I'm looking for manga like:
Akagami no Shirayukihime
Colette wa Shinu Koto ni Shita
Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii
+a no Tachiichi

Where the female lead is often driving the plot and comes up with a lot of creative/unique solutions which only they could achieve. Romance is often the subplot, not the entire plot, for this character's arc/manga.

The manga does NOT need to have the female lead be the main character, or shoujo, it's just that often to fulfill the above criteria, that needs to be the case.

These manga definitely has the female lead driving the plot and makes their own decisions (most of them are independent or emotionally strong). Also, rated out of 5 based on the RELEVANCE to the request, in my opinion.

Cheese In The Trap (5/5)
A romantic drama webtoon. Ongoing, and is still officially released by LINE Webtoon (or you can read the scanlation which is quite far ahead). About a perceptive girl who thinks her senior is making her life go downhill. She is one of my favorite heroines, observant, smart and independent. There is romance, but I think the main genre is drama. Very addicting in my opinion <3. Recommended if you don't mind drama as well as mystery .
Penguin Brothers (5/5)
Completed. About a hardworking girl who decides to erase the (some sort of) 'social hierarchy' in her school. The manga is highly enjoyable! Recommended if you like hard-working female leads.
Papa to Mama Hajimemashita. (4/5)
Completed. I think it sort of fits. About a girl and her friend who have to take care of a baby. Very cute, and the girl is the one who is most useful and comes up with a lot of directions to help her friend take care of the baby.
Hoshizora no Karasu (5/5)
Ongoing. Smart female lead with a very strong determination to become a professional Go player. Recommended if you like board games.
Abide In The Wind (5/5)
Webtoon, with ongoing scanlation. Romance is a crucial element in the webtoon, but it's not the plot. About a girl who has to help a dragon mature so he can leave the Earth. Recommended if you like adventure-fantasy and action. Female lead is not the smartest, but she is quite determined and kind. A very fun webtoon, one of my favorites !
ReRe Hello (4/5)
Ongoing. About a hardworking girl who becomes the handyman of a rich boy who lives alone. It's your average shoujo, but the main characters are likeable, and the heroine is one of the most dedicated shoujo lead I've ever seen. Recommended if you like romance with emotionally strong female leads.
Skip Beat (3/5)
Ongoing. I've watched the anime, so I'm guessing the manga is similar too. I kind of forgot the exact details of the plot, but if I remember correctly, the female lead is emotionally strong, hardworking and determined. And ambitious. I think she makes her own decisions, too. The manga is about a girl who decides to become an actor to get revenge. Recommended if you like the acting world and strong heroines.

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And these might fit:

- Penguin Kakumei (3/5, if I remember it correctly. Completed.)
- Kingyo Sou (3/5. Completed.)

Hope I helped~

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Shoujo & Romance Manga Lover || Cleaner-Typesetter

Thank you, that's a really useful list! Looking forward to reading through it~ I guess I should say the female character doesn't need to be emotionally strong (see +a no tachiichi as an example), but it sure helps, huh.

There's always:

Basara (Complete Fantasy/Sci-fi where the female lead is leading a rebellion.)
Ashita no Ousama (Complete and the female lead becomes a playwright and director.)
Red River (Complete Historical Smut where the female lead becomes involved with royalty and nation building.)
Chang Ge Xing (Ongoing Historical where the female was a princess and she goes politicking.)

Looking at these recs apparently I really enjoy my female leads to be involved in government in some way either by trying to destroy it or create it or safeguard it. Those sorts of plots probably also allow the most creative solutions from female leads.


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lol I do not blame you for your taste at all, looking at my own! Reminds me that Akatsuki no Yona is a good fit for this topic as well, though I've already read it. Thanks for the recs!

I'm a die hard fan for Kaze Hikaru. It's pretty well-researched, and a believable/interesting take on the cross-dressing-female-warrior-genre.

From Wikipedia "Set in the bakumatsu period, the series follows Tominaga Sei, a young girl who poses as a boy named Kamiya Seizaburo so she can join the Mibu-Roshi.

+1 for Skip Beat, I'm reading the manga (haven't seen the anime yet) and I give it 5/5. Kyoko is a phenomenal character and her plot/character development definitely takes priority over the romance.

Also Noragami is pretty popular, so you may have already read it or seen the anime, but Hiyori is a great lead female often very important to the plot.