Top Unrequited Love 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 , Makeup , Gyaru , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Photography , Seinen , Educational , Crossdressing , School , Primarily Female Cast , Drawing , Unrequited Love

Uzumaki

Also known as Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror.

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

Kurozu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but by a pattern: uzumaki, the spiral, the hypnotic secret shape of the world. It manifests itself in small ways: seashells, ferns, whirlpools in water, whirlwinds in air. And in large ways: the spiral marks on people's bodies, the insane obsessions of Shuichi's father, the voice from the cochlea in your inner ear. As the madness spreads, the inhabitants of Kurouzu-cho are pulled ever deeper, as if into a whirlpool from which there is no return...



Notes:
- Includes the extra chapter "Uzumaki Tokubetsu-hen: Ginga", which was included in editions later released.
- Chosen by the American Library Association (ALA) as one of the Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2009. (Vol. 1)

Tags: Tragedy , Body Horror , Cosmic Horror , Seinen , Survival , Female Protagonist , Gore , Episodic , Philosophy , Lost Civilization , Rural , Cannibalism , Urban Fantasy , Curses , Heterosexual , Suicide , Bullying , Demons , Unrequited Love , Cult , Yandere

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: Male Protagonist , Love Triangle , Shounen , Primarily Female Cast , Prostitution , Gambling , Unrequited Love , Female Harem , Work , Tsundere , Heterosexual , Fake Relationship , Acting , Primarily Adult Cast , College , Filmmaking , Aliens , Coming of Age , Meta , School , Agriculture , Slapstick , Nudity

Soul Eater

Also known as Soul Eater.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Supernatural

Maka is a scythe meister, working to perfect one particular scythe until it is good enough to become Death's Weapon -- the weapon used by Shinigami-sama, the spirit of Death himself. As if that wasn't unusual enough, her scythe is a demon scythe called Soul Eater, which can change form from a scythe to a human-looking boy. In order to make Soul Eater powerful enough to be Death's Weapon, he must eat the souls of 99 humans and 1 witch. Along the way, the two of them face many different challenges, including a cat witch named Blair (who happens to have a thing for Soul) and a teacher who's been turned into a zombie (and wants him to join her!). Her fellow students, like the shadow ninja weapon meister named Black Star who always needs to be the center of attention, aren't much help, either. It'll be a miracle if Maka even survives, let alone manages to make Soul Eater into the Death Scythe.



Note: Includes the 3-chapter prologue and 1 extra chapter.

Tags: Ensemble Cast , Henshin , Magic , Guns , Shounen , Super Power , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Assassins , Urban Fantasy , Philosophy , War , School , Witch , Twins , Gods , Foreign , Swordplay , Travel , Agender , Nudity , Werewolf , Tragedy , Shapeshifting , Alternate Universe , Zombie , Kemonomimi , Nekomimi , Tanned Skin , Unrequited Love , Body Horror , Urban , Space , Martial Arts , Heterosexual , Gender Bending

Yagate Kimi ni Naru

Also known as Bloom Into You.

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

Yuu has always loved shoujo manga and awaits the day she gets a love confession that sends her heart aflutter with bubbles and hearts, and yet when a junior high classmate confesses his feelings to her…she feels nothing. Disappointed and confused, Yuu enters high school still unsure how to respond. That’s when Yuu sees the beautiful student council president Nanami turn down a suitor with such maturity that she’s inspired to ask her for help. But when the next person to confess to Yuu is Nanami herself, has her shoujo romance finally begun?



Note: Includes 8 extra chapters.

Tags: Yuri , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , LGBTQ+ Themes , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Love Triangle , School Club , Unrequited Love , Acting , Philosophy , Aromantic , Shounen

Ao Haru Ride

Also known as Ao Haru Ride.

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

Futaba Yoshioka thought all boys were loud and obnoxious until she met Kou Tanaka in junior high. But as soon as she realized she really liked him, he had already moved away because of family issues. Now, in high school, Kou has reappeared, but is he still the same boy she fell in love with?



Includes two side stories and two oneshots.

Tags: Shoujo , School , Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Unrequited Love , Tomboy , Coming of Age , Kuudere , Tsundere , Tragedy , Time Skip , Age Gap

MASHLE

Also known as Mashle: Magic and Muscles.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Fantasy

This is a world of magic where magic is used for everything. But deep in the forest exists a young man who spends his time training and bulking up. He can't use magic, but he enjoys a peaceful life with his father. But one day, his life is put in danger! Will his muscular body protect him from the magic users who are out to get him? Powerfully trained muscles crush magic as this abnormal magical fantasy begins!



Note:
- Eleventh place of Tsugimanga 2020 Award in the Manga Category.

Tags: Magic , Fitness , Shounen , Surreal Comedy , Parody , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Slapstick , Time Manipulation , War , Primarily Male Cast , Asexual , Aromantic , Food , LGBTQ+ Themes , Unrequited Love , Volleyball , Tennis

Given

Also known as Given.

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

Ritsuka Uenoyama is bored with it all—with school, with his basketball club, and even with his one true passion: playing guitar. That is, until the day he finds his favorite hidden napping spot occupied by a strange boy cradling a broken-stringed guitar. At first, Uenoyama is nonplussed by Mafuyu Sato and his slightly odd behavior, but when, on a whim, he asks Mafuyu to sing, the power of that song pierces him to the core.



Tags: Boys' Love , Band , Rehabilitation , LGBTQ+ Themes , Musical Theater , Primarily Male Cast , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Unrequited Love , Josei , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Bisexual , School , Suicide , Kuudere , Tsundere , Urban , Love Triangle

Ao no Flag

Also known as Blue Flag.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

High school senior year, spring—one of life's important forks in the road. Taichi Ichinose finds himself in the same class as Futaba Kuze, who he feels strangely averse to, and his popular childhood friend, Touma Mita. One day, Futaba confides in him her love for Touma, and asks him for help. How will Taichi respond? This new “pure” love story begins as the three are colored in the emotions of youth.



Tags: Coming of Age , LGBTQ+ Themes , Love Triangle , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Chibi , Philosophy , School , Bisexual , Baseball , Ensemble Cast , Boys' Love , Shounen , Time Skip , Rehabilitation , Heterosexual , Unrequited Love , Yuri

orange

Also known as orange.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Romance , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Everyone has regrets in life. So who wouldn’t take the chance to change the past if given the opportunity? When sixteen-year-old Takamiya Naho receives a mysterious letter, claiming to be from her twenty-seven-year-old self, her life is suddenly thrown into flux. The letter tells her that a new transfer student by the name of Naruse Kakeru will be joining her class, and to keep her eye on him. But why? Naho must decide what to make of the letter and its cryptic warning, and what it means not only for her future, but for Kakeru’s as well.



Included series/one-shot:
Volumes 1-5: Haru-iro Astronaut (春色アストロノート , Spring-Colored Astronaut); #1: Bessatsu Margaret 2011-06, #2: Betsuma sister 2012-01, #3~5: kakioroshi
Mami and Tomoki have always shared everything in life, they are identical twins, yet so different in character and personality: Mami tender and helpless, courted by boys to whom she doesn't never "no" for excessive kindness, Tomoki with a strong sense of duty and a great spirit of sacrifice, would do anything to see his sister happy. But there comes a time, however, when one realizes there are things that cannot be shared, especially when it is something extremely rare and unique... just like an alien?!
Volume 6: Mirai (未来)
Volume 6: Suwa Hiroto (須和弘人)
A side story focusing on Naho and Suwa's lives in the world where Kakeru passed away at age 17.

Notes: Nominated to the 20th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.

Tags: School , Shoujo , Love Triangle , Time Manipulation , Heterosexual , Suicide , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , Alternate Universe , Tragedy , Unrequited Love , Acting

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

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Stardust Crusaders

Also known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Mystery , Supernatural

In a Japanese jail sits 17-year-old Jotaro Kujo: punk, fighter, delinquent...and possessed by a force beyond his control! Around the world, evil spirits are awakening: "Stands," monstrous invisible creatures which give their bearers incredible powers. To save his mother's life, Jotaro must tame his dark forces and travel around the world to Cairo, Egypt, where a hundred-year-old vampire thirsts for the blood of his family. But the road is long, and an army of evil Stand Users waits to kill JoJo and his friends...



Tags: Super Power , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Foreign , Primarily Male Cast , Travel , Tragedy , Time Manipulation , Vampire , Ensemble Cast , Urban Fantasy , Body Horror , Delinquents , Desert , Animals , Shapeshifting , Gambling , Cars , Disability , Age Regression , Unrequited Love , Revenge

Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu

Also known as The Summer Hikaru Died.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

Two boys lived in a village: Yoshiki and Hikaru. The two did everything together...until the day Hikaru was encompassed by a mysterious light. That was when everything changed—Hikaru most of all. Yoshiki still wishes from the bottom of his heart to always stay by his side...but is there even a Hikaru left to be with?

Tags: Monster Boy , Male Protagonist , Seinen , Rural , Cosmic Horror , Body Horror , Tragedy , Primarily Teen Cast , Boys' Love , Gods , LGBTQ+ Themes , Unrequited Love , Mountaineering

Boku wa Mari no Naka

Also known as Inside Mari.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Ecchi , Mystery , Psychological , Thriller

A young man is a shut-in, with nothing to do but kill time. The sole pleasure in his life is following home an angelic high school girl he sees every day in a convenience store. Today, like any other day, he follows her, but…



Tags: Female Protagonist , Body Swapping , Dissociative Identities , Gender Bending , Seinen , Philosophy , Psychosexual , Male Protagonist , Hikikomori , Primarily Female Cast , Rehabilitation , School , LGBTQ+ Themes , Yuri , Masturbation , Primarily Teen Cast , Nudity , Unrequited Love , Bullying , Tragedy

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Also known as Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Romance , Thriller

Subaru Natsuki was just trying to get to the convenience store but wound up summoned to another world. He encounters the usual things--life-threatening situations, silver haired beauties, cat fairies--you know, normal stuff. All that would be bad enough, but he's also gained the most inconvenient magical ability of all--time travel, but he's got to die to use it. How do you repay someone who saved your life when all you can do is die?



Tags: Time Manipulation , Time Loop , Tragedy , Witch , Isekai , Male Protagonist , Gore , Astronomy , Cosmic Horror , Magic , Memory Manipulation , Ensemble Cast , Politics , Cult , Body Horror , Suicide , Amnesia , Alternate Universe , Elf , Dissociative Identities , Reincarnation , Heterosexual , Twins , Maids , Time Skip , Hikikomori , Female Protagonist , Assassins , Femboy , Yandere , Dragons , Love Triangle , Crossdressing , Kemonomimi , Unrequited Love , Age Regression , Zombie , Necromancy , Werewolf , Disability

Sasayaku You ni Koi wo Utau

Also known as Whisper Me a Love Song.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance

Bubbly, energetic first-year high school student Himari falls head over heels for her senpai Yori after hearing her band perform on the first day of school. Himari tells Yori she just loves her, and to Himari's surprise, Yori says she loves Himari back! But when Himari realizes that she and her senpai are feeling two different kinds of love, she begins to ask herself what "love" really means...



Notes:
- Eighteenth place of Tsugimanga 2020 Award in the Manga Category
- First place in Yuri Navi’s best Yuri Manga of 2020

Tags: Yuri , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Band , LGBTQ+ Themes , School Club , School , Unrequited Love , Love Triangle , Primarily Teen Cast , Bisexual , Tragedy , Incest , Shounen

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 , Primarily Teen Cast , School Club , Shounen , Female Protagonist , Unrequited Love , Educational , Bisexual

Kakegurui

Also known as Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler -.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological

Hyakkaou Private Academy. An institution for the privileged with a very peculiar curriculum. You see, when you're the sons and daughters of the wealthiest of the wealthy, it's not athletic prowess or book smarts that keep you ahead. It's reading your opponent-the art of the deal. What better way to hone those skills than with a rigorous curriculum of gambling?

At Hyakkaou Private Academy, the winners live like kings, and the losers are put through the wringer. But when Yumeko Jabami enrolls, she's gonna teach these kids what a high roller really looks like!



Tags: Gambling , Card Battle , Female Protagonist , School , Primarily Female Cast , Poker , Anti-Hero , LGBTQ+ Themes , Death Game , Primarily Teen Cast , Villainess , Twins , School Club , Idol , Ojou-sama , Slavery , Bullying , Drugs , Economics , Family Life , Shounen , Yuri , Unrequited Love

Kuzu no Honkai

Also known as Scum's Wish.

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

Mugi and Hanabi are the perfect high school couple...but their relationship is built on a single shared secret: They're each in love with someone else.



Included one-shots:
Volume 1: Nyan Nyan Prelude
Volume 2: Nyan Nyan Serenade
Volume 3: Nyan Nyan Oratorio
Volume 4: Nyan Nyan Cantata
Volume 5: Nyan Nyan Andante
Volume 2 contains the side story "Little Little Princess" (Little Little Princess).

Tags: Heterosexual , Seinen , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , School , Love Triangle , Bisexual , LGBTQ+ Themes , Age Gap , Yuri , Fake Relationship , Unrequited Love , Nudity , Netorare

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 , Unrequited Love , Card Battle , Love Triangle , POV , Primarily Teen Cast , Educational , Ensemble Cast , School , Tomboy , Heterosexual , Bullying , Slapstick