Best Romance Manga of 2023

Hailing from a notable family, Arisu Yamabuki only accepts perfection. He constantly strives to maintain his flawless image, but there is more to him: Yamabuki used to tune in to the radio shows of a girl named Apollo and even confessed his love to her years ago. Ever since, he has been frantically searching for Apollo and her voice, but with little success. However, when Yamabuki's school merges with an all-girls school, things begin to change. As the Broadcasting Club makes an announcement during the very first day, he is shocked to hear Apollo's voice, but there is a problem—all four members of the club sound like her! While each of the girls, Rikka Inohana, Shinobu Uzuki, Nene Himekawa, and Iko Kirino want to pursue their own careers with their voices, Yamabuki joins the club in the hope of identifying Apollo. Alongside his close observation, Yamabuki vows to guide the girls to greater heights.

Satoko, the eldest daughter of the honorable Kirigaya family, has received many marriage proposals from men captivated by her beauty and grace. However, she has turned them all down due to her secret heart defect. Despite her condition, Satoko is still willing to find a husband to ease her beloved father's concerns. While on a stroll, Satoko is kidnapped by a group of mercenaries, one of them being Shinpei Gotou—a legendary assassin tasked with executing her. Satoko tries to bribe Gotou into freeing her, but it proves unsuccessful. Out of options, Satoko makes a desperate gamble: under the pretense of love at first sight, she asks him to marry her. Unexpectedly, Gotou takes the bait and vows to protect her. As the couple escapes to freedom, Satoko struggles to keep up the ruse and make sense of the mysterious man she has eloped with.

After meeting Tsumiki on his first day of school, Yutaka decides he wants to be as self-assured as she is. But when Tsumiki invites him into her werewolf world, vowing to help him come out of his shell, Yutaka puts on the brakes. Tsumiki spends her days jumping out of windows, climbing mountains, and burying sandwiches to snack on later. Yutaka isn't used to any of that. Can he overcome his anxieties and learn to howl at the moon?

Urumin is an idol, but she can't sing or dance well, and she's got a dishonest character. Kimiya is the only fan in the world who likes her. The relationship between the two of them is a little different from the usual relationships between idols and fans! This is a precious love comedy that depicts the daily life of a bad idol and the man who keeps on promoting her, and the way he loves her!

Dweeby high schooler Yuuki Uehara has created the perfect romantic comedy heroine—she's bashful, airheaded, and completely chaste. When an editor at Uehara's dream publisher coldly dismisses his manga story as trite and lacking realism, it sends Uehara into a spiral of despair that pushes him into the path of his bubbly, gorgeous classmate, Niina Miyamoto—an aspiring manga artist herself! Having gotten similar feedback on her own manga, Miyamoto proposes she and Uehara engage in a fake relationship, since neither of them have any romantic experience. But Miyamoto is far from the perfect heroine Uehara's concocted, and he certainly isn't the cocky hero from her story either. Can their wacky relationship turn their manga dreams into reality, or will it lead to even more comic disasters?

Shun is invited to join the Going-Home Club by Naoki Satou (aka Naoki-chan). Despite trying to refuse, he is strong-armed into accepting the invitation! This is a romantic comedy about a girl who can't help but take detours and a boy looking for purpose in life.

Choi Suna once enjoyed the familiar plot of a novel following Rhyse Sinclair—the virtuous ward of the prominent Rudwick family—who is entangled in a love triangle with the Rudwick sons. The elder Cliff becomes her main love interest, while the younger Killian remains lovelorn forevermore, trapped in a loveless marriage with the vile Edith Rigelhof from an opposing family. Seductive and cunning, Edith is a textbook villainess destined to die at Killian's hands after relentlessly tormenting Rhyse and serving as a spy for the Rigelhofs. When Suna unexpectedly reincarnates as Edith, she finds her new life all too similar to her own abusive past. Determined to change Edith's fate and live, Suna swears off villainy and refuses to let Killian and his family mistreat her by showing them she is nothing like the other Rigelhofs. As she plans her escape while occasionally flirting with the endearingly distrustful Killian, she vows that her reincarnation story will be anything but typical.

First-year class president, Otogi Katsura, assumes the role of a pristine and gracious girl with pride. Ever since she was a child, she knew what people expected of a beauty such as herself, and she upholds this virtuous image without fail. The only person to rival Katsura, both in appearance and charm, is her vice president, Toki Ninomae. On top of that, his impeccable manners make him the perfect match for her as the school's madonna—in her opinion at least. Though it appears impossible to prove, Katsura is confident that Ninomae wears a mask just like she does. Her suspicions are soon confirmed when she accidentally exposes her sharp-tongued side, and, encouraged by her boldness, Ninomae follows suit to reveal his brusque and cool nature. From then on, Katsura and Ninomae start to shed their false angel disguises and lower their guard around one another, without realizing how easy it is to fall in love.

Kumamori has always been in pursuit of the ideal romance. When she changes classes for her second year of high school, she is unexpectedly reunited with "Tajima," the partner of her first kiss. Unfortunately, he is dry and stoic when it comes to romance.... 200% heartwarming! A realistic but cute and romantic opposites-attract love story!

Standing at the pinnacle of the leading conglomerate TK Group is the perfect man, Tae Junseop. He is more appealing than fictional male leads, and his beautiful relationship with his non-famous girlfriend often makes headlines. In comparison, his cousin Iseop feels inferior; even after a decade of dedication to TK Group, he has lost out to Junseop in every way, and to top it off, he has no dating experience whatsoever. The efficient Kang Mingyeong has been TK Group's star employee for 10 years. She entered the workforce at the same time as Iseop, and she has been climbing the corporate ladder with ease, making her yet another target of Iseop's envy. When Junseop suddenly assigns her as Iseop's personal assistant, she faces real challenges: Iseop behaves childishly, hates when others touch his belongings, and appears to absolutely despise work. For the sake of her family, Mingyeong perseveres through the hardships of serving such an unpredictable man, and gradually his quirks seem more like a thin veil hiding his unexpectedly adorable personality.

Top actress Lee Sia has the ability to see ghosts. After an accident, she wakes up in the body of "Camilla Sorfel." The problem is that—"Oh, father! Help me!"—she is fated to die no matter what! Prolonging her life is the priority, so she might as well converse with the ghosts first, right? Hey, why are all these people who should want to kill me suddenly so interested in me?!

All's fair in love and war. Two couples will need to battle it out for love and money! But who knew they'd swap partners before doing so. Taerin and Ju-a are both friends and studying fashion at the same university. So why is Ju-a going on a couple's show with Taerin's boyfriend? And why is Taerin going on the same show with Ju-a's boyfriend?!

Highschooler Amane Fujimiya just started living alone but already has a strange neighbor. Right next door to him lives the most beautiful girl at school, the "Angel" known as Mahiru Shiina. Their curious relationship blossomed when Amane lends Mahiru an umbrella on a fateful rainy day. Once complete strangers, now neighbors, these teens find themselves gradually drawn to each other. A collection of sweet, impatient moments of everyday life between a blunt boy and his cute neighbor.

School is home to judgmental eyes and home a source of abuse. But that's ok because Yun Junyeong found an abandoned home where she could study to her heart's content. Unfortunately, soon after, Kwon Beomjin, the town's most notorious delinquent, has also begun using the home to catch up on sleep. As the two are forced to coexist, they come to learn about their reasons for avoiding others.

On a Halloween night, a boy and a girl wearing high school uniforms meet, facing a similar predicament: they feel as if the magic of high school days has slipped through their fingers. Kayano Wakaba was preoccupied with studying, while Tachibana Fumito regrets devoting his teenage years solely to basketball. Having never experienced movie-like dates, they agree to indulge themselves for this one night. However, neither Wakaba nor Fumito are high school students—they are both 20-year-olds lamenting the lost time. They continue meeting, always in their uniforms, trying to live out for the youth that escaped them and realizing that a belated romance can be just as sweet.

Despite the war raging between the North and South, Margaret is a northerner who holds an unwavering love for her southern lover, Squall... until he cruelly betrays her and pushes her off a seaside cliff. Just when she's about to drown, the voice of a mysterious witch offers her a second chance at life. However, this chance only comes to her seven years later, when she rises from the ocean in a new body without a voice. Although Margaret receives help from a local apothecary named Jack, the other southern villagers aren't as eager to let an outsider into their fold...

See the world you've come to know and love through a different lens in this manga adaptation of the Rascal series through Shoko Makinohara's eyes! After a young Shoko meets Sakuta on the beach, it kicks off a thrilling adventure to save the one she loves from a fate she'd resigned herself to accept—if she can she find the solution before it's too late...

The night before Sujeong plans to confess her feelings for Dojin, she runs into him on the street and is devastated to find out that he doesn't even know her name. Too afraid to face him in class the next day, Sujeong hides in the storage locker, where she meets Dojin's younger brother Jaeyun. With Jaeyun's help, will she able to win Dojin's heart?

"I’ll be making your meals from now on, Sensei." I, Reiyu Tenjou, am a high school teacher. When I shared some food with my neighbour, it turned out to be my student, Yuunagi Nishiki. If this fact is discovered, I might be fired from the school!? That’s why we signed a "Neighbour Agreement" in order to keep our secret. Since we both live alone, the plan was to help each other out when one of us was in trouble——but somehow, I got won over by his cooking. Instead of helping him, I find myself increasingly spoiled and dependent that I can’t live without him anymore. "No, Reiyu Tenjou. He’s your student, someone you are not supposed to fall in love with!" Drawing closer and then apart - their love sways ambiguously like waves. A youth romantic comedy filled with secrets between a teacher and student begins here. (Source: Dengeki Bunko, translated)

After her sister’s engagement to the crown prince is broken off suddenly, tragedy strikes, and Lady Francette and her family lose all of their wealth and status. Left with nothing but her name and determination, Francette moves to the slums and ekes out a living selling homemade pastries. That’s when she meets an unlikely new friend named Wibble, a talking slime who introduces her to the one and only slime duke himself: Gabriel! To her surprise, the unusually stoic Gabriel soon asks for Francette’s hand in marriage—and she accepts. Now she must adapt to Triste and its eccentric people, and she soon finds herself breathing life into the strange but endearing backwater. What was once a marriage of convenience becomes something much more in time…and—of course—expect lots of slime! *Source: J-Novel Club, Vol. 1*

Estellise, the First Princess, is skilled in a variety of magic spells. One of her worries is her fiancé, Theodore, who keeps whispering words of love to her. He uses his mind-reading magic to see into her heart, saying things like, *"Estell, I love you (even though I don't really love you)."* But then, her desperate feelings start to seem serious—could it be that her inner voice is wrong? (Correct) Is there a reason why she can't read his mind properly...? A love comedy about a mistaken princess and her unfortunate fiancé! (Source: Kadokawa, translated)

One day, Bakuya Hanzaki, a second-year high school boy suffering from insomnia, meets a junior girl named Kimitori Kobirimaki, who is eating a delicious cup of yakisoba in the park late at night. She says she can help Bakuya get a good night's sleep, and suddenly proposes that he come to her house!? "Is it weird for senpai to be sniffing around a junior girl's room?" "Are you staring at my tits?" Kimitori-chan puts Bakuya to sleep by teasing him while whispering naughty words in his ear, as they spend the night in bed together...! (Source: Fantasia Bunko, translated) *Note: Winner of the Gold Prize in the 35th Fantasia Taishou contest.*

Kaito is a high school boy trying to become an actor, no matter how small the role, in order to live up to a promise to his childhood friend Reina. A new student transfers to his class. It is Reina, who has grown up to become a beautiful girl and a popular actress of the highest caliber! When they are chosen to star together in a new drama, their feelings for each other, which had been a bit awkward, grows even stronger than before! They read the script during their breaks, and go on dates (as rehearsal), in order to prepare for their roles as best they can. But the climax of the show, the kiss scene, is anything but simple... (Source: HJ Bunko, translated)