I've recently come back to manga after some years away as a hobbyist, and I'm finding it very difficult as a mature reader to find a completed series that is well-written (pacing, character development, plot), and well-concluded (some semblance of closure), and has an honestly developed romance. I don't care what the genre is--Adventure, Action, Slice-of-LIfe, Sports, Work, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Drama, Psychological, Crime--whatever, I just want a series I can read and enjoy to a satisfying conclusion that has at least a romantic subplot that fully develops.

There seems to be a lot of dragging plot in romantic manga--incredible amounts of blushing and character indecision), some of the shounen battle/action type stuff gets mired down in endless DBZ-like arcs that never see real character development, a lot of shoujo comes off as really contrived with meek female leads that are incapable of speaking their minds. Some seem to have promise, such as Kimi wa Pet, Maison Ikkoku, Emma, and I recently enjoyed Bakuman. But I'm having a hard time getting into a series that can keep me interested.

I'm typically a fan of American comics, and it's not that difficult for me to point to quite a few series/titles that can be described the way I'm looking for (Blankets, Deadenders, Local, Scott Pilgrim, Y: The Last Man, The Boys, Wanted, Bone, Asterios Polyp, Love & Rockets, DMZ, Preacher, Shortcomings, Exit Wounds, Summer Blonde, Invincible, Powers, Proof, Strangers In Paradise, Transmetropolitan--let alone really great runs on the superhero books like Ultimate and Amazing S-M, Runaways, New Avengers, X-Men is full of it).

I'd love to be directed towards some good manga that fits the bill. Really looking forward to what you all have to say.

Melo Holic One of the best mature romance series ever.


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Melo holic is indeed on of the best mature romance series out there but thelastdefender wants a "Well-Concluded" manga and melo holic is in my opinion not well-concluded.

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I think the problem you are facing with finding a "well concluded" manga is probably due to the contrast between Japanese and typical Western storytelling. In Japanese, speech is typically open-ended with a lot of implication (I don't personally know Japanese, but it's been described to me as a language that beats around the bush). This also translates into their storytelling. It's not just manga, but almost all plot-based Japanese media tend to have more subtle or open-ended conclusions.

As for a concise romance manga, I'd recommend Koi Kaze. It's fairly short, and while it is open-ended to an extent, there are no loose ends or other distractions, which I would consider well concluded. Easily my favorite romance, though you should be aware that the plot is based heavily around incest. Some people are more tolerant of that than others, but if you can stomach the squick then check it out.

Last edited by lambchopsil at 10:29 am, Aug 2 2012

@Irony: don't double-post

I'd still recommend Melo Holic though...

Bitter Virgin
Hana to Akuma
Hoshi no Samidare
Usagi Drop you could dislike the ending though...
Densha Otoko
Hanako to Guuwa no Tera
Immortal Rain

and too many others to put here ><
check my completed list if you want more, just avoid tragedy, I only read romance or romantic sub-plot manga

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in need of romance?
uncommon, sad, sweet

I've done Bitter Virgin, and despite some pretty glaring gender politics issues, enjoyed it quite a lot. It really was a new perspective on what is essentially the school-life/love-triangle(square). It had a cogent point to make, and ended well.

Thanks everybody for your quick suggestions. Hoshi no Samidare is my next 'to-read', so I'm on that. I've basically just wishlisted the rest of Lorska's list, as well as Melo-Holic.

Looking forward to more suggestions.

A short and funny commedy Lilim Kiss dont know if its well concludet but i was not desapoited.
Sugar Dark is dark haha... i kind of liked this one. The ending is really cool in my opinion.
Ii Hito this one is special, but they are still scanlating.
Orange Yane no Chiisana Ie
Katsu!


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Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900) - "Man is more ape than many of the apes."

Jean-Paul Sartre - "You are--your life, and nothing else."

Henrik Ibsen - "The majority is always wrong; the minority is rarely right."

I second Hana to Akuma
Faster than a Kiss

Last edited by Strawberry Angel at 7:11 pm, Aug 17 2012

Penguin Kakumei
Superior
Beauty Pop
Are the ones that come to mind from scanning my complete list lol.

Why has no one mentioned Ai yori Aoshi?

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anything by Adachi Mitsuru especially his major works like Touch, Cross Game, Rough, H2, etc.

Banana Bread Pudding

A Million Pound Love

Moon Child

Love Roma - not as good as the other ones, but art style is similar to Scott Pilgrim

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I would recommend Basara. It is shojo, so some of it is kind of contrived (perhaps the love at first sight thing might turn you off?); the beginning also drags a bit, but overall it's epic beyond proportions and has an amazingly satisfying, well-rounded conclusive ending (mostly because of the several epilogue chapters that tie off a lot of the loose ends and whatnot).

The romance factor is there; some people who are really into romance think there's not enough, some people who aren't into romance thinks there's too much. I think there's a nice balance. :3 There are a few volumes at the beginning that really build the romance, but once the manga hits its stride, the romance factor slips a bit towards the background and builds up again towards the end. However the romance is an important part of the story, as well as revolution, politics, friendship, revenge, corruption, redemption etc. etc. ^^ Basically it's all a bit Shakespearean.

Probably the biggest complaint people have with Basara is the art... personally I think it's fine, and in fact quite gorgeous at times, but it is dated and very distinct. Certainly not your typical clean and pretty art. If you can get over the art, the rest is superb.

Also 7 Seeds by the same author is pretty amazing (a lot of people will say 7 Seeds is even better, as if writing one amazing epic isn't enough in your lifetime xD), but it's not completed yet. :3

Last edited by PandaRanda at 7:59 pm, Aug 2 2012

I would recommend Sakamichi no Apollon as it has mature elements, not many/any cliches and there is a definite romantic subplot. Good stuff. The only downside is that music plays an important element and without watching the anime it's a little bit more difficult to get the full impact.

I actually watched the anime, then read the manga. The manga was more complete, but I was glad I had the musical cues from the the anime. Worst case scenario, go on Youtube and lookup Moanin' by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - it's a centerpiece song of the manga.

Don't be throwm thinking it's only a manga about music. The musical aspect is only there to punctuate certain scene and to hopefully elicit more emotion and symbolism that dialogue.

Everything is balanced really well so no aspect of the plot gets too much weight while neglecting others.