Best Drama Manga of 2016

In a world populated by anthropomorphic animals, there exists a bias: carnivores are just mindless predators in the eyes of many herbivores. However, when an alpaca named Tem is murdered within the walls of Cherryton High School, the fear toward carnivores skyrockets to an all-time high. Legoshi, a student at this school, is a gray wolf who is quite awkward despite his fearsome appearance. When turmoil affects his school life, he is forced to confront the divide between herbivores and carnivores, as well as his own place in this society. This is further complicated by his supposedly romantic feelings toward a herbivore, which might not be what they seem. Beastars details Legoshi's struggles against his inner demons while living in a society that is unforgiving toward his kind.

In a world ravaged by war, a young boy walks down a lonely road in the aftermath of his mother's death. Along his journey, he witnesses military tanks, dead bodies, and his beloved city in ruins. With eyes clouded by anguish, he pushes himself to keep moving forward. One morning, he meets a girl in an abandoned bus where he spent the night. Moments after their encounter, the area turns into a battlefield, and the pair escapes into a long abandoned lane. The two strangers decide to walk together to the end of the road, thus beginning a companionship that will ignite new hope inside their shriveled hearts.

It, a mysterious immortal being, is sent to the Earth with no emotions nor identity. However, It is able to take the shape of those around that have a strong impetus. At first, It is a sphere. Then, It imitates the form of a rock. As the temperature drops and snow falls atop the moss, It inherits the moss. When an injured, lone wolf comes limping by and lays down to die, It takes on the form of the animal. Finally, It gains consciousness and begins to traverse the empty tundra until It meets a boy. The boy lives alone in a ghost town, which the adults abandoned long ago in search of the paradise said to exist far beyond the endless sea of white tundra. However, their efforts were for naught, and now the boy is in a critical state. Acquiring the form of the boy, It sets off on a never-ending journey, in search of new experiences, places, and people.

A 14-year-old girl has gone missing, and the police are looking everywhere for her. Her parents are desperate and wish for her safe return home, afraid that she is suffering in fear and tremendous pain. However, that is not the case: in reality, she has agreed to live with her kidnapper and a previous stalker, a young man whom she lovingly calls "Oniisan." She has no desire to go back to her parents—the ones who abused her physically and mentally—nor go back to school, where she endured heartless bullying. As time goes on, their bond grows stronger, and she asks Oniisan to give her a new name: "Sachi." Despite being aware of how unconventional their relationship is, the two make a promise to get married if they successfully escape both the police and Sachi's parents—or die trying. Clinging on to the littlest bit of true happiness they have found in each other, the two hold on to their only source of hope in this cruel world.

A heart can only beat so many times in a lifetime. Kokuhaku disease, a rare condition that weakens the heart, leaves the victim with less heartbeats and a shorter lifespan than normal. With the right device, the amount of heartbeats remaining can be measured. When Hato Iijima accidentally walks in on Hatsu Takagi changing her clothes, he sees this device attached to her chest. Hatsu has resigned herself to an uneventful and isolated life to avoid elevating her heart rate. However, she expresses her true desire—to freely and wholeheartedly experience every second she has left. Recognizing her wish, Hato swears to help her enjoy life to the fullest and make her heart beat like crazy.

Ethics is a term used to describe principles that aim to determine whether a person's behavior and actions can be justified as right or wrong. Takayanagi is a high school teacher who is in charge of an elective course that focuses on ethics. Despite not having a full class, he aims to teach his students about the importance of moral philosophy. Many students that attend Takayanagi's class are dealing with their own issues, and by engaging in his lessons, they learn to approach their problems from a different perspective.

Despite their differing popularity, high school students Chiharu Saeki and Wataru Toda are close friends. Saeki is the most handsome guy in their grade who constantly rejects girls that confess to him, claiming that he already likes someone. Bonding over their common hobby of watching movies, Saeki and Wataru go to the movie theater a couple of times a month, alternating between the movies they want to see. One day, after watching a movie, Saeki confesses to Wataru but tells him that he does not have to accept or return his feelings. In exchange, Saeki requests that they go on a journey over the summer to tour the filming locations of various movies. Though Wataru tries to maintain a nonchalant disposition after the confession, he begins to question how he really feels about Saeki as they start to spend more time together through their small promise.

Ninth grader Yusuke Yotsuya is practical, friendless, and not active in any clubs. Then one day, he and two female classmates are suddenly sent to another world where they must work together to battle for their lives. Yotsuya is a lone wolf and has always lived his life according to his wants, but how will that work out now that he’s supposed to be a hero?! Get ready for a one-of-a-kind fantasy story that will challenge everything you thought you knew about fantasy!

All alone, 18-year-old Yoon Taemin has had to fend for himself his whole life and learn how to survive in a cruel world. He tries to shake off an unusually vivid dream of a boy committing suicide and getting hit by a speeding truck. But the dream turns out to be a vision of his fate—as he dies the exact same way. Following the accident, Taemin wakes up in the body of Min Siwoon, a meek and frail teenager who jumped off a building. Although Siwoon is surrounded by wealth and loving parents, it is soon evident that everyone, even his brother, absolutely despises and viciously bullies him since he is unable to stand up for himself. Accepting his new situation, Taemin lives on as Siwoon, protecting himself under the excuse that he lost all his memories. However, his past life quickly catches up with him when he encounters Han Siwon—his childhood friend—who is nothing like the weak boy he used to be. Siwon instantly recognizes that it is Taemin in Siwoon's body, and the circumstances that led to their ultimate falling out slowly start to unravel.

Seventeen-year-old Kei Miyama comes from a family with strange abilities. Birds flock to his grandfather as if he is the wind that carries them in the air itself. Kei, on the other hand, can talk to cars and prefers their company to humans—especially women. After moving to Iceland, Kei makes a living there as a freelance detective. Whether it be resolving lovers' quarrels, locating missing people, or recovering lost items, Kei hops from case to case, traveling alone on the empty roads that span the rugged Icelandic landscape. But the secrets of the land of ice and fire are not the only mysteries ahead that Kei must unravel: an encounter with an aloof Icelandic beauty makes him recall local superstitions of ghosts that roam the wild lands at night.

For Fumiya Tomozaki, one of the best gamers in Japan, the "game of life" is the worst game in existence. Despite the fact that Tomozaki is the number one player in the video game Attack Families, he is a self-proclaimed bottom-tier character when it comes to real life. As a second-year high school student, he suffers from an absolute lack of self-esteem, leading him to completely give up on trying to improve himself as a person. Instead, he blames the real world for being completely unbalanced, with no logical way to level up your character. Aoi Hinami is an immensely popular girl in Tomozaki's class with fantastic grades. She fits the role of a perfect heroine and is on the opposite end of the social spectrum from Tomozaki. However, after a chance encounter with Hinami, Tomozaki realizes that she is not a perfect character after all! So begins a story of drama and romance revolving around Tomozaki's attempts at conquering the game of life under Hinami's guidance.

One day, Azure becomes acutely aware that her body is being controlled by someone else and, even moreso, she is aware that this person intends to kill her and make it look like a suicide. But Azure doesn't actually care if she dies; she has wanted to die for quite some time. Her controller, not satisfied with taking the life of someone who actually wishes for death, vows to make her into the type of target he prefers: someone who enjoys life, so that when he kills her, she will die full of regrets. Through a few twists and turns, Azure meets her controller—a man named Claude—and the two begin to spend time together in order to further Claude's ultimate goal. But these two have more in common than they know, and soon, a strange relationship blooms between them.

Frustrated with her mundane high school life in the town of Itomori, Mitsuha Miyamizu has longed to live as a boy in the Tokyo metropolis. One day, the fantasy she has always dreamed of comes true—awakening in a boy's body and experiencing the thrills of the city. Meanwhile, high school student Taki Tachibana finds himself waking up as a girl living in a lakeside town by the mountains, the complete opposite of the Tokyo life that he is familiar with. As Mitsuha and Taki discover they are living the lives of one another in their dreams, the two begin working together to adjust to this new reality. Little do they know, their fragile relationship soon prompts the pair to search for each other in fierce defiance of the thin thread of fate that connects them.

Yaeko Nishimiya is a cold-hearted single mother tasked with raising Shouko, her daughter, who has impaired hearing. Though Shouko's disability is a cumbersome one, Yaeko remains determined to raise her daughter into an independent young woman—no matter what parenting tactics she must use.

Murakumo Inn is different from other hotels—its location is unknown, and it accepts both human and non-human patrons. The owner, no less mysterious, does not ask his guests to pay money for their stay; instead, they must tell him one of their most hideous secrets. Otherwise, he shall intervene and create a secret for them to hide. Tokihito Sasaki considered himself an ordinary high school student until he met the owner and discovered he had long been dead. Yet, with the help of the innkeeper, he can now live among humans at the cost of being a living corpse. Despite being given a second chance, Sasaki resents the owner for turning him into a monster. In hopes of exacting revenge, he teams up with a sorcerer whose family has spent centuries trying to banish the inn's proprietor. However, the inn is guarded by its employees, and the owner himself is not a helpless spirit. Only those who find his secret can take him out—if they survive to do so.

The fabric of life twists, turns, comes together in strange shapes, splits and transforms, and reunites again. In one cord of that rich tapestry, Tokyo boy Taki Tachibana and rural Itomori girl Mitsuha Miyamizu wake up in each other's bodies as if they were dreaming of another life. While the phenomenon persists, the two 17-year-olds adapt to each other's lifestyle as they try to figure a way out of the situation. However, it is not just the two teenagers who have to deal with the unusual state of affairs. In particular, Mitsuha's friends and family find the girl's unusual behavior hard to fathom. To her friends, sister, grandmother, and even stray father, her brash conduct feels curiously celestial. When a meteor shower colors the night sky crimson during Itomori's autumn festival, a long-forgotten piece of the town's history is revealed, unraveling the entangled threads of fate.

An uprising in the kingdom of Earlswald has led to the death of its lecherous and tyrannical king, his wife, and their son. Cayden, the leader of the rebellion, is crowned as the new monarch and grants his right-hand man, Eli—a peasant—the title of duke. Although considered a hero thanks to his achievements during the war, Eli is rumored to be a cold-blooded madman who strikes fear in his allies and enemies alike. Due to supporting the former king in the past, a nobleman must marry off his eldest daughter to Eli. But he instead sends a servant named Edna under the pretext that she is his illegitimate child. Despite their rocky start as newlyweds, Eli is intrigued by Edna's sophisticated demeanor and fiery personality, while she finds her husband to be more than what the rumors make him out to be. Nonetheless, Edna must maintain her facade because if Eli were to discover who she truly is and why she cares so much for the kingdom, it would cost her not only their marriage—but also her life.Note: This entry includes the sequel series Golden Time as they are serialized on the same page on Kakao.

A tiger and a beaver who grew up together defy peer pressure to end their friendship and join forces to fight injustice. A camel journalist who passed judgment on carnivores for years spends a life-changing night with a seductive wolf. A crocodile and a gazelle must find a way to work together as chef and assistant on a cooking show with flagging ratings. A fox and a chameleon wrestle with stereotypes about each other—and themselves. And much more...

Although she never asked for it, 27-year-old So Yeori possesses the extraordinary ability to communicate with ghosts. She has always considered it a burden rather than a gift and always passes spirits without a single glance. When she moves into a new house, Yeori resolves to ignore the resident ghost. However, he has a different idea. Even when he was alive, Go Joon yearned for the comfort of living together with someone, and his untimely death three years ago only exacerbated his pain. He wants nothing more than to talk to someone, for Yeori to stay; and reluctantly, she agrees to live with him for a year. As two people who have always been alone, Yeori and Joon must now face the joys and hardships of the cohabitation between human and ghost.

The story details the events of a disastrous expedition to the Antarctic continent in September 1930, and what was found there by a group of explorers led by the narrator, Dr. William Dyer of Miskatonic University. Throughout the story, Dyer details a series of previously untold events in the hope of deterring another group of explorers who wish to return to the continent.

After the funeral of an old friend, Dukchul Shim resolves to pursue something he had always wanted to try: ballet. Much to the surprise (and maybe~ horror) of his wife, children, and other acquaintances, this 70-year-old throws himself into following his heart and his passion. With the help of his young instructor Chaerok and others hoping for their own ambitions to take flight, Dukchul shows the importance and joy of pursuing one's dream... even in the face of hardships and our own mortality.

Amamiya Hiroto is unlucky. His life consisted of misfortune after misfortune, culminating in an unlucky death during an incident on a school boat trip, trying to save a girl he barely knew. After death, he met a god of reincarnation who requested that the hundred or so dead passengers—one of them being the girl he tried in vain to save—be reincarnated into another world. Yet a series of unfortunate events forced Hiroto to reincarnate with even less luck than before, starting with nothing but a tremendous amount of Mana. His second life, far worse than his first, came to a cruel end. However, upon meeting the god a second time, he was informed that there would be yet another reincarnation—one that had already been set in motion and could not be stopped. Not wanting Hiroto to endure a third life filled with suffering, the god cursed him before he was reborn in the hopes that he would either die quickly or commit suicide. Hiroto was reborn once more as a half-vampire, half-dark elf. A dhampir. Not wanting a fourth life, he is determined to live this third life with the only things remaining from his previous lives—Death Magic and his enormous Mana pool.

Narumi Rokurou is still adrift in life in his forties, unmarried, and working as an editor at a publishing company while writing hardly lucrative literary fiction. His days enjoying life at his own pace are brought to an end one summer night, when a strange twist of fate brings Rokurou together with a mysterious beauty, beginning the story of their crazed love. As once was spoken by Zarathustra: "Everything in a woman is a riddle."

Five years have passed since the tragic incident ended the peaceful life on Regul Aire once and for all. The Beast have reached the floating island and are threatening the last survivors. Tiat, Collon, Pannibal, and Lakhesh have become fairy soldiers and are continuing the role of their predecessors, fighting for the safety of Regul Aire. And just like all the other fairy soldiers of the warehouse, they need a guardian of the military, and so on one fateful day, Tiat encounters Feodor Jessman, a young imp and fourth-grade military officer. At the first glance he appears like a typical honor student, however, it's not for long until he reveals his true colors. What will his secret ambitions bring for the four young girls and even the future of Regul Aire?

The manga features Kenshin Himura as the protagonist, once a deadly assassin during the Meiji Restoration, who is trying to find a new life beyond violence. The manga will consist of five "arcs".

Five hundred years have passed since the humans went extinct at the hands of the fearsome and mysterious 'Beasts.' The surviving races now make their homes up on floating islands in the sky, out of reach of all but the most mobile of Beasts. However, this new safe haven Regul Aire has a dark secret behind it. Only a small group of young girls, the Leprechauns, can wield the ancient weapons needed to fend off invasions from these creatures. Into the girls' unstable and fleeting lives, where a call to certain death could come at any moment, enters an unlikely character: a young man who lost everything in his final battle five hundred years ago, the last living human awakened from a long, icy slumber. Unable to fight any longer, Willem becomes the father that the girls never had, caring for and nurturing them even as he struggles to come to terms with his new life, in which he feels the pain of helplessly waiting for his loved ones to return home from battle that his 'Daughter' once felt for him so long ago. Together, through their everyday interactions in the 'orphanage,' Willem and the girls gradually come to understand what family means and what is truly worth protecting.

Yuuichi Tachibana, who lost both of his parents and sister in a traffic accident, took in his seven year old nephew, Ayumu. To create a new life, he moves them to the city where the sea can be seen, so they can focus only on themselves. They meet Ryou Kurebayashi who runs the local souzaiya. Even though he is the same age as Yuuichi, he is a popular person who has his own shop and is loved by the neighborhood. Taking things day by day, will these three be able to overcome the lingering fears from their pasts?

When an asteroid threatening to wipe away planet Earth appeared, humanity's brightest minds came together to develop the "Moon Shield" plan. To protect the planet, rockets would blast the asteroid apart, and the Moon would shield the Earth from the remaining debris. However, the plan failed by the smallest of margins: one sliver made it past the shield and crashed into Earth. There to witness the end of the world was Moon Yoo, a researcher left stranded on the Moon. Unable to find the courage to end his life, Moon decides to make the most of what he has as the last man alive. With supplies to last a lifetime and all the time in the world, Moon decides to explore the vast lunar base, unaware of the many secrets that lie in wait to be discovered—and the fact that he may not be as alone as he initially thought.

The story is about a man whose compulsive tendencies make it impossible for him to keep a job, and a young girl who skips school and loves insects. The two meet, come to support each other in reintegrating into society, and fall in love. There’s a problem, however: namely, the parasites in their heads.

Eighteen-year-old Tsukasa Mizugaki has failed his college entrance exams, but after pulling some strings, he manages to land a job at the Sion Artificial Intelligence Corporation. SAI Corp is responsible for the creation of "Giftias"—highly advanced androids which are almost indiscernible from normal humans. However, unlike humans, Giftias have a maximum lifespan of 81,920 hours, or around nine years and four months. Terminal Service One, the station Tsukasa was assigned to, is responsible for collecting Giftias that have met their expiration date, before they lose their memories and become hostile. Promptly after joining Terminal Service One, Tsukasa is partnered with a beautiful Giftia named Isla. She is a Terminal Service veteran and considered the best in Giftia retrievals, contrary to her petite figure and placid nature. Time is fleeting though, and Tsukasa must come to terms with his feelings for Isla before her time is up. No matter how much someone desires it, nothing lasts forever.

Sharks don't have lungs, but they do have to breathe oxygen to survive. Instead of breathing air, though, sharks get oxygen from the water that surrounds them. So they have to move around, if they stop moving for a while, they sink into the water and die, So Sharks have to move and move constantly from birth to death. The same goes for you. If you want to survive, keep moving, then you will be the best hunter... like a shark.

Yoake Itaru, 38, divorced. Profession: Investigator and confidential informant for an insurance agency. Speciality: Cases others tend to avoid. Everyday there are mysterious "accidents" that are actually clever cover-ups of suicides and murders. And the parties concerned will appeal to him. And so, the colourless days of this man will continue...

When book-loving Lady Elianna spots Prince Christopher—her betrothed in name only—consorting with another noble lady, she realizes the recent rumors must be true. The prince has someone he truly loves, which means the annulment of their engagement is both inevitable and fast-approaching. What she doesn’t realize is that this is merely a surface ripple—one of many where the truth runs deep, in a conspiracy surpassing her imagination!

As the world is in the middle of an industrial revolution, a monster appears that cannot be defeated unless its heart, which is protected by a layer of iron, is pierced. By infecting humans with its bite, the monster can create aggressive and undead creatures known as Kabane. On the island Hinomoto, located in the far east, people have built stations to shelter themselves from these creatures. People access the station, as well as transport wares between them, with the help of a locomotive running on steam, called Hayajiro. Ikoma, a boy who lives in the Aragane station and helps to build Hayajiro, creates his own weapon called Tsuranukizutsu in order to defeat the creatures. One day, as he waits for an opportunity to use his weapon, he meets a girl named Mumei, who is excused from the mandatory Kabane inspection. During the night, Ikoma meets Mumei again as he sees Hayajiro going out of control. The staff on the locomotive has turned into the creatures. The station, now under attack by Kabane, is the opportunity Ikoma has been looking for.

A young Tetsuou watched a performance by Giovanni Bazonni and was inspired to become a master cellist. But he knows that living as he is in an out-of-the-way Japanese island means his musical aspirations are unlikely to be realised. One day, a boy named Ikumi comes to stay at Tetsuou's place. Ikumi is the sole survivor of an accident at sea, wherein he saved himself by swimming out to Tetsuou's island. But he makes a surprising claim: he says he found his way to safety by following the sound of beautiful cello music, and is convinced that the player was Tetsuou.

Minato played Japanese archery in middle school, but after a certain incident, he ran away from the sport. In high school, Minato meets new friends, and together as part of their school's archery club they aim to win the prefectural tournament.

A smart, athletic, who handles anything perfectly and unequaled beautiful girl, dies young due to a car accident. And now, while possessing the memories of her previous life, is reincarnated in a fantasy-ish world with swords and magic! In this world all lives were dependent on magicians, however, their numbers decreased every year due to the magic power scattered around the world running out, thus the reliance on magic was coming to an end. This is a story that will lead to the life of a girl relying on the knowledge of her previous life, as she proposes a way to live even without the use of magic while seeking for what it is, and aiming for a wealthier life.

Junko Harumi went through high school prioritizing her studies, in order to get into the University of Tokyo. Nevertheless, she failed her exams. In the end, she entered a lower-ranking university and ended up working as a teacher at an average cram school. And, by the age of 31, she hasn't gotten married yet! Since then, Junko's become disheartened, and, despite how unpretentious her current employment is, she's walking on thin ice because of her lack of productivity! Everything seems hopeless, but could it be that a delinquent student would turn her situation all around!?

A human drama set in a riverside hotel at the boundary between this world and the next.

An anthology series about married women who commit adultery.

Kondo Isami, a third-year high school student, has good grades but he is forced to decide which path to take because of his family’s financial situation. One day, he learns about the government-affiliated Defence Academy where students are not only exempt from admission fees and school fees, but are given an allowance every month. He wishes to go to this academy. After graduating from high school, Kondo enters the Defence Academy and meets Matsuhira Yosuke, Okita Soji, Harada Tadashi and Takei Tomoaki who become friends. He takes the first step to a new life, but when the entrance ceremony ends, the attitudes of the senior students including Sakaki Ryuya and Nishiwaki Takashi change drastically and strict coaching begins.

“Our stage, sixteenth century London, is bubbling with unprecedented passion for theater!” Young Lance (W. Shakespeare), uneducated and raised in a rural town, brings together a group of unique comrades with various talents to begin to write play scripts. It will be a revolution armed with nothing but the pen!

Fukaya began drawing the manga and posting it on Twitter in 2015. The manga centers on a cat who is drawn to the scent of tears, and goes toward anyone who is crying in order to comfort or encourage them. *Note: Won the Short Work Prize of the 21st Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2017.*

"I'm going to prove myself on this stage!" Rookie stage actor Mitsuya Makoto has spent the beginnings of his career trying to escape the shadow of his deceased older brother Miyuki, who was himself a famous actor, but who died tragically five years ago. When he lands a role that was supposedly made for his brother, he feels that his efforts have finally been rewarded. But an unexpected phenomenon occurs and upends his life, starting with the reappearance of his brother.

A woman who loses her family due to bullying changes her face with plastic surgery and devotes her new life to getting revenge!

War between the kingdom of Ragnanival, led by the king Odin, and the realm of Ringford, led by the queen Elfaria has devastated the country of Valentine, of which only scattered ruins remain. The story is told from the perspective of five characters whose stories intertwine: Gwendolyn, valkyrie and younger daughter of Odin; Cornelius, prince of the neutral country of Titania; Mercedes, daughter of Elfaria and princess of Ringford; Oswald, a shadow knight and agent of Ringford; and Velvet, a survivor of Valentine's devastation.

Set 30 years after the original, the story of the confectionary store continues.

A story about a mysterious penguin and a clumsy young shopkeeper traveling a dream.

Burned out from dealing with their difficult lives, they are all at the end of their ropes... until they come across the Mystic Pop-Up Bar. Beckoned by its warm promise of delicious food and free-flowing drinks, they end up pouring out their troubles to the sympathetic (and occasionally abrasive) ear of the proprietor, Wolju. The keeper of the DreamWorld, she uses her powers to improve the lives of her customers, one late-night session at a time.

There's something beyond the "boundary"... In a certain town in northern Kanto, a series of gruesome murders occurred. Despite the repeated incidents, the police were unable to grasp the identity of the perpetrator. Around the same time, a girl named Reiko Hanashima, possessing an almost artificial beauty, transferred to the local high school. She spoke to no one, showed no interest in anything, and became isolated. However, there was one thing that Reiko Hanashima showed an abnormal interest in—the rumor that the series of gruesome murders in the town were connected to an 'urban legend that desires limbs. Her eerie actions stirred up fears. This is a new type of folklore mystery.

Secretary Yukiko Tachibana is constantly being used by Vice President Tatsuo Asakura as a pawn to blackmail rivals, seduce customers and as his own sexual plaything. Will she ever be free from his never ending exploitation?