10 Adorable Manga that will Make Your Day Better
Everyone has those days. Y’know those days. The ones where you’re feeling a little blue, but not for any particular reason. That’s okay. It’s okay to feel a little blue. But personally, when I start to lean towards the “cool” end of the color spectrum- I read manga. Manga that is tooth-achingly sweet, cheek hurtingly cute, and stomach clutchingly funny. Then suddenly, my day looks like it’s gonna be a lot better. I present to you ten manga that will make any gloomy day feel a lot better, in no particular order.
- Tonari no Seki-Kun (My Neighbor Seki)
Remember when you would be sitting in class, bored, and you would try to find a way to entertain yourself? Personally, I was a tapper. Drove my desk mates crazy. But a little tapping is nothing compared to Seki-Kun, AKA The Master of Killing Time, and his sometimes creative, always outrageous activities.
My Neighbor Seki, is a slice-of-life manga centered around Yokoi Rumi- a dutiful student who does her best to pay attention in class- and her desk neighbor Seki Toshinari- the most distracting person in the world. From crocheting, playing with robots, fossil excavation, and even petting live cats- all in the middle of class- Rumi has a hard time not getting engrossed in his antics.
2. Nukoduke!
There’s just something about kids and animals that makes people go “Awww~”. Luckily, mangaka Iro Yugi has blessed the world with the most adorable combination of both. Nukos: Cats who have evolved to adopt human qualities.
Nukoduke! (also known as Nukozuke! and yes the exclamation point is there for a reason) is about the daily lives of talented freeter Yuuya Amane and his adoptive children(strikethrough) pets: Kei, a rare male calico commonly mistaken for a girl, and Sasame, a female nuko with dark fur and a Prince Charming personality. Together the adorable little nukos make life brighter for both Yuuya and the readers. What else can I say? It’s adorable.
3. Gokushufudou (The Way of the House-Husband)
Don’t be intimidated by the man on the cover. If you look closely, you’ll see the shiba inu on his apron, and the bag of groceries on his arm. “Immortal Tatsu” has forsaken the life of a yakuza member and has fully embraced his new role as a house-husband.
Another slice-of-life manga, this time with a more “serious” look, The Way of the House-Husband is hilarious. Something about the gap between this terrifying man whipping up a strawberry parfait, or almost getting killed by his own roomba… Something about it makes me cackle every time. Not to mention whenever he and his wife are on the same page together it’s kind of adorable.
4. Horimiya
If you are single then picking up a romance manga will often do one of two things: 1. Make you feel lonely for the rest of the week. 2. Leave you looking forward to the day you do find someone. Horimiya does the latter.
The story is about Miyamura Izumi and Hori Kyouko. Miyamura is the quiet, gloomy guy in the corner of the classroom, and Hori is the bright, stylish girl everyone likes. The twist? They are very different in their private lives. Hori is practically a stay-at-home mom looking after her little brother and doing house chores, and she has no time to care about fashion or the latest trends. Meanwhile, Miyamura walks around in the dopest punk outfits complete with lip piercings and tribal tattoos. It’s evenly-paced, it’s easy-going, and even when conflict shows up you finish every chapter with an overflowing heart.
5. Jijou wo Shiranai Tenkousei ga Guigui Kuru (The Clueless Transfer Student Is Assertive)
No matter how cute they are, kids can be jerks. That’s just a fact. In The Clueless Transfer Student is Assertive (Which I will be shortening to Clueless Transfer Student) we bear witness to the bullying of young Nishimura Akane, called the “Grim Reaper” by her classmates. “What is this doing here?!” you ask, “I thought these were supposed to be happy stories?” Don’t worry, it gets better.
Takeida Taiyou joins the class and turns Nishimura’s life upside down. He calls her nickname “Cool”, he asks her to talk and play with him, he compliments her and calls her cute without considering how adorable and embarrassing he is. His straightforward and sincere counters to the bullies fills my soul with joy, and watching Nishimura drift out of her shell and looking happier- It restores my faith in humanity. And, again, it’s flipping adorable.
6. Spy x Family
A secret agent, a telepath, and a hitman all move in together. The punchline? None of them (well, except the telepath) knows the others secret, and they all have to act like a normal family. That’s Spy x Family.
Loid Folger (AKA Twilight) is the master spy for his country, but this time his mission is a little different. He needs to get married, have and enroll a child in the target’s prestigious academy, and act like a completely normal family all the while. Here’s the hitch? The girl he ends up adopting, Anya, is a telepath (Loid doesn’t know that) but she isn’t very bright, and the wife he convinces to marry him, Yor Briar, is the infamous assassin “Thorn Princess”, but she’s not very good at cooking. The dynamic between these three, two of them trying to keep their true occupations a secret, and the other one who’s a child just excited to have super cool parents, is hilarious. Not to mention the drawing style adds just that much more character. I mean, look at Anya’s face!
7. Takasugi-san no Chibiyan Hero (Takasugi’s Tiny Delinquent Hero)
Everyone likes a size difference romance. Something to do with that whole “Opposites Attract” theory. But this story is a little different.
In Takasugi’s Tiny Delinquent Hero, Takasugi is a quiet, somewhat gloomy girl, who towers over most people with her height of 180cm (5'10"), and Masakatsu-san, the #1 delinquent of the West, is her crush and idol. He’s also only just barely as tall as her shoulders. In the beginning, the dynamic is very similar to that of Clueless Transfer Student with the added spice of a height gap, and they’re teenagers. The style of humor is a little different though, mostly because this time the gloomy girl is calling the assertive guy “cute and cool” instead (albeit only in her head).
8. Hosaka-sensei no Ai no Muchi (Mr. Hosaka’s Whip of Love)
Another romance manga! (With a similar theme. Seems I have a type.) This story is also one of two manga in the list which has actually finished publishing. Hosaka-sensei no Ai no Muchi is about a girl, with a scary face, Kawai Karen, who wants to become a nursery school teacher, and her coworker Hosaka Taihei, a well-known medical examiner who decided to switch careers. Simple and sweet.
Here’s what makes it great: Everything. The theme of adults inspiring children, the slowly budding romance between the cool and stoic teacher and the flustered newbie… It mixes together to make a delightful little milkshake of fluffy feelings you can sip on throughout the day. It’s also nice to see the main love interests are both adults in their 20s, which just goes to show it’s never too late to have that fluffy romance you’ve always wanted.
9. Secret x Siblings
I know earlier I said kids are jerks… But they’re back to being cute. This next manga is also fairly childcare-centered. Secret x Siblings is about Shirosaki Rinko, a high school girl who absolutely adores children and helps at her little brother’s kindergarten whenever she gets the chance.
Things get fun when Rinko meets Tsuga-kun and Mogami-kun, while they are dropping off their younger sisters at the same kindergarten. Tsuga-kun has scary face, but the worst thing about him is that he’s no good at talking to people. Mogami-kun, on the other hand, is very handsome, but he’s a huge sis-con. The three of them decide to keep it a secret that they all have younger siblings that go to the same school (for some reason I don’t entirely remember-but that doesn’t matter!) A three-person dynamic where everyone takes turns being the straight man, and small children to mix up the comedy and the cuteness. It’s a little more on the slap-stick side, but Secret x Siblings is great at inducing joy.
10. Mousou Telepathy
Our second completed manga, Mousou Telepathy, is a little bit on the risque side. Nakano Ayako has been able to read minds since she was a little girl, and she hates it. Then, she meets Toda Hayato, a boy with virtually no facial expressions and an intense (slightly perverted) crush on her.
Reading about Hayato’s teenage boy thoughts is amusing. But experiencing the juxtaposition between his exuberant admissions of love and his blank face in realty? That’s hilarious. It’s a cute, slow-burn love story, with a unique art style and punchy humor. Despite how little I’ve decided to write on this manga, I highly recommend you read it, there’s just something so interesting and heartwarming about it…
