Some actually pretty specific requirements:

-(relatively) slow romance
-main character has to have his/her own personal situation in the story ie. must have another theme other than romance
-considerable character development
-preferably not in high-school
And most importantly, cuteness!! Squeal-worthy.

Examples:
Taiyou no Ie
Love So Life
Ore ga Akuma de, Aitsu ga Yome de.
Meiji Hiiro Kitan

I suppose I'll include age gap too, since it turns out to be a common trend, but it's not necessary.

Close enough:
Yume Miru Taiyou
Mushi to Medama to Teddy Bear

Thanks!

well the cuteness romance I can possibly think of is Hibi Chouchou
While it's a high school romance-- it is filled with amazing cuteness and def. worth reading

I'm already reading that, but thanks! I definitely agree, the two leads are really cute.

Hmmmm I'm gonna try and recommend you some titles that hopefully fullfill your needs.
1) Kimi ni Todoke: They are HS students but romance is slow, but the whole story is romantic.
2) Gakuen Babysitters: Cuteness Level: Over 9000. There isn't so much romance but the MC is liked by some girls.
3) Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu: Highschool. Romance, character development is OK. Manga IS finished, though not fully scanlated in English. I have finished it in Spanish and hits almost 100chapters. Anyone who wants links, pm me.
4) Koisome Momiji: HS.
5) Hapi Mari: Romance, character development is OK, adult characters.
6) Sekitou Elergy: Romance, characters who finished HS, about 20s. Adult.

Hope you find it usefull,

Chayto

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"Spread your ear-pollution both far and wide" - Billy Squier, The Stroke.

Unfortunately, I couldn't really find any cute favorites that weren't in high school. But these are some of the ones I found as the sweetest and most genuine c: Hope you find something you like.

Seiyuu Ka-! Very sweet (one of my favorites)
Hajimari no Niina - Cute female lead, Age Gap
Lovely Everywhere - Cute female lead
Nineteen, Twenty-One (subtle)
Strobe Edge - solid shoujo, but very nice
Love Allergen (more comedic)
Shiawase Kissa 3-choume - Cute female lead, Age Gap

Possibly:
Hana to Akuma Age Gap
Liar x Liar
Hirunaka no Ryuusei Age Gap
Horimiya (subtle as of now)

- I might add more if I can think of any others.

Last edited by ChildofSecrets at 9:27 pm, Dec 15 2012

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hello, I'm an artist/illustrator!

Bonnouji
14-sai no Koi the cutest thing I've ever seen
Hiyokoi high school

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in need of romance?
uncommon, sad, sweet

Kore wa Koi no Hanashi
Sekine-kun no Koi
Issho ni Neyou yo (in highschool)
Nineteen, Twenty-One
Necromancer (the romance comes later)
The Friendly Winter
Diamond Dust (KANG Hyung-Gyu)
Blind Märchen
Dear Mine (highschool students but I don't remember them ever going...)
Shindere Shoujo to Kodoku na Shinigami (in higschool, pretty fast romance it seems)
Kingyo Sou (in higschool)

I just hope we think of 'cute romance' the same way

To ChildofSecrets: I've already read Nineteen, Twenty-One (and yes, it is so subtly cute!) as well as Hana to Akuma. I tried Strobe Edge, didn't like it. The rest looks just like what I'm looking for! Thank you so much.

To Tatania: Although not the "cute" I was envisioning, most of them are now on my wish list because they look interesting and I think I get the way you think of 'cute romance' (and I agree). Thank you!

@Chayto - I've tried some of those, and they're a bit too romance centered for what I'm looking for. I'll try Gakuen Babysitters and Sekitou Elergy. Thanks!

@Lorska - 14-sai no Koi looks really good, the other 2 I'm already reading. Thanks!


Last edited by lambchopsil at 9:55 pm, Dec 16 2012

Well, it's hard to look for series that don't cover leads that are not in high school.

Cat Street - I can't remember if it is slow romance, but it's pretty good.

Skip Beat - slow romance, character growth, concrete story...has chibis

Koi Dano Ai Dano - my personal fave along with Skip Beat. Well, the guy fell in love first, but the girl's dense so...you know next. I made it sound cliche, but no. It's different.

Venus Kisoukyoku - It's been a while since I've last read this. I only remember it vaguely.

Cinderella no Kake - I think I found this cute although I'm not sure if you will like it.

Oresama Teacher - fits your requirement very well

Hmm, most of the slow romance or not-so-sweety-fluffy-romancy manga I know are on the fantasy side. I don't know if you would like them.

Kanata Kara
Absolute Witch

I have another manga here that has the Special A, Ouran High School Host Club feel, but the art is weird. Well, just in case you can tolerate the art

Five

Hope this helps >.< I could give you more recommendations if you loved smut, but...

If you like 14 sai no koi then you'll probably like more of Mizutani Fuka, her oneshot collection Like a cinderella is pretty freaking cute or maybe Game Over (Mizutani Fuka).

These are GL:
Girl friends really slow; gradual romance, high school students. Several themes besides romance.
Kase-san Bright and cute, makes your teeth hurt from smiling; very sweet romance. Briefly dances on themes like bullying.
Strawberry shake sweet Hilarious, high-school aged kids in a business setting. It's adorable because they're both so naive about falling in love. Fluffy stuff so no dramatic themes.
Candy (Suzuki Yufuko) High school girls (sorz), heartwarming story but has darker themes like over-attachment and sabotage

@lambchopsil Sorry
@leilockhart I'd love fantasy! I'm reading Oresama Teacher and Skip Beat, but they're not quite what I'm looking for (not quite enough cuteness, sorry). I'll try out the others, thanks! Smut is ok too, as is any genre, so if you've got more recommendations, that would be great!
@caozhi Like a Cinderella is really cute! Will try the others. Only wished some of these were longer.
I've only read a few GL manga, but I'm open to trying more, and gosh they seem really adorable x.x Thank you!!