If you liked Blue Giant
12 manga like Blue Giant
Picked for the same feel: the genres they share with Blue Giant (slice of life, drama), the same creators, and what readers keep together. Each opens where it is read legally.
Manga like Blue Giant
Readers also like it1. Blue Period
by Tsubasa Yamaguchi
- Drama (shared)
- Slice of Life (shared)
Yatora Yaguchi is a popular high-school student with good grades who seems to have everything figured out, yet he feels nothing about any of it. Then, one morning, he paints the Shibuya streets at dawn the way they look to him, in shades of blue, and for the first time he feels that he has truly communicated something. Yatora sets his sights on Tokyo University of the Arts, the most competitive art university in Japan, despite having almost no experience. He throws himself into drawing and painting, learning technique, theory and the art of seeing, alongside classmates such as the talented Ryuji Ayukawa, and confronts the doubt, cost and pressure that come with choosing art. Tsubasa Yamaguchi's series is a passionate story about the hard work behind talent and the courage to pursue what you love. It won the Manga Taisho Award and the Kodansha Manga Award, and was adapted into an anime.
Read on K MANGAOpen
Readers also like it2. BECK
by Harold Sakuishi
- Comedy
- Drama (shared)
- Romance
- Slice of Life (shared)
For the first fourteen years of his life, Yukio Tanaka has been completely ordinary: no hobbies, no passion and a deep fear of standing out. Everything changes when he meets Ryusuke Minami, a wild, unpredictable sixteen-year-old guitarist just back from New York, and his strange patchwork dog named Beck. Ryusuke introduces Yukio, nicknamed Koyuki, to rock music, and soon Koyuki is learning guitar and discovering that he has an extraordinary singing voice. Together they form a band, BECK, with a group of talented misfits, and struggle through bad gigs, rivalries, record-label politics and the dream of making it big. Harold Sakuishi's series captures the raw energy of starting a band and the joy of music, with a heartfelt coming-of-age story at its core. It won the Kodansha Manga Award and was adapted into an anime and a live-action film.
Read on K MANGAOpen
Readers also like it3. Welcome to the Ballroom
by Tomo Takeuchi
- Drama (shared)
- Romance
- Sports
Tatara Fujita has drifted through middle school without friends or anything that holds his interest. When a gang of bullies corners him, he is rescued by a mysterious man, not a martial-arts master, but Kaname Sengoku, a professional ballroom dancer, who drags him into the Ogasawara Dance Studio. Reluctantly taking a beginner's class, Tatara finds inspiration in Shizuku Hanaoka, a classmate who is already a gifted competitive dancer, and in the breathtaking performances of Sengoku and the prodigy Kiyoharu Hyodo. For the first time, he wants something badly. Learning to dance means learning to lead a partner, to be seen and to throw his whole body into every step. Tomo Takeuchi's series is a dazzling sports manga with dynamic, flowing art that makes dance leap off the page, about passion, partnership and finding the courage to stand out. It was adapted into an anime.
Read on K MANGAOpen
Coming of Age · Slice of Life4. Look Back
by Tatsuki Fujimoto
- Drama (shared)
- Slice of Life (shared)
Fujino is a fourth-grader who draws a comic strip for the school newspaper, and everyone tells her she is the best artist around. Then her teacher asks her to share the page with Kyomoto, a classmate who never comes to school, and Kyomoto's strip turns out to be breathtakingly good. Stung, Fujino throws herself into practising, and when the two finally meet, she discovers that Kyomoto has always admired her work. The two girls begin creating manga together, spending years side by side at their desks, until their paths begin to diverge and life tests the bond their art created. Tatsuki Fujimoto, creator of Chainsaw Man, tells this story in a single long chapter about the pride, isolation and connection behind creative work, and about the impossibility of separating a life from what one makes. It was adapted into an acclaimed animated film.
Read on MANGA PlusOpen
Music · Seinen5. Ya Boy Kongming!
by Yuto Yotsuba, Ryo Ogawa
- Comedy
- Drama (shared)
Zhuge Kongming, the legendary military strategist of China's Three Kingdoms era, dies on the battlefield wishing for a peaceful world. He opens his eyes again in modern-day Shibuya, in the middle of a wild Halloween party. There he meets Eiko Tsukimi, an aspiring singer struggling to find an audience, whose music moves him deeply. Kongming becomes her manager, applying the strategies of ancient military campaigns to the very different battlefield of the music business, from street performances to rap battles and social media campaigns, to help her reach the stage she dreams of. Written by Yuto Yotsuba and drawn by Ryo Ogawa, Ya Boy Kongming! is a funny, energetic and heartfelt comedy about music, strategy and chasing a dream. It was adapted into a hit anime and a live-action drama.
Read on K MANGAOpen
Coming of Age · Seinen6. Skip and Loafer
by Misaki Takamatsu
- Comedy
- Romance
- Slice of Life (shared)
Mitsumi Iwakura is the top student from a tiny seaside town in the countryside, with a meticulous ten-year plan: attend a prestigious Tokyo high school, get into a great university and become a government official who can help rural places like her home. On her very first day in the city, she gets completely lost. She is rescued by Sosuke Shima, a handsome, laid-back classmate with a past he prefers not to talk about. Mitsumi's sincerity and blunt honesty soon draw together a circle of classmates, from the popular Yuzuki to the cynical Makoto and the self-conscious Mika, each with insecurities of their own that Mitsumi helps them face, often without realising it. Misaki Takamatsu's series is a bright, funny and deeply kind story about friendship and finding your feet, with a heroine who stumbles often and never stays down. It was adapted into an anime.
Read on K MANGAOpen
Coming of Age · Seinen7. Medalist
by Tsurumaikada
- Drama (shared)
- Sports
Inori Yuitsuka is eleven years old and dreams of becoming a figure skater. Everyone tells her it is too late: she is already old for the sport, she struggles at school and her mother refuses after watching her older sister's skating dreams end in failure. Still, the rink is the only place where Inori feels like herself. Then she meets Tsukasa Akeuraji, a young man whose own skating career ended before it really began, because he started too late. Seeing himself in Inori, he becomes her coach, and the two set out to prove everyone wrong, working against limited time, harsh competition and rivals such as the brilliant Hikaru Kamisaki. Tsurumaikada's series is a passionate, beautifully drawn sports story about late starts, determination and the bond between coach and athlete. It was adapted into an anime.
Read on K MANGAOpen
Music · Slice of Life8. Kono Oto Tomare!
by Sakura Amyuu
- Drama (shared)
- Slice of Life (shared)
After the senior members graduate, Takezo Kurata is the only member left in his high school's koto club, and unless he finds new members, the club will be shut down. The first person to burst into the club room demanding to join is Chika Kudo, a delinquent everyone avoids. Chika has a personal reason to play: his late grandfather was a koto craftsman. They are soon joined by Satowa Hozuki, a koto prodigy from a famous school of the instrument, and by a group of misfits who have never played before. Together they learn to play the traditional Japanese harp and set their sights on the national competition, discovering what they can express through music. Sakura Amyuu's series is a moving, beautifully told story about music, friendship and second chances. It was adapted into an anime.
Read on Shonen Jump+Open
Music · Slice of Life9. Takahashi-san is listening.
by Yu Hokuo
- Comedy
- Slice of Life (shared)
Ena Takahashi is a high-school student and an idol, with an image to maintain. She often wears headphones, and everyone assumes she is listening to music. In fact, nothing is playing: she is eavesdropping. Her favourite targets are two of her male classmates, class representative Nara and the quiet Mikage, because they have the most interesting conversations in the school. Their peculiar exchanges are irresistible, and often hilarious, but Ena has to be careful not to be found out, since a hobby like hers could ruin her idol image. Every overheard conversation becomes a private struggle to keep a straight face, with her calm exterior hiding increasingly frantic inner reactions. Yu Hokuo's Takahashi-san is listening. is a light, clever school comedy told in short episodes, where very little needs to happen for an ordinary conversation to become impossible not to react to.
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Coming of Age · Slice of Life10. A Silent Voice
by Yoshitoki Oima
- Drama (shared)
- Romance
- Slice of Life (shared)
In primary school, Shoya Ishida bullied Shoko Nishimiya, a deaf girl who joined his class, mocking her and breaking her hearing aids again and again. When Shoko transferred away, the class turned the blame entirely on Shoya, and he became an outcast himself. Years later, lonely and burdened with guilt, he sets out to find her and make amends. Shoya learns sign language and reconnects with Shoko, her protective younger sister Yuzuru and their old classmates, but an apology cannot erase the past. Both of them carry deep wounds and self-blame, and their reunion forces everyone involved to face what really happened and how they treated one another. Yoshitoki Oima's series is a moving, honest story about guilt, forgiveness, disability and learning to face other people again. It grew from a prize-winning one-shot and was adapted into an acclaimed animated film by Kyoto Animation.
Read on K MANGAOpen
Music · Slice of Life11. Whisper Me a Love Song
by Eku Takeshima
- Drama (shared)
- Girls’ Love
- Romance
- Slice of Life (shared)
On her first day of high school, bubbly first-year Himari Kino hears her senior Yori Asanagi sing on stage with her band and falls head over heels, as a devoted fan. She runs up to Yori and tells her she loves her. Yori, who has a crush of her own, hears it as a romantic confession and says she loves Himari too. When Himari realises they mean two different kinds of love, she begins to ask herself what love really is, while Yori sets out to win her heart. As Himari spends time with the band, music keeps drawing the two girls closer. Eku Takeshima's series is a sweet, funny and sincere girls' love romance about music, admiration and feelings that grow at different speeds. It was adapted into an anime.
Read on K MANGAOpen
Coming of Age · Slice of Life12. Bakuman
by Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata
- Comedy
- Drama (shared)
- Romance
- Slice of Life (shared)
Moritaka Mashiro can draw; his classmate Akito Takagi can write. Akito wants them to become a manga-creating duo, but Moritaka is reluctant: his uncle was a manga artist who worked himself to death. Then he learns that Miho Azuki, the girl he likes, dreams of becoming a voice actress, and impulsively promises that they will marry once his manga becomes an anime with her in the lead role. The two boys set out to be serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump, facing editors, deadlines, reader surveys and rejection, and competing with rivals such as the eccentric teenage genius Eiji Niizuma. Every success brings new pressure, and every failure forces them to rethink what makes a manga work. From Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the creators of Death Note, Bakuman is an insider's look at the manga industry told with the intensity of a sports series. It was adapted into an anime and a live-action film.
Read on MANGA PlusOpen