Resource Guide for Japanese Language Students: Comics with no Furigana

聖☆おにいさん (Saint Young Men):

Jesus and Buddha takes a vacation at Earth and lives together as roommates in a small apartment in Tokyo. They try to live a "normal" life like other humans while trying to hide their real identities. (Comedy)

What's Michael?:

The story involves a cat named Michael, an orange American Short hair tabby cat, along with other cat friends and pet owners. The stories are a combination of reality and fantasy where cats are portrayed more like humans. (Comedy)

ダーリンは外国人 (My Darling is a Foreigner):

The story reflects the life of the author, Oguri Saori, and her husband, Tony Laszlo, an American writer living in Japan, focusing on their relationship as an interracial couple and on the cultural differences between Japan and America. (Comedy, Romance)

よちよち文藝部 (Yochi Yochi Bungakubu):

The story follows the conversations between the author, Bunko Yose, and her manager about classic Japanese literature, and they create a club. They exchange their thoughts about famous literature and authors in a comedic and relaxing fashion. (Comedy, Essay)

ぼくの描いた戦争 (Boku no Egaita Sensou):

This book includes a series of various short stories about the harsh reality of WWII told by the father of manga, Osamu Tezuka. The stories includes some of this famous characters from other works such as Black Jack. At the end of the book, there is an essay written by the author about his memories of WWII. (Essay)

酒のほそ道 (Sake no Hosomichi):

The main character, Soutatsu Iwama, is a "salary man" and loves to drink after work by himself or with friends. The story focuses on the bar and restaurant scene, with an emphasis on the food and "sake" or alcohol. Each episode focuses on one topic that the main character is curious about. (Essay)

専務の犬 (Senmu no Inu) and Pの悲劇 (P no Higeki):

These two manga books are collections of short stories by Takahashi Rumiko, the manga artist known for "Inuyasha" and "Ramna 1/2". Both books includes six short stories. (Comedy, Action)

不思議な少年 (The Mysterious Boy):

The mysterious boy has eternal life and appears in different time periods and locations. He does not hate humans nor does he love them, but he is curious about them. He examines humans and questions, "what are humans?" (Psychological, Fiction)

Axis Powers ヘタリア (Axis Powers Hetaria):

ヘタリア was originally published on the web before it became a printed comic. In the story, all of the characters are personification of countries referencing each country's ethics, customs and culture. The three main character are of the Axis Power group, made up of Italy, Germany and Japan from WWII. The main storyline is based off of the events during WWII, but the majority of the story takes place in other events or holidays. (Comedy, History)

美味しんぼ (Oishinbo):

Shiro Yamaoka and his partner, Yuko Kurita, are culinary journalists for a newspaper, they are also the head of the "Ultimate Menu" project. The story follows these journalist's adventures searching for this "ultimate menu." The manga is one of the longest running published manga in the industry, with a total of 111 volumes. (Drama, Essay)

そばもん  ニッポン蕎麦行脚 (Sobamon Nippon Soba Angya):

This manga will make you lust for soba which is Japanese buckwheat noodles. The protagonist, Ryo Yashiro, learns the techniques of Edo-soba making from the legendary fifth generation soba maker, Shichirou Tou, who is also the owner of a historic soba restaurant. Ryo travels around Japan with soba making equipment to spread his love for soba. (Essay)

超訳百人一首 うた恋い。(Choyaku Hyakunin isshu: Uta Koi.):

The story liberally illustrates the historic document, "Hyakunin isshu". "Hyakunin isshu" is a collection of a 100 romantic poems by a 100 different poets from the 13th century (Heian Period). The manga is a compiled accounts of different romantic stories which includes affairs, jealousies, confessions and more. (Essay, History, Romance)