I avoid almost every shounen/shoujo-ai, yuri, and yaoi. Recently I tried to read some of Yoshinaga Fumi's yaoi works titled Ichigenme wa Yaruki no Minpou and Antique Bakery, the later is lovely but the former left me unimpressed. Same goes with some high rated and well acclaimed shounen-ai/yaoi/yuri/shoujo-ai out there; Lonely Wolf Lonely Sheep (so-so), Pieta (didn't even remember this one that much), Endless World (it thought it was better than it was), Kyuuso wa Cheese no Yume o Miru (this one actually wasn't bad at all, just didn't like it), The End of Youth (simply disappointing), and Kaze ni Chiru Hanabira to Kisu (painfully overrated).

BUT, I did find what I considered gems like Otona no Mondai, previously mentioned Antique Bakery, Honey & Honey, Love My Life, and Crush on You. I'm reading Octave too and it looked like it got potential. I'm sorry but I'm not really sure what I'm looking for either, please kindly looked at the ones I've mentioned, maybe something comes to mind. Thank you for your recommendation

EDIT : Lol, okay, well, so maybe some must read shoujo-ai/shounen-ai/yuri/yaoi even though I'm not fan of the genre? As for the recommendation below, looked like it's gonna be a long series so I'll wait till there're at least the volumes reach teens before I start, thank you though.

Last edited by bossmama at 9:57 am, Aug 9 2014

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DONDAKEE!!

I'm not sure what you're looking for either, but I don't see Song of the Long March on your list.

Yuri..
Prism (HIGASHIYAMA Shou)
Ebisu-san and Hotei-san
Aoi Hana
Husky and Medley
Girl Friends
Aqua Blue Cinema

Though I don't really get why you're trying to read a subject you don't like, lol. I won't touch yaoi.

Hmm.. well, maybe there will be something you will like among these:

12 Days
Free Soul
Sweet Lovin' Baby
Blue

Edit: I really think yuri and shoujo-ai titles are lacking, though. There's a lot more shounen-ai and yaoi out there, but I haven't really read much so can't recommend anything.

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世界のどこかに 必ず
キミの居場所が ある筈

For yuri/shoujo-ai you could try reading Fu-fu, Nijipuri, Stray Little Devil,Hoshikawa Ginza Yonchoume, Youkai Gakuenki, Hanjuku Joshi, Sasameki Koto or Gokujou Drops... At least I enjoyed reading them

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~4400 manga completed
~1700 ongoing...

definitely second Song of the Long March. I can't think of a single thing to complain about this one, be it plot, pacing or character development and interactions.
Fushigi na Shounen I noticed you read mushishi, a lot of people say it's got a similar feel. I can't confirm or deny it, but I can say I love FnS
Ane no Kekkon unexpectedly very interesting
If you like detective/mystery stories, I'd definitely recommend C.M.B. and Q.E.D. - Shoumei Shuuryou. Also, I was completely obsessed with Hyouka after watching it, and you can be sure I'm picky with the mystery genre.
Cheese in the Trap Best. Slice of life. Ever. Absolutely excellent.
Shoukoku no Altair strategy and character development. Some say it's too wordy but I disagree
The Children's Teacher, Mr. Kwon
Annarasumanara definitely my favorite Ha Il-Kwon story
I don't know if you like shoujo or not, but Cat street is very good
Tamashii no Futago so far, I've enjoyed all of MIHARA Mitsukazu's works, but thi one just blew my mind

now, for shounen ai and yaoi. I love these and would gladly recommend them to anyone. They definitely make going through all the smut and mediocrity worth it (no offence to yaoi fans, I'm just indifferent to most of it). I've read each of these at least twice (I tend to leave yaoi unfinished). i cannot stress enough how much I love each of these
A Night of a Thousand Dreams very mild shounen ai (the first time I read it I didn't realize they were a couple till volume 9. I thought they just had a really nice bromance)
Seven Days
Feng Yu Jiu Tian (Novel) I read this one for the plot. I love court intrigues and strategy and that kind of stuff. I'd also recommend the author's non yaoi novel
Komahoshi I love the characters on this one, especially the main duo, their dynamics are so interesting
Kaze ni Chiru Hanabira to Kisu a lovely oneshot

I'm going to post some suggestions that I made in a similar thread. You can check it out if you like - Yaoi/Yuri manga for someone who never reads it

Classic shounen-ai
Heart of Thomas - one of the first two works of shounen-ai, a true masterpiece
Kaze to Ki no Uta - the other one foundational work, it's rough going
From Eroica with Love - a flamboyantly gay art thief pursued by and pursuing a strait-laced NATO intelligence officer. Hilarity ensues.
Patalliro! - gag manga with shounen-ai subplot

Shoujo-ai
I don't read yuri, not my thing, but here are some great classic works of shoujo-ai.
Shiroi Heya no Futari - the prototype for "Crimson Rose and Candy" yuri
Oniisama e...
Claudine...!

Gems - Here's a couple of what I consider to be "gems", but they are explicit. I think I chose them because they are unromantic.
Tantei Aoneko
Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai

Of the shounen-ai that you liked and that I am familiar with, Otona no Mondai and Antique Bakery, what they have in common is that there are gay characters in the story, but the main character is not in a relationship with them - so imo they're not really yaoi. In that case you might also like these:
Shibuya de Aimashou
Banana Bread no Pudding - classic shoujo

BTW, this belongs in the Yaoi / Yuri forum; that's why you're getting suggestions for seinen and such.

That forum really isn't fair for yuri fans... it's 95% yaoi and someone into yuri isn't going to frequent it on the off-chance something yuri is posted... It's never made sense to me; it's like having a "horror/moe" forum or something. For the most part completely opposing genres.

Agree - completely different audience.

Very similar to 'Otona no Mondai' and 'Antique Bakery' is in my opinion Sakende Yaruze!. Sono Te no Netsu wo Kasanete reminds to Antique Bakery' also in some ways.

Other gems to try (all of them are shounen ai or light yaoi):

Arashi no Ato and Hana wa Saku ka by Hidaka Shoko
Dear Green: Hitomi no Ounowa
Gerard to Jacques by Fumi Yoshinaga
Haikei, Niisan-sama
New York New York
Ikumen After

Seconding Dear Green and A Night of a Thousand Dreams.

Shounen-ai/yaoi:
Aishiteru
Dining Bar Akira
Endou-kun no Kansatsu Nikki
Kurayami ni Strobe
Mirai no Kioku
Tsuki to Sandal

Shoujo-ai/yuri:
Asagao to Kase-san.
Kono Kutsu Shirimasen ka?
Mermaid Line

Let Dai - angsty (if you dont mind)
Not Equal - if you dont mind incest
Yuuutsu na Asa - Superb story imo.
Hourou Musuko

I guess est em is a "must read" yaoi mangaka, and Yoneda Kou (Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai in particular) is also quite well regarded. Yamashita Tomoko (Illumination, Koi no Hanashi ga Shitai) is not very well known, but I think her works are incredible, particularly for her way with words. Sojou no Koi wa Nido Haneru is the sequel to Kyuuso wa Cheese no Yume o Miru and you might want to give it a try since it's much more compelling. For yuri there is Husky and Medley.

Chose these series on the basis of them not really being representative of the genre (transcending it, so to speak) since your choices gave me that impression.

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Elitism? If I am not elite, then who is?

I'm also adding Blue Sky Complex, which I read twice last night. Superb, indeed