Kajiwara, Ikki

Chiba, Tetsuya

Joe Yabuki has learned how to toughen up and stop trusting others after a troubling youth spent bouncing between orphanages and fending off bullies. After finally escaping the cycle of violent temporary homes, Joe adopts a delinquent lifestyle in the streets of San'ya, a slum in Tokyo. He makes his way through the world with his fists, picking fights with anyone he pleases.

Danpei Tange, a washed-up and alcoholic former boxing coach, notices Joe's animalistic combat ability and attempts to mentor the wild teenager. Despite developing an explosive relationship, the two form a close bond and rely on each other to look after the other homeless children in San'ya.

Unable to abandon his destructive habits, Joe is arrested for petty crimes. In jail, he meets and fights with lifelong friends and rivals, including the boxing prodigy Tooru Rikiishi. Continuously challenging Rikiishi to fights, Joe is knocked out time after time due to his savage brawling style failing in the face of Rikiishi's controlled boxing technique. But eventually, Joe stuns his rival with a knockout blow, earning Rikiishi's respect and the promise that they will one day meet again inside the professional ring.

Finding a reason to live within boxing, Joe takes life head-on with a new purpose. As he rises through Japan's amateur and professional boxing scenes, he contends with painful loss and increasing injury. Joe's passion for fighting is all-consuming, and he grapples with the idea that a life without boxing may not be one worth living.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ashita no Joe

Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow

あしたのジョー

Tezuka, Osamu

The story of friendship between a samurai and a doctor in the final days of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Hidamari no Ki

陽だまりの樹

Ikeda, Riyoko

Optimistic, 16-year-old Nanako Misonoo anticipates a blissful experience at her new high school. Enrolling alongside her best friend Tomoko Arikura, she is confident that her freshman year will be exciting and filled with pleasant memories.

However, upon entering the prestigious all-girls Seiran Academy, the wondrous school life Nanako had envisioned quickly vanishes as she is inducted into one of the school's most elite clubs, the Sorority. Normally only accepting the wealthiest and most prominent students, Nanako—who is neither rich nor well-known—is rumored to have cheated the selection and becomes a target of bullying from her envious peers. To make matters worse, she gradually becomes involved with Seiran's most popular students, the "Magnificent Three," comprising of the disconcerted pianist Rei Asaka, the competitive tomboy Kaoru Orihara, and the dignified Sorority President Fukiko Ichinomiya.

As a result of her abnormal situation, Nanako begins documenting her daily life in the form of letters to her former teacher, Takehiko Henmi, whom she fondly refers to as "brother," all while striving to find peace amidst the turmoil that is Seiran Academy.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Included one-shot:
Volume 3: Early Spring Trembling

Oniisama e...

おにいさまへ…

Matsumoto, Izumi

Junior high school student Kyousuke Kasuga and his family are espers, commanding an array of unique powers. But whenever this arouses the public's suspicion, they must swiftly relocate. Tired of this routine, Kyousuke transfers schools for the eighth time and is determined to make this the last. However, a series of unexpected developments lands him in the middle of the school's notorious delinquent duo.

Madoka Ayukawa, enigmatic and feared by the students, often switches her personality between cold and affectionate, while the lively and energetic Hikaru Hiyama harbors a public crush for her "darling" Kyousuke. Caught up in a fierce love triangle threatening his dream of an ordinary life, Kyousuke decides to use his powers in an attempt to appease both girls. But it soon becomes apparent that his indecision will only take him so far.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kimagure Orange☆Road

Kimagure Orange Road

きまぐれオレンジ☆ロード

Tsuge, Yoshiharu

Unable to find a proper job, former manga artist Sukezou Sukegawa has been reduced to running a doomed business venture of his own design: selling stones on the very riverside from where he collects them. Refusing to sacrifice his artistic integrity and re-enter the manga industry, and with numerous failed schemes under his belt, Sukezou firmly entrenches himself into a position of destitution. Despite having a family to care for—including his breadwinner wife, whose opinion of him is ever-souring—he stubbornly refuses to abandon his stone trade. With one misadventure after another, Sukezou attempts to make a profit in a profitless situation, firmly believing that success is simply a stone waiting to be turned.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Munou no Hito

The Man Without Talent

無能の人

Kariya, Tetsu

Hanasaki, Akira

Around the offices of Tozai News, Shiro Yamaoka has a reputation for being over-blunt, under-ambitious, and generally an all-around slacker. So why has he been given the important job of coming up with the "Ultimate Menu" to celebrate the newspaper's 100th anniversary? Because he possesses qualities his other colleagues don't: an exquisitely discerning palate, an encyclopedic knowledge of food and drink, and a masterful touch in the kitchen.

(Source: VIZ Media)

Oishinbo

Oishinbo: À la Carte

美味しんぼ

Hayashi, Seiichi

Seiichi Hayashi produced Sekishoku Elegy between 1969 and 1970, in the aftermath of a politically turbulent and culturally vibrant decade that promised but failed to deliver new possibilities. With a combination of sparse line work and visual codes borrowed from animation and film, the quiet melancholy lives of a young couple struggling to make ends meet are beautifully captured in this poetic masterpiece.

Uninvolved with the political movements of the time, Ichirou and Sachiko hope for something better, but they're no revolutionaries; their spare time is spent drinking, smoking, daydreaming, and sleeping—together and at times with others. While Ichirou attempts to make a living from his comics, Sachiko's parents are eager to arrange a marriage for her, but Ichirou doesn't seem interested. Both in their relationship and at work, Ichirou and Sachiko are unable to say the things they need to say, and like any couple, at times say things to each other that they do not mean, ultimately communicating as much with their body language and what remains unsaid as with words.

(Source: Drawn and Quaterly)

Sekishoku Elegy

Red Colored Elegy

赤色エレジー

Yoshida, Akimi

Heath Swanson, an 18-year-old high school dropout, runs away from his home in San Diego, California, to make a fresh start in New York City. Along his travels he meets Eve, another troubled teen who latches onto him. Although annoyed by his presence and idealistic dreams of life in California at first, the two form an inseparable bond. Living among artists in SoHo, the two help and support each other as they try to make a living in the city.

(Source: Buttdong Translations)

California Monogatari

カリフォルニア物語

Igarashi, Yumiko

Kurimoto, Kaoru

There is a legend in the kingdom of Paro —a legend of the Sword. It is said that if one who is unfit to rule should wield it, it will mean the ruin of the kingdom. As sole heir to the throne of Paros, Princess Erminia must accept the Sword and a husband when she comes of age on her next birthday. But the princess refuses to wed any man who is less of a man than she—which excludes every man in the kingdom! Just when Erminia is ordered by her father the king to wed her foster brother Yurias, she has a fateful encounter with the unfortunate, beautiful maiden Fiona. 

(Source: MU)

Paros no Ken

The Sword of Paros

パロスの剣

Yamagishi, Ryouko

Resine de Poisson, orphan heir of an incredibly wealthy family, decides to attend the same boarding school as her late mother. However, due to her sheltered upbringing, she struggles to fit in. It doesn't help that she is put in the same room as the rebellious Simone d'Arc, who does nothing but tease and laugh at her.

However, after fate decides to put the two in the leading roles of a school performance of Romeo and Juliet, the bond between them grows. Shiroi Heya no Futari explores the confusing relationship between a feminine goody-two-shoes and a tomboyish troublemaker.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shiroi Heya no Futari

白い部屋のふたり

1. Akai Hana (Red Flowers)
2. Ri-san Ikka (The Lee Family)
3. Tsuya (The Wake)
4. Umibe no Jokei (Scenes from the Seaside)
5. Nishibetamura Jiken (The Incident at Nishibeta Village)
6. Futamata Keikoku (Futamata Gorge)
7. Honyaradou no Ben-san (Mister Ben of the Honyara Cave)
8. Jonin (The Ninjess)
9. Furuhon to Shoujo (The Secondhand Book)
10. Mokkiriya no Shoujo (The Mokkiriya Tavern Girl)
11. Yanagiya Shujin (Master of the Willow Inn)
12. Shomin Onyado
13. Kinjo no Keshiki

Akai Hana

紅い花

Yamada, Yugi

Compilation of 7 short stories:

1) Love Affair in the Afternoon
College student takes over a tutoring job for the friend he has a crush on.

2) I don't mind it if You are a Man
College students/neighbors are (only?) sex friends.

3) Love's Worries
Ex-lovers from their student days are reunited.

4) Kana and Patience
Divorced man cheats on his new lover.

5) Why there is no Ice Beer
Younger co-worker always hangs out at his sempai's house.

6) Bring Me to the Edge of the World
An odd 17-year-old electrician puts in an air conditioner for sexy businessman.

7) Spinning World
Sequel to Bring Me to the Edge of the World. 

(Source: MangaUpdates)

12 Manga Like Mizuiro Cinema