Hello everyone! To celebrate 555 logged manga entries on MAL, I have constructed a detailed list of every manga series that I have found uniquely enjoyable over the years. I was originally going to limit myself to series that I have finished from beginning to end- but that would simply leave far too many new or long-running titles neglected! The world of comics is wonderful these days.
I have provided a basic description for most series and have linked a MAL/Mangaupdates entry for each title that will provide further detail such as notable tropes and content warnings. While one can find these series on most manga reading sites, I do very much implore seeking out torrents for older titles in order to ensure you're getting high quality scans with the most accurate translation. The scans that populate some websites have circulated for 15+ years, and are littered with jpeg artifacts or poor editing.
I suppose when I complete another 500, I will need to make another list.
Ana no Ie
A man finds that his apartment has mysterious holes. Has the right amount of comedy and a wonderful eldritch touch.
Devilman
A kindhearted boy merges with an insatiable demon in order to save mankind from an existential threat that he does not yet realize is more complex than he conceives. It's Devilman, I'm not sure what other introduction is needed. Go read Devilman if you haven't already read Devilman.
Dorohedoro
It's Dorohedoro.
Fetish
A series of hauntingly beautiful gothic oneshots by Kaoru Fujiwara.
Franken Fran
The daily life of a highly skilled surgeon and the fantastical requests of her clientele.
Fuan no Tane / Seeds of Anxiety
Follows urban legends and other assorted supernatural happenings throughout Japan. Classic series.
Fukurou no Yubi
A girl wishes upon a star for her bullying to stop, and the universe responds to her call in an odd way. This is technically porn, but the atmosphere is so uniquely unsettling that I would feel sheepish not at least mentioning it.
Gamurakan
Bodysnatching "angels" wreak havoc throughout a Japanese city, inducing psychosis and paranoia in their victims."Fever dream" is a term that's often incorrectly used when describing weird media, but the events of this series do genuinely transpire like a fever dream. A truly immersive and terrifying read that does the body horror genre justice.
Huvahh
Atmospheric oneshot by Q Hayashida of Dorohedoro fame.
Hyouryuu Kyoushitsu / The Drifting Classroom
A school of children must figure out how to survive when their campus is transported to a seemingly desolate wasteland. Lord of the Flies meets Muv-Luv Alternative meets Watership Down.
Junji Ito general
Uzumaki, Hellstar Remina, Shin Yami no Koe: Kaidan, Itou Junji no Neko Nikki: Yon & Muu
Kami no Kodomo
At the behest of his mother, a young boy grows up to become a killer, a savior, God and the devil all at once.
Kyoufu Jigoku Shoujo / Hell Baby
A deformed little girl is abandoned at birth in a junk yard. Years later, with the help of a mysterious witch, she goes back to society to find the family that abandoned her. She also cannot survive without drinking blood.
Mail
The daily life of an aloof exorcist who uses a gun to stop restless ghosts.
Me wo Mite Hanase / Look Me in the Eyes When You Talk
A man wakes up after a traumatic car accident to find that the people around him do not have eyes.
Mission-chan no Daibouken
A girl commits suicide and awakens in a surreal, alienating world. Initially published on the mangaka's now-defuct website in 2006, the series utilizes an impressive array of mediums and techniques to convey the story. Very atmospheric and engaging, a definite favorite.
Mushihime
A boy finds himself both drawn to and deeply fearing a new transfer student who has a deep affinity with insects. This series is a bizarre combination of varying quality with the highs conveying immaculate insect horror and the lows making you believe you're reading a completely different comic altogether.
Paranoia Trap
Dreamlike body horror series. Translation appears to be ongoing, but what is available thus far appears promising.
Phobia
Anthology series centered around different kinds of phobias. Translation status appears to be dead, however, the one chapter out is good.
Serial Experiments Lain: The Nightmare of Fabrication
Short oneshot disconnected from the series. Illustrated by Yoshitoshi aBe.
Shadow Man
A woman finds herself stalked by what appears to be the shadow of a man.
Shoujo Pandora
Body horror-driven shoujo horror stories. I am unperturbed by gooey old school shoujo style because I am a feminist...are you?
Tsuki Kuu Mushi
Oneshot series centered around an interplay of violence and desire.
Ase to Sekken / Sweat and Soap
An awkward office lady enters a relationship with a perfume developer who is obsessed with her scent. The refreshing maturity of the leads makes for some genuinely engaging character development.
Asper Kanojo / Aspergirl / That's My Atypical Girl
A brutally honest and deeply compelling story about a shut-in doujinshi artist and an autstic woman who are drawn to one another.
Gomashio to Pudding
A 22-year-old heavy machinery operator wakes up after a bender to find herself married to a middle aged man. God I wish that were me.
Gaikotsu to Koi wa Dekiru no ka?
A love story between a wandering adventurer and a skeleton he is tasked to fall in love with in 7 days.
Kamibukuro-kun wa Koishiteru
A relationship between a stern college girl and a paper bag-headed puppy-like boy who is head over heels for her.
Kareshi ni Donbiki saretai Minamoto-san
A yandere finds a boy who whole-heartedly embraces her tendencies.
Kimi no Kaketeru Toko mo Suki
A relationship between a shy boy and a spunky amputee girl he meets on his first day of school.
Lily
A man discovers that a pornographic actress he is endeared by works at his local convenience store. Oshimi Shuzou romance in a typical Oshimi Shuzou fashion.
Magi no Okurimono / The Gift of the Magi
A 23-year-old man's quest to preserve his memories of his dead girlfriend, and his dead girlfriend's quest to make him to move on from her.
Senpai ga Uzai Kouhai no Hanashi / My Senpai Is Annoying
The daily life of an OL and her irritation towards her doting senior at work.
Super no Ura de Yani Suu Futari / Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You
A slowburn between a salaryman and a teasing convenience store employee who bond during the latter's smoke breaks.
Udon no Hito / The Lady of Udon
A college art student finds himself falling for the older woman who serves lunch at his campus cafeteria.
Yome ga Kore na mon de. / Oh, My Sweet Alien
The daily life of a man and his alien wife.
Akihabara Fall in Love
Otaku x Salary Man romance.
Endless World
Two men working at a restaurant find their lives surprisingly joined together by a mysterious figure who haunts their pasts. Linecook dick really goes crazy.
Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu / The Summer Hikaru Died
A boy grapples with the repressed feelings he has towards his deceased friend, and a mysterious entity wearing his skin who loves him back.
Hoppe ni Himawari
A super cute love story about a chubby boy with a penchant for gardening and his crush on the captain of his school's baseball team.
Inu mo Kuwanai
A detective becomes ensnared in a game of 5d chess weaved by two deeply gay college professors.
Joshi BL
BL manga told from the perspective of the female characters who are often presented in these stories as a stock archetype. I'm classifying this as "BL" instead of "drama" because there is BL still happening.
Liquor & Cigarette
Two childhood friends struggle to repress their feelings for one another while training for their town's annual wine-tasting competition. There is a character here who is just Dante Devil May Cry.
My Life With You
It's Otasune.
Nee, Onnanoko ni Shite Ageru / Hey, You Wanna Be a Real Girl?
A middle-aged travel manager moonlights as a maid at a crossdressing cafe on weekends to blow off stress. One day, an uptight subordinate suddenly appears in the club as a patron.
Old-Fashioned Cupcake
A middle-aged man going through a midlife crisis is recruited into an "anti-aging therapy" regimen by his younger subordinate, who wants to see him do cute things.
Partners
Follows 6 friends in 1980s New York who are involved in BDSM subculture. An extremely fascinating and compassionate depiction of how the emotional and sexual components of the lifestyle interact.
Ore no Saioshi wo Kimi ni Sasagu! / I'll Make You My Number One Idol!
A freeter goes to a maid cafe as consequence for losing a bet and falls in love with a sickly-sweet maid boy.
Yabun ni Kyuuketsu Shitsurei shimasu. / I Need to Suck Blood Tonight
A man turned into a vampire against his will is found out by his bored, sadistic junior work colleague, who offers him the guilt-free opportunity to drink his blood in exchange for making him a part of his world.
Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai suru / A Cruel God Reigns
A boy being sexually abused by his stepfather struggles to reconcile his burgeoning feelings towards men with the depth of his abuse. A rich, deeply complex story, and one of the best manga series I've ever read. The curtains are blue and Hagio Moto will make sure you never forget it.
Ane wo Suki na Oneesan to / With a Lady Who Likes My Sister.
An OL becomes the roommate of a woman who has a long-standing crush on her older sister...Also that she's kind, interesting, talented, protects her from stalkers, is good at cooking and....huh?! She suddenly finds herself not wanting this girl to move out?!
Blue
A girl experiences her first love with a troubled transfer student. A little unreal, a little psychosexual, but at it's core, very vulnerable.
Cirque Arachne
A delicate romance between two acrobats in the same circus troupe
Community News
Short 4-panel gag strips about lesbian dating life in Japan. Published in Phryne, a lesbian magazine that ran for two issues in 1995.
Double House
A trans woman and a cis woman bond over their fraught history with social expectations.
Free Soul
A woman working on a manga about a black jazz singer finds herself falling for a trumpheter in a funk band.
Girl x Girl x Boy
A beloved classic yuri series. The Original Korrasami.
Girls Only
A oneshot yuri anthology series. The titles I am specifically reccommending are Hidden Meaning, which is about an erotica author who bases her characters off of her editor, Maintenence, which follows an OL who fantasizes about her local car maintenencewoman fixing her up like a car (Cronenbergheads get in here) and Endless Narcissus, which follows a woman who makes a clone of herself she can use for sex.
Girl's Ride
Two girls grow close over their mutual interest in motorcycles and road trips.
Gunjou
Abused, isolated and angry, a woman contacts an old lesbian friend to ask that she kill her husband. Now on the run, the two are put to the test on if they're willing to do what it takes to survive. Beloved toxic yuri written by a lesbian mangaka.
Hana to Uso to Makoto
ZOMBIE YURI
Hello, Melancholic!
Minato Asano is a tall, lanky and painfully shy girl who catches the attention of Hibiki Sugawa, a member of her school's concert club. Through her unconventional bandmates, and unfurling love for music, Minato finds herself slowly opening herself up to happiness, and to Hibiki.
Hero-san to Moto Onna Kanbu-san / Superwomen in Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit
Sentai yuri between an all-loving hero and a villainess who defects after falling in love with her at first sight. Has one of the best final arcs I've ever read in an action-oriented yuri series. Please note that if you find the first two chapters of the series off-putting, the writing receives a huge boost in quality by chapter three when it's formal serialization starts.
Ikemen Girl to Hakoiri Musume / Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl
Satomi is a girl who has never experienced love until laying eyes on her fellow college classmate, Kanda. Eager to explore these newfound feelings, she pursues Kanda romantically. Kanda hesitantly reciprocates, her main qualm being that Satomi doesn't seem to realize that she is also a woman.
I Love You yori Aishiteru
Romance between an uptight model student, and a softhearted delinquant who catches her eye.
Indigo Blue
A 28-year-old novelist begins to unravel her concepts of gender and sexuality after a lesbian fan offers a queer reading of her work. Realistic, and has a bit of a low-grade obsession quality to the romance. Also bisexual.
Killing Me!
Romance between a flirty vampire and a vampire hunter who cannot bring herself to kill her.
Kono Ai wo Owarasete kurenai ka
A lonely, obsessive girl switches bodies with the girl she hates the most; who also happens to be the girlfriend of her idol. Initially thrilled by the transaction, she gradually finds that there is something sinister beneath the veneer of perfection her beloved projects. I love toxic yuri so much, dude.
Lit A Light
A cool, hard-boiled assassin takes refuge from her hostile lifestyle by visiting her favorite convenience store clerk.
Love My Life
A woman comes out as a lesbian to her father only to find out that both of her parents are queer as well. A wonderful story about community and identity.
Mahou ga Tsukaenakutemo / Even if I can't use magic
Follows a group of young people navigating relationships and identity. Yuri is a component of this series, but not quite the main focus.
Mizuiro Cinema / Aqua Blue Cinema
An actress strikes up a relationship with a girl she meets under unusual circumstances.
Niseru Ki Nakute Kusadesu
A woman finds herself at the mercy of the girl she used to bully in highschool.
Nomura Nao to Kyougoku Hina wa
A girl's opinion on her rude classmate changes when she finds her in a compromising situation.
Octave
18-year-old ex-idol Yukino tries to rebuild her life after her former career leaves her bitter and confused. Moving back home to Tokyo, she meets former composer Iwai, and the two become entwined as they embark on a journey to find themselves.
Pieta
An introverted, isolated girl who suffers at the hands of her family befriends a bubbly, albeit mysterious girl from her school.
Shiro to Kuro: Black & White / Black and White: Tough Love at the Office
The thrilling and revolutionary story of two office ladies who interval between fist fighting and having sex with one another.
Still Sick
A 29-year-old industrial worker forms a strange relationship with her mysterious coworker after the latter discovers that she creates yuri doujin. There are flashes of absolute brilliance in this.
Sweet Lovin' Baby
Oneshot that follows a girl who falls in love with a lesbian couple she meets at a bookstore.
Tandem Lovers
Romance between girls at a mech piloting school.
Tokimeki Mononoke Jogakkou
THE Original monster girl yuri series.
Tsukarekitta Onna ga Shinu hodo Iyasareru Tame ni.
A fatigued novelist goes to a pet store to relieve some stress, and ends up coming home with a woman claiming to be a fan of her work.
Vacation Maou to Pet
My Mom Sold Me To The Demon Lord ?! ?! ?! but she's not forcing me to move in with her so it's fine.
Watashi no Angela
A woman decides to keep an angel that has fallen to earth for herself.
Yume no Hashibashi
SAD OLD WOMAN YURI.
Ashizuri Suizokukan
The daily life of an unnamed girl as she navigates the surreal architecture of the city she inhabits.
Beautiful People
A series of gorgeous oneshots centered on a variety of different subject matter, including a vampire caring for his aging human daughter and a boy who takes solace talking to ghosts in online chatrooms.
Berserk
It's Berserk.
Chimoguri Ringo to Kingyobachi Otoko
A man with a fishbowl for a head is plauging the Japanese countryside with blood-sucking goldfish that transform their victims into goldfish after first bite. Their only hope is Ringo, an amateur 'blood diver' who cures this ailment by diving into and purifying people's blood. As you can tell it is hard to give a synopsis of this thing.
Chocolate
A series of short, dark oneshots centered around gorgeously designed lolita-clad people. There are vampires.
Curse Blood
A girl is whisked away into a fantasy realm where she must fulfill her fate. Only 4 chapters long due to the mangaka's sudden passing, I'm recommending this on the basis of the art being an absolutely gorgeous throwback to old-school pulp fantasy fiction illustrations. The atmosphere is also a balanced blend of Escaflowne and Record of Lodoss War.
Fire Punch
With his village slaughtered and his body cursed to endure perpetual searing flame, Agni vows revenge on those who took everything from him. Peak. GOAT. Kino. Whatever you want to call it.
Fugurumakan Raihouki
Yoh is a human who can see the anthropomorphized manifestation of objects, and Ian is a doll who can produce photos of memories. Residing in a mysterious town where restless spirits linger, the duo offer passing appiritions the opportunity for closure with their former owners. A beautiful series about the sentimentality of objects.
Kani ni Sasowarete / An Invitation from a Crab
A young girl is inundated with changes in her daily routine from supernatural forces. From the same mangaka of Ashizuri Suizokukan.
Olimpos / Olympos
The Trojan prince Ganymedes wakes up to find himself imprisoned by the Gods for their own amusement. A tale of repetition and despair.
Sekai no Aikotoba wa Mizu: Andou Ikori Sakuhinshuu
A series of surreal oneshots centered around the theme of water.
Shiroi Kumo
Beautifully illustrated stories about life and death.
Totsukuni no Shoujo / The Girl From the Other Side
In a world split between "insiders" and "outsiders", Shiva is a human girl being raised by her teacher, a jet black birdlike male "outsider". Despite being unable to physically engage in touch, Shiva's teacher is determined to protect Shiva from the "outsider" forces lurking around him at all costs.
Tsukiyo no Toratsugumi
Enchanting oneshot series. I'll stop reading oneshots when brevity stops being the soul of wit and when my doctor stops denying my request to increase my vyvanse mgs.
#Wasurete Shimau Watashi-tachi
Oneshot about a woman and her relationship with a depressed net idol.
Aisubeki Musumetachi/ All My Darling Daughters
10/10 cried
Aku No Hana / The Flowers of Evil
Takao Kasuga, an unsociable and gloomy middle school boy, is caught stealing the gym clothes of his crush by the class black sheep, Sawa Nakamura. Thrilled to find someone who shares her contempt for the ordinary, Nakamura and Kasuga forge a kinship over exploring self discovery by way of pushing boundaries. The consequences of being chuuni.
Bikachou Shinshi Kaikoroku / Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen
A high-class sex worker in 20th century Paris muses about the clientele of the brothel in which she works, along with how she and her fellow brothel girls experience love and desire. Moyoco Anno banger.
Bokura no Hentai
Marika, a trans girl seeking acceptance, meets up with her online friends Parou and Yui; cis boys who dress effeminately for their own personal reasons. While the trio bond over their similar interests, they soon find themselves involved in an interplay of enmeshment and isolation as the trauma that has peripheralized them begins to ooze into their relationship.
Chi no Wadachi / Blood on the Tracks
Oshimi Shuzo's magnum opus as far as I'm concerned?
Complex Age
Nagi is a 26-year-old temp worker who spends all of her time and energy outside of job on her only hobby: cosplay. Though a celebrated veteran cosplayer within her own right, Nagi cannot help but feel some distance form between herself and her hobby form as she witnesses younger girls begin to rise within the scene. As changes within and around Nagi's life begin to emerge, Nagi is forced to choose between her hobby and being "normal". I thought this had a wonderful message about what it means to love your hobbies as you "grow out" of them.
Cousin
18-year-old Tsubomi stays behind in her home town to work at a video rental store while her friends flit off to college. Unsure about her wants and insecure about her weight, she soon discovers something that sparks the desire to navigate her identity: her first love. Romance isn't the focus of the series as much as it's used to explore the inner lives of individual characters.
Hanshin
"Hanshin" is technically a oneshot compilation volume; but I am recommending the singular oneshot that is also titled "Hanshin" from within. Yudy and Yucy are conjoined twins of stark different physical appearance. Yudy is intelligent, but terribly malnourished due to her sister siphoning her nutrients. Caught in an interplay of envy, love and hatred towards her sister, the story explores the ways in which their lives are entwined and detached.
Hei no Naka no Biyoushitsu / The Depth of the Sky
A beauty salon within a woman's prison opens itself up to the public; it's mysterious hairdresser not just capable of cutting hair, but also to the heart of patrons' anxieties and fears. A "healing"-type manga series; comparable to the anime "Bartender" in the way it approaches it's characters.
Helter Skelter
A supermodel begins to experience the breakdown of her mind and body as her lifecycle as a cultural icon starts to come to an end.
Hibari no Asa
Hibari is a timid 14-year-old girl whose body is more developed than most other girls her age. The story explores the ways in which her personhood is repurposed, warped or discarded by the adults and peers in her life through their callous perception of her. Comparable to "Lolita" in the intent behind it's subject matter.
Himegoto: Juukyuusai no Seifuku / HIME-GOTO: uniforms at the age of nineteen
Follows the lives of three college-aged adults as they struggle to come to terms with gender and personal identity. Yuki "Yoshiki" Ichihara is a tall, stern girl who is often regarded as a boy by her peers, but wants nothing more than to be treated as a woman. And also dominated sexually. Mikako Nagao is a cynical, ruthless girl who masks herself in a facade of innocence due to her complex feelings towards sex and aging. Kaito Aiba is a an attractive boy, who wants nothing more than to be a beautiful girl like Minako.
Iguana no Musume
A young girl navigates life after having been groomed to believe that she is a hideous reptile by her mother.
J no Subete / All About J
A story that chronicles the life of J; a youth with a tragic past and the face of Marilyn Monroe.
Kyuusai no Hi
A man wakes up one morning to find society in ruin. He still has to go to work. Can be seen as a darker take on "The Little Prince".
Koisuru Kiseichuu
A shut-in germophobe hacker is blackmailed into befriending a young girl with anxiety and scopophobia. Bonding through their shared neuroses, a beautiful, strange codependency unfurls that potentially threatens to kill them both. I'm putting this in "drama" as opposed to "romance" because of my own reading of their relationship.
My Broken Mariko
Wrecked by the sudden suicide of her friend Mariko, Tomoyo liberates her friend's ashes from the home of her abusive father and sets off on one final journey to pay her proper respects.
Nande Ikiteru ka Wakaranai Hito Izumi Sumi 25-sai / She Doesn't Know Why She Lives
The daily life of a 25-year-old depressed, anxious part timer as she contemplates the meaning of her existence. What I feel puts this series apart from the swath of titles with a similar premise is that the protagonist is considerably more self aware about how her actions appear, and navigates social situations with a degree of realistic groundedness that make her small victories feel earned. She's very easy to root for.
NHK ni Youkoso! / Welcome to the N.H.K.
Saitou is a 22-year-old depressed dropout hikikomori whose regular intake of hallucinogens prevents him from fixating on his life. One day, he is confronted by a mysterious girl named Misaki, who claims to be able to cure him of his hikikomori ways. The manga is pretty much better than the anime on every conceivable level; Misaki in particular coming across as a far more compelling character.
Niku wo Hagu: Tooda Oto Tanpenshuu / To Strip the Flesh
A trans man struggles to reconcile his dysphoria with his father's desire for him to be a "good daughter".
Oyasumi Punpun / Goodnight Punppun
To my buddy Tyler who in 10th grade told me this was "boring" when I reccommended it to him: You're technically in the minority now by skipping out on reading this. So ha.
Ressentiment
Takuro, a middle-aged man with low self-esteem and a dead-end job, spends $6000 on equipment to visit "The Unreal"- a virtual reality world advertising romance with advanced AI. Unfortunately for Takuro, there is something wrong with his copy of Meet n' Fuck.
Saikyou Densetsu Kurosawa / The Legend of the Strongest, Kurosawa!
Follows a socially awkward middle aged construction worker's struggle to create connections and meaning within his life, and at a later point, his beef with a bunch of middle schoolers.
Satougashi no Dangan wa Uchinukenai: A Lollypop or A Bullet
A hardened, depressed middle school girl becomes engrossed in the fantastical world weaved by a new transfer student. A story about the lies one tells themselves to stay alive.
Sono Saki no Fuukei
Psychosexual drama about a brother who can only have sex with women who are sleeping, and his ill sister who has been having disconcerting dreams.
Sundome
Follows an apathetic young man and a strange girl who attends the same club as him. Through the peculiar relationship that develops between them, he finds himself growing and changing as a person.
Tokyo Kaido
A Daniel Clowes/Todd Solondz-esque dramedy about a peculiar group of inpatients at a brain damage treatment facility. Napoleon Dynamite and his uncle are here.
Toumei Ningen no Hone
An abused, introverted girl discovers that she has the ability to turn invisible. After testing the limits of her abilities, she takes matters into her own hands to save herself. A story about self-inflicted martyrdom, alienation and the trials of slowly coming to accept that you deserve to be human.
Yuretsuzukeru / Keep on Vibrating
Oneshots about the ways people interact with sex and violence. I'll always have a soft spot for this because it was my introduction to Jiro Matsumoto lmao.
Alien 9
In the future, the existential threat of alien invasion has become so pervasive that mobilization against their efforts have been woven into every aspect of the fabric of society.This is a story about the daily lives of 3 students at Elementary School #9 who have been assigned to alien cleanup duty by their teachers.
Blame!
It's Blame! .
Boiling Head
Oneshot by Cannabis Works of Linda^3 fame; visual feast more than an actual story.
Bokurano / Bokurano: Ours
15 children are deceived into defending their planet from alien invaders at the expense of their lives. Apparently the anime made some considerable changes to the story for this? Highly recommended if you were an Animorphs middle schooler or perhaps some kind of emo.
Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction
A group of carefree girls coming of age as society barrels towards the end times in a struggle against alien invaders. Kadode and her friends are pretty much The Girls Ever.
Hoshi no Ponko to Toufuya Reiko
A girl and her brother strike up a deal with an extraterrestrial to help save their parents' business, only to find that they're in for more than they bargained for. This doesn't go anywhere you think it will.
Ichigeki Sacchuu!! Hoihoi-san / Interceptor-Doll HoiHoi-san
To combat the rise of pesticide-resistant bugs, the Japanese government has rolled out Hoihoi-san: a toy-sized robot exterminator who comes with many cute accessories. Illustrated by Kunihiko Tanaka of Xenosaga and Xenogears fame.
Laika no Hoshi
A story where the Soviet space dog Laika did not die in space, and instead landed on a distant planet inhabited by other animals. Though eventually cultivating a prosperous society, she still seeks revenge on the humankind for the treatment of her peers. This too, is yuri.
Mikai no Hoshi / Uncivilized Planet
Three childhood friends who dream of escaping their backwoods town soon find their friendship enveloped in the political turmoil that consumes their country.
Miku-4
The life of Hatsune Miku, an android constructed by Crpyton for the sole purpose of making music. Originally a doujin, Crypton would later authorize a professional print of the series.
OBRIGADO!
A surreal series of oneshots by Katou Shinkichi
Planetes
Follows a group of trash collectors as they navigate the banality of grief, racism, political turmoil and just plain late-stage capitalism realities....in space!
Propeller Heaven
In a world where normal humans are slowly being repalced by synthetic humans, two middle school girls team up to take on the synthetic humans within their school.
Seraphim: 266613336 Wings
An unfinished collaborative effort between Mamoru Oshii and the late Satoshi Kon. Earth is overrun by a mysterious "Angel Plague" that ossifies humans into dead statues. Nations have torn themselves apart, relegating themselves to perpetual war, oppression and genocide in order to keep the disease contained. The story follows three "wise men" who are to accompany a young girl allegedly linked to the phenomena to the heart of a dying city.
Takopii no Genzai/ Takopi's Original Sin
A squid-like alien creature is determined to prevent the suicide of a young girl it has befriended on earth. After time traveling many times to save her, it finally discovers the snag it needed to work out to overcome causality: killing her bully.
Trans Trans
A boy playing a female character in an MMORPG finds themself falling for a male character played by a girl. The events of this series are so ahead of it's time.
Turandot no Renkinjutsushi
A series of gorgeous steampunk short stories about dolls and dreams.
Yuugai Muzai Gangu / Toys Harmful But Unprohibited
Loosely connected speculative fiction stories. Really good worldbuilding with this one! I found the technology imagined in these stories, along with the questions posed by other characters to be very unique.
Boku wa Mari no Naka / Inside Mari
Isao Komori is a depressed shut-in whose only refuge is Mari Yoshizaki, a girl he sees during his frequent night walks to the local convenience store. One day, Komori wakes up in Mari's body. Through living her day to day life, Komori discovers that figuring out what happened to Mari necessitates figuring out who Mari really was....deep down inside.
Coo no Sekai / Coo's World
A young girl begins to have recurring dreams of her deceased brother. As she begins to immerse herself deep within the world of her subconscious, she finds herself less and less able to distinguish the landscapes of her dreams from reality.
Dainippon Tengutou Ekotoba
A young girl is drawn away from her normal life to live among "tengu"- a class of supernatural bird-like creatures who secretly occupy the peripheral of society. As a young woman years later, she finds her loyalties to the tengu in turmoil as the political goals of the group become entangled with her old life. Beautiful, beautiful paneling and composition in this one- the strong contrasts in color coupled with the narrative evoking a noir-like atmosphere at times. The best way I can describe this is David Lapham's work meets Phantasm (1979).
Discommunication
Two teens go on a journey bending time and space to figure out why they like eachother. By the same mangaka of Mysterious Girlfriend X.
Hanashippanashi
A series of oneshots centered around supernatural happenings in the Japanese countryside. By Daisuke Igarashi.
Henshin no News
A collection surreal and experimental short stories exploring the different shapes of human emotion.
Hitsuji no Uta / Lament of the Lamb
A boy seeks out his estranged sister to understand his sudden vampire-like impulses. A very atmospheric tribute to classic gothic literature, ripe with Freudian obsession and uncomfortably enmeshed relationships.
Kaijuu no Kodomo / Children of the Sea
A young girl spending her summer away from her mother meets two mysterious boys who claim to have been raised by the ocean. As the global fish populations plummet, the boys lead their new friend on a journey to uncover the secrets that lie at the heart of the sea.
Kaikisen / Tropic of the Sea
A man strives to honor an ancient promise that his ancestors made with merpeople as commercial developers hound his family to turn their mermaid egg into a tourist attraction.
Kakusan / A Diffusion Disease
Katsuhiko is a boy whose body is prone to "diffusion" -- a process in which his essence disperses and then rematerializes at different places in time and space. The story is an exploration of Katsuhiko as his sense of identity is altered by this condition, and his friend, Azami, as she waits for him to come home.
Kishibe no Yume
A gorgeous, haunting oneshot about a man in pursuit of a woman he sees in his dreams.
Louvre no Neko / Cats of the Louvre
The daily life of mysterious small white cat who cohabitates with a troupe of other cats in the famous Louvre museum, and his unique ability to communicate with the paintings.
Nickelodeon
A series of short stories by Dowman Sayman. Subject matter includes everything from mysterious disappearances to fujoshi ghosts.
One Room Angel
An aimless, unemployed man suddenly finds that his life has been saved by an angel. With little better to do, he decides to help the angel figure out why he was sent to earth.
Suiiki
A young girl finds herself succumbing to fainting spells wherein she awakens in beautiful riverside village. Little does she know, she is more familiar with this world than she thinks. A deeply heartfelt story about coming to understand your parents as people; by Yuki Urushibara of Mushishi fame.
Suteki na Alice Wong Obasan / The Amazing Alice Wong
A boy seeks out the help of his witch aunt when he finds himself followed by a mysterious ghost. Uses Celtic folklore to evoke a fantastic atmosphere.
Tenshi no Su / Angel Nest
A sullen, recently divorced woman wakes up one night to see an angel drinking on her apartment balcony.
The Pink District
A sex worker with a bit of an eldritch touch befriends a young boy.
Yume no Soko
A girl falls into a coma and awakens in a convenience store existing at the intersection between life and death where dreams are made.
White Note Pad
A 17-year-old girl and a 38-year-old man swap bodies unexpectedly. With seemingly no way to change back, the two of them explore what "identity" means under such radically different circumstances. The translation for this isn't the best, but the story is rich and deeply touching.
Comics Underground Japan
Compilation of horror-comedy stories from some of the most accomplished underground manga artists of the 90s. Includes works from the late Nekojiru and Hanako Yamada. Tonally similar to the work of Al Columbia.
Bota Bota / Drip Drip
The story of a 29-year-old woman's quest to have sex for the first time while managing a condition that gives her violent nosebleeds whenever she touches something 'unclean'. I'm not going to lie this series is so real.
Dageki Joi Saori / Batting Female Doctor Saori
Dr. Saori Sakajou specializes in a form of treatment that can cure all physical, interpersonal, and societal ills; it's called "batting treatment" and involves hitting patients with a steel bat.
Debu to Love to Ayamachi to! / Plus-sized Misadventures in Love!
After waking up from a failed suicide attempt, a dreary, depressed woman experiences a complete 180 in her personality. Powered by this newfound self-esteem, she strives to take on the workplace that previously debilitated her. Cannot emphasize enough how cute and fun this female lead is.
Kokumin Quiz / National Quiz
A genuinely hilarious and periodically poignant dystopian political satire. A game show known as the National Quiz becomes a popular programming in Japan, the last superpower in the world. Managed by the Japanese government, contestants are rewarded with their wildest dreams should they succeed, and are rendered prisoners of the state should they fail. The story follows National Quiz host K-ichi, former actor-turned prisoner. Futurama meets Network (1976).
Mangaka Chou Zankoku Monogatari / Super Cruel and Terrible Tales of Mangaka
Humorous depictions of the common struggles of manga artists, coupled with a satirized commentary on the industry.
Oyaji
Kumada returns home after a 10-year absence to find that his family is in shambles. Determined to make things right, 6ft scar-bearing scary-faced ultramuscular Kumada becomes a Family Guy. This technically can also be classified as "drama", but this story is so funny and deeply charming that the lighter parts are what left the strongest impression for me. Please read this.
Palepoli
Surreal dark comedy series. It's Furuya Usamaru so I mean...
Reiwa Hanamaru Gakuen / Thigh High: Reiwa Hanamaru Academy
An all-girls school that is populated by normal boys. Cute boys doing doing cute things.
Sumire♡16-sai!!
The daily life of a fun, bubbly girl named Sumire, who is also puppetted by a middle aged man that she doesn't acknowledge in any capacity. Follow Sumire as she makes friends and solves problems in her first year of high-school.
Super Seme-sama to Toki wo Kakeru Ore
A hysterical meta gag manga poking fun at old BL tropes.
Aa toka Uu shika Ienai / Ah... and Mm... Is All She Says
A socially awkward rookie mangaka and an editor who is passionate about storytelling team up to take on the hentai industry together.
Ai no Shintairiku / Brave New World of Love
Determined to have a life she can call her own, N̨͡í0̷k-fs̢͘o̧̨kf̶́͡t́̀͜a̷̢̛͡m̀͘͡a̴̵͜͜͟ ̷̀Ş̶̡͘͢ǫ̨̀͞͠ừ̷͏́h̢͏̀͠e̴̸͜͞i̴̡ makes her high school debut as Sara. A story about a teenage trans girl's day to day life as she pursues love and acceptance.
Little Forest
A woman returns to her home village after a breakup. Each chapter follows her daily life as she scavenges and makes various dishes from the local agriculture. An exhibition of the visual majesty found in nature.
Little Little
An adorably fairytale-like slice of life about a sickly girl and the kemonomimi that inhabit the forest close to her home. What if ouppies and itties were friends.
Meshinuma
An unremarkable office worker becomes extremely cute when he eats delicious food.
Metamorphose no Engawa / BL Metamorphosis
A 75-year-old woman with a budding interest in BL manga strikes up a friendship with a 17-year-old seasoned fujoshi working at her local bookstore.
Neet Onna to Shougaku 2-nensei
I honestly just remember liking this one a lot as a teenager. Oneshot series about friendship and fantasy.
Pink
The delightful daily life of Yumi, a normal OL in her early 20s by day, and a sex worker who lives with her pet crocodile by night.
Sayounara Minasan
A high-school girl begins experiencing surreal events after getting fired from her job for rejecting her manager's advances.
Shimanami Tasogare
A closeted gay boy is saved from a near-suicide attempt by the local lgbt safe space. If you've heard of this title you've probably read it so I'm allowed to be a bit silly here. Anonymous is Real and she is my friend.
Shimeji Simulation
The surreal, somewhat melancholic daily life of two very strange high-school girls.
Sono Otoko, Amatou ni Tsuki
Eight stories about Jean-Louis, a lawyer living in Paris who loves chocolate.
Sunny Sunny Ann!
Follows the daily life of Ann, a seemingly carefree woman who lives out of her car.
Tabi to Gohan to Shuumatsu Sekai / Our Lives After the Apocalypse
The old world is long gone and the vestiges of human society are barely maintained. Sitting atop what once was is a robot girl in search of her creator, with her protective wolf companion by her side.
Taiyou no Ijiwaru
Short stories centered on different people contemplating conformity, morality and perceptions of physical appearance.
Tomonen
A deeply uncanny Ghibli-esque series about children finding magic in their everyday lives.
Undercurrent
A woman copes with the emotional turmoil of her husband's sudden disappearance by devoting herself to supporting their struggling bathhouse business. A very sincere perspective on abandonment, grief and surviving the wreckage of other people's decisions.
Zassou-tachi yo Taishi wo Idake
The daily lives of five relatively unpopular girls as they struggle to find their footing in life.
Ano Ko no Ie
A young girl guided by childhood fantasy attempts to build a home for herself away from her mother.
Honey and Clover
A group of art students at varying points in their lives struggle for success and meaning.
Kuragehime / Princess Jellyfish
Tsukimi is a shy, socially anxious 18-year-old girl who moves to Tokyo in hopes of becoming an illustrator. Residing with a group of female NEETs and terrified of the fashionable people of Tokyo, she finds herself straying from her goal of independence. One day, strikes up a friendship with Kuranosuke, a beautiful boy she mistakes for a princess, and their lives become entwined in ways Tsukimi could never predict.
Onani Master Kurosawa
Kurosawa is an isolated boy whose outlet for frustration is going to an abandoned girl's restroom and masturbating. One day, he notices a timid classmate, Aya Kitahara, being bullied by her peers. Kurosawa exacts revenge on her behalf by stealing their clothes and ejaculating on them as punishment. Initially satisfied, he is later confronted by Kitahara, who knows that he is culprit, and desires to use him to destroy the girls that have tormented her. A tale about adolescent anguish, isolation, redemption, mental illness and the trials of learning how to truly understand other people. Cumming of age lol.
Shoujo Nemu
The delicately drawn, beautifully paneled daily life of a timid mouse girl named Nemu, who dreams of becoming a mangaka. Story is sadly unfinished due to the passing of the mangaka.
Hikikomori Niizuma
After getting married, Ura uproots her life and moves to the countryside with her husband. Unable to secure work, she relegates herself to the role of a housewife in hopes that it will give her daily life a sense of purpose. It doesn't quite pan out. An examination of the isolation within domestic life.
Honey & Honey
A humorous examination of LGBT culture in Japan told by mangaka Sachiko Takeuchi and her girlfriend, Masako.
Jibun no Karada wo Yurusu made / Until I Love Myself: The Journey of a Nonbinary Manga Artist
A nonbinary artist details their lifelong struggles with gender dysphoria and sexual harassment. Sharp, blunt and terribly relatable.
Kakukaku Shikajika / Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey
Akiko Hagashimura of Kuragehime fame recounts the artist journey that lead to her becoming a mangaka, as well as the tender, fraught, caring relationship she had with her teacher. Also did you know that her teacher also taught the guy that made Eat-Man? Just thought that was a funny coincidence.
Sabishisugite Lesbian Fuuzoku ni Ikimashita Report / My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness
28-year-old Nagata Kabi chronicles her struggles with her family, mental health, body image and sexuality. The first in a series of books that I highly implore you follow up with should you enjoy this title.
Adabana
An atmospheric thriller about the alleged murder of a wayward girl by her best friend. It's hard to describe this without giving too much away.
Coelacanth
Hisano lost her parents in a house fire when she was a small child. She only narrowly suffering the same fate due to an odd twist of fate; she had been hit by a bike ridden by a boy in blood-stained clothes. Years later, Hisano, suffering from hallucinations and loneliness, reunites with a man whom she believes to have been the boy from that time. A series about patterns that overlap and the lives that become entwined as a result.
LifE
A man with terminal cancer sets out to find his daughter's killer when her body is discovered 14 years after her disappearance. Bad dad making amends type story. It's novelty for me lies in how different FKMT's storytelling comes across when he's not in charge of the art.
Reset
A hacker is determined to solve the mystery of a strange video game that is causing players to commit suicide.
Usotsuki Mii-kun to Kowareta Maa-chan: Totteoki no Uso
A codependent relationship emerges between two teens who were kidnapped by the same person in their childhood, both parties however may not be completely honest about what had transpired back then.
Wet Moon
Set in the 60s, a detective finds his mind falling apart as he pursues a woman accused of murder. Transparently Lynch inspired and abosolutely KILLS the excecution.
