Welcome to The Beat‘s 2024 Valentine’s Day Manga Extravaganza! Worldwide, romance is in the air this time of year.
To celebrate, here are 14 of the best romantic manga of all time to celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14, 2024. Did we include your favorite?
Sand Chronicles, written and illustrated by Hinako Ashihara
Published by VIZ Media (print and digital)
With their untimely passing, now is as good as ever a time to read Hinako Ashihara‘s Sand Chronicles. The Japanese title is Hourglass, which suits the series far better. Few shōjo manga understand the weight of time on romance. Ashihara perfectly captures the rocky transition of a young woman’s dream to her adult reality. She is also unafraid to add dark undercurrents to the story. Suicide is a plot point (now a sad reminder of Ashihara’s own passing), and the characters frequently express their emotions in unhealthy ways. Ashihara understood love might conquer, but the battle can be messy and uncertain. – D. Morris
Is Love the Answer?, written and illustrated by Uta Isaki
Published by Kodansha Comics (print and digital)
Valentine’s Day is a day about love, but not everybody experiences love in the same way. Is Love the Answer? is the story of Chika, a young college student who begins questioning her sexuality when she enters college. Could her high school classmates who insisted she would one day “find the right person” be wrong? If that’s the case, what might “relationships” look like for her? Is Love the Answer is a great crash course for anybody who wants to learn more about life on the ace spectrum. It’s also a reminder that no matter your experience, you don’t have to justify your preferences to others. – Adam Wescott
Chibi Vampire, written and illustrated by Yuna Kagesaki
Published by VIZ Media (digital), out-of-print copies easy to find
I have to be honest: I don’t read a lot of romance. When I do read romance, I like it gloriously f****d up. Of course, vampire romance is almost always F’d up—capital F intended. While some scientists believe that this Twilight phenomenon is terrible for its promotion of nonconsensual sex (don’t make me find the research, but believe me when I say that I knew this one Ph.D. candidate in psychology who wouldn’t stop talking about it), Kagesaki’s Chibi Vampire doesn’t fall into that trope. However, this manga series is more than just a better Twilight; everything in Chibi Vampire is about subverting Western vampire tropes. — Rebecca Oliver Kaplan
Basara, written and illustrated by Yumi Tamura
Published by VIZ Media (digital)
Sarasa’s brother was the chosen one prophesied to lead the revolution against the Golden Emperor. But when he’s killed by the Red King, the Emperor’s youngest son, Sarasa takes his identity and swears revenge. Now she must unite the people of post-apocalyptic Japan. On the way, she falls for a kind-hearted man named Shuri–unbeknownst to her, the Red King himself! Will their love survive the coming battle? Basara is huge, melodramatic and action-packed. If you’re a fan of today’s booming “romantasy” genre, this ‘90s classic is as good as it gets. – Adam Wescott
How I Attended an All-Guys Mixer, written and illustrated by Nana Aokawa
Published by Square Enix (digital, MANGA UP!)
Tokiwa is invited to a mixer by a classmate called Suo, and his two close friends, Asagi and Hagi, tag along. None of them have ever been to a mixer before, and they are equally nervous and excited to meet Suo and her friends. The meeting place is correct, the appointed time is correct, and the three are at the only reserved table in the cafe, but on the chairs where women should be sitting are ridiculously good-looking and charismatic young men clad in fitted three-piece suits, sending out flying sparks and making flowers bloom…? An initial shock to last these Three Musketeers a month, they soon discover that Suo and her friends, Kohaku and Fuji, are working at a cross-dressing bar. This series is more comedy than romance in the beginning, but it’s a light-hearted and honest manga that will make your heart skip a couple of beats! You might also want to keep an eye out for the anime adaptation if you come to enjoy this goofy and lovable bunch. – Merve Giray
A Sign of Affection, written and illustrated by Suu Morishita
Published by Kodansha Comics (print and digital)
This romance manga is about Yuki, a deaf college student whose world mostly consists of hanging out with her close friends and being on social media. Her life changes when she befriends Itsuomi, a world traveler who can speak three languages. He’s interested in learning sign language from Yuki, but it’s so much more than that…he wants to be a part of Yuki’s world. This manga is all about how Yuki expands her world through the people she knows and how she interacts with Itsuomi, who has much to teach her. Yuki is an absolutely charming heroine and the story has such a sweet earnestness to it that I can’t forget. You can read volumes 1-7 now or watch the first season of the anime on Crunchyroll. If you want a couple to root for, give A Sign of Affection a try! – Kristina Elyse Butke
Fly Me To The Moon, created by Kenjiro Hata
Published by VIZ Media (print and digital)
I am not an enormous fan of the “two strangers get married” genre but there is something about this romantic comedy series that really got me. Socially inept teenage genius Nasa Yuzaki meets and falls in love with Tsukasa – a complete stranger – and a freak accident (literally) has him agree to marry her. The series has these two naive strangers get hitched and begin married life – slowly getting to know each other, and what marriage means (often in the most hilarious ways possible). There are mysteries but at its core this is just an adorably charming comedy that will make you smile. It’s over 20 volumes but just reading the first few will make your day. – Dean Simons
Ranma 1/2, created by Rumiko Takahashi
Published by Viz Media (print and digital)
Whip smart and ridiculously funny, the legendary gender swapping rom com martial arts screwball comedy does it all. The two fixed sides of the love triangle, a pair of arranged marriage dojo heirs, can bicker as good as they can fight. The monster of the week plays the third, an endless procession of suitors. Think of the plight of Viola-as-Cesario where the participants and complications increase exponentially over time. – Arpad Okay
My Happy Marriage, by Akumi Agitogi and Rito Kohsaka
Published by Square Enix Manga and Books (print and digital)
With its benign title and soft-focus scenes of two people in kimono looking at each other longingly on the cover, My Happy Marriage looks like your everyday historical romance. But as fans of this manga/light novel/anime series will tell you, My Happy Marriage also has supernatural / demons vs. humans action, political intrigue, and enough high-stakes relationship drama to keep readers turning pages and eagerly awaiting the next volume.
Miyo is a shy young woman from a noble family who is treated like a servant by her stepmother and younger sister because she lacks the special supernatural powers of her clan. When she’s sent to marry Kiyoka, a man who is notorious for rejecting his last few fiancés, things seem like they couldn’t get any worse. Love blossoms unexpectedly between the two, and this leads to the emergence of Miyo’s true supernatural abilities. But just when happiness seems within reach, Miyo’s sister is determined to claim Kiyoka as her future husband instead. – Deb Aoki
Qualia the Purple: The Complete Manga Collection, written by Hisamitsu Ueo and illustrated by Sirou Tsunashima
Published by Seven Seas (print and digital)
Yukari Marii is a girl who perceives people as robots. When a secret organization comes calling for her unique abilities, only her friend Manabu “Gaku” Hatou stands in their way. Gaku will do anything in her power to keep Yukari safe. But just how far is she willing to go, and how much of herself is she willing to give up? First published in 2009, Qualia the Purple is a cult classic light novel about self-sacrificial girls in love that beat Madoka Magica to the punch by two years. The manga adaptation, which was localized alongside the light novel itself in 2023, is a fine way to experience this wild rollercoaster of a story. – Adam Wescott
Cross Game, created by Mitsuru Adachi
Published by VIZ Media (print and digital)
On the surface, it’s a baseball manga. He grew up in a sports supply store, she grew up at the batting cages, it was only a matter of time before the game brought them together. But don’t get it twisted, this series is about love. Part devotion. Part evolution. A one-of-a-kind story about how someone’s love can be the support you need to unlock your true self. – Arpad Okay
A Condition Called Love, created by Megumi Morino
Published by Kodansha USA (print and digital)
“I think someone like me is better off…never falling in love.” This was the line that got me hooked on this series. Hotaru is a high school first year student and she’s convinced herself that she’s not someone that can be loved. Instead, she chooses to focus on her relationships with her friends and family. After sharing her umbrella with one of her classmates, Hananoi, he decides to ask her out in front of the entire classroom. She instantly rejects him but he doesn’t take no for an answer. They start dating with the condition that their relationship will have a set end date. Will the condition hold up? This series is a great example of what it looks like to work on a relationship with someone and teach each other how they need to be loved. – Yazmin Garcia
Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii, created by Asuka Konishi
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment (print and digital); also available on K Manga
As the beloved granddaughter of an Osaka yakuza clan leader, Yoshino is a confident, takes-no-BS high schooler who is used to hanging out with a tough crowd. But when her grandfather sends her to Tokyo to live with her new fiance, the grandson of the Tokyo-based Miyama crime family, Yoshino finds that she might be in over her head. Handsome and somewhat sociopathic, Kirishima is a high school student, but you wouldn’t know it based on his tattoos, his devil-may-care attitude about guns and knife fights, and his bevy of (mostly older) “girlfriends.” But if that’s the case, why is he so quick to proclaim his love for Yoshino?
What keeps me reading Yakuza Fiancé is the electrifying chemistry between Yoshino and Kirishima. She’s no sniveling princess (Yoshino is savvy and tough enough to put Kirishima in his place whenever he steps out of line) and Kirishima? He’s unpredictable, with that bad boy with a complex backstory part of his personality that makes him a fascinating match for Yoshino. Packed with action, romance, and a dash of humor, plus some pretty stylish art, Yakuza Fiancé gets more and more addictive with every chapter. I’m so invested in this story, I started reading ahead to the simulpub chapters on K Manga AND paying for the latest chapters as they come out – THAT’s how good this is. – Deb Aoki
Send Them a Farewell Gift for the Lost Time, written and illustrated by Cocomi
Published by TOKYOPOP’s LoveLove Imprint (print and digital)
Naruse and Toui are in the 4th year of their relationship and live together. As with any relationship, the two have their ups and downs, but Toui’s lack of commitment and avoidance have brought Naruse to a point of no return. He announces the breakup, though their entangled lives and environment make it hard to cut Toui out of his life for good.
Send Them a Farewell Gift for the Lost Time is Cocomi’s second commercial Boys’ Love title in English and the artist clearly has talent in examining the mundane and crafting a grounded, interesting, and moving story out of it. As someone who wishes to see more established relationships studied in romance, this title was one of the highlights for me in 2023! – Merve Giray
Did we include your favorite romantic manga? Be sure to let The Beat know, either in the comment section or over at The Beat’s page on Bluesky.
