As manga has continued to grow in popularity, it seems like it’s easier than ever to get your hands on whatever type of manga you want. However, it’s easy to be swept up in the most popular releases, leaving some manga that are truly brilliant less successful. Knowing this, I thought it would be helpful to list some great manga series that I would consider to be less popular, perhaps even obscure, as recommendations.
The first manga series that I would like to recommend is not only one of my favourite romance manga of all time but also one of the best manga that I’ve ever read, “Girl Friends”. Written by Milk Morinaga and running from 2006 to 2010, the story follows a shy girl called Mariko Kumakura who ends up becoming friends with the outgoing Akiko Oohashi. As their friendship continues to build, Mariko realises that her feelings for Akiko are more than something friends would feel. The story is surprisingly well-written, examining the confusion that these two girls feel as their relationship develops and incorporating a brilliant cast of characters that both support and trouble our protagonists. Regardless of your thoughts on yuri manga, I fully encourage you to check out Girl Friends.
The next manga that I’m going to recommend is easily the most popular manga in this list of recommendations but I still want to bring attention to it. Akira Toriyama is best known for making the Dragon Ball franchise but I much prefer his Dr. Slump series. Dr. Slump is set in Penguin Village and sees inventor Senbei Norimaki create a robot girl called Arale. Arale is full of personality and ends up having many adventures with several other denizens of the town. The series is brilliantly funny and charming and represents to me the very pinnacle of Akira Toriyama. While very popular, the manga has sold 35 million copies in Japan, I don’t see enough Western manga fans talking about Dr. Slump which I think needs to be rectified.
Another fantastic manga that I want to bring attention to is A Devil and Her Love Song. Following Maria Kawai, a student who was expelled from her previous school for attacking her teacher, her sharp and blunt nature quickly makes her unpopular at her new school. However, she’s a genuinely good person who is consistently misunderstood. Over the course of the series, she becomes friends with several of her schoolmates who eventually manage to understand her true nature. It’s a truly spectacular manga that’s well worth pursuing.
Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about my favourite manga of all time, With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child. Written by the late Keiko Tobe, the story follows a couple named Sachiko and Masato Azuma who have just had their first child, Hikaru. However, after a while, it becomes clear that Hikaru is different from other children. He is identified as being autistic and Sachiko, the mother, has to bear the brunt of society’s stigma towards autistic people. It starts out as a tough read where it feels like the entire world is against both Sachiko and Hikaru but, once Sachiko finally understands Hikaru and accepts him, she begins to work tirelessly to make life better for Hikaru and help society to understand him. The story and characters are expertly told with some truly beautiful artwork. The ending is rushed with the last few chapters being storyboards that she drew in hospital. However, I can truly say that With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child is the greatest manga that I’ve ever read and I can only hope that more people check it out someday.
Let me know your thoughts on these less popular but great manga recommendations, whether you’ve read any of these titles, if you liked or disliked them, what other manga would you recommend that you think are less popular and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk and amazon.com for all of your needs!
Girl Friends looks really good. And THANK YOU for including and recommending “With the Light” – it’s one my favorites too. I’m autistic myself and my mom knew I loved manga, so she introduced me to it and would buy each volume as it came out. I still read them regularly. Probably it would end with Hikari being a ‘happy working adult’ – sad she died, but at least we have the volumes she did create. My only pet peeves is price – kindle versions exist, but I love physically holding books. For a series that’s only about a decade old, it’s insanely difficult to find certain volumes & the prices can easily be in the hundreds – even for only one volume. It’s such a hidden gem of a manga, so I love finding other fans.
Awesome to hear that you enjoyed reading the article! Yeah, With the Light is incredible and it would be nice to see it rereleased so others could read it as well.