The Manga Shelf
I read manga more than I watch anime nowadays. This is half because I just really like reading and half because reading the manga is more time-efficient...
I debated a bit whether to link to where I read the manga since I typically read them for free. I decided to do it because I don't read from any shady sites and that's probably better for everyone, but I will encourage anyone to buy volumes to support the mangaka if you can. I understand not being able to because I'm also poor lol, but the best fan is the one who enables the creation.
Click on the covers to learn more about the books!
Original code by Only Wonder!
Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup
Ookiku Furikabutte isn't just a baseball manga. It's the story of a timid young man who was made an ace pitcher in middle school because of family connections. Now he's in high school and it's his time to shine as an ace in his own right.
Reading this story will get your blood boiling, heart pumping, and tears flowing. It has been popular since it was serialized, a true Japanese high school baseball manga!
I feel like this is such an obvious rec, but if you haven't read the book, you should. It has this quirky, ironic kind of humor that I really love and it's just a really fun read. I sped through it in a way I hadn't in a long time and haven't done since.
Wondance | Wandance
Kaboku Kotani is starting high school, and he plans to do what he's always done: go along with his friends, keep quiet, and not draw too much attention to himself. After all, it's hard enough to get by with a stutter like his—why make things worse by standing out from the crowd? But then he sees another first-year, Hikari Wanda, dancing like no one is watching—or like she doesn't care who sees her. It makes Kaboku wonder: Could he reach that same freedom? To find his way to Wanda, he does something he never thought he could: He joins the dance club. After all, every routine begins with a single step, right? Join Kaboku and Wanda as they freestyle their way to life and love!
The art for this manga is amazing. I'm really hoping it eventually gets animated just so I can see it all in motion. Watching Kabo learn how to dance and find his own style and what he finds fun is just... really satisfying. I really like Kabo as a character and I actually like the entire cast. They all feel very real to me, which is a feat considering that there are quite a few!
Raise wa Tanin ga Ii | Yakuza Fiancé
Yoshino has always been treated differently because she is the granddaughter of Osaka's biggest mafia boss, so everyone is afraid of her and she has never had a boyfriend. One day her grandfather tries to engage her with a boy of her age, Kirishima: he is intelligent, calm, kind, and… grandson of another great mobster. In spite of everything, she decides to go live with Kirishima in Tokyo and begins to take an interest in him, but what will she do when she finds out that he is not only part of the Mafia, but is also a masochist?
So this is listed on MAL as a seinen, but it fits the vibe of josei better. It's a romance for the most part, but it's pretty mature and there's some serious dark undertones. Really earns the title, so to speak. The romance is more based in obsession and there's an edge to both the main characters that I really like. It's exactly what you would expect of two teens raised in the yakuza.
Tsuiraku JK to Haijin Kyoushi
Mikoto Ochiai is ready to jump off the rooftop of her high school's building after she got rejected by the boy she likes. However, homeroom teacher Jin Haiba suddenly appears on the rooftop for a smoke, talked to her, and saved her from falling down. He even asked her to go out with him rather than die. A dark humor manga about love, life, and death.
Okay, so the student-teacher relationship will put some people off and that's fine. I get it. The romance is cute and very slow burn, but it's not the only thing that makes it worth reading. I like this story for its dark humor and its moments of sincerity. It really gets into the philosophy of life and death and society, but it's funny and light-hearted the entire time it does. It's just finished publication and I miss it already.
Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko ja Nakatta | The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All
Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya falls head over heels for an employee at a local CD shop. He's got an air of mystery about him, great style, and an impeccable music taste. Little does she know—this supposedly male employee is actually her female classmate Mitsuki! Mitsuki generally keeps to herself, but since her seat is right next to Aya's, she can't help but be extremely aware of the other's crush. Revealing the truth is out of the question for Mitsuki—but perhaps getting closer to Aya wouldn't be so bad...
This manga started off as a twitter series and I've been following it ever since. It's a very cute story and the art is really nice. The clothes in particular always looks so cool. If you like GL or just romance in general, there really isn't an excuse not to read this one.
Honey Lemon Soda
For 15-year-old Uka Ishimori, middle school was the toughest experience she lived through. She was dubbed "Stone" due to always freezing up in front of other people and was endlessly bullied as a result. Now in high school, she has a chance for a fresh start and to improve herself. But during her first week, she is accidentally soaked in juice by her classmate Kai Miura, a flashy guy with lemon-colored hair.
On paper, Kai is everything that Uka lacks—he is popular, aloof, and bold enough to speak his mind. Despite their contrasting personalities, Kai encourages her to slowly come out of her shell, offering a helping hand when others avoided doing so. Although Uka initially wanted to forge friendships, she has realized her true feelings—she has fallen in love with Kai. What started with a lemon soda is about to change Uka and Kai's lives forever.
I like this story because it's not just a romance. It's about mindset. It's about courage. It's about strength. It's about what it takes to change. Uka, the main character, doesn't really change personalities at all. Even some twenty or so volumes in, she's very recognizably herself. But she's a girl that goes from hating her life to loving every day and that kind of change is much harder to do and to write correctly. I hate it when you have a character like Uka, quiet and kind of introverted, and the "fix" is making them extroverted. That's just propaganda about who society prefers.
Spy x Family
For the agent known as "Twilight," no order is too tall if it is for the sake of peace. Operating as Westalis' master spy, Twilight works tirelessly to prevent extremists from sparking a war with neighboring country Ostania. For his latest mission, he must investigate Ostanian politician Donovan Desmond by infiltrating his son's school: the prestigious Eden Academy. Thus, the agent faces the most difficult task of his career: get married, have a child, and play family.
A humor mnaga that really does like to come out with the hard-hitting emotional chapters out of nowhere. It's a silly story most of the time, but it carries some really thought-provoking messgaes about war, family, and humans being human. Very cute read and I like the fashion and aesthetics of the setting.
Sasaki to Miyano | Sasaki and Miyano
It all started like a typical old-school boys’ love plotline—bad-boy senior meets adorably awkward underclassman, one of them falls in love, and so on and so forth. But although Miyano is a self-proclaimed boys’ love expert, he hasn’t quite realized…he’s in one himself. Which means it’s up to Sasaki to make sure their story has a happily ever after…!
I know that everyone who reads BL recs this manga, but like... If you like romance, you should read this manga. It's genuinely just a good wholesome slowburn type romance story and it's a good intro to BL because it's missing many of the red flag tropes of the genre while also introducing you to many of the terms fans use. I started reading it pretty early into its publishing and there was a good hot minute where I wasn't even sure it was actually a BL. That's how slow burn it is. Despite this, I enjoyed reading it the entire time.