14/02/2020: Favourite Romance Manga 7 series to get you in the mood for Valentine’s Day!

Original release: 14 February 2020

Reminder, we’re a PG, family-friendly publication, so no sexual content here.

1. Teasing Master Takagi-san (there’s an anime)

This series blew up in popularity over the past 2 years! Middle-schooler Takagi has a crush on her classmate, Nishikata. Lucky for her, Nishikata sits next to her and isn’t too bright so she gets all the chances to tease him by challenging him to bets or tricking him into doing something embarrassing. The best thing about this series is that it’s super innocent and heart-warming to see Nishikata and Takagi, who clearly like each other, hang out and enjoy their youth. Slight spoiler: they end up together! The series isn’t over yet (although there are over 100 chapters out already) but the sequel series is ongoing as well, featuring Takagi and Nishikata happily married and raising their daughter together.

2. Fujiyama’s Adolescence

Here’s another middle-school romance. Kanba’s a normal 14-year-old boy, albeit a little short, with nothing but fun and lewd thoughts on his mind. Fujiyama’s a 1.87m- tall girl who’s the star of the volleyball team. Early on in the first chapter, the 2 childhood friends decide to start “going out”, whatever that means for innocent 14- year-olds. It’s super cute to see the pair go on incognito dates because they’re too shy to admit their relationship to their friends, or do things together on a budget dictated by their meagre pocket money, or just have fun with their schoolmates normally. Obviously, I don’t know what school is like in Japan, but I get a vibe that reminds me of having fun in secondary school, minus the tall girlfriend, obviously.

3. Suki x Suki

Touka Aizuki and Mimori Ryutarou were really close childhood friends until a few years ago, when Aizuki started to act really hostile to Mimori. Mimori’s understandably bummed out by this and wants to make up with Aizuki, but that’s a little hard since he doesn’t know what he did to upset her. However, it turns out that Aizuki actually has a massive crush on Mimori and is acting this way because she can’t handle her feelings! One day, Aizuki develops an invisibility power and uses it to be as close to Mimori to her heart’s content. OK first off, it only works because it’s a girl turning invisible and the guy doesn’t really mind it that much – it’d be really creepy if it was the guy turning invisible. Putting that aside, I still find this series super, super, super, super kawaii and really heartwarming. The author has another work: Usami-san Ha Kamawaretai! It’s a little similar but there’s only 8 chapters of it. You might like that too!

4. Pseudo-harem

Rin, a talented drama club member, has a crush on Eiji, her senpai at the club who isn’t that good at acting but handles the backstage stuff. They’re really good friends, but Rin can’t bring herself to confess. She gets a chance when Eiji confesses that he’s always fantasized about being a romcom protagonist with a “harem” of love interests, so Rin decided to play along and be his “pseudo-harem” by playing 4 characters: Cheeky-chan; Cool-chan; Tsundere-chan; and Cute-chan. It’s a pretty fun gimmick for the first few chapters, but it isn’t overdone and the story becomes a normal romance story later on. It’s super cute and fun and our 2 lead characters are so likeable that you’ll root for them really hard!

5. No Matter What You Say, Furi-san is Scary!

Furi is a delinquent girl: blonde hair, fierce eyes and she refuses to wear the school jacket, preferring her sukajan instead. She’s always got a fierce, dangerous look, especially when it comes to the poor sap sitting beside her, Taira. Of course, this is a romance manga list so OBVIOUSLY it’s because Furi really likes Taira and is trying to get his attention! If you haven’t guessed it by now, I have a thing for fierce female characters so Furi is obviously a really fun character. It’s even funnier because Taira is a totally normal guy and a bit of a coward, to the point that he thinks that he’s become a gofer for Furi, while Furi’s under the misapprehension that Taira’s her dear friend. There are also a few fun side characters like a girl sitting in front of Furi, Taira’s otaku friend, and a nerdy teacher who all support Furi from the sidelines after they discover her feelings for Taira, who remains painfully oblivious throughout the series.

6. The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behaviour (there’s an anime)

Kuzanari finally gets to live on his own and moves into the Kawai Complex and meets several interesting tenants like a masochistic writer, a drunk, a mischievous college student, but most importantly Ritsu, Kuzanari’s senpai he’s been building a crush on! The series is basically a slice of life where Kuzanari ends up being dragged into the strangeness of his neighbours, like getting forced into working at a costume cafe. The best bit is the will-they-won’t-they romance: Ritsu is a tsundere bookworm, meaning that she really can’t stand Kuzanari but she softens her guard when he helps her out, which makes it all the better when they finally fall in love!

7. Love is Too Early for Himeno-chan!

Alright this one’s about Himeno, a bossy girl, who likes her classmate Ouji, who’s an oblivious boy who likes games and hero TV shows and PokéDevil (this universe’s equivalent of Pokémon). The thing about Himeno is that she’s REALLY precocious so she’s always trying to do grown-up stuff like making Ouji take her to see a grown-up foreign-language romance movie, or going shopping for household supplies, or trying to get Ouji to kiss her, while Ouji doesn’t get any of it so he just thinks that she’s bullying him. After a few chapters, the misunderstandings let up and Ouji just treats Himeno as a friend, so the gag doesn’t overstay its welcome (though it is pretty damn funny). It’s a really fun depiction of puppy love and a good reminder of what your childhood might have been like, so you have as much fun as Himeno does as she has fun with her friends doing kid stuff, no matter how grown-up she was trying to be earlier.

Honourable mention: Sekitou Elergy which is about a blue-collar couple from meeting at work and dating and moving in. There’s some sexual content, but it’s not that bad. It’s realistic but heartwarming. - Shiota Nagisa