I'm looking for a manga with a female lead protag / pov that takes place over a long period of time (a few years at the least).

Examples would be:
(aka don't recommend lol)
The Pale Horse (childhood~adulthood)
Sunadokei (jr high~adulthood)
Glass Mask (age 15~18+)
Sweet and Sensitive (high school~college)
Cat Street (high school~adulthood)
^ not so much cat street though - too little emphasis on the adulthood part iirc
Kare Kano (ditto)
Reimei no Arcana (spans 4+ years iirc)
Masca (? I read this forever ago, so not sure)

Romance would be preferable, but it's not necessary.
The series itself can be short, although I'd prefer one that's at least 5+ volumes long.
I'd prefer if the series were completed, at least in the status or origin, but that's also optional.

Thanks in advance~

Last edited by PinkStarBePink at 6:18 am, Jun 24 2014

Bokura ga Ita - something like from ages 15 - 22 (incl. a time skip)
Nodame Cantabile - college age, maybe 4 yrs. There's a short sequel as well in which they're older.

Thank you! they seem interesting, ill start reading them asap!

still open to more recs.

Versailles no Bara,Suna no Shiro, Candy Candy

I really recommend and like these(they're all love stories too), especially lady oscar who's like an action strip character or better as story because it's an actual narrative with an ending. It's not afriad of not having action since it isn't an action series.

Suna no shiro is my second favourite, it feels longer than it is in a good way. It feels like it covers a lot and spans a good period. There are times when the character does things the viewer may not like but you really start to see her as her own troubled character. When that comes together, you realize how interesting it is.

Candy is the most traditional shoujo but it's still pretty different compare to current trends, spanning a good period(not as much as the other two) and two-three loves. The setting changes like three times, characters die, and she starts a career job by the last third.

there aren't quality scans so you might want to try the anime for candy but I've never seen it other than the first ep in spanish.

Kore wa Koi no Hanashi - Elementary to middle school
Last Game - Middle to College
Hajimari no Niina - But that's because
Orange (Takano Ichigo) - Youth and adulthood flashbacks.
Usagi Drop
Miriam
Sakamichi no Apollon
Inoribana - 1 chapter

Anyway, there are categories like Time Skip, Age Progression, Coming of Age right here

Wanna read something that spans generations?

Princess - Several heroines consecutively, covering pretty much from birth to death. I remember having read at least 3 generations so far. (I took a break, and couldn't easily get back into it cause I didn't remember who was who anymore.) Art is a bit old school. Warning: Author hiatus.

Thanks everyone! the recs seem interesting, esp. princess and suna no shiro.

tbh i really dont like those 3 because (1) most time skips are just that - time skips - and often focus on just one time period with the other time periods as simply filler / additional material. (2) age progression would be great except a lot of series lack the tag and they shouldnt. (3) character growth encompasses manga in which characters magically mature in like a day~a few months, which is completely awesome, but not what im looking for. however, tysm for the tip.

Last edited by PinkStarBePink at 6:12 am, Jun 24 2014