Shirokuma Café
Polar Bear Café

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

Mangas starring anthropomorphic animals.

Not on MAL recs:
…
Lang Pu He Mao (Wolf Butler and His Cat Master)
Jinsei Yuushou Monogatari (Tales of Life's Victories)
Mahou Shoujuu Sherbert (Magical Beast Sherbert)
Miss Kitty and Her Bodyguards
Blue Project

Consider checking out my other insert stacks for more kemono stuff

"Often considered to be untranslatable, mono no aware refers to the bittersweet realization of the ephemeral nature of all things. It is the awareness that everything in existence is temporary. The fleetingness of youth, the fading of romance, and the changing of seasons are not to be mourned, but cherished and appreciated in their impermanence, for that is where their beauty comes from." (Theculturetrip.com)

Here are all the josei manga I think one should read in order to cover all bases. I organized this list by general theme, with publishing series at the bottom.

We start off with the classic slice of life and coming of age stories, then to a couple of autobiographical manga, then to the dark and realistic drama stories, then to action and horror stories, then to mystery stories, then to the rom-coms, then to the more light-hearted slice of life stories, and lastly to the important ongoing series.

I'm currently using this list too, despite me being the one who created it!

Any manga that features anthropomorphic animals as the main cast. This stack is reserved specifically for series about animals with human attributes outside of speech.

Note: I did not include any manga that were overly explicit, or where anthropomorphic animals are present but not the main focus.

all the shoujo + josei manga currently scheduled to release volume 1's of english prints in 2023! wanted to make this stack for anyone whos like me and wants to keep track of the new shojo and josei that is coming out this year so they can add some to their collection. i will try to keep this updated if more series are announced throughout the year, enjoy <3

Edit: We have so many coming out this year that i had to break it up into 2 stacks!

Various genres of furry manga. Including popular works such as BEASTARS and many others. This stack also includes series with beastmen x human stories.

i considered myself to be at an early-intermediate level in japanese studies--until i came to japan. though i suspected i would probably be have over-estimated my abilities, and i had heard plenty of common wisdom about how studying grammar and college-level japanese courses like the ones i had been in weren't ideal ways of actually learning japanese/languages in general. but i didn't truly realize just how little my study of intermediate grammar points would help me comprehend daily life in japan.

as many of the people reading a list like this will probably already know, linguists such as Stephen Krashen (pronounced: 言語学の神様) and Beniko Mason have insisted that SELF-SELECTED READING (or FREE VOLUNTARY READING) is key in the process of second-language aquisition. in (overly) simple terms, they believe that language acquisition begins with input (e.g. reading & listening), and that output, grammatical knowledge, and communicative competence come after an abundance of 'comprehensible' input. but as the qualifier 'free voluntary' suggests, Krashen, Mason and their cohort believe that input must be compelling to the learner--engaging and comprehensible (enough) to keep them interested and driven to keep going.

most of us language learners here on MAL probably have a lot in common when it comes to what we find to be 'compelling' input material/content. i honestly have my doubts about whether it is specifically reading that plays this massive role that Krashen and Mason suggest--i tend to work under the assumption that subtitled video, spotify's lyric function etc. have just as much to offer to language learners. im convinced that its most important that we find activities we enjoy and are likely to make routines of, and keep ideas like those of Krashen and Mason in the back of our minds as we choose from whatever activities our natural inclinations lead us toward. ergo: if you like reading hentai raw, in the name of haruhi-sama i implore you to read hentai raw!!

here are recommendations of manga i've found in raw form through one channel or another, which have seemed pretty easy to read, and which use furigana for almost every single kanji (at least, in whatever edition i happened to be reading--i think this sometimes varies with alternate editions of a series). this way you can immerse yourself in kanji without being bogged down in trying to guess the pronunciation of a word, and can instead read it and understand through context.

i'll order this by MAL popularity, for lack of a better idea.

as always, i would LOVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS LIST! just dm me! and please take any and all information i share with an appropriate of salt--this is all more-or-less armchair linguistics/language learning, and i am by NO means fluent in japanese! lol.

also, while i won't put direct pirate links in the comments for each entry, feel free to message me if you want help procuring anything here, and i'll do my best!

OTHER RESOURCES:

for discovering content based on japanese language level:
https://learnnatively.com/

https://jpdb.io/prebuilt_decks


SOURCES & FURTHER READING:

https://www.sdkrashen.com/content/articles/pac5.pdf

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/4C7ADDDF7F10A600160D0505D99D0E85/S2058631019000126a.pdf/free_voluntary_reading_and_comprehensible_input.pdf


( AJATT / all japanese all the time / language learning / japanese language / matt vs japan / polyglot / self-study / JLPT / steven krashen / anki / jpdb / immersion / self-selected reading / second-language acquisition / free voluntary reading / comprehensible input / nihongo / 日本語 / 勉強 / 自習 )

A list of all the Shojo and Josei manga titles licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment.

Part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/56379

Part 3: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/56591

I tried to compile an extensive list of the English Licensed Shojo and Josei manga titles where romance is a sub-plot at best, if present at all (many of these don't have any romance present).

Part 1-dark/horror/thriller: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/my
Part 2-Fantasy/Supernatural: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/57092
Part 3-Sci-fi/Historical/Mystery: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/57098
Part 5-Character dramas/Modern Real-life Japan: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/57100

Manga series with covers that feature recurring design and composition elements, consistent art styles, gradual changes that show intent and overall harmony of the entire collection. I'm open to suggestions, I try not to add too many “standing character” situations, but will do so if the art is striking enough.


Part 1: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/51319
Part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/54221
Part 3: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/59082
Part 5: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/60816