Article written by Fazri @tenoq. Follow him on Twitter. 

Malaysian are now 6 days into this COVID-19 lockdown, and we’re gonna need help passing the time. Japanese manga happens to be an excellent medium to alleviate boredom in the smartphone era. You can read them online, or use any manga app of your choice.

Instead of recommending Shonen Jump titles (One Piece, Kimetsu no Yaiba, My Hero Academia) which you’re probably already reading anyway – we’d like to introduce you to less popular titles that make excellent reading at home! This list is in no particular order but categorized by genre for your convenience. 

Vanilla Genre

For when you’re looking for some good old romantic comedy.

1) Bonnouji (Aki Eda)

Bonnouji is a very relaxed and easygoing romance between two apartment neighbours who fell in love and spend their free time doing random funny things.

2) Uzaki-chan wa Asobitae (TAKE)

Uzaki is an annoying little bitch who likes to hang out with her favorite senpai. She’s also stacked, and she plays it to her advantage. They spend their college days with her having lots of fun at the expense of her senpai. It’s getting a TV anime this year, so catch up on this gem while it’s still in mangaka form. 

3) Osananajimi ni Najimitai (Araido Kagiri)

This started out as a silent (as in, zero dialogue) Twitter manga that gained a lot of traction that it eventually became serialized. Our protagonists are two childhood friends who got separated as children but are now reunited as college students. College romance hilarities abound.

4) Tonikaku Cawaii (Hata Kenjiro)

Fans of Hayate The Combat Butler are calling this Hinagiku True End. One protagonist meets a beautiful girl who saved him from being hit by a truck and instantly falls in love. She demands that if he wants to date her, he must first marry her.

And so they did – in chapter 1. Shenanigans ensue.

5) Yancha Gal no Anjou-san (Katou Yuuichi)

Anjou is a gyaru, a fashionable, rowdy and no-nonsense kind of girl. She regularly and constantly teases our hero, a shy, quiet nerd because awkward nerd reactions are highly entertaining.

As far as vanilla series goes, this has some incredible character development arcs. One of the best in its genre.

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