Welcome to The Avocado’s weekly discussion of Japanese pop culture! In case you missed it, The Anime Pits thread is live, so make sure you post your lists by December 27th! I’m trying to wait until I’ve watched all the final episodes this week to post my list, but in the meantime I thought it would be fun to share our favorite manga reads of the year. There is also a Pits thread for Comics, and I’ll be sure to post my manga reads there as well, but as I started to think of my possible list I immediately ran into a problem: I read A LOT of new (to me) manga this year. Some of the volumes were released in 2023. Many were not. Some I’ve finished, others I haven’t. And I read a ton of first volumes but haven’t gotten a chance to read beyond that yet. Does 2023 mean it was released in English this year? What about print vs. digital? How to rank? What to include?! So, to keep things simple, I threw out the “released in 2023” bit and then decided on a few rules to create my lists for today.
First, these are manga I read this year. I may have started them years ago, but I read some of them at some point in 2023.
Second, I only included manga that I read at least two volumes of. Even if I loved volume 1, I needed to have read volume 2 as well to include it.
Third, I created two categories:
- Ongoing Manga (either the series itself is ongoing OR I haven’t finished a completed series yet)
- Completed Manga (the series is complete AND I’ve read the entire seires)
Fourth, I spent a ridiculous amount of time creating a beautiful header image of all 20 manga on my list (plus 1 because the formatting wouldn’t work otherwise, lucky you Sakura, Saku!)
I would love to see your lists (no need to follow my “rules”! Just share whatever you read that you liked). And if you’re interested in mine, here they are!
Ongoing Manga
1. A Sign of Affection: A beautiful and perfect romance between two college students. Delicate, thoughtful, and intimate. You’ve seen me talk about this series plenty, so I’m sure already know why I love it.
2. A Condition Called Love: My favorite high school romance right now. The main characters are so relatable and sweet. I absolutely love how this story doesn’t shy away from the most awkward experiences of growing up. Flawed characters aren’t given a pass, but they aren’t condemned without a chance to grow.
3. Chihayafuru: The best sports manga of all time. If this series was a little more accessible (in terms of cost) I think it would be everyone’s favorite. I’m determined to finish this in the next month, but I also want to spend forever with these characters, so I keep slowing down.
4. Don’t Call it Mystery: Everything Yumi Tamura does is genius, so it’s not hard to understand why this manga is so popular in Japan. So glad that we’re getting this amazing series translated and released here. The main character is a delight, the mysteries are compelling, and the art is perfection.
5. Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty: By the same mangaka as A Condition Called Love. I don’t want to say too much because it might spoil the fun of reading it, but it’s a great and compelling story with very endearing characters. There’s a fun twist in the first volume, so you really should just read it for yourself.
6. My Girlfriend’s Child: A story that absolutely needs to be told, about a high school girl who discovers she’s pregnant. Volume 2 had a very quiet, simple scene where the main character goes to the doctor. The doctor started the exam by smiling kindly and thanking her for coming in. And I couldn’t stop crying. That’s the kind of manga this is. Beautiful, raw, real.
7. My Happy Marriage: The art drew me to this series. The story kept me reading. I didn’t love the anime adaptation as much as I wanted to, but that was partly because the manga is so good that it just didn’t live up to that.
8. Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!: Love the live-action and looking forward to the anime. This is a great and sweet BL series with a fun premise.
9. Skip Beat!: Always a favorite, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here. A story about a girl who decides to seek revenge after being kicked to the curb by a guy she’s been living for. Her method of revenge? Get more famous than him! While this is how her journey starts, watching her find her passion and place in the world is so wonderful.
10. Something’s Wrong With Us: I just started this series, but I’m already captivated. The series is all about Japanese confectioneries, so that was enough to get my attention, but it’s also a romantic thriller. The main character is looking to discover the truth behind a murder that her mother was wrongfully accused of. Lots of drama, lots of steamy romance. What more could you want?
Completed Manga
1. Basara: The best manga of all time? Well, after Fruits Basket, maybe. ^^ But seriously, why isn’t everyone always talking about Basara? A compelling, action-packed story about a girl who decides to challenge destiny in a post-apocalyptic Japan. This series has everything. And it’s easily accessible now thanks to the Viz Manga app. Why aren’t you reading Basara right now?
2. Kimi ni Todoke: If you like romantic comedies in a high school setting, you should absolutely read this manga. Until this year I had only watched the anime and live-action, but after reading the manga I’m an ever bigger fan. The characters are so precious, and the art is great. I could have spent forever in this world and been happy.
3. Strobe Edge: My favorite Io Sakisaka manga. I absolutely loved this series. The premise is great — how to capture “the sensation you feel in the window of time between one event and another”. I think Sakisaka succeeded in doing just that. A really delightful romance.
4. Sand Chronicles: This manga kind of blew me away. It explored themes that I’ve seen before (loss of a parent, coming of age, feelings of isolation), but the mangaka faced them head on in a way that I don’t feel like I see that often. It was so refreshing to read something this real and honest.
5. Daytime Shooting Star: I started this manga a couple years ago, but for some reason I took a break before the last few volumes. I’m so glad I returned to it this year and finished because it ended up being one of my favorites. I loved the art, that’s what drew me to it in the first place. and the story took some really unexpected turns. Great romance and even better friendships.
6. Mars: A classic for a reason! I was a little hesitant to read this because I was worried it might be too tragic, and I wasn’t really in the mood for anything like that this year, but it ended up being beautiful and sweet and hopeful in ways I never expected. A story of two high school students trying to find a place to feel safe and loved. Also, the fashion!
7. Sailor Moon: Speaks for itself! It took me a while to finish this because I was collecting the Eternal editions, but I’m so glad I finally experienced the manga. Reading this made me love Sailor Moon (the character and the series) even more, which I didn’t know was possible!
8. Lovesick Ellie: One of the best romantic comedies out there. Ellie is hilarious and lovable and actually pretty inspiring. Loved every moment of this fun ride.
9. Love Me, Love Me Not: Another Io Sakisaka creation! This time she wanted to explore a friendship between two people with opposite views on love. The romance was sweet, but it was the friendship between the girls that really captivated me.
10. My Love Mix-Up!: Although I was a little cool on the concluding chapters, I did really enjoy this series. It started with such a wonderful premise, and the characters were so lovable and fun to be around. Just very sweet kids trying to figure things out together. Why isn’t this an anime?
If any of the manga on my lists sound interesting, and you’d like to know more (or where to read) let me know in the comments. I’m always happy to share!
And, as always…
What have you been watching/reading/playing/eating/listening to lately?
Happy Wednesday! 🙂