I have read a good ton of manga (I've only begun to use Mangaupdates recently, so I may have missed a few), but I have trouble finding many manga with romance that fit my tastes. Granted, I admit that I have really picky tastes, but I still hold out some hope that you guys can give me a manga I haven't read that fits those requirements.

Basically, I want good romance in a manga, preferably romance that goes somewhere. It could be centered around romance, or it could have romance as a subplot, but if it meets the latter category, it should be a relatively significant subplot, in the veins of Akame ga Kiru!, not used (primarily) for comedic relief.

My problem is potentially with the genre. I have nothing against shoujo per se, but I can get really put off by the art style. Bokura ga Ita is a manga that I have trouble reading simply because the art style bothers me. I have read/do read shoujo manga, like Special A, Kaichou wa Maid-Sama!, 3D Kanojo, and Last Game. It's not the plot, or the gender of the main character, that necessarily bother me, but the artwork.

I'm also against harems in general. I've read my fair share when I was younger, but now, they annoy me. I really don't want something like Nisekoi. I do read a couple harem manga, but they seem to be (bizarre) deconstructions of the genre rather than harem for harem's sake, such as Renai Boukun and Shinigami-sama to 4-nin no Kanojo.

For reference, here is a list of manga that I'm up-to-date on and following (add to that Wagatsuma-san wa Ore no Yome, that's not on my list because Crunchyroll seems to be farther ahead than fan translators), here is a list of manga I am reading with the purpose of catching up, and here is the manga I've read (that I remember).

TL;DR I need good romance manga that has some sort of resolution and that's not super shoujo-y in the art style and not super harem-y.

I know this is a tall order. Thanks in advance!

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You and I are a lot alike it seems.

I'm going through your lists and you have many of the titles I was going to recommend, even slightly obscure ones like 3D Kanojo.

Quick question, how are you with ecchi? I'm not talking about those that just do it for the sake of showing skin, but actual plot progression or just in the context of the situation? There are titles like Nana to Kaoru which is a very sweet, innocent romance, but the way they convey their feelings and progress the relationship is through mild S&M.

Also, when you mention "resolution" do you mean completed or just that the pairing has been pretty much set and it's just a matter of the two actually getting together?

I'll need to do some thinking on this, but here are a couple that might work.

Horimiya <-- read this for sure
Renai Shimasen ka?
Sakurasaku Shoukougun
Dengeki Daisy
Koukou Debut
Hibi Chouchou
Hitorimi Haduki-san to
Love So Life - good but slooow
Nineteen, Twenty-One
Orange Yane no Chiisana Ie
Sekine-kun no Koi
Taiyou no Ie

Some of those are more borderline in terms of what you're asking for, but I figured more choices are always better.

Love the suggestions! I'm OK with ecchi, but I dislike fanservice for that sake constantly, like in to-LOVE-ru. You just reminded me how I don't have Nana to Kaoru, Renai Shimasen ka?, Horimiya, and Sakurasaku Shoukougun on my lists! Gotta go add those; I've read/am reading all of them.

As far as resolution, eventually they get together. I dislike the really long "will they? won't they?" game. I'll start looking at your other recs!

Check out my MAL page!

In descending rating order:

Hoshi no Samidare
Emma
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia
Bakuman
Mahoraba
Hetakoi
Change 123
Ashita Dorobou
Chobits
Boku to Watashi no Henai Jijou
Jigokuren
Velvet Kiss borderline H

all are completed

Akagami no Shirayukihime
Bokura no Kiseki -romance is a subplot but is still a big part of the story
Kami-sama ga Uso o Tsuku -very short but a good cute romance

[img]http://24.media.tumblr.com/3b280fafb72cad0f718be64368e64ca7/tumblr_myylzmuiY41rw3pzao4_250.gif[/img]
Like educational manga? take a look at Ed U. Manga's list of manga here

Aw, we've got the same taste I think. Yeah, I still can't stand shojo art for the most part. It mostly look like shit.

Probably I could help you a little since you've read quite a lot of manga.

Futari no Renai Shoka
Otoyomegatari
Dance in the Vampire Bund
Anedoki
Sakamichi no Apollon
Ashita Dorobou
Bakuman
Bitter Virgin
Boku no Kotori-san
Boku to Watashi no Henai Jijou
Natsu no Zenjitsu

Hi! So I've checked all your lists hehe, and I didn't see these titles

Seishun Kouryakuhon - To me, romance is subplot, main thing is the friendship, but still, it's really interesting
Bus Hashiru - Magnificent, just awesome short stories, cool artwork
Kingyo Sou - Unique Shoujo Manga 😃

So..check it out if you want~! 😀

SALVATION IS HERE ^-^

Can you read japanese? Because i can't find any translations on Futari no Renai Shoka.

Quote from Hikeriki

Can you read japanese? Because i can't find any translations on Futari no Renai Shoka.

I couldn't find a translation for that either, which is unfortunate because it looks interesting.

I'm finding this topic somewhat depressing. I'm realizing that I have read/am reading almost all of these - even ones I thought were new because I didn't immediately recognize the name.

More recommendations would be great for the OP and myself. 🙂

Did you read Tokyo Innocent? You can safely ignore the harem tag in this one.

I'll try spamming the thread with some more series when I remember. I was about to suggest Futari no Renai Shoka too...

Quote from jahu

Did you read Tokyo Innocent? You can safely ignore the harem tag in this one.

You're recommending that to someone who doesn't like the typical shoujo art style? It may be shounen (doesn't feel shounen to me), but the art style is very shoujo.... in the worst kind of way. I'm not normally put off by art style, but bleh.

Quote from jedinat

You're recommending that to someone who doesn't like the typical shoujo art style? It may be shounen (doesn't feel shounen to me), but the art style is very shoujo.... in the worst kind of way. I'm not normally put off by art style, but bleh.

The art might be a bit shoujoesque, but it's pretty good for shoujo art. Besides the manga is qute good, so...

Quote from Hikeriki

Can you read japanese? Because i can't find any translations on Futari no Renai Shoka.

Quote from 7godeohs

I couldn't find a translation for that either, which is unfortunate because it looks interesting.

I'm finding this topic somewhat depressing. I'm realizing that I have read/am reading almost all of these - even ones I thought were new because I didn't immediately recognize the name.

More recomme ...

Umm yeah, actually there's no english translation for futari no renai shoka ;_;
And I can read Japanese quite good. So...

Quote from sunder

In descending rating order:

Hoshi no Samidare
Emma
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia
Bakuman
Mahoraba
Hetakoi
Change 123
Ashita Dorobou
Chobits
Boku to Watashi no Henai Jijou
Jigokuren
Velvet Kiss borderline H

all are completed

Thanks! I've read a few of these already, but I'll read some of these others.

Quote from Gale1

Akagami no Shirayukihime
Bokura no Kiseki -romance is a subplot but is still a big part of the story
Kami-sama ga Uso o Tsuku -very short but a good cute romance

Looks like up my alley. Added to my list.

Quote from SkyDewa

Aw, we've got the same taste I think. Yeah, I still can't stand shojo art for the most part. It mostly look like shit.

Probably I could help you a little since you've read quite a lot of manga.

Futari no Renai Shoka
Otoyomegatari
Dance in the Vampire Bund
Anedoki
Sakamichi no Apollon
Ashita Dorob ...

Thanks! Although, like others have said, Futari is in Japanese, and I can't read it (yet!). I appreciate the sentiment, though, and it's added at least to my wishlist, in the hopes that a group may eventually take it up or it gets an official Western release.

Quote from jedinat

You're recommending that to someone who doesn't like the typical shoujo art style? It may be shounen (doesn't feel shounen to me), but the art style is very shoujo.... in the worst kind of way. I'm not normally put off by art style, but bleh.

I appreciate your concern, but it seems that Tokyo Innocent is within my tolerance level.

Thanks guys! And keep up the flow of recommendations! I love to read new manga, and I hope others would be able to find some suggestions from this topic in the future.

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I know the feeling and don't want to read a 5+ volume manga only to have a crap ending. I recommend highly Orange Roof which was mentioned already.