So I am in a bit of a crisis. I have read so many romance manga that finding something that I would enjoy has become quite the hassle.

Things I avoid like the plague:

• Doormat, always crying, weak-willed standard shoujo MC
• Harems, Incest, Lolicon, Shotacon, Yuri/Shoujo-ai
• Isekai, Reincarnations, Transmigrations...

Things I'd rather avoid but can deal with if the plot is good:

• Shounen-ai/Yaoi
• The main setting of the plot is in high-school
• The MCs are children younger than 16

Thing I'd LIKE to see:

• Good artstyle
• Uniqueness of the setting, something to spice things up

Thing I'd LOVE to see:

• Compelling characters
• Interesting plot where the romance is like the perfect side dish
• Romance isn't rushed, but there is some visible progress
• Character development

Examples of manga that I enjoy:
Kusuriya no hitorigoto - set in the imperial court, apothecary, FL is one of my most fav MC of all time
Arte - 16th century Firenze, Italy, artists, interesting characters, FL is very likeable
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War - even though it's set in a school the plot and the characters are intriguing
Raise wa Tanin ga Ii - japanese yakuza, the ML is insane but not... completely bonkers... ok no he is pretty bonkers, FL is pretty cool, more than the romance I am interested in the interactions between the MCs; nice palette cleanser form all those sugary shoujos without being too out there
Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid - lonely mansion, ML has a curse where everything he touches dies, not much to it but it's definitely unique in its own little way

And something from the BL category:
Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai - I am not a huge BL fan but man this manga is... something good
Kingseu Meikeo - intriguing plot and the relationship of the MCs
Sign Language - "cute" story with a sprinkle of angst here and there, the begining's meh but it dragged me in a bit later

I'm basically in the same rut as you, I've been finding a lot of good Korean webtoons though so I hope these recs are okay
These aren't harems but there are intense love rivals, I think I mostly avoided any NTR as well

BONNOUJI - bout as slow as it gets, a little episodic, really peaceful

Something about Us - Kdrama type series, more slice of life, slow romance, grounded a bit in realism Fixed link

There is some minor one-sided BL in the bonus chapters

Love & Wish - it is a high school setting, its a bit on the generic side as far as Kdrama webtoons go but I really love the FMC

Every Morning the Most Popular Girl at School Sits Next to Me on the Train - short light novel, technically a harem, also the MC is the kinda blank-nice guy, wishywashy type and it does have high-school underage love interests but I feel that the character growth(mostly the fmcs) as well as the groundedness more than makes up for it

classic love interest tropes, tsundere, yandere, etc but they feel like real people who fix these character flaws

Something about 30 Sorta a Korean Sex in the City(never watched but I feel is similar)

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