Hey guys!

As I've stated on the title, I am looking for manga with the main story revolving around a character who is one of the best at his or her trade.

It doesn't matter what their thing is--cooking, magic, making miniature models, capturing ghosts, painting, building robots--so long as they're great at it and have the reputation for it. Bonus points if it's an uncommon skill.

They have to have earned it. It shouldn't be just some fancy power they acquired because they were born with it or an ability that was simply granted to them. The main character may be called a prodigy or a genius or at least has a bit of talent to start with, but he or she must have honed it to be recognized for it.

A perfect example would be Shigeshoushi where the main character is a skilled embalmer who put in the effort to earn his degree. Another great example is Hayao Miyazaki's final work, The Wind Rises, where the main character is an aviation engineer genius who works his ass off and makes a breakthrough at what he does, to put the story crudely.

I read from all demographics, from different media (manga, manhwa, webtoon, etc.), and from most genre, so don't hold back.

Kurosagi - The Black Swindler about a con artist that cheat another con artist
Yugo Negotiator
and some suggestions from this thread

Have you heard of our Educational Manga Project? We compile and classify manga according to their educational content (here's an explanation on our work), and in the process, we come across many informative series that feature protagonists who are good at their trade. Have a look at these examples from my lists:

Already exceptionally skilful / the best:
- The Man of Tango Tango
- Bartender Bartending
- Dr. Frost Psychology
- Nobunaga no Chef (Japanese) cooking
- Stalker Stalking
- Detective Conan Crime investigation
- Biblia Koshodou no Jiken-Techou (Japanese) literature
- Billionaire Girl Stock trading

Good and on their way to become the best:
- Nodame Cantabile Piano/conducting
- Kami no Shizuku Wine tasting
- 7-nin no Shakespeare Skript writing
- Shoukoku no Altair (Middle Eastern) national politics
- Vagabond Sword fighting
- Real Wheelchair basketball

We've got more fitting series on our wish list, so look forward to our updates.

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Need to study but want to read manga? Why not combine both? Check out my lists for educational manga recommendations!

Interested? Want to help out, give feedback or suggest a new educational manga? Just PM me!

There are heaps of manga with badass protagonists, but only few of them are even remotely realistic. If you don't mind exaggerated skills, try these:

YOSHIDA Motoi's Natsu no Zenjitsu
One of the few realistically gifted main characters. The male lead is a very promising aspiring painter who struggles with his identity as an artist.

Iryuu - Team Medical Dragon by NAGAI Akira and NOGIZAKA Tarou
The main character's surgery skills may be exaggerated, but they aren't completely baseless. The protagonist has worked in areas of conflict for several years, which made him turn into a highly adaptable surgeon.

Iris Zero by Pro Shiki / HOTARU Takana
Due to his lack of supernatural abilities, the male lead had to hone his ability to read people and his deduction skills.

All You Need Is Kill by SAKURAZAKA Hiroshi and TAKEUCHI Ryousuke / OBATA Takeshi
The protagonist's skill is to kill aliens. I know that it sounds cliched for a Science-fiction manga, but he's really earned this fighting abilities with lots of pain, strain and effort.

AKAISHI Michiyo's P.A.
As the daughter of a famous actress, the female lead takes any kind of real-life acting job to hone her skills. And it pays off.

Until Death Do Us Part by TAKASHIGE Hiroshi / SONG Ji-Hyoung
Genius swordsman who's gone blind and was thus forced to develop his other senses to the max. Since this series is full of uber-strong characters, it might not be to your taste.


Last edited by Tripitaka at 7:56 am, Jan 19 2015

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"Stories are what death thinks he puts an end to.
He can't understand that they end in him, but they don't end with him."
- Ursula K. Le Guin, Gifts

To be savoured:
- Blood Alone by TAKANO Masayuki
- Otoyomegatari by MORI Kaoru
- Gangsta. by Kohske
- Seishun Kouryakuhon by AKIZUKI Sorata

read Uchuu Kyoudai
The "Space Brothers" Namba Mutta and Hibito Mutta are both astronauts. The plot is revolving mostly around the older brother Namba Mutta and his difficulties becoming such a skillful astronaut as his younger brother Hibito already is in the beginning of the series. Very realistic with great main and side characters. One of the best ongoing seinen series around IMO, don't miss!

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I'm currently looking through all of them, these should tide me over for the next few weeks.
My stupid internet's very laggy though ^^;

@kamfreto I can't open the link to the thread you mentioned, but no matter. Your suggestions look interesting, will give them a shot.
@Ed U. Manga Cool work. I'll check out your suggestions.
@Tripitaka Some of the stuff you suggested are manga that I used to read way before I joined MU and somehow lost over the years. So, yay, I found them again thanks to you! I'll look through your other suggestions as well.
@annebel Don't miss, eh? I'll take your word for it!

Sorry for the broken link, just follow this link:
https://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=48935

It's quite alright I checked out the new link you gave me and picked up a few more manga. Thanks!