Best Drama Manga of 2017

Second-year high school student Yatora Yaguchi is bored with his normal life. He studies well and plays around with his friends, but in truth, he does not enjoy either of those activities. Bound by norms, he secretly envies those who do things differently. That is until he discovers the joy of drawing. When he sees a painting made by a member of the Art Club, Yatora becomes fascinated with the colors used in it. Later, in an art exercise, he tries to convey his language without words but instead through painting. After that experience, Yatora finds himself so invested in art that he decides that it is what he wants to do for a living. But there stand multiple obstacles in his way: his parents who are hesitant over his unique choices, his more experienced peers, and the study of a subject much deeper than he initially expected.

Seiichi Osabe is an only child living a mundane life. Just like any middle schooler, he has friends, a crush on a girl, and loving parents. However, Seiichi's mother is extremely overprotective, which causes others to view him as a mama's boy. Although he does not consider her behavior to be unusual, a certain incident starts to open his eyes to just how dangerous her affection is. As Seiichi tries to break free from her grasp, he learns that his life is not as normal as he thought.

**After breaking a “curse” on the imperial heirs, a palace servant with training in herbal medicine is promoted up the ranks to food taster…and right into the thick of palace intrigue!** Maomao, a young woman trained in the art of herbal medicine, is forced to work as a lowly servant in the inner palace. Though she yearns for life outside its perfumed halls, she isn’t long for a life of drudgery! Using her wits to break a “curse” afflicting the imperial heirs, Maomao attracts the attentions of the handsome eunuch Jinshi and is promoted to attendant food taster. But Jinshi has other plans for the erstwhile apothecary, and soon Maomao is back to brewing potions and…solving mysteries?! *Source: SQUARE ENIX USA, Vol. 1*

Cha Hyun is a reclusive high school student who spends his days holed up in his room playing video games. But when he loses his entire family in a tragic car accident, he is forced to leave his home and carefree lifestyle behind and move into a new apartment all by himself. However, his pesky neighbors and lack of money soon become the least of his worries as people around him suddenly begin turning into horrifying monsters, plunging the world into apocalyptic chaos. The situation takes a turn for the worse when Hyun realizes that he himself is slowly turning into a monster, while a mysterious voice in his head grows louder and louder. With his time running out, Hyun must work together with his fellow tenants to uncover the cause of the outbreak and find a way to survive in this hopeless new world, all the while fighting to retain his humanity.

In the novel The Lovely Princess, the secondary character Athanasia de Alger Obelia is the most pitiful of all. Her mother died in childbirth and her father, Emperor Claude, never gave his daughter even an inch of love. Forever yearning for even the slightest bit of parental love, she was ultimately framed for a crime and executed by the orders of her beloved father. When a woman from modern-day Korea falls asleep with some sleeping pills, she later awakens in the infant body of Athanasia. Knowing the unenviable fate that awaits her, she resolves to remain out of her tyrannical father's sight so that she may never incur his wrath. However, fate is not so kind, and she meets him at only five years of age. With her original plan tossed out of the window, she now aims to endear herself so much to her father that he would never dream to hurt her. However, as many work toward their own ends, her plan is thrown into chaos—Athanasia's biological "sister" Jennette Margarita longs for a family, high-ranking nobility vie for power, and a shadow from Claude's past threatens to destroy everything he holds dear.

Nine years ago, the Empire of Giad declared war on all neighboring countries using an army of autonomous drones known as the Legion. Threatened by the soulless killing machines, the Republic of San Magnolia, home to the silver-haired Alba race, evacuated its citizens inside 85 districts and developed supposedly unmanned drones known as Juggernauts to counter the Legion. Even after years of war, the Republic boasts that they have suffered zero casualties. However, the battlefield bathed in crimson recites a different melody. The hand dealt to the Colorata people—a minority forced into living in the "nonexistent" 86th district—is one of utter contempt and scorn. Looked upon as human filth, they are ordered to pilot the Juggernauts as Processors under the command of Republican Handlers. Vladilena Milizé, a republican soldier with a strong sense of justice, detests the way her countrymen treat the 86. When she is assigned to the Spearhead Squadron as their handler, she meets a group of oddballs and eventually grows attached to them—particularly their captain, Shinei Nouzen, a boy with a pure sense of purpose and resolve. However, the path they walk is one riddled with death, and growing close to an 86 may have just set Vladilena down a path of despair.

Cursed by a witch as a child, a young duke gained the unwanted power to kill every living thing he touches. Forced to move away from his family and into a large mansion deep in the woods, the duke is treated as if he does not exist and is continually shunned by his peers. However, he is not entirely alone. Rob and Alice, his butler and maid, are always by his side. Alice loves to tease him, and as their relationship grows, the duke makes it his goal to break free from his deadly curse. Of course, he is going to need some help, and who better to do this than the various inhabitants of the supernatural?

Tetsuo Tosu, an ordinary salaryman, discovers his daughter, Reika, has been physically abused by her boyfriend, Nobuto Matori. Trying to learn more about him, Tetsuo uncovers Matori's scheme to extort money from Reika's wealthy grandparents and finds out that he is a member of a crime syndicate, with a history of murdering his former girlfriends. Filled with rage and fear at the thought of Reika being in danger, Tetsuo ends up killing Nobuto, and with the help of his wife, Kasen, successfully disposes of the body. Now, as the members of the syndicate begin to question Nobuto's sudden disappearance, Tetsuo and Kasen must work together to ensure the safety of their daughter and prevent her from getting involved in the predicament any further.

Yu Yang is a second-year university student who seems reliable and pleasant. With the commencement of a new term, he is tasked with orienting every freshman he sees on campus. Eventually, his duty leads him to meet Li Huan, a new student with a fairly oppressive height. Besides his intimidating physique, he is taciturn, aloof, and often gives Yu Yang the cold shoulder. Yu Yang, who has done nothing but assist him, immediately grows frustrated by this treatment. However, despite his initial impressions, Yu Yang believes that his chance encounter with Li Huan will transform his future outlook—perhaps even on the prospect of love.

Taiga Hirasawa has always longed to be a hero like in the movies, but he has never known who would play the heroine's role. On his first day of high school, he sets eyes on "Maria," the star of the drama club. Graceful, with an air of ambivalence, Maria is the apple of everyone's eyes. Taiga is quick to confess, only to find out that Maria's real name is Yuu Arima, a very much male classmate. However, Taiga is drawn to Arima's volatile personality, belying a past that haunts them to this very day. Regardless of gender, Taiga nevertheless wants to learn who the true "Arima" is.

Three days after his sister's death, he finally regained the will to move. In the aftermath of a goblin raid, a lone boy mourns the loss of his village, his family... Five years later, that same boy visits a city on the frontier and becomes an adventurer. Despite being the lowest rank and wholly inexperienced, the young adventurer immediately accepts a quest and sets out alone to raid a goblin lair. His mind already burning with a clear vision of his calling, the legend of Goblin Slayer begins!

Elementary school student Nanoka Koyanagi considers herself weird. She often uses it as an excuse to avoid doing things she dislikes, such as participating in her physical education class or getting along with her classmates. Out of concern and good will, her teacher assigns her to find the meaning of "happiness." While Nanoka thinks about her homework, she often meets Abazure-san, a cheerful lady who helps her save a cat. Nanoka also pays regular visits to Obaa-chan, an old woman spending her twilight years in the woods. One day, Nanoka gets lost in the forest and stumbles across a high school girl named Minami committing self harm. As Nanoka gets closer to these three unique individuals, their stories and experiences shape for her a pathway toward soul-searching and self-discovery.

Following a failed confession to her first love, female high school student Mikoto Ochiai contemplates jumping off the roof of the school building. However, her thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of Jin Haiba, the physics teacher known for being a slacker and the butt of students' jokes. Calmly, he lights a cigarette and asks for an explanation of the events that led her to this precipice. Rather than dissuade her from killing herself, he makes a request—will she enter into a romance with him before she dies? Together, the two gradually ponder why they should keep living and why they should not love each other in earnest.

Chiyuki Fujito is an aspiring model whose dream is to take part in Paris Fashion Week; however, she lacks the proper height to even be considered for the simplest of modeling gigs. Similarly, Ikuto Tsumura is a poor high school student who wants to design clothes, but he has instead decided to skip college and head straight into the workforce to support his family. When the two cross paths, they come to the conclusion that no matter how difficult it may seem, they will do what they can to achieve their goals and prove that one's circumstances do not determine their course in life. And so begin both of their journeys, destined to meet again on the runway.

Schoolteacher Han Hana is afflicted with a certain family curse that has ruined every single one of her past relationships. The curse in question: whenever she kisses someone, she will turn into a dog every night. The only way to break free from the curse is to kiss the same person again as a dog. To avoid this, Hana has kept her lips chaste her entire life. However, one drunken encounter with her coworker Jin Seon, who seems to hate her, turns her entire life upside down. Hana kisses him in her intoxicated confusion, causing her curse to surface. For Hana, who is a small and cute white dog, breaking the curse should be one simple kiss... but Seon is terrified of dogs?!

Five years after the mysterious disappearance of the nation's fourth prince, a statement is issued, demanding that any boy found using his name is reported to the authorities. Thus, a manhunt begins for those named Wolfgang. Wolfgang Goldenleonard is well aware of his identity, and he knows that the authorities are still looking for him. He also knows that they mean to end his life. In hiding since the death of his mother, the prince has fostered a bond with the orphans of the streets. However, after threats to them are made, Wolfgang is forced to reveal himself. With his identity publicly revealed, Wolfgang is taken to the home of his tyrannical father. At his father's palace, Wolfgang retains his hatred for the man who gave him life. He refuses to behave as befitting of a Goldenleonard prince and breaks every rule he possibly can. He is often reminded that he is never to covet the king's possessions, but through his rebellious spirit and fiery nature, he has already caught the eyes of the king's favorite catamite, Shin Soohyuk. Shin sees Wolfgang as a force for change, the spark that may just light the fires of rebellion. And with the promise of granting Shin's freedom, Wolfgang agrees to become his pawn.

Thirty-five-year-old novelist Makio Koudai never had a good relationship with her older sister Minori, who always berated her for being different. Due to this, Makio is not stricken with grief upon hearing the news that Minori and her husband die in a car crash. But when Makio is asked to identify their bodies, she runs into her 15-year-old niece, Asa Takumi, whom she has not seen in years. As Asa struggles to process her parents' death, Makio reassures her that her complicated feelings are valid and suggests that the teenager start writing in a diary as a way to cope with the loss. Upon learning that no other relatives wanted to take in Asa, Makio decides to become her guardian despite her lack of experience. In a world full of uncertainty, the novelist and teenager must learn to live with each other while figuring themselves out.

Poverty-stricken Shim Chong will do anything to support herself and her blind father, going so far as to steal money from innocent strangers. Meanwhile, the future bride of the local minister lives in luxury, her every need taken care of so long as she remains an obedient wife. When an unfortunate accident leads to their fateful encounter, the pair who have nothing in common find themselves sharing the same wish—to leave their undesirable lives behind and die at the hands of fate. Loosely based on a Korean folktale of the same name, Her Tale of Shim Chong follows two girls from different walks of life as they learn to accept themselves for who they are in a world where women are seen as less than equal.

Yusuke Saito is a normal high school kid...well, normal enough, except that he can't remember anything from his life except the last six months. But when he starts to get confronted by people who insist they're from his past, who allege that he did horrible things to them...suddenly Yusuke's missing memories become crucial to remember. Otherwise, the skeletons in his closet may just make him a skeleton, too...

There are a lot of things that Kouki doesn't have—no hobbies, no friends, no lover, no stable job, and no will to live. So when a random tussle with some kids gets him stabbed, he thinks maybe this is finally his ticket out of this crappy life. But just as he's about to pass out he sees a beautiful "angel"... How is Kouki supposed to cope when less than a month later, he's mysteriously healed, has astronomical bills to pay, and suddenly has the same beautiful angel as his amnesiac roommate?

An alternate ending to Steins;Gate that leads with the eccentric mad scientist Okabe, struggling to recover from a failed attempt at rescuing Kurisu. He decides to give up and abandons his lively scientist alter ego, in pursuit to forget the past. When all seems to be normal, he is seemingly pulled back into the past by meeting an acquaintance of Kurisu, who tells him that they have begun testing a device that stores the memory of a human and creates a simulation of them with their characteristics and personalities. Okabe begins testing and finds out that the simulation of Kurisu has brought back anguish and some new unexpected tragedies...

Destination is a state of mind. A tale of one girl and her bike and the road ahead. Kino wanders around the world on the back of Hermes, her unusual, anthropomorphic motorcycle, only staying in each country for three days. During their adventures, they find happiness, sadness, pain, decadence, violence, beauty, and wisdom. But through it all, they never lose their sense of freedom. They discover that because of the world's imperfections, it is actually a thing of beauty. "The world is not beautiful, therefore it is."

The 6th part of the Kaiji series.

With unparalleled strength, a harem in the hundreds, and rulership of both the human and demon realms, Luo Binghe is a typical male lead for the stallion novel Proud Immortal Demon Way (PIDW). Like every protagonist, he has a tragic past: suffering under the thumb of his loathsome shizun, the scum villain Shen Qingqiu. However, despite its great world-building and setup, PIDW eventually went off the rails, abandoning plotlines left and right, and now focusing exclusively on gratuitous sex. This is the very trash-tier web novel that a young millennial named Shen Yuan curses as he dies, swearing that even he could write a better story. That moment is when the "System" initiates, and Shen Yuan awakens in the body of Shen Qingqiu. His mission? Turn this piece of subpar fiction into a grade-A masterpiece. Constrained by a System that will punish him for even being slightly out of character, Shen Yuan must avoid Shen Qingqiu's fate of becoming a human stick—and step one is to hug the protagonist's thigh!

In the East is a land ruled by an emperor, whose consorts and serving women live in a sprawling complex known as the hougong, the rear palace. Maomao, an unassuming girl raised in an unassuming town by her apothecary father, never imagined the rear palace would have anything to do with her—until she was kidnapped and sold into service there. Though she looks ordinary, Maomao has a quick wit, a sharp mind, and an extensive knowledge of medicine. That's her secret, until she encounters a resident of the palace at least as perceptive as she is: the head eunuch, Jinshi. He sees through Maomao's façade and makes her a lady-in-waiting to none other than the Emperor's favorite consort... so she can taste the lady's food for poison! At her lady's side, Maomao starts to learn about everything that goes on in the rear palace—not all of it seemly. Can she ever lead a quiet life, or will her powers of deduction and insatiable curiosity bring her ever more adventures, and ever more dangers?

On June 24, 1989, 21 people, among them children, were found poisoned to death in the elementary school of Otousu village in Hokkaido. Bungo Sano, a police officer of the same village, was arrested. Twenty eight years later, Sano's son, Shin Tamura, starts to suspect that his father, who continues to plead his innocence even after being handed the death penalty, may have been wrongfully convicted, and launches his own investigation. Upon arriving at the crime scene, a thick fog descends, engulfing Shin, and he finds that he has slipped back in time to the year 1989. The curtain rises on this authentic crime suspense that transcends time and space in a confrontation with the truth.

Based on the game of the same title, a variety of authors and artists write a large offering of short stories starring the various characters featured in the game. The stories range from being lovingly heartfelt, packed full of comedy and gags or being downright evil or messed up sometimes!

Angel Beats!: The Last Operation reveals why the Afterlife Battlefront members came into this world.

The story of two immortal children, beginning at the time in which everything has ended. The innocent older sister Pi that loves to rap, and the introverted younger brother Makki that you can always find reading alone.

In the city of Fuuto, criminals make use of USB-like devices called Gaia Memories to turn themselves into superpowered monsters known as Dopants, wreaking havoc in the otherwise peaceful city. However, there are also heroes who utilize Gaia Memories to fight these criminals, one of whom is the self-proclaimed, hard-boiled detective Shoutarou Hidari. With the help of his witty partner, Philip, the two transform into Kamen Rider W—the legendary hero of Fuuto. After the fall of Museum—the evil organization responsible for many crimes in Fuuto—the production and distribution of Gaia Memories has halted. However, remnants of Gaia Memories still remain within society and are sold in the black market at high prices. Thus, the two heroes from Narumi Detective Agency are yet to have time to relax. Sights of Dopants still occur and the agency receives more and more clients who claim to experience supernatural phenomena. Regardless of the arduous nature of the task, Kamen Rider W promises that those who hurt Fuuto will inevitably count up their sins.

Grass is a powerful antiwar graphic novel, telling the life story of a Korean girl named Okseon Lee who was forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War—a disputed chapter in twentieth-century Asian history. Beginning in Lee's childhood, Grass shows the lead-up to the war from a child's vulnerable perspective, detailing how one person experienced the Japanese occupation and the widespread suffering it entailed for ordinary Koreans. Keum Suk Gendry-Kim emphasizes Lee's strength in overcoming the many forms of adversity she experienced. Grass is painted in a black ink that flows with lavish details of the beautiful fields and farmland of Korea and uses heavy brushwork on the somber interiors of Lee's memories. The cartoonist Gendry-Kim's interviews with Lee become an integral part of Grass, forming the heart and architecture of this powerful nonfiction graphic novel and offering a holistic view of how Lee's wartime suffering changed her. Grass is a landmark graphic novel that makes personal the desperate cost of war and the importance of peace.

In a tranquil neighborhood of Tokyo, seven teenagers wake to find their bedroom mirrors are shining. At a single touch, they are pulled from their lonely lives to a wondrous castle filled with winding stairways, watchful portraits and twinkling chandeliers. In this new sanctuary, they are confronted with a set of clues leading to a hidden room where one of them will be granted a wish. But there's a catch: if they don't leave the castle by five o'clock, they will be punished. As time passes, a devastating truth emerges: only those brave enough to share their stories will be saved.

Due to her parents' constant fighting, Yachiko Togakushi has decided to live in a dormitory that has been abandoned for the past five years. Condemned by many, it is believed to be haunted by the Man of the Gaps—a ghost who is said to be always observing the dormitory's residents from tight spaces. Refusing to believe in this senseless rumor, Yachiko begins to settle into her new home despite her friend's warning. On her first night, Yachiko encounters the Man of the Gaps and learns of his true name, Giko. Previously on a quest for knowledge when he was still alive, Giko lingers to understand the one mystery he could never comprehend throughout his entire life—the heart of a girl. Set on deciphering this enigma, he begins to write the "Girl Dictionary," a compilation of his research. With Yachiko's help, Giko meets with a variety of girls, each with diverse personalities and backgrounds. As the Girl Dictionary slowly reaches its completion, Yachiko realizes that there lies a bigger question at hand: the origins of Giko himself.

Mariko Kikuchi tells the painful story of her father's alcoholism and her own journey through guilt to understanding her father's illness. She rejects the common belief that family members can and should be forgiven for anything they do, no matter how much harm they cause. This powerful, self-contained autobiographical manga began as a web series that went viral, and inspired a critically acclaimed 2019 film in Japan.

1. Most Powerful Spell on Earth 2. Fire Mage 3. Fire Mage VS Crystal Wizard 4. VS Spectral Wizard 5. Salad Wizard

Henmi is second-year nurse who works where death lies in wait - a hospital. She witnesses the naked tragedy concerning life and death of various patients. (Source: Shogakukan, translated)