Best Romance Manga of 2017

Considered a genius, high school student Fuutarou Uesugi excels at studying and obtains a perfect score on every test. Due to his intense focus in that regard, he is a reclusive person with no friends. Additionally, he lives in a tight financial state as a result of family debts. Fuutarou's mundane lifestyle is interrupted when Itsuki Nakano, a new transfer student, contests him for his usual lunch seat. After a short altercation, Fuutarou emerges victorious by insulting Itsuki's eating habits, which angers her enough to leave. However, when Fuutarou learns that he has been offered the private tutor position of a wealthy family's academically hopeless daughters, he immediately regrets his prior encounter. It turns out that the beneficiaries of his tutoring are none other than Itsuki and her four identical siblings: the shy Miku, the cheerful Yotsuba, the devious Nino, and the mature Ichika! Teaching these quintuplets may prove more difficult for Fuutarou than he initially expected, as the last thing they want to do is seriously study. Now, Fuutarou must face the various challenges of tutoring five beautiful yet eccentric girls.

His late father always said that a useless man should strive to be useful, so to that end, third-year high school student Nariyuki Yuiga dedicated himself to becoming a high-achieving student in his school despite his history of poor grades. In order to give his destitute family a better life, his ultimate goal is to obtain the special VIP nomination, a prestigious scholarship covering all future university tuition fees. Although Nariyuki could feasibly be a shoe-in for the nomination, he is constantly overshadowed by classmates Rizu Ogata and Fumino Furuhashi in mathematics and literature, respectively. To his delight, Nariyuki receives the nomination, but there is a catch: he has to tutor his two star classmates, who are each hopelessly mediocre at the other's subject of expertise! To make matters worse, the subjects they are horrible at are the same subjects they want to pursue for their future. As the time to submit university applications draws closer, Nariyuki must find an effective tutoring method for the girls before it is too late.

In his final year of high school, Taichi Ichinose finds himself sharing a class with his popular childhood friend Touma Mita for the third year in a row. Meanwhile, Taichi is hesitant to interact with his shy and clumsy classmate, Futaba Kuze, despite seeing her as a reflection of himself. However, after an encounter in the library brings them together, Taichi discovers that Futaba has feelings for Touma. Initially harboring doubts at the prospect, he decides to help her after she declares an emotional yet firm decision to change. As spring comes into full bloom, the three classmates find themselves in a relationship entangled by intricate emotions and personal conflicts while they navigate through an uncertain future.

When Park Eunha dies in modern-day Korea, she awakens in the body of Raeliana McMillan, the eldest daughter of a nouveaux riche baron. However, this is no ordinary world; it's the exact same one as a novel she once read. Beloved by her family, it would seem as though she is in a fairy tale. But Raeliana is far from the main character—she is a mere plot device, whose murder at the hands of her fiancé instigates the entire story. Raeliana has no intention to accept her fate quietly. She sets her eyes on someone in a position of great power—the vieux riche male protagonist Duke Noah Volstaire Wynknight—aiming to completely change the original story. Using her knowledge of future events, Raeliana offers information to Noah on the condition that he acts as her fake fiancé, but the Duke's two-faced nature throws a wrench in her plans!

Reina Aharen, a small and cute student with a quiet voice, is quite bad at determining distance and personal space. Sometimes she's inches away from your face, and at other times, miles too far! The only one who tries to understand her antics is Raidou Matsuboshi, who is seated beside her in class. He has a menacing face, but in reality, he is a kind boy with an imagination that can run wild at times. Aharen-san wa Hakarenai follows the peculiar pair as their odd friendship starts to blossom when Raidou picks up Aharen's eraser for her. She misinterprets his gesture and now believes them to be best friends, showing how the simplest of things can prove to be the most complicated of challenges for them.

Yoshino Somei would have been a normal high school student if not for the fact that she is the granddaughter of the leader of the Osaka-based Somei Group, the Kansai region's largest yakuza organization. One day, Yoshino hurries home after hearing news about the unification of Kansai and Kanto's biggest syndicates, the Somei and the Miyama groups. This, according to the article, will result in the marriage of the leaders' grandchildren—one of whom is Yoshino herself! Despite her best efforts to annul the arrangement, Yoshino must go to Tokyo to visit her fiancé, Kirishima Miyama, who is unexpectedly nice and charming. During their first meeting, Yoshino is swept up in various events and becomes unable to refuse moving to Tokyo, which is why, half a year later, she now lives with the Miyama group. At school, she soon realizes that Kirishima is very popular, so her relationship with him garners the hate of his fangirls and subsequently results in bullying. To make matters worse, Kirishima could not be further away from her prince charming since he, after all, was born to be a yakuza member. Raise wa Tanin ga Ii follows Yoshino and her new life in Tokyo which is filled with nothing but troubles connected to the underworld. However, though she wishes to be as far from it as possible, this is not Yoshino's first time dealing with the world of the yakuza.

Toranosuke Ibuki and his wife Kaoru née Okouchi have been devotedly in love for what has seemed like their entire lives. Now, twenty years later, Toranosuke is bedridden in a hospital, but still, their love perseveres. Together, the infatuated couple reminisce about days gone by—when he proposed, when they first met, their relationships with those around them, and their blissful married life. Though Toranosuke has always been a bit hard-headed and Kaoru a bit short-tempered, their immense love is shown in the wrinkles on their aged skin and in the unbridled devotion in their eyes. It is so strong that they know they will love each other with the same devotion... even in their next life.

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?

Hotaru Hinase is a first-year high school student who treasures her family and friends above all else. Unable to understand romance, she decides she will be content living without the experience of falling in love. While Hotaru is spending time at a cafe with her close friend, she witnesses the relentless breakup of a handsome honor student, Hananoi. Encountering him sitting alone in the snow on her way home, she extends her umbrella to him in a gesture of kindness. The very next day, Hananoi appears in Hotaru's classroom, asking her to be his girlfriend. Despite being rejected, Hananoi sticks closely by Hotaru's side, performing selfless acts in hopes of pleasing her. Hotaru begins to feel emotions she had never felt before. Believing that these emotions could blossom into love, Hotaru agrees to date Hananoi.

Dr. Song Jihyun is considered a prodigy among Korean surgeons, known for her skill in saving patients no matter their condition. In her past life as Elise de Clorance, the ill-mannered wife of the emperor, her jealousy and greed had led to the loss of her loved ones and—ultimately—her death. For that reason, she vowed to now save lives instead of destroying them. After a fatal plane crash, Elise finds herself once again in her former body. With her previous knowledge of modern medicine and now a chance at mending her mistakes, she is determined to contribute to the empire as a medic in this life. But will Elise be able to avoid her engagement to Prince Linden de Romanoff, the man she had loved to the point of her own demise?

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.

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?!

Ran Takamine is beautiful, intelligent, and athletically proficient. Her near-perfect demeanor causes her classmates to deem her difficult to approach, often comparing her to a flower blooming high atop a mountain. However, an encounter with the blissfully carefree Akira Saeki surprises yet comforts her. After all, not all people are afraid of her. When Ran's mother requests her to visit Soleil, a small but elegant flower shop across town, she never expects to run into Akira again. As it turns out, his family owns Soleil and he helps around the store. But this fact embarrasses him so much that he urges Ran to keep it a secret. Enraptured by their incidental meeting, Ran continues to notice Akira at school to the point where she can no longer brush off her thoughts about him. As days turn into weeks, Ran begins to wonder which warms her heart more—the exotic blossoms at Soleil, or the boy who can speak the language of flowers.

Sheriff Elmore Evans is a stoic gunslinger delivering frontier justice in the American Wild West. There is another side to him, though. Despite his notorious marksmanship, he is a hopeless romantic with no relationship experience! He is also a chronic overthinker, relying on the cliched and often impractical advice of his father, caring more about impressing women than actually catching criminals. But usually, he ends up boosting his reputation as a gunslinger and falling flat with the ladies. Evans is joined by his loyal but naive deputy Ted Hall and bounty hunter, love interest Phoebe Oakley who similarly lacks any relationship experience and tends to overthink things. Together they thwart hijinks and capture infamous criminals, always involving hilarious misunderstandings.

Dwelling in the small outskirts of a peaceful town, Lawrence works as a local pastor for the townsfolk. When in need, he is responsible for guiding people to the church to visit the "Saint"—a symbol of good morals who heeds each parishioner's struggles and grants them sincere advice. Cecilia, a kind young girl, is tasked to fulfill this role; however, this tiresome job quickly exhausts her. That, paired with her hidden somnolent nature, often causes her to laze around the church. This leaves Lawrence to care for the church all by himself. While Cecilia sleeps in anticipation for her next visitor, Lawrence caters to her needs alongside performing the church's numerous responsibilities. Slowly but surely, they begin to form a comfortable and trusting friendship with one another. Lawrence accepting Cecilia's lax nature elates her while she grows accustomed to Lawrence's overly-doting nature. However, as the adoring and absent-minded saint's feelings for the dense and overly protective pastor progress past friendship, how will he respond?

For years, a great war has raged on between the scientifically advanced Empire and a paradise of witches known as the Nebulis Sovereignty. This age-old battle sets the scene for a fateful encounter between two young combatants: an imperial swordsman, Iska, and the witch princess, Aliceliese. As sworn enemies, they vow to cut each other down in order to unite their worlds, and yet Iska finds himself entranced by her beauty and righteousness, while Aliceliese is moved by his strength and resolve. In the midst of a never-ending war that forbids them from being together, they have no choice but to destroy each other—or can they find another way?

When the sorcerer Zagan decides to participate in an auction selling the goods of the now dead Archdemon Marchosias, he expects to find items of untold power. What he finds instead is a rare white-haired slave elf named Nephilia, and he immediately spends all his money to purchase her, much to the bewilderment of those around him. However, the secret reason behind Zagan's investment was that he had actually fallen in love with her at first sight. Unfortunately, Zagan has a problem: he is socially inept and has no idea how to express his true feelings, leading to many misunderstandings between him and his new companion. But slowly, the two begin to understand each other, and love begins to bloom.

A new life has begun for the remaining participants of the "7 Seeds" project. After reuniting and finding a place to call home, they must continue to collaborate and explore the area further, ensuring not only their livelihoods, but also those of the future generations to come. However, not all is well for everyone. Due to their past actions, former Summer A members Ango and Ryou have been exiled from the group. As they are left to survive on their own, the duo uses this time to ponder how they can redeem themselves and find their new purpose going forward.

Villains have their own routes too! ​When her engagement to the prince ends unceremoniously, details of the young noblewoman Aileen's past life come rushing back and help her realize she's living inside the world of one of her favorite otome games—as the heroine's greatest rival! However, her memory has more plot holes than bad fan fiction... and the only certainty is that if she doesn't do something quick, her death is all but assured. The hero/main-love-interest can't be relied on, so why not see what the last boss has to say?

Tsugami Kazaya is an experienced swordsman who travels to another world and back again on a daily basis while also attending high school! After a certain incident, he ended up instructing a senior student from his high school, the beautiful Mikoto Chihiro, on the basics of adventuring! After that, Chihiro, who was usually cool and difficult to approach, started to show her true bright personality only to Kazaya!? “I did it! I did it, Tsugami-kun! I was able to slay it!” “S-Senpai, don’t you think your personality has changed a little too much!?” The Earth and the other world, a RomCom and an adventure story, the two of them travel constantly between the two!! It’s the start of a new twist on a fantasy after school!!

Matsuko is a 32-year-old office lady who loves sake and drinks it at home every day. She hasn't had a boyfriend in three years, and even though she doesn't mind being alone, she also wants to find love some day. She's attracted to a cool younger colleague, and when the two of them went out for drinks, he turns out to be the cutest "drunk-dere" ever...? An intoxicating love story between a sake-loving OL and a cool junior! (Source: Akita Shoten, translated)