Best Slice of Life Manga of 2004

Molester Man is a perverted, socially inept otaku who spends most of his time on the textboard 2ch. One day, on the way home from his part-time job, he is mistaken for a stalker and arrested. After clearing the misunderstanding, Molester Man learns that the girl, whom he subsequently refers to as Miss Understanding, was left traumatized by her stalker, so he offers his hand in the hope of dating her. However, exceeding his own expectations, he gradually becomes closer to Miss Understanding and her friends, the cheerful Kansai and the guileless Loli Jugs.

Fumi and Akira were best friends when they were little, with Akira always looking after the crybaby Fumi, but that all ended when Fumi's family moved away. Several years later, Fumi's family returned, and she and Akira happened to bump into each other on their way to school. They became friends again, quickly slipping back into old patterns. Shortly after, Fumi began dating a cool, attractive upperclassman who, coincidentally enough, had ties to Akira's current school, the prestigious Fujigaya Girls' Academy.

Uru is a very short girl and is constantly mistaken for an elementary school kid, but despite that, she is ridiculously strong and decides to live by herself after her mother gets remarried. She ends up working at a small cafe with two rather unique co-workers, Shindou, who acts gruff and intimidating, but who is really a nice guy who loves to make cakes and pies and the like, and Ichirou, who is really good-looking but who instantly falls asleep when he gets hungry and doesn't wake up again until he's force-fed something? What will the future bring to them?Included one-shots: Volume 2: Suitei Seinen Shoujo Volume 4: Hana to Ageha, Natsu. Volume 7: Number One DX

Chi is a lost kitten that is surprised to be picked up by a small family. Suddenly, she finds herself in a strange new environment full of frightening things like baths and big dogs! In these short, full-color comics, see the world from the point of view of an adorable kitten.

Ian, a young man with a fractured family history, travels from Australia to England to America in the hope of realizing his dreams and reuniting with his beloved sister. His story unfolds backwards through the framing narrative of Jim, a reporter driven to capture Ian's experiences in a novel: not simple. A story within a story, a book within a book, a tale about the search for family, for an emotional home.

Shun, Kaname, and the twins Yuuki and Yuuta have been friends since kindergarten. It's a little hard to tell if they actually get along or not. But even as high school students, they still hang out together. Recently, they've had a new addition: the half-Japanese transfer student Chizuru, who has started to liven up the group. This manga is about their daily lives, which aren't particularly passionate or exciting. A tranquil and sometimes comedic story of youthful friendship...

Set in a family restaurant in Hokkaido, the northern prefecture of Japan, 16-year-old high school student Souta Takanashi works part-time along with his strange co-workers: Popura Taneshima, a high school girl who's a year older than Souta, yet easily mistaken for an elementary/middle schooler, and Kyoko Shirafuji, the 28-year-old store manager who doesn't bother to do any work at all.

Shogo Ban, a college student from Fukuoka, likes to cook. Thanks to the owner of the restaurant where he works part-time, he finds himself working at the line of Roppongi's best Italian restaurant, Trattoria Baccanale, and discovers that the real deal isn't quite as easy as he'd thought. The manga follows Ban as he struggles to keep up with the hectic workload and his co-workers, along with issues outside the kitchen like his relationship with his girlfriend Eri, who he left behind in Fukuoka.

Accepted to a high school specializing in the arts, Yuno moves into a nearby apartment complex to make her commute easier. Just a few days into her new routine, she quickly discovers that creativity doesn't end with the art school bell! Her neighbors—Sae, Hiro, and Miya—are all fellow students, and each has her own hilarious quirks. And eccentricity clearly rules this school; Yuno's homeroom teach is a cosplay otaku and the principal is just...weird. Will the quiet Yuno be able to handle this creatively kooky cast of characters?

Minami-ke is a manga following three sisters, Haruka, Kana, and Chiaki in their lives at home and school. It's a funny manga that depicts how these characters interact with each other and their classmates. It's a manga about ordinary girls and their ordinary adventures told in an extraordinary manner.

Satoshi Yanagawa is working part-time as a police assistant, and works with a beautiful girl that he likes at first sight. But she has a pretty bad character. Are there any prospects for romance? Read on to find out, the story is hilarious at certain moments, and touching at others.

When Ryuu transfers to Hitomi's school, he leaves an immediate impression on him. Curious about rumours of a full-scale tattoo on Ryuu's back, Hitomi starts getting closer to him. Before long, the friendship and fascination Hitomi feels for Ryuu start developing into more, but before he has a chance to come to terms with his feelings, Hikaru appears on the scene.... and he has his eyes set on Hitomi.

This is a set of one-shot stories of working people drawn from the viewpoint of Matsukata Hiroko, who is a 28-year-old single woman and is an editor of Weekly Magazine, JIDAI. She’s often at odds with Tanaka Kunio, a novice editor. Her work already stresses her out and he’s unapologetic about his own mistakes! Everyone refers to Hiroko as a masculine woman for how seriously she takes her work. She smokes too much, works too much, and never has sex. However, when it’s time to get a story done, she switches into “Working Man” mode where her testosterone in her blood increases, she works three times her normal speed, and all thoughts of life’s necessities disappear. **Note:** Manga is on hiatus since 2009.

It's Kisaragi's first year in G.A.: the specialized art and design department at her high school. The timid Kisaragi has a lot to learn, but with the help of a very unique group of friends, even the most difficult lesson becomes loads of fun—if not downright silly! With the aid of full-color pages throughout, you too can learn the basics of color theory and become a great artist yourself!

It’s about school life and there are three girls and three guys but only the first guy and girl are introduced in the first chapter. The girl, Taeko, even forgets her own friends’ names, and the guy, Ushio, is also an airhead. They make a cute couple.

Continuation of Kobo-chan series by different publisher. *Note: The name of the volume release changed when the tankoubon publisher changed, but the series continue to release under its original name "Kobo-chan" in the Asahi Shinbun. This entry includes chapters published since 2003/08. The name change did not reset the chapter count in the Asahi Shinbun*

From DrCoke at MangaHelpers This manga contains short stores of the author's own paranormal experiences dealing with ghosts, apparitions, and other encounters of fantastic nature. In this volume, she covers a few of her more recent experiences during her travels across Japan, whether for leisure or for business. Many of the stories revolve around the history of the land or hotels where she stays. Some of her stories may incite chills down your spine, while others can be more comical and/or lighthearted.