12 replies to this topic

[steampunkgrrrl]

Hi! I am looking for a mature, but not ecchi, manga that deals with the problems and situations of adults. I've tried looking in shojo and other categories but I find that most of them feature teens in high school or younger. A romance manga would be awesome, but at this point I'd take anything not centered around anything under the age of 18, thanks.

[SushiKitten]

Anime/manga has a way of making me feel old because it's all centered around high school girls. Unfortunately I don't read much manga but I can mention some anime that I've really liked that isn't centered around high school and the manga version might be good. 

 

Princess Jellyfish is a pretty good anime, I can't really vouch for the manga though it's probably even better. I really don't know how to describe it, but all the characters are older and it's pretty great.

 

"Amamizukan is an apartment complex where no boys are allowed. Tsukimi, a girl who adores jellyfish, lives there happily with her friends who all have nerdy obsessions of their own. Their peaceful lives gradually start to change when a beautiful woman helps Tsukimi out of a pinch. She stays overnight at the apartments—but it turns out "she" is really a "he"."

 

Another good one that I've seen but haven't read is Welcome to the NHK. This one does involve a high school girl named Misaki but it's not centered around high school. There is a bit of ecchi and pervertedness in this one as well, but it's black comedy so I don't know. I remember I really liked this one and there's a certain funny (and somewhat touching) part about an island that I really liked. 

 

"Satou Tatsuhiro, a 22 year old young man, is a NEET (Not in Employment, Education, or Training) and a hikikomori (meaning acute social withdrawal). He believes everything around him is a conspiracy, including the reason why many people, himself included, become hikikomori. Due to this, Satou creates a strange conspiracy theory which includes the Nihon Hikikomori Kyōkai (NHK), a secret organization with the intention of producing a hikikomori filled world. Satou intends to break free from the NHK's clutches, but cannot, since he finds it too frightening to go outdoors by himself; that is, until he meets Misaki Nakahara, who selects Satou for her "project" that she claims will cure him of his hikikomori ways."

 

And I really have to mention Steins;Gate because I really love that show to bits, it's one of my favourites. I'm not sure about the manga for this one though. It was originally a visual novel adapted into an anime, so I think the manga came out later to make some more money. 

 

"Rintaro Okabe is a self-proclaimed "mad scientist" who believes that an international scientific organization named SERN is conspiring to reshape the world according to its own interests. He and his friend Itaru Hashida inadvertently create a gadget able to send messages to the past. The discovery and experimentation of this instrument become the catalyst of fundamental alterations to the present. Okabe is the only one aware of these changes because he possesses a Reading Steiner, the ability to retain the memories from previous experienced timelines. Oblivious of the consequences of their actions, Rintaro and his friends end up creating modifications of grievous proportions. He must then try to find a way to return as close as possible to the original timeline in order to save his precious lab partners."

 

I can't think of any more right now. I'm going through Nodame Cantabile right now which has amazing reviews on MAL, though I haven't quite got hooked on it yet. It's set in a musician's college though so it's interesting. 

 

EDIT: Finished Nodame Cantabile, loved it! I definitely think this sort of fits what you were looking for, drama and a very cute, more realistic romance. It's got all sorts of classical music in it and it focuses more on life and a question of if you have talent, do you owe it to the world to develop it? It starts off kind of weak but for sure I reaaaally enjoyed it. 

 

"At a top music academy in Japan, Shinichi Chiaki's arrogance is matched only by his top-notch piano playing. But when Chiaki and the teacher get into a fight, he's demoted to the reject class. Chiaki is left to pursue his dream of being a conductor while surrounded by a bunch of loser musicians and one annoying girl, Noda, who has proclaimed herself Chiaki's girlfriend. It doesn't help that Noda, who insists on being called Nodame, lives right next door to him."

[seakingtheonixpected]

Well pretty much everything in the "Slice of Life" genre is out, since those are always about high school girls.

[Mister Sympa]

FAKE is about two NY cops; I recommend it (Drama/romance, shounen-ai).

 

And Pet Shop of Horrors is a delightfully occasionally-vicious manga that I also personally recommend (Drama/comedy[?]/fantasy).

[steampunkgrrrl]

Thanks for responding!!! I'll definitely check them out.

And why is the horse-man stabbing at the plastic crate?

[Mister Sympa]

Because Wil Wheaton TAKES NO ORDERS, BIAAATCH.

[The Seldom Seen Kid]

Monster musume is good if you want a nosebleed but it seems that is exactly what you don't want.

[steampunkgrrrl]

Because Wil Wheaton TAKES NO ORDERS, BIAAATCH.

o...k....>.>.....

I don't mind sex in manga, as long as it's not treated like a circus sideshow. And I'm just really tired of finding manga that revolves around a bubbly teenager whose biggest issue in life is not looking like a fool in front of her crush, which seems to be the plotline of a lot of romantic manga lately. I want one that shows adults in adult situations with adult problems.

[The Seldom Seen Kid]

Aren't we all just looking for that perfect manga about paying your electricity bill at the end of the day.

[steampunkgrrrl]

Aren't we all just looking for that perfect manga about paying your electricity bill at the end of the day.

LOL.....nah, just something a little more grown-up is all.

Have I offended?

[No-Danico]

I wouldn't suggest Monster Musume here. It doesn't fit what she wants at all. Although it is one of my favorites, even with its lack of catgirls, it's just ecchi fun.

 

Honestly, I can't suggest much here, it's not my thing.  Try the town where you live, I can't remember it's Japanese name. It starts with kids in highschool but they grow up, enter college, and eventually enter the real world as adults. I read about the first seventy chapters or so. It's not normal, kid has crush, crush and he never bang, type thing. It's more real world relasionships, or as close as you get to a Japanese romance that's not overtly Japanese. Did that make sense? I don't want to dive into a huge explination on Japanese literature VS western. I do that sometimes.

 

Also, Mia the lamia is best girl, 100%

[The Seldom Seen Kid]

LOL.....nah, just something a little more grown-up is all.

Have I offended?

You haven't offended at all!

[steampunkgrrrl]

I wouldn't suggest Monster Musume here. It doesn't fit what she wants at all. Although it is one of my favorites, even with its lack of catgirls, it's just ecchi fun.
 
Honestly, I can't suggest much here, it's not my thing.  Try the town where you live, I can't remember it's Japanese name. It starts with kids in highschool but they grow up, enter college, and eventually enter the real world as adults. I read about the first seventy chapters or so. It's not normal, kid has crush, crush and he never bang, type thing. It's more real world relasionships, or as close as you get to a Japanese romance that's not overtly Japanese. Did that make sense? I don't want to dive into a huge explination on Japanese literature VS western. I do that sometimes.
 
Also, Mia the lamia is best girl, 100%

  

YES! That sounds perfect!

You haven't offended at all!

Oh that's good.