Looking for some good romance/drama manga as the title says. Some caveats though. I don't want:
* Anything too depressing. I don't mind a bit of tragedy, or even a bad ending, but I don't want something that's continuously about how utterly terrible life is.
* Clichéd, I've read a fair amount of Romantic/Drama/Shojo manga already, I'd like something that doesn't follow the same old same old formula.
* Set at a school. I'm not completely barring School life manga, but they tend to be clichéd in my experience. If it's really unique I won't mind so much.
* Mainstream Shojo, I don't want to read yet another story about a girl crushing on some jerk-ass rich guy. If it's shojo, it has to be way above average.
What I do want:
* Older characters, I've gotten tired of teen angst.
* Short, I don't want a manga that goes on forever without resolving anything. 3-7 volumes seems a good length.
* Deep Characterisation, I'd like to know how the characters tick. I don't mind leads who are a bit dysfunctional either, so long as they're not self obsessed and emo.
* Finished being translated, not a hard requirement, but I prefer if possible for the manga to be finished.
* Unpredictable, I like being surprised, and I don't mind is it's not a typical "happy ending". But I don't want to feel like I've already read the story before. There needs to be tension! Suspense!
Obviously, it goes without saying that I want something where I can get attached to the characters, see them grow and get to feel nice and fuzzy inside. Romance isn't an absolute precondition ( I'll settle for building friendships, or familial bonds).
Some Manga\Anime with Romance\Drama elements I've particularly liked:
* Usagi Drop
* Kuragehime
* Nodame Cantabile
* Honey and Clover
* Otoyomegatari
* Onani Master Kurosawa
* The Tatami Galaxy
* Kemono no Souja Erin
* 5 cm per second
That's not the limit of the Drama or Romance manga I've already read, but it was what I liked best. I've read/watched a lot of Shojo, but the only one I remotely liked was Ouran High School Host club (mostly for it's bizarre comedic sense), hence my pessimism for Shojo romance manga. I'd be happy to have that view corrected though.
Thanks in advance!
* Anything too depressing. I don't mind a bit of tragedy, or even a bad ending, but I don't want something that's continuously about how utterly terrible life is.
* Clichéd, I've read a fair amount of Romantic/Drama/Shojo manga already, I'd like something that doesn't follow the same old same old formula.
* Set at a school. I'm not completely barring School life manga, but they tend to be clichéd in my experience. If it's really unique I won't mind so much.
* Mainstream Shojo, I don't want to read yet another story about a girl crushing on some jerk-ass rich guy. If it's shojo, it has to be way above average.
What I do want:
* Older characters, I've gotten tired of teen angst.
* Short, I don't want a manga that goes on forever without resolving anything. 3-7 volumes seems a good length.
* Deep Characterisation, I'd like to know how the characters tick. I don't mind leads who are a bit dysfunctional either, so long as they're not self obsessed and emo.
* Finished being translated, not a hard requirement, but I prefer if possible for the manga to be finished.
* Unpredictable, I like being surprised, and I don't mind is it's not a typical "happy ending". But I don't want to feel like I've already read the story before. There needs to be tension! Suspense!
Obviously, it goes without saying that I want something where I can get attached to the characters, see them grow and get to feel nice and fuzzy inside. Romance isn't an absolute precondition ( I'll settle for building friendships, or familial bonds).
Some Manga\Anime with Romance\Drama elements I've particularly liked:
* Usagi Drop
* Kuragehime
* Nodame Cantabile
* Honey and Clover
* Otoyomegatari
* Onani Master Kurosawa
* The Tatami Galaxy
* Kemono no Souja Erin
* 5 cm per second
That's not the limit of the Drama or Romance manga I've already read, but it was what I liked best. I've read/watched a lot of Shojo, but the only one I remotely liked was Ouran High School Host club (mostly for it's bizarre comedic sense), hence my pessimism for Shojo romance manga. I'd be happy to have that view corrected though.
Thanks in advance!