part two of this bibliofantasy!



Note: This entry covers 95 chapters of the webnovel (chapter 078 - 172).

Tags: Isekai , Orphan , Shrine Maiden , Work , Urban Fantasy , Writing , Religion , Tragedy , Disability , Reincarnation , Class Struggle , POV , Economics , Female Protagonist , Magic , Urban , Adoption , Slavery , Gods , Teacher , Alchemy , Karuta , Nun

Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen Dai 3-bu - Ryoushu no Youjo

Also known as Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3.

Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Slice of Life

Part 3 of Honzuki no Gekokujou.

Following a disastrous encounter with a noble, Myne finally resolves to say goodbye to her family and friends in the lower city, changing her name to “Rozemyne” and beginning her new life as the adopted daughter of Ehrenfest’s archduke. However, her days as an archnoble in noble society are brutal, as she is put through rigorous etiquette and magic training on top of her duties as High Bishop and forewoman. It all proves too much for a weak little seven-year-old girl... Or it would have, had the High Priest not offered her the keys to the temple’s book room as a reward. If she could get her hands on those, she’d be able to read all sorts of precious books! Her name may have changed, but Rozemyne’s passion for books remains the same as she charges into a whole new world! The detailed setting expands as the printing industry grows in size. Here begins Part 3 of this biblio-fantasy for book lovers everywhere!



Note: This entry covers 105 chapters of the webnovel (chapter 173 - 277).

Tags: Isekai , Politics , Religion , Economics , Female Protagonist , Magic , Work , Disability , Tragedy , Reincarnation , Mythology , Urban Fantasy , Alchemy , Class Struggle , Conspiracy , Estranged Family , Language Barrier , POV , Writing , Adoption , Food , Time Skip , Arranged Marriage , Gods , Orphan , Idol , Terrorism , Restaurant , Artificial Intelligence , Unrequited Love , Karuta

Chihayafuru: Chuugakusei-hen

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

The manga adapts Yui Tokiumi's spinoff novel series for Yuki Suetsugu's Chihayafuru manga.

The novels feature a series of stories detailing various characters' lives in middle school. (The original manga begins when they are in elementary school and skips to high school.)



Tags: Josei , Karuta , Female Protagonist , School , Card Battle , Primarily Child Cast

Chihayafuru plus Kimigatame

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Sports

Rintsu Nagara is a new first-year member of the Mizusawa High School karuta club. For some reason, Rintsuki is aiming to win the national championship, but after Chihaya and her friends graduate, the Mizusawa Karuta Club has only one A-class player, and she has a difficult time ahead of her. ...... The story depicts Rinzuki's growth along with her eccentric friend Akino and the other members of the club who are dedicated to playing karuta.



Tags: Josei , Karuta , School Club

Sabikui Bisco 2

Also known as Rust-Eater Bisco 2.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

In a world corroded by the Rusty Wind, a journey begins for the newly-immortal Akaboshi Bisco.

Together with Milo, they arrive in Shimane. There, rumors of the "Immortal Priest" Kelshinha—said to have ruled Shimane for 200 years—reach their ears. In search of a cure for Bisco's immortality, the two infiltrate a city of turmoil, strange rituals, and gruesome sacrifices, where many religious groups dwell in a precarious balance.

Read the exciting sequel to the story of two boys who, swift as arrows, fight to protect their loved ones and achieve their dreams!



Tags: Male Protagonist , Dystopian , Primarily Male Cast , Post-Apocalyptic , Archery , Medicine , Necromancy , Cult , Zombie , Karuta , Religion , Gods , Magic

Edo Karuta

Status: Finished
Genres: Romance

A collection of historic short stories, each associated with a karuta card. The stories revolve around the red-light district of Yoshiwara, in Edo.

1) Kimori
Okuma is a good-natured, sweet girl, but she is unable to find a husband due to her weight. One day, a samurai defends her from being publicly mocked. Is this samurai her chance to find happiness?

2) Kanrobai
After her father ritually commits suicide, Asagi finds herself in much reduced circumstances. Some of the girls who work with Asagi bully her, and the high-class airs she puts on don't help the situation. All she wants is a way to get back to the lifestyle to which she was accustomed, but all she has is mistreatment and the company of a strange man trapped under a barrel...

3) Maigoishi
Tama is a lost child, and she's taken in temporarily by a family who already has a son, Shirou. Tama can't wait to find her beloved father again. However, finding the place where she belongs may not be so simple for little Tama.

4) Akaishinyo
Seiichi is the only one left to protect his princess, Miya. He wants what's best for her, regardless of their feelings for one another. But can he really tell what that might be?



Tags: Shoujo , Historical , Female Protagonist , Episodic , Oiran , Karuta , Heterosexual , Samurai

Chihayafuru: Chuugakusei-hen

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Sports

Ayase Chihaya is a cheerful tomboy without any ambitious aspirations in life. At school one day, she meets a boy named Wataya Arata who is an outcast at school. Feeling pity despite peer pressure, Chihaya befriends Arata as he reveals to her his aptitude in karuta which institutes Chihaya's dream to become a karuta queen.

Tags: Josei , School , Karuta , Female Protagonist

Ore, Tsushima

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

The manga centers on a woman who is getting on in years, but all her cats think she's a man so they call her Ojii-chan. One day a brazen cat named Tsushima appears in Ojii-chan's yard.

Tags: Animals , Seinen , Full Color , Female Protagonist , Karuta

Kataru Karuta

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance

Tags: Karuta