Ooiwa, Kenji

Takimoto, Tatsuhiko

Tatsuhiro Satou is a 22-year-old hikikomori who dropped out of college and is now entering his fourth year of unemployment. He consumes hallucinatory drugs to escape reality, leading him to come up with various conspiracy theories. One such theory concerns the existence of a secret organization called the Nihon Hikikomori Kyoukai (NHK), which is supposedly responsible for Tatsuhiro's shut-in nature and the increasing number of hikikomori people across Japan.

On a quest to fight back against NHK, Tatsuhiro swears to leave behind his socially inept self. However, Tatsuhiro soon realizes that socializing may be too far-fetched a dream for him, as he struggles to get through even the most basic interactions with others. With the help of the mysterious Misaki Nakahara, who claims she can cure him of his current lifestyle, will he be able to turn his life around?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

NHK ni Youkoso!

Welcome to the N.H.K.

NHKにようこそ!

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

Yayoi, Sou

When the responsibilities of being an adult and the ugly side of corporate bullying betrays one's childhood dreams, many would wish to return to their innocent childhood to relive their life and make the right decisions. Dumbfounded by the offer presented to him, 27-year-old Arata Kaizaki hopes to turn his life around through a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Returning home from his part-time job, Arata is persuaded by Ryou Yoake, an employee of ReLife Research Institute, into participating in an experiment which will help him overcome his difficulties and re-enter corporate life. As part of the ReLife experiment, Arata's physique is reverted to that of a 17-year-old, and all he must do is relive his high school life for one year. Waiting for him at the end of the experiment is a job offer that he has been struggling to get ever since he left his first company.

With few other options, he decides to go along with this plan. However, with adult-like tendencies and many years since his last formal education, Arata steps into an unexpectedly challenging territory—a normal day of high school.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

ReLIFE

Nakamura, Yoshiki

Sixteen-year-old Kyouko Mogami followed her childhood friend and love interest Shoutarou "Shou" Fuwa to Tokyo to support him while he works toward his dream of becoming a top idol in the entertainment industry. But after finding out that Shou considers her as little more than a mere housekeeper, she swears to enact revenge by entering the entertainment industry herself and beating him at his own game!

However, Kyouko's revenge plan suffers a setback almost immediately when she is rejected by the talent agency of her choice. Fortunately, the president of the agency gives her a second chance, and places her in the newly made "Love Me" section. Kyouko then begins her long journey to stardom, cultivating her skills as an actress and forming relationships with new friends along the way.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Skip Beat!

スキップ・ビート!

Hatori, Bisco

At Ouran High School, an academy where only the children of the rich and powerful attend, there exists a club consisting of the most elite of the student body: the legendary Host Club. Within the club's room, six beautiful, bored boys spend their time entertaining equally beautiful and bored girls.

Haruhi Fujioka, a poor scholarship student, has no interest in the Host Club—until she breaks a valuable vase in their clubroom. After being mistaken for a boy, Haruhi is forced by Kyouya Ootori to work for the Host Club to repay her debt. Tamaki Suou, the princely leader of the club, eagerly takes her under his wing to teach her the ways of the host.

Things, however, are never quite so simple with the Host Club around. Even the most mundane events can turn into huge spectacles with the likes of prankster twins Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, stoic Takashi Morinozuka, and sweet Mitsukuni "Hunny" Haninozuka. The crazy adventures of the Host Club are just beginning, and Haruhi must learn how to survive in the glitzy world of the hosts.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Note: The final volume contains a special bonus chapter where the group travels to Spain.

Ouran Koukou Host Club

Ouran High School Host Club

桜蘭高校ホスト部

Mizukami, Satoshi

Fuuta Okeya, a 14-year-old student, can see ghosts and wears a bandage on his left cheek to hide his striking birthmark. One day, a girl with a scar on her forehead named Kouko Ishigami, accompanied by a ghost of a tall and friendly man, transfers into his class.

Fuuta quickly takes a liking to Kouko, wondering if it might be love at first sight. After waking up crying from a strange dream involving her, he feels a nostalgic connection to Kouko and becomes determined to befriend her. However, a chain of events forces Fuuta to reveal his birthmark to Kouko, to which she declares him to be the enemy of her life. A furious Kouko explains that the two are bound by reincarnation, and that Fuuta's birthmark is a curse she engraved on him in one of their past lives to recognize and eventually defeat him.
 
Kouko brings out a circular object made of flames known as the "spirit circle" and attacks Fuuta, pushing him off a flight of stairs. As he falls, Fuuta is thrown back into the insight of one of his previous lives. Spirit Circle chronicles Fuuta's journey back and forth his several past lives as he gradually unravels the mysteries behind his apparent bad blood with Kouko.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Spirit Circle

スピリットサークル

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

Yokota, Takuma

Molester Man is a perverted, socially inept otaku who spends most of his time on the textboard 2ch. One day, on the way home from his part-time job, he is mistaken for a stalker and arrested. After clearing the misunderstanding, Molester Man learns that the girl, whom he subsequently refers to as Miss Understanding, was left traumatized by her stalker, so he offers his hand in the hope of dating her. However, exceeding his own expectations, he gradually becomes closer to Miss Understanding and her friends, the cheerful Kansai and the guileless Loli Jugs.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Chikan Otoko

痴漢男

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。

Park, Jin-Hwan

Jeon, Geuk-jin

After Yi "Shioon" Shi-Woon's master, Goomoonryong, breaks his ki-center, leaving him unable to use his martial arts, he decides to leave the world of Murim and continue on with his normal life: going to school and coming home to his mother every day. However, Murim has other ideas.

Discovered as the only true disciple of Goomoonryong and entrusted with the Phoenix Medallion of the Sunwoo Clan by Lady Sosul—making him the interim leader of the Sunwoo Clan—the world of Murim is not so eager to let Shioon leave. With his new status, enemies Shioon has never encountered before keep appearing before him, such as the organization known as Soldiers Under Command. They are intent on getting rid of him for the sake of their own prosperity, but how will Shioon defend himself without his ki-center intact?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

12 Manga Like NHK ni Youkoso!