Arakawa, Naoshi

At a very young age, Kousei Arima was strictly taught how to play the piano and meticulously follow the score by his mother, to the point where he dominated every competition he entered with ease. He earned the title of "Human Metronome" for performing almost perfectly. Every musician of his age looked up to him. However, after his mother suddenly dies, he became tone-deaf due to the shock and then disappeared, never to be seen onstage since.

Two years later, Kousei lives a monotonous life with his childhood friends Tsubaki Sawabe and Ryouta Watari supporting him. He continues to cling to music, although performing is still an impossibility for him. This is until his unexpected encounter with Kaori Miyazono, a violinist who performs freely without the dictations of a score. A story of friendship, love, music, and a single lie, Kousei's life begins to change and gain color as Kaori helps him to take up music again.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

Your Lie in April

四月は君の嘘

Kodama, Yuki

Constantly transferring schools since childhood, Kaoru Nishimi has always been seen as a social outcast when he transfers due to his intellectual nature and wealthy background. But after moving to Kyushu for his first year of high school, things begin to change. Kaoru befriends the class president, Ritsuko Mukae, and, unexpectedly, the notorious school delinquent, Sentarou Kawabuchi. While Kaoru is an honors student, Sentarou is constantly getting into fights and skipping class. However, these two opposites find a common ground in one thing—music.

One day, Kaoru is invited by Ritsuko to visit her family's record store, where he finds Sentarou in the basement showcasing his skill in jazz drumming. Kaoru, being a classical pianist, knows nothing about jazz. But inspired by the performance, he begins to open his mind to the genre alongside Sentarou. The duo begin to practice in after-school jazz sessions in the record store's basement. As he spends more time improving his skills in jazz, Kaoru finds a person whom he can truly call his friend and comes to learn the joys of playing music.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sakamichi no Apollon

坂道のアポロン

Kizu, Natsuki

There is a tune stuck in Mafuyu Satou's head. As he clutches the guitar in his hands, this melody swirls around and around, screaming words of regret, longing, and loss. But with his careless expression that always seems to be up in the clouds, no one knows his true feelings. However, a chance encounter with classmate Ritsuka Uenoyama may finally give Mafuyu the push to let his voice be heard.

Uenoyama is the guitarist of a band, whose fellow members include the kindhearted bassist Haruki Nakayama and rough-looking drummer Akihiko Kaji. Even without a vocalist, their ragtag group has done well as an instrumental-only band. However, their chance to reach even greater heights may have arrived when Uenoyama hears Mafuyu's voice—Uenoyama is enchanted, inviting the reluctant Mafuyu to join.

Working in a band is a difficult task; often, emotions threaten to break it apart, but they can also bring its members closer together. With Uenoyama's help, Mafuyu may finally be able to express the feelings that fight to break free from within his heart.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Given

ギヴン

Takeuchi, Tomo

With no particular dreams or plans for the future, third-year middle schooler Tatara Fujita yearns to find something that he can pursue wholeheartedly. Initially often bullied and extorted for his lack of confidence, Tatara's life changes when he is saved from delinquents by a man named Kaname Sengoku. His savior, a motorcycle-riding dance instructor, proceeds to drag Tatara to Ogasawara Dance Studio, mistakenly believing that the boy was looking at the studio's flyer.

Tatara is then partnered with his schoolmate and skilled dancer Shizuku Hanaoka when he agrees to a trial lesson. The next day after being bullied and only to be saved yet again, he asks the studio to teach him dancing in hopes of changing his image. Now entering a bright and fast-paced new world, Tatara dedicates his time to dancing as he sweeps over the dance hall.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ballroom e Youkoso

Welcome to the Ballroom

ボールルームへようこそ

Emura

Makoto Amano wants to become an actor, but his stern father has decreed that the only way Makoto can pursue his dream is to spend the last two years of high school as a girl! He quickly makes friends with popular tomboy Ito Miura, another drama enthusiast at this new high school and the only student to find out his secret—but are they more than pals?

(Source: VIZ Media)

W-Juliet

Wジュリエット

Yumeka, Sumomo

In middle school, Ichinose Kimitaka taught his friends how to play basketball. Despite his experience with the sport, his friends quickly outmatched him in skill. After an incident brought on by his frustration and jealousy, he was crushed to overhear those same 'friends' discussing how they wished he'd just kill himself.

On his way to toss out his special basketball shoes, he met a girl who was just as frustrated, throwing her own dancing shoes away. She was so tall, and her hands and feet are so large, that she had been rejected from her chosen hobby of Spanish dancing. He urged her to give basketball a try, and the two exchanged their shoes instead of throwing them away.

As he enters high school, Kimitaka learns that meeting him changed that girl's life for the better, and she is now a happy, social basketball player. Will Kimitaka be able to find the courage to make new friends and pursue his own talents?

(Source: MangaHelpers)

Tetsugaku Letra

鉄楽レトラ

Saiki, Kumiko

Ever since she was a little girl, Sarasa has wanted to play the role of Oscar as part of the Kouka Acting Troupe, an all-female acting troupe similar to the Takarazuka Revue. But before she can do that, she has to attend two years at the Kouka School of Musical and Theatrical Arts. As Sarasa practices singing, dancing, and acting, she grows closer to the other girls in her year, including her roommate, the stoic former J-idol, Ai. Though Sarasa is great at making friends, her outspoken nature and grand ambitions earn her lots of enemies as well. Can Sarasa keep her upbeat attitude and achieve her dream of stardom?

(Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)

Kageki Shoujo!!

Kageki Shojo!!

かげきしょうじょ!!

Yazawa, Ai

Nana Komatsu is a naive, unmotivated girl who spends her high school days chasing one crush after the other. Despite continually facing failure in her quest for love, her spirits have never dampened. At the age of 20, she finds herself on a train to Tokyo with hopes of reuniting with her current boyfriend.

Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is feisty and prideful. After joining a local band during her high school days, she falls in love with music and one of the band members. However, when faced with the choice between her relationship and her musical career, she chooses the latter and separates from her boyfriend. On her 20th birthday, she boards the same train to Tokyo, like her namesake, where she aims to become a top vocalist.

The two girls with the same name but very different aspirations find themselves sitting together on their journey to the city, and, as fate would have it, eventually share the same apartment. A deep and unique bond is then forged, where they will support each other in this saga of love, music, friendship, and heartbreak.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Nana

NANA

Mikage, Eiji

Tetsuo

Kazuki Hoshino values his everyday life above all else. He spends the days carefree with his friends at school, until the uneventful bliss suddenly comes to a halt with the transfer of the aloof beauty Aya Otonashi into his class and her cold, dramatic statement to him immediately upon arrival:

"I'm here to break you. This is the 13,118th time I've transferred. After so many occasions, I have to say that this is all starting to grate on me, which is why this time I'm spicing things up with a proper declaration of war."

And with those puzzling words, the ordinary days that Kazuki loved so dearly become a cycle of turmoil and fear—Aya's sudden appearance signals the unraveling of unseen mysteries surrounding Kazuki's seemingly normal friends, including the discovery of mysterious devices known as "boxes."

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria

The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria

空ろの箱と零のマリア

Yamaguchi, Tsubasa

Second-year high school student Yatora Yaguchi is bored with his normal life. He studies well and plays around with his friends, but in truth, he does not enjoy either of those activities. Bound by norms, he secretly envies those who do things differently.

That is until he discovers the joy of drawing. When he sees a painting made by a member of the Art Club, Yatora becomes fascinated with the colors used in it. Later, in an art exercise, he tries to convey his language without words but instead through painting. After that experience, Yatora finds himself so invested in art that he decides that it is what he wants to do for a living. But there stand multiple obstacles in his way: his parents who are hesitant over his unique choices, his more experienced peers, and the study of a subject much deeper than he initially expected.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Blue Period

ブルーピリオド

Takaya, Natsuki

Tooru Honda is an orphan with nowhere to go but a tent in the woods, until the Souma family takes her in. However, the Souma family is no ordinary family, and they hide a grave secret: when they are hugged by someone of the opposite gender, they turn into animals from the Chinese zodiac!

Now, Tooru must help Kyou and Yuki Souma hide their curse from their classmates, as well as her friends Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima. As she is drawn further into the mysterious world of the Soumas, she meets more of the family, forging friendships along the way.

But this curse has caused much suffering; it has broken many Soumas. Despite this, Tooru may just be able to heal their hearts and soothe their souls.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Fruits Basket

フルーツバスケット

Iruma, Hitoma

Nakatani, Nio

Throughout elementary school, Sayaka Saeki has prided herself on being the ideal child. By achieving good grades, participating in various extracurricular activities, and demonstrating model etiquette, she thought her life was going exactly as planned. However, after receiving a romantic confession from a girl in her swim class, Sayaka realizes how emotions can defy her logical, straightforward thinking.

Wanting to cooperate rather than compete with peers at the start of middle school, Sayaka's shift in perspective leads her to befriend her senior Chie Yuzuki. As the two form a gentle bond, Yuzuki confesses her feelings to Sayaka, who reciprocates her affection in hopes of learning the significance of love. Despite sacrificing her devotion to academics, their relationship ends, leaving Sayaka scarred with resentment.

Swearing to never let her feelings take control of her life again, Sayaka vows to revive her independence in high school. But when class representative Touko Nanami captures her eye, Sayaka must settle her struggle between accepting her genuine self or pursuing her logical way of life.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

12 Manga Like Hibike! Euphonium