Best Comedy Manga of 2021

After being aggressively rejected, Momo Ayase finds herself sulking when she stumbles across a boy being bullied. Saved by her rash kindness, the occult-obsessed boy attempts to speak to her about supernatural interests he believes they share. Rejecting his claims, Ayase proclaimed that she instead is a believer in ghosts, starting an argument between the two over which is real. In a bet to determine who is correct, the two decide to separately visit locations associated with both the occult and the supernatural—Ayase visiting the former and the boy visiting the latter. When the two reach their respective places, it turns out that neither was wrong and that both the occult and ghosts do exist. This marks the beginning of Ayase and the boy's adventure, as they attempt to fix the surreal, supernatural, and occult elements around them to return to a normal life.

There is no bigger scum of the earth than Lloyd Frontera. He is the eldest son, yet all he does is drink and intimidate others, depleting what little is left of his family's wealth. The Fronteras' knight, Javier Asrahan, is destined to become a renowned swordmaster, and Lloyd's family will face pitiful deaths as their entire land falls to ruin under insurmountable debt. Though at some point Kim Suho was an average civil engineering student in Korea, he suddenly wakes up on a dirt road as none other than Lloyd, an ungrateful hooligan from the beginning of a book following Javier, the protagonist. While a sassy status window offers some clarity about his new identity, Suho is rather worried about his imminent downfall. To avoid becoming a beggar—and ultimately lead a sweet and comfortable life—Suho decides to fix Lloyd's scumbag image. With his engineering expertise and magical construction skills boost, Suho introduces modern innovations and city developments to this medieval-like world, drastically improving the people's quality of life—all for a nice sum of money.

In sixth grade, childhood friends Yukiya Asagi and Miku Sakura created a game with the objective to embarrass the other person by taking turns saying "I love you." Four years later, even as they are entering high school, the two are still trying to one-up the other and claim victory. However, as tender feelings begin to bloom in their hearts, the simple phrase has taken on new meaning beyond the rules of their game. With the passing of each day, the urge to become more than childhood friends grows—but both Yukiya and Miku resist making the first move, hesitant about what is in store once the game finally ends.

Next to Miyu Suzuki, a trendy and bubbly high school girl, sits Yuusuke Tani, a quiet and frank boy. Their interactions are brief, limited to Suzuki's unprompted random questions and Tani's succinct answers. Yet, beneath these simple exchanges, feelings of love are quietly blossoming. Suzuki sees Tani for who he is: a straightforward boy who respects everyone equally, completely unconcerned about fitting in. Unlike Tani, she is too hung up on what everyone else thinks, desperate to keep her crush a secret. However, a slight misunderstanding leads to Suzuki confessing her feelings—and to her delight, Tani feels the same. Jittery with excitement, the young couple starts dating, embarking on a wonderful journey of friendship and love.

After spending a majority of his life in an orphanage, aspiring doctor Uryuu Kamihate has finally found a place willing to take him in—the Amagami Shrine. There is only one problem: he is an ardent atheist. Arriving at the shrine, Uryuu discovers that he will not be alone. Living with him are three shrine maidens: the childlike eldest sister Yae; the confrontational middle sister Yuna; and the mischievous youngest sister Asahi, all members of the Amagami household. While Yae and Asahi welcome his company, Yuna refuses to accept his presence and repeatedly clashes with him over their contrasting beliefs. However, Asahi soon unravels the reason behind his lack of faith. Just as things are beginning to settle, Chidori Amagami, grandfather of the three sisters, suddenly reveals the condition for Uryuu's stay: he must marry one of the sisters and inherit the shrine.

A comedy about two ordinary high school boys.

When Hayato's grandmother passed, he planned to sell her rundown café on the shore—not realizing that it was also home to five young women who call themselves her family?! Their desperation to keep the café open convinces Hayato to give it a shot...but even their best intentions might not be enough to make it work! And can he even work with these five unruly women? No matter what, he's got his work cut out for him!

Smart, refined, and strikingly gorgeous, half-Russian half-Japanese Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou is considered the idol of her school. With her long silver hair, mesmerizing blue eyes, and exceptionally fair skin, she has captured the hearts of countless male students while being highly admired by all others. Even so, due to her seemingly unapproachable persona, everyone remains wary around the near-flawless girl. One of the few exceptions is Alisa's benchmate Masachika Kuze, a relatively average boy who spends his days watching anime and playing gacha games. Despite his nonchalant demeanor, Masachika is the sole student to receive Alisa's attention. Unable to be fully honest, Alisa is frequently harsh on Masachika and only expresses her affection in Russian. Unbeknownst to her, however, Masachika actually understands the language yet simply pretends otherwise for his own amusement. As the odd pair continues to exchange witty and playful remarks, their relationship gradually grows more romantic and delightful—and Alisa might finally learn to freely convey her true feelings.

As the son of the late legendary actress Subaru Ayase, Yuu has had many expectations placed upon him after he transferred to Saika Academy, a highly prestigious school where students can hone their personal talents. However, in contrast to his mother, Yuu is completely talentless. Being seen as completely mediocre, he would have no chance of standing side by side with the three emperors of Saika Academy: the Mikadono sisters, Miwa, Niko, and Kazuki, who are each prodigies in shogi, martial arts, and performing arts, respectively. With Subaru's friend agreeing to take her son in, Yuu aims to fulfill his mother's last wish to him, which is to build a happy family, after never being able to form a proper mother-son relationship due to their difference in talent. As it turns out, his mother's friend is actually the father of the Mikadono sisters! Keeping his mother's wish in mind, Yuu aims to build familial bonds with the siblings. However, due to their extreme focus on their respective specializations, they show little interest in opening themselves up not only to him, but to each other as well. Nonetheless, Yuu strives to continuously support the three prodigies, as his kindness and care restores the bond between the sisters.

Meet Takuya Seo, an otaku who sits behind the popular gals in class, Ijichi and Amane. Since they're people from different "castes," you wouldn't expect them to have much in common. But when their worlds collide over a borrowed eraser, Takuya slips up about his favorite anime, and Amane...is rather quick to correct him. She says she's not a fan, but her familiarity with the series suggests otherwise. Could she be...a fellow geek?!

Na Kang Lim, a high school student who enjoys reading webtoons, experiences a strange event one day when the female lead from his favorite webtoon appears before him. Even more surprising, the same incidents that put her in danger in the webtoon start happening in real life. The problem is, there's no protagonist in the real world to save her! Ultimately, Na Kang Lim takes on the role of the protagonist, looping through time to save her.

Idol group F/ACE has recently risen in popularity all thanks to Tamon Fukuhara—its handsome, wild, and talented leader. Seventeen-year-old Utage Kinoshita is one of the vocal fans who greatly admires F/ACE. As her life revolves around worshiping Tamon, Utage works at a housecleaning company to earn money and continue supporting him. When her coworker gets sick, Utage is assigned to a new client with the same name as Tamon. She believes it is merely a coincidence—until she comes face to face with the real celebrity! Her surprise only grows when she discovers that, unlike the extroverted superstar known to the public, Tamon is actually a gloomy guy with no friends or self-confidence. Given that Utage's adoration for Tamon knows no bounds, she vows to keep his secret and stay by his side—but dealing with Tamon's contrasting behaviors in and out of work might be the toughest job out there.

The story is set about one year after the ending to The Fable. Akira and Youko are forced to abort their latest mission due to the Covid-19 pandemic and return to Osaka to continue their quiet life as regular civilians, but the peace is not to last.

College student Tokiwa gets invited to a mixer by his female classmate Suo. But when he arrives with his friends, they’re greeted by three dazzlingly handsome men?!

Plain, boring, and friendless Kazuhiko Nukumizu has witnessed something completely baffling: popular girl Anna Yanami was friend-zoned by her childhood friend and crush! In fact, all the popular girls around him are getting similarly rejected by the boys they like. Without realizing it, Kazuhiko becomes entangled in the relationship drama where all the leading heroines are losing out on love! Can he keep their spirits up and help them find happiness?

Ordinary office worker Rei Oohashi wakes up in the body of the protagonist of her favorite otome game, Revolution. To her delight, the first person to greet her is also her favorite character, Claire Francois—the main antagonist of the story! Now, Rei is determined to romance Claire instead of the game's male leads. But how will her villainous ladylove react to this new courtship?!

Ririka Kaguhara is a plain, friendless, and often overlooked first-year girl in high school. However, she has one hobby in particular that she can never tell a soul about; that being her dedication to her fetish and recording her observations of how it manifests itself in all sorts of unique ways amongst her classmates.

In this book of Spy x Family original prose stories, Anya attempts to make friends with her target Damian during an Eden Academy camping trip, Yuri spends his day off babysitting his niece, and Franky seeks Loid's help in winning the heart of a blind opera singer. Then, when the family sits for a portrait painting, Yor is terrified that her secret identity will be blown. And in the final story, the family is scrutinized by a pair of unseen observers... There's never been a family quite like this one!

His colleagues at work see him as handsome, cool, and distant...but the moment he's back home, this frosty-looking salaryman shows his true colors as a doting father and husband. Playing silly games with his young daughter, showering kisses on his beloved wife–what a gap between his appearance and behavior! This sweet, full-color manga about a wholesome family is sure to warm your heart.

Riri is a transfer student with a unique fascination—she wants the school delinquent, Atsuko, to say adorable things! Despite her fearful reputation, Atsuko goes along with it, thinking Riri is just a harmless weirdo. However, she soon finds herself getting increasingly flustered every time she reads one of Riri's lists of cute words. And she's not the only one whose heart races after each interaction! Will this game bring them closer together and lead to an entirely new relationship?

I, Maehara Maki, someone who couldn't make any acquaintances or friends in high school, finally had someone to hang out with outside of school. A girl. Her name was Asanagi-san. The boys in my class called her "the class' second cutest girl" behind her back. On Fridays, she would refuse her best friend, Amami, "the cutest girl in class" invitation just to hang out in my house with me. Together, we played games, watched some movies, read some manga while eating junk foods like pizza and hamburgers, and chugging cola without a care in the world. To others, we may seem sloppy, but it was a precious, secret time together for Asanagi-san and myself.

A killer must be prepared to put on the perfect act for their assassination to be successful. They must be exceptionally meticulous when erasing any trace of evidence, and they must absolutely never be caught. These are some of the simple rules that Joo Taeman has followed for 14 years, never allowing his emotions to interfere. Meanwhile, the famous actor Kang Dahyeok, nicknamed the "Heart Assassin" due to his attractive looks and dreamy eyes, is a huge fan of gritty film noirs. He has always dreamt of starring in something with an edge, but he keeps getting stuck with swoony romantic dramas. After witnessing Taeman's ability to effortlessly switch from a scowl to a smile, Dahyeok is determined to befriend him and learn the trick. However, Taeman falls for Dahyeok at first sight, facing a dangerous challenge: how to separate his high-risk profession and this deadly, killer crush!

When the infamy of the Demon King echoes to the ocean's depths, Yuria, the king of the sea, decides to venture onto land and challenge them. However, the very act of gaining two legs robs her of all her power, transforming her into a helpless child. Now faced with this unexpected twist of fate, can Yuria rise above this setback and defeat the Demon King to claim her place as the most powerful being in the world?

A young Kalego Naberius' school days at Babyls Demon School do not begin as planned, as he is immediately targeted by several students who mistake him for the infamous "top dog" of Babyls. Despite having hospitalized several students, little is known about the top dog's identity aside from the fact they have dark curly hair, sport two horns, and wear a combination of the boys' and girls' uniforms—all of which also apply to Kalego. Desiring a more peaceful school life, Kalego and his friend Baramu "Balam" Shichirou resolve to uncover the true identity of this mysterious troublemaker and put an end to their reign of chaos.

Tatsuhiko Shiroyama hates being stuck in the boonies. Greetings from strangers feel fake, part-time job prospects are limited, and he's been "blessed" with the nickname "Niyayama" from his classmates due to his creepy, unsociable attempts at smiling. He turned to the radio as a means to escape and thinks about nothing more than saving up for a move to Tokyo where he can explore his passions. But Tatsuhiko's life changes forever when he saves a rich CEO from a rice paddy and is set up with his granddaughter, the equally as shy and antisocial Tamiko Mita. Together, the two stumble through the nuances of "dating," and Tatsuhiko's dreary days become a whole lot brighter.

An anthology of stories set in the world of Sega and Colorful Palette's game Project Sekai Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku, released for iOS and Android on September 30, 2020.

On the morning of his first day of high school, Iori Sakuma encountered a silver-haired, blue-eyed girl and a cat. The girl was bewildered by the approaching cat. "Do... Don't come over here, cat!" The girl noticed Iori's bewilderment at her unexpected outburst and left quickly. That was how he met Kaede Ryohara. Iori and Kaede ended up in the same class. As he watched Kaede, he noticed that she rarely showed any emotion. But when Iori happened to see Kaede smile, he felt his heart skip a beat... The curtain opens on a sweet but frustrating love story that will make a girl with few emotions smile. (Source: Dengeki Bunko, translated)

Urushi Chino joined a reference book publisher in mid-career. There, he meets Fukuyama, a reference book nerd with a strong personality. His behavior is unbecoming of a member of society, but his knowledge of reference books is extraordinary!　This is an uneven work comedy between a reference book geek and a subculture mee-ha woman!

Is it weird if you've never kissed anyone in high school? (Source: Dengeki Bunko, translated)

Story following the exploits and updates in Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis through the Central Tower girls and a rotating cast of characters. PSO2 New Genesis: Central! is a series originally released on the Phantasy Star Online 2 official site, and published in print by MUGENUP. The series has been simultaneously published digitally in English on the English-language Phantasy Star Online 2 official site. (Source: MyAnimeList)