Takimoto, Tatsuhiko

Tatsuhiro Satou, a university dropout entering his fourth year of unemployment. He leads a reclusive life as a hikikomori, ultimately coming to the bizarre conclusion that this happened due to some sort of conspiracy. One day just when his life seems entirely unchanging, he meets Misaki Nakahara, a mysterious girl who claims to be able to cure Tatsuhiro of his hikikomori ways. She presents him with a contract basically outlining that once a day they would meet in the evening in a local park where Misaki would lecture to Tatsuhiro in an effort to rid him of his lifestyle. During these outings, many subjects are discussed, though they almost always pertain in some way to psychology or psychoanalysis.

NHK ni Youkoso!

Welcome to the N.H.K.

NHKにようこそ!

Misaki, Kurehito

Maruto, Fumiaki

Die-hard otaku Tomoya Aki never imagined himself falling for a girl in real life until one of his spring breaks, when he experienced a picturesque encounter with a mysterious beauty. Reminiscing about the brief yet enchanting event, he decides to produce a bishoujo game—a game focused on attractive girls—with the sole purpose of capturing the allure of that idyllic scene.

Days fly by, and Tomoya enters his second year of high school having made no progress on his game. On top of that, he is shocked to discover that the girl he met is his unremarkable classmate, Megumi Katou. Determined to make his game a reality, Tomoya ropes Megumi into the project and sets out to convince his childhood friend Eriri Spencer Sawamura and upperclassman Utaha Kasumigaoka to help with its development. Tomoya soon finds out, however, that working with friends on such an ambitious project is much more difficult than he initially thought.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata

How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend

冴えない彼女〈ヒロイン〉の育てかた

Tatsumi, Yoshihiro

Over four decades ago, Yoshihiro Tatsumi expanded the horizons of comics storytelling by using the visual language of manga to tell gritty, literary stories about the private lives of everyday people. He has been called "the grandfather of Japanese alternative comics" and has influenced generations of cartoonists around the world. Now the visionary creator of "The Push Man and Other Stories" and "Good-bye" has turned his incisive, unflinching gaze upon himself. Over ten years in the making, "A Drifting Life" is Tatsumis' most ambitious, personal, and heart felt work: an autobiographical bildungsroman in comics form. Using his life long obsession with comics as a frame work, Tatsumi weaves a complex story that encompasses family dynamics, Japanese culture and history, first love, the intricacies of the manga industry, and most importantly, what it means to be an artist. Alternately humorous, enlightening, and haunting, this is the masterful summartion of a fascinating life and a historic career.

(Source: Drawn &amp; Quarterly)

Gekiga Hyouryuu

A Drifting Life

劇画漂流

Oh! Great

NISIO, ISIN

Koyomi Araragi is no stranger to the abnormal. During the spring break of his third year in high school, a fateful encounter with vampire Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade turns him into a vampire himself. Thrust into the world of oddities, Araragi finds himself catching classmate Hitagi Senjougahara when she falls down the school stairs one day—but something is amiss. After being confronted by the girl in question, Araragi learns that her weight was stolen by a mythical crab. In spite of Senjougahara's blunt threats, he manages to convince her to let him help. In need of a solution to an abnormal problem, the two visit the mysterious Meme Oshino, a wanderer who saved Araragi from his vampirism.

Bakemonogatari is a tale about the monsters that reside within everyone, but just how deep do they dwell in the people Araragi meets?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Bakemonogatari

化物語

Adachi, Mitsuru

Kou Kitamura is a fifth grader whose family runs a sporting goods store. One of the regular customers of his family's store is the Tsukishima Batting Center, and so he gets to know the four daughters of the Tsukishima family (Ichiyo, Wakaba, Aoba, and Momiji) very well. Since Kou has spent so much time practicing in their batting cages, he has become a genius hitter, but has no knowledge of any other aspect of baseball. This is in contrast to Aoba, who, despite being a year younger, is an adept pitcher and hitter. Wakaba is a classmate of Kou's, and she seems fully intent on marrying him when she grows up. All seems idyllic in their world, until tragedy strikes. The story then skips ahead to four years later, as Kou has continued the training he began four years ago, but has not played in a baseball game since. As he finally begins playing again, it remains to be seen whether or not he will live up to the expectations of those who know the true talent he has been hiding all this time.

(Source: ANN)

Cross Game

クロスゲーム

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

Obata, Takeshi

Ohba, Tsugumi

Despite being a talented artist, middle school student Moritaka Mashiro is unsure about his future, accepting that he will simply lead a normal life. After seeing one of Mashiro's drawings in class, Akito Takagi—an aspiring writer—insists that they write a manga together. But Mashiro is hesitant—his uncle, a mangaka, had died from overworking just a few years prior. However, when Mashiro hears that his crush, Miho Azuki, aims to be a voice actress, he becomes determined to create a manga that can be adapted into an anime for her to star in. Reciprocating Mashiro's feelings, she agrees to get married once they have both achieved their dreams.

Bakuman. chronicles Mashiro and Takagi's successes and struggles in their attempts to be serialized in Weekly Shounen Jump and become famous mangakas. Will their gamble pay off, or will they join the countless number of failures?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Bakuman.

Bakuman。

BAKUMAN。 バクマン。

Touch is a shounen story about two twin brothers, a pretty girl next door, and that good old pastime of baseball. The manga was written by one of the most well known manga-ka out there, Adachi Mitsuru in the early 80's (1981-1986). He's a wonderful writer who tends to write stories that are related to baseball and Koshien, the stadium where the All High School Baseball Tournament is held.

(Source: MangaProject)

Touch

タッチ

Fujisawa, Tooru

Eikichi Onizuka and Ryuuji Danma are members of infamous biker gang, Oni Baku. When not out riding around, they can be found in school, trying to pick up young women. This is the story of the young Onizuka, who would later become the greatest teacher in Japan.

(Source: ANN)

Shonan Junai Gumi!

GTO: The Early Years

湘南純愛組！

Hiro has two loves: baseball and porn. But due to an elbow injury he gives up baseball choosing a school with no baseball team. His childhood friend Hikari attends a different school with baseball ace Hideo and the two wish Hiro had not given up baseball. Hiro joins the soccer team but meets Haruka, a very clumsy girl, who is manager of the unofficial baseball club. When the soccer team challenges the baseball club to a game, with hopes of humiliating them, the baseball club nearly loses until Hiro, disgusted by the soccer team`s arrogance, switches to the baseball club.

(Source: MU)

エイチツー

Hotta, Kiichi

Shun, Kaname, and the twins Yuuki and Yuuta have been friends since kindergarten. It's a little hard to tell if they actually get along or not. But even as high school students, they still hang out together. Recently, they've had a new addition: the half-Japanese transfer student Chizuru, who has started to liven up the group. This manga is about their daily lives, which aren't particularly passionate or exciting. A tranquil and sometimes comedic story of youthful friendship...

(Source: MU)

Kimi to Boku.

君と僕。

Yamato Keisuke, a promising freestyle swimmer, and Ninomiya Ami, a talented diver, are the offspring of two rival families owners of confectionery shops. Two generations ago, Grandfather Ninomiya came up with an idea for an owl-shaped cake, but Grandfather Yamato quickly raised to the challenge and thought of a similar cake—but in Yamato's the owl had ears. Because they're priced the same, Yamato's extra ears were crucial, and that made the business of the Ninomiya confectionery suffered. Grandfather Ninomiya then fell ill worrying about his shop. Before his death, his last words were "I was killed by the Yamatos," and since that moment the two families have been sworn rivals. 

(Source: MU)

12 Manga Like NHK ni Youkoso!