Let's see, since I'm not very good with manga so I'd like some recommendations if possible.

The type of romantic stuff I really really enjoy would be:
Erica Sakurasawa (She's really the only one I know of in the manga world) I've watched some anime and from that I've concluded that the romantic elements of "Bokura ga Ita", "Suzuka", "Honey and Clover 1-2", "Clannad" (even though it TOOK WAY TOO LONG) and while Twin Spica and Fruits Basket per se wasn't very romantic it was very human in a way that I found extremely inspiring so I'd like to list those too. The telling of a warm story with actual warmth is my favourite thing about many stories, so I'd prefer that.

I've filled up my "Wish List" with tons of titles
http://www.mangaupdates.com/mylist.html?id=99417&list=wis h

Hopefully someone who has a know-of could pick a few titles from it, but titles not on it would be accepted too. I live in a shitty place on a shitty sofa with a shitty person till the end of the year. I have no wish to become social in this town since the new year will have me living in a different place, so I need something to keep me occupied till 2009-01-01. HELP!

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Do you know what people did in the old days when they had secrets they didn't want to share?

They'd climb a mountain, find a tree, carve a hole in it, whisper the secret into the hole and cover it up with mud. That way, nobody else would ever learn the secret...

Of those, I like Yesterday wo Utatte, Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu, and Bitter Virgin[ the most. Those are definitely heavy though, not exactly what I would describe as "warm". If you want warm from there, [m]Usagi Drop[/m] is nice, but not exactly a romance.

You could try the anime ef -a tale of memories-, I guess.





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Reviews of my Work:
You are kind of boring - Blackorion
Congratulations! Ur an asshole! - tokyo_homi
Your awesome!!! - Cherelle_Ashley
NightSwan also said that she wanted to peg me, once, but I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or a threat...

Ah, Well heavy isn't a problem, I just like warm stories alot. I think I will start with Bitter Virgin but I wanted to ask if there is something to gain from Sekai No Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu if one has seen the movie and the korean remake of it? Yesterday wo Uwatte seems good as well, though I think I'll wait till it is complete. Many thanks!

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Do you know what people did in the old days when they had secrets they didn't want to share?

They'd climb a mountain, find a tree, carve a hole in it, whisper the secret into the hole and cover it up with mud. That way, nobody else would ever learn the secret...

[a]Yuu Watase[/a] Does some good work. Ayashi no Ceres and Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden are her best in my opinion but Fushigi Yuugi and Imadoki! aren't bad either.

If you like Clannad try Kanon and Air. Though Clannad is better than Kanon in my opinion.

Kare Kano too. It's not the most romantic thing out there but it feels a lot more real than most other series.

Thanks! I'm gonna see if I can find Imadoki! While I'm sure the others are good, I'm trying to cut back on the whole fantasy thingie. Kare Kano will be dealt with and I think I saw Kanon some years ago, not sure. Regardless the impression can't have been that great if so.

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Do you know what people did in the old days when they had secrets they didn't want to share?

They'd climb a mountain, find a tree, carve a hole in it, whisper the secret into the hole and cover it up with mud. That way, nobody else would ever learn the secret...

I think Mahoraba should be a good choice.

Its as warm and fuzzy as you can get imho.

*edit*

Looked at your wishlist and i would reccomend the following titles:

Parallel, Honeymoon Salad, Undead, Hotman, Blood Alone and Toradora!.

Hope this helps

Last edited by Zephyr_20 at 3:13 am, Sep 26 2008

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These aren't on your list but I went through my list of romances that I've read and these are a number of the ones I thought were particularly good.


basara a really good action/adventure/romance with a strong heroine. The art is unlike other manga, and its really beautiful.

red river an adventure/romance, the romance is more prominent in this one. I guess you could consider it a bit smutty but not really.

goong This one is pretty dramatic. Its what first got me interested in manhwa. I remember reading the description and thinking "this is gunna suck" but then one day I was bored and started it and It surprised me, I was sad when I ran out of chapters.

nana this ones got it all: comedy, drama, romance.. No action though but its incredibly good.

emma a historical romance, Its a very good story, the art is a bit different from other manga and its setting is in England or something instead of the usual japan

The Devil Does Exist one of the best step-sibling love stories.

mekakushi no kuni Girl who can glimpse peoples' futures meets boy who can see peoples' pasts. Its got a unique and good story.

kare first love This one sticks out in my mind as a great example of a school life/slice of life romance thats not too over the top and pretty believable. Its got some of the shoujo cliches in it I think but its really nicely done.

kimi kara no resume a good office romance between a boss and a secretary and all the complications that come with it.

kiss piano teacher and student romance. Older guy and a younger girl. its a good read and I liked it.

The longer series are at the top, I suggest you work your way down. I think only 1 or 2 of the ones I mentioned are still ongoing or havent been fully scanlated.

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Feed your head.

Some romance mangas I love are
Mars -Playboy falls in love with reticent artist in high school. Its very drawn-to-each-other type romance which is breathtaking for me..

Clover- It might not go as deep and gooey emotional but its very Josei. Meaning you can relate to it to an extent in logic and RL. Main romance is between naive OL 20 year old and her 28 year old boss who seems to be bullying but actually is very sensible and caring. This woman has two other friends, one who can't date any man less than 10 years older than her and one who falls in love too easily. Its cute, sweet and warm.

Please save my earth - ok , this is unrealistic since its a bit old school manga, mainly sci-fi,, doesnt concentrate in romance at the beginning but it has the destined for each other between the unlikeliest couple u could get, a 7 year old boy and 16 year old girl- dont worry, it isnt anything taboo.

Densha otoko- One of the most popular romance series I think made into drama. A geek/nerd saves a pretty woman in the train from a drunkard or rather stands up to the trouble maker. This smart and intelligent woman sends him a gift and he feels he should take up the date offer she might be hinting. Problem is- he's a geek, needs emergency advice/makeover/tips for anything from how to speak to her/communicate to how to dress up and what to say/not to say. Its very sweet and actually gives u the RL feeling that hey, romance like this can happen in RL..

.tell me if u like these so then I would recommend more...

Last edited by BimboSilly at 5:27 pm, Sep 26 2008

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I would definitely recommend:
Kare Kano - Both the anime and manga are both excellent.
Bitter Virgin - Finished reading this awhile ago, definitely the best manga I've read in some time, although it deals with some heavy issues, it presents character emotions and relationships quite nicely, much recommended.
Blood Alone - I randomly stumbled upon this manga, and so far am quite enjoying it.

Others you could try out, although they don't just deal with romance, they are indeed excellent manga's:
Skip Beat!
Lovely Complex
Nodame Cantabile

Out of all the ones on your wish list, I recommend Cat Street the most. Although Kamio Youko is most famous for Hana Yori Dango, her ability at developing characters has evolved so much since then.

Paradise Kiss was a 5-vol written by Ai Yazawa (of NANA fame). While it's not a fluffy love story (or even all love story) by any means, in it's best moments, it's about being in seriously, youthfully, heedlessly passionate love.

Bus Hashiru- a collection of short stories- by Sahara Mizu was a lot of very sweet and touching stories. You should definitely read this, as in addition to top-notch story-writing, she has real skill at art. Ah! The last story was so pretty!

Clover by CLAMP, is my definition of "breathtaking", and more a collection of tragic love stories than the sci-fi/fantasy story it sounds like.

Probably a good beginning for now. I've tried to mix it up a little, so you'll have different things for different moods.

Last edited by lunefin at 11:50 pm, Sep 27 2008

Not generally my thing, never read most of the items on the list, but let's see if I can think of anything different to bring to the table.

Akkan Baby A wild ride of an immature couple being forced to mature fast.

Bitter Virgin Kinda dark. Paced a bit fast which some may consider a virtue. HInts at comedy at times though it really isn't. Deserves a look through if you don't mind really heavy elements in your romances.

Inu Neko Jump A bit perverted at times but overall very cute and quite romantic.

Kodomo no Jikan If you're against lolicon/incest/general sexual deviancy in manga then steer clear of this one. If you love pedobear though and your looking for some heavy twists, go for this.

Koi Kaze To commit incest or not to commit incest? If you don't want to chance it avoid this one. Otherwise quite touching.

My Lovely Ghost Kana If you don't mind a bit of smut, this one's great.

Parallel A quick cute romp. Kinda childish but a lot of teenager stories are.

Peach Girl This one was breathtaking the same way a baseball bat to the groin can be. Only saw the anime though I imagine the manga is every bit as frustrating if not more so.

Many thanks for all the recommendations, an overwhelming amount he, but I'll do my best!

I finished Bitter Virgin last night and while it was better than good I found the gender roles a bit dull. Aikawa was strong, so there was no real need to make the story revolve around her being weak to the extent that was done (protector, protectee... yawns).

I started with Mekakushi no Kuni, and I'm enjoying but I feel like I'm constantly being thrown off by the pacing of it. In a way it has felt rushed since the first page. Not sure what it is that's going on, maybe I was just too tired or something.

Well, as have been said. Many thanks for all the recommendations. I hope you won't take offence if I filter out the stories in fantasy settings. I can only really deal with fantasy as a little twist in most stories (regardless of manga,books or film, tv etc). Say like in.... Pushing Daisies, there is a supernatural twist in the whole live again touch and die again touch but that is that and the rest is pretty normal (yet extremely funny and lovely, and in superb colours. Season 2 starts on Wednesday!!!!!)




EDIT:

lunefin


I couldn't resist reading it, THANK YOU! I almost died, that's how good it was! I love you right now! That was so spot on it was scary.

Last edited by u11241897135181 at 6:07 am, Sep 28 2008

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Do you know what people did in the old days when they had secrets they didn't want to share?

They'd climb a mountain, find a tree, carve a hole in it, whisper the secret into the hole and cover it up with mud. That way, nobody else would ever learn the secret...