Top 15 Josei Manga of All Time

Office romances, art-school heartbreak and quiet family dramas sit side by side in these stories written for adult readers. Some became hit anime, others are cult reads passed from friend to friend.

1. 1
   Chihayafuru

   Yuki Suetsugu's competitive karuta saga about a girl chasing the title of Queen, serialized in Be Love from 2007 to 2022.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Perfect World

   Rie Aruga's romance between an interior designer and her former classmate, an architect who uses a wheelchair.
   622pts
3. 3
   Nodame Cantabile

   Tomoko Ninomiya's comedy about an eccentric piano prodigy and a perfectionist aspiring conductor at a Tokyo music college.
   466pts
4. 4
   Paradise Kiss

   Ai Yazawa's fashion-world romance about a high-school student recruited as a model by a band of design students.
   466pts
5. 5
   With the Light

   Keiko Tobe's realistic family drama about raising an autistic son, praised for its research and empathy.
   466pts
6. 6
   Hotaru's Way

   Satoru Hiura's comedy about a 'dried-up' office worker who would rather lounge at home than date, also known as Hotaru no Hikari.
   466pts
7. 7
   Don't Call It Mystery

   Yumi Tamura's talkative detective series about a curry-loving college student who solves crimes by reading people.
   466pts
8. 8
   Tokyo Tarareba Girls

   Akiko Higashimura's sharp comedy about three thirty-something friends drinking and wondering what if.
   363pts
9. 9
   Honey and Clover

   Chica Umino's bittersweet story of art-school students tangled in unrequited love and uncertain futures.
   363pts
10. 10
    Blank Canvas

    Akiko Higashimura's Manga Taisho-winning memoir of her strict, unforgettable art teacher and her own path to becoming a mangaka.
    363pts
11. 11
    Pet Shop of Horrors

    Matsuri Akino's supernatural anthology about a mysterious Chinatown pet shop whose exotic animals come with deadly contracts.
    363pts
12. 12
    Helter Skelter

    Kyoko Okazaki's scathing tale of a supermodel whose fame depends on extreme cosmetic surgery that is starting to fail.
    363pts
13. 13
    Wotakoi

    Fujita's office romcom about two otaku coworkers navigating dating, also known as Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku.
    363pts
14. 14
    Princess Jellyfish

    Akiko Higashimura's comedy about a jellyfish-obsessed otaku whose all-female apartment building is upended by a cross-dressing fashionista.
    0pts
15. 15
    Descending Stories

    Haruko Kumota's Showa-era drama about rakugo storytellers, also known as Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.
    0pts

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