My Favorite Anime/Manga (By Women!)

When quarantine first started, my passion for anime grew; I would binge-watch seasons of anime or even finish an entire series in one day. Many teens at our school have an interest in anime like myself, so I decided to write a list of anime and manga written by women since it’s Women’s History Month!

Toradora! by Yuyuko Takemiya

Toradora! describes the story of Taiga Aisaka and Ryuji Takasu, two high schoolers who have crushes on each other’s best friends. They agree to help each other woo their crushes while dealing with other chaotic predicaments and experiences at their high school. Will Taiga and Ryuji win their crushes’ hearts, or will they end up finding love elsewhere?

Kids on the Slope by Yuki Kodama

Kaoru Nishimi, the new student, doesn’t have many friends and keeps to himself often. When Kaoru first meets classmate Sentaro Kawabuchi, Kaoru is not too fond of Sentaro because of his bad reputation; however, after meeting Ritsuko Mukae, Sentaro’s best friend, she takes Kaoru to her family’s music store – where they find Sentaro playing the drums to jazz music! Ritsuko asks Kaoru to play the piano along with Sentaro’s drums, but Kaoru refuses at first. However, after playing together, Kaoru and Sentaro develop a friendship, and Kaoru slowly comes out of his shell. Kids on the Slope shows how music can bring different people together and helps others find joy during the toughest of times.

Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi

Kagome Higurashi, a middle schooler from Tokyo, falls down a well at her family shrine – and wakes up in Japan’s Sengoku Period. Kagome then meets the half-demon Inuyasha after she accidentally shatters the Shikon Jewel, and the shards scatter all throughout Japan. In this anime, Kagome and Inuyasha go on dangerous and mystical adventures to find all the shards of the Shikon Jewel before Naraku, an evil half-demon, snatches the jewel from them.

Noragami (Stray God) by Adachitoka

Hiyori Iki had a normal middle school life until she got hit by a bus while trying to save a stranger in the middle of the road - but the stranger is not human. He is the nameless god, Yato, who wants someone in the human world to make a shrine for him and hopes that Hiyori will do so when he offers to fix her body. Hiyori’s soul left her body after the bus accident; she can still use her human body, but Hiyori’s soul often leaves her body uncontrollably. After befriending Yato, Hiyori goes on many adventures with him and his friend Yukine while meeting other gods in their town.

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun by Izumi Tsubaki

Chiyo Sakura confesses her love to fellow student Umetaro Nozaki; in response, Umetaro gives Chiyo an autograph and asks her to work with him. He takes her to his apartment, where Chiyo later realizes that Umetaro is the manga author Sakiko Yumeno and agrees to take the job as his assistant for his latest manga, Let’s Fall in Love, where Umetaro and Sakura use students at their school as influences for the characters. Chiyo sees this as an opportunity to get closer to Umetaro, and hopefully confess her feelings to him once again – will they stay friends, or fall for each other?