I'm looking for a few things! 1f3q6c

A lot of manga I read do a lot of pandering to tropes like the same old storylines, love-at-first-site, lame relatable protagonist, etc.

First of all, any manga out there that really breaks the mold of typical shoujo/shounen? I know there's josei and seinen but a lot of it isn't that great either. I'm looking for mainly shoujo/josei with at least some romance.

Would also like any manga that you'd consider "intelligent" almost pretentious even. Like a manga that broaches topics that aren't typically relatable to your average manga-reading pre-teen/teenager. The manga and writing itself should be intelligent, not some character that the author says it "smart".

Lastly, I'm looking for a romance that's a bit more serious and not just one girl/boy being the self-insert and the other being some amazing ideal bf/gf. Two characters with ACTUAL flaws and good development of their characters and getting to know one another.

It's a lot to ask, I know! But just a quick summary of what I'm looking for, doesn't have to have all three, just at least one:

• original, atypical manga that doesn't use the same old tropes of manga
• intelligent/borderline pretentious manga
• romance with two realistic characters, not just "manga characters"

Not exactly ideal recommendation but try Tokyo Crazy Paradise is one of the meaningful shoujo, with cliche here and there. (Skip Beat! ongoing and mentioned...)

[img]http://i.imgur.com/O2jK5u5.jpg[/img]

I'm not quite what you might like.

Personally my favorite romances are in Love Roma is kinda real but it's more gag 4-koma.

I'm just saying, for me, most of shoujo is not realistic based on the simple fact that not all guys and girls are gonna be hot.

Now that I think about it maybe slice of life genre might work for you best.

Onani Master Kurosawa

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I highly recommend it

Is listed based the amount of romance.
Choukakou.

Paradise Kiss because why not. All romance manga with a brain.
Look round here if you like what you see: [url]http://mangaupdates.conexionsite.com/showtopic.php?tid=48756[/url]

I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters, My ANN-Lists + Imdb

I second Cheese in the Trap - It's the best romance manga I've read so far, but the start is kind of hard to understand because the author keeps switching between now and the past. You have to pay attention to the shades, if the picture is normal then it's a scene from now, if it gets a bit darker it was in the past. But aside from that Cheese in the Trap is awesome!

This one doesn't have any romance but it's really good:
Liar Game

This one is kind of a slow romance, but the characters are relatable and it's realistic:
Last Game

You should give Skip Beat! a try too, the art is old (I promise, it gets better and better though) but the manga is freakin hilarious and you can relate to the characters, even though some things are exagerrated. The story is roughly about a girl who gets... well you could say "dumped" and decides to get revenge. And so she gets into showbiz and becomes an actress. I honestly get goosebumps everytime I read this, because kyko is so interesting an cool and it's exciting to see her climb up in her acting career.
Skip Beat!

These two are my favourite shoujos at the moment and highly recommend them:
Piece
I think they have all what you're looking for. 🙂

As for josei I totally recommend Oishii Kankei

• original, atypical manga that doesn't use the same old tropes of manga

ASANO Inio works

• intelligent/borderline pretentious manga

Murasakiiro no Qualia is a manga about quantum theory, parallel dimension, schrodinger's cat and more. This manga will melt your brain from the sheer amount of scientific theories presented. 🤣

Kamisama ga Uso o Tsuku.
Miman Renai
Boku to Watashi no Henai Jijou
Solanin
Chokotto Sister
Soshite, Hare ni Naru

Kono Oto Tomare! minor so far but it will get there eventually
Tetsugaku Letra same as above
House of the Sun tropey events but characters handle them well
Gozen 3-ji no Muhouchitai

First batch is completed, second one isn't.

in need of romance?
uncommon, sad, sweet

Bokura no Kiseki is a pretty unique mystery with a strong cast of characters and is Josei to boot.

If you don't know Urasawa Naoki for some odd reason, his works have very strong writing and would definitely fit you intelligent need.

"Ai Ren"
http://mangaupdates.conexionsite.com/series.html?id=744

Thought of some manga I love that fit under my categories!

Original, atypical: Cheese in the Trap

Suggested manga that I've read-

Tokyo Crazy Paradise
I started and stopped these but I'll have to try and pick them up again!

Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan
Very beautiful but a bit angsty, still moderately liked it. A very deep and emotional manga about death and love and hardship.

Choukakou
Same as "Change Ge Xing" I mentioned before, absolutely gorgeous, plot-filled, character-driven manga. Probably my favorite series. The main character is genuinely intelligent, the plot is stunningly intricate, and the historical scenery and world-building are fun to immerse yourself in.

Liar Game
Indeed intelligent and original! Lots of fun brain puzzlers. Characters are a bit eccentric and inconsistent but it's really all about the puzzles and drama. It may take you a while to understand how each "game" is solved but it's usually unique and interesting, especially when the manga takes the adventure of exploring human greed and selfishness to get there.

Skip Beat!
I loved the first few volumes of this! The main female character is very strong, and the romance develops in suuuuch a slow and real way. There are some iffy story arcs later on though (cough pretending to be siblings).

The rest I will definitely have to check out! Thank you soooo much for suggestions and if there are any more, I'd love to hear them c:

If you want pretentious anime you should watch psycho . Not a romance really but there is some slight hinted sexual tension between lead girl and guy. It's chock full of literary quotes thanks to season 1's hipster antagonist. The fandom joke is that he was a bitter lit major before he became evil cause he couldn't find a job.

I agree with Bold and Brash about PP season 1. I had it´s head stuck up it´s own ass but Ikigami isn´t perfect but it could do dystopia without sounding like it failed literature class. I read nearly everything PP1 misquoted btw.

I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters, My ANN-Lists + Imdb