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 gives back to the creator.
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!
Summary from MangaDex
This might be my favorite manga, honestly. I love the main character, Mihashi, and I love the care taken with everything. This, to me, is everything a sports manga is supposed to be and I love it. You can tell Higuchi-sensei loves the game and that she loves making manga.
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!
Summary from MAL
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!
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?
Summary from MangaDex
So this is listed on MAL as a seinen, but it fits the vibe of josei better so here it is. 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.
Iruma Suzuki, fourteen years old, can’t say no to any request. His irresponsible parents make him work dangerous job after dangerous job to support them, and then one day they sell him to a demon! But, much to his surprise, the demon wants to adopt Iruma as his grandson? Unable to refuse his request, Iruma becomes the grandson of the great demon Sullivan. His new doting demon grandfather enrolls him in Demon School Babyls – where Sullivan is coincidentally the principal. Thus begins Iruma-kun's extraordinary school life among the otherworldly, meeting many colorful demons, taking on daunting challenges, and facing his true self as he rises to become someone great.
Cozy magical slice of life with occasional urban terrorism.
Summary from MangaDex
I'm not really big on shounen. JJK is the only one besides Mairuma that I've kept up with in recent memory. Everything else typically bores me before long. This one though is... interesting. It reminds me more of older shounen than anything that's popular right now. It's just a feel-good, power of friendship type of story. It's fun and colorful and I like that. Though it's definitely meant for younger audiences.
On her eighteenth birthday, shut-in Sena Shirai finally works up the courage to leave the comfort of her home—only to be hit by a truck! Luckily, she has a second chance at life as a witch in another world, but the only spells she can use are “explode” and “perish.” Unable to control her destructive power, Sena is shunned by the nearby villagers and doomed to live in isolation once again. But when a mysterious boy collapses at her doorstep on her (second) eighteenth birthday, will her fate finally turn around?
Summary from Bato.to
So this has a classic isekai setup, but the vibes are different. It's way more earnest for one. And the humor is probably different from your typical isekai. Honestly, I'm having a hard time describing it? Like it's just a nice story. It's refreshing compared to the normal isekai drivel, but it still adheres to a lot of those tropes. I like it.
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.
Summary from Bato.to
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.
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...
Summary from MAL
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.