Summary
With December and the holiday season in full swing, 2024’s days are numbered. The new year is fast approaching, and the 2020s will reach their midpoint. So far, the decade’s been a bit of a mess, and 2025 isn’t likely to get off to the best start either. Still, bad times don’t last forever, and there’s always time to indulge and take joy in the little things in life.
For example,2024 also saw a range of popular romance manga reach their conclusions, be it in their original Japanese printings or via their English translations. They may be over, but it also means that readers who love romance comics can now get their full stories from beginning to end. Whether they’re lighthearted romcoms or tender dramas, these are2024’s best completed romance manga.
10You Are Too Naïve, My Sweetheart!
MyAnimeList Score: 7.58
Some delinquent romances put their bad boys/girls/etc. on the defensive, as their unassuming love interest sways them with their sweetness. Others, likeYou Are Too Naïve, My Sweetheart, have them go on the offensive instead, as Sutaka expresses his love for Nana loudly and proudly in varying, direct ways. Even if it’s likely to make her squirm.
Nana loves romantic stories and shojo comics but can’t handle romance in real life. Even the slightest interaction with the opposite sex gets her heart pounding and her nerves shaking. So, when Sutaka’s being so bold about his feelings for her, it’s almost too much to take. It’s a wholesome tale overall, and one that concluded back in January 2024.
9Love’s In Sight
MyAnimeList Score: 7.59
Some romance stories end uptaming their delinquents, as there’s a difference between being a bad boy/girl/etc. and being a bad person. Readers aren’t going to like someone if they’re a jerks inside and out, but giving them a soft center can help make them more endearing. That’s the case inLove’s in Sight, where the legally blind Yukiko manages to get past the fearsome façade of Morio ‘the Black Panther.’
Usually, Morio is a delinquent so violent that he scares off others on sight, let alone by beating them in fights. However, Yukiko slipped past those defenses by literally not being able to see how scary he is and treating him like a normal guy. It endears Morio so much that he falls for her and does his best to protect her. This series' last volume was fully translated and released back in September 2024.
8My Girlfriend’s Child
MyAnimeList Score: 7.74
For every sweet love story and dark romance, there’s one that takes love into grittier, more realistic territory.My Girlfriend’s Childcovers the consequences of teen pregnancy, as Sachi discovers her intimate moments with her boyfriend Takara have led to a life-changing conclusion. She’s pregnant, and now has to deal with the consequences; but she won’t have to face them alone. This manga treats the situation carefully, going into its subject matter without judging its leads one way or the other.
Sachi weighs the options available to her and tries to navigate them as best as possible. Along with how Takara reacts and handles the situation as, despite the title, the manga is told largely from Sachi’s perspective (fittingly so, given she’s the one with the baby). Its English translation is still ongoing, but the original manga finished off Sachi and Takara’s tricky situation back in November 2024.
7The Fallen Student And The Hopeless Teacher
MyAnimeList Score: 7.88
The Fallen Student and the Hopeless Teacherisn’t the official name forTsuiraku JK to Haijin Kyōshi, as it hadn’t been picked up by Yen Press, Seven Seas, or any other English publisher at the time of this writing. This dark romance between a suicidal high schooler and her slacker teacher did get a live-action drama in June 2024, which was right when themanga released its final chapter.
Rejected by her crush, Mikoto considered jumping to her death, but was stopped by Jin, the physics teacher and the butt of all jokes. He nonchalantly asks her why she’s thinking of jumping and, instead of telling her not to do it, suggests going out with him first. Then she can see if her life is worth ending afterward. It’s a good choice for readers who are into bittersweet love stories with a taboo touch to them.
6Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible
MyAnimeList Score: 7.90
Technically,Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisibleended back in 2023. Howeverm if readers aren’t fluent in Japanese, or don’t read fan translations, they picked up the final issue of Viz Media’s official English release in March 2024. Then they would’ve found out if Junta remained an NPC in life, or if Kubo successfully drove him to become the main character in his own life. Usually, Junta’s so quiet that people barely notice him, treating him like a ‘mob’ or background character.
He came to terms with this condition, as he wasn’t keen on making a scene anyway. That was until Kubo, his classmate, began seeking him out and tried to help him come out of his shell. Usually, it’s by teasing him, but it’s all good-natured fun as the manga is ultimately a wholesome tale about love and building confidence.
5All About My Two Dads
MyAnimeList Score: 7.91
MyAnimeList saysAll About My Two Dadsis still being published, but its final chapter was released with its second volume in early 2024. It’s tricky finding an exact date, as most search results either direct people to its translated first volume or talk about the old sitcomMy Two Dadsinstead. Frustrating as it is to Google, this series is well worth the hunt.
It follows gay couple Nao and Ai as, inspired by the legalization of same-sex marriage, they decide to give family life a go. As they raise Hiro, a baby boy they adopted, they learn more about each other as they handle the highs and lows of raising a child. The manga has received rave reviews from nearly every outlet, as it may be the most wholesome depiction of a queer couple in manga.
4The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses
MyAnimeList Score: 8.04
The ‘ugly person becomes a looker without their glasses’ trope is so old that making fun of itis a cliché unto itself. The movieThat Touch of Minkdid it in 1962 when the secretary took off her glasses and undid her hair to reveal… someone who squints a lot through their messy hair (“It always works in the movies”). But what if someone found them attractive either way?
The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glassessees Kaede fall for his classmate, Ai, and he still loves her (if not more so) when she regularly forgets her glasses. As a result, she needs his help to guide her around. By offering it freely, he becomes the kind of man she wants to see (literally). Its final volume came out in June 2024, though its English translation’s release date is still pending at the time of this writing.
3Teasing Master (Former) Takagi-san
MyAnimeList Score: 8.08
Translating manga takes time, particularly if it’s for officially printed and released volumes. The originalTeasing Master Takagi-sanended in October 2023, but its last tankobon wasn’t put together until January 2024, and its English version won’t be released until March 2025. This might be odd for people who read the fan translations of its sequel,Teasing Master (Former) Takagi-san.
It sees Nishikata and Takagi all grown up, married, and with a daughter named Chi, who’s a chip off her mother’s block. Takagi can get around her attempts to prank her, as she’s still a teasing master. Nishikata is still hopeless against his wife and child, but he wouldn’t replace them for the world. It’s a sweet, extended epilogue to the original manga that released its last tankobon in October 2024.
2Call Of The Night
MyAnimeList Score: 8.17
There are plenty of supernatural romances out there, often involving vampires. Thanks toDraculaand many novels since, these bloodsuckers have attracted many people, tempting protagonists and readers alike with the darker things in life.Call of the Nightis much the same, as jaded high schooler Kou drops out to go nightwalking and ends up changing his life forever.
He meets Nazuna, a vampire with a taste for alcohol and lewd humor, who shows him the finer things in (after)life. Afterward, Kou wants to leave his human world behind and join her, but to do that, he must fall in love with her. This emotional transition reached its climax back in January 2024, though its last English volume isn’t due out until 2025. This will possibly be in time for its anime adaptation’s upcoming second season.
1The Summer You Were There
MyAnimeList Score: 8.59
January feels like a lifetime away, yet that’s whenThe Summer You Were Therereleased its last chapter. Its last tankobon turned up the following month, but its last officially translated volume isn’t due until the end of January 2025. The story is about loner student Shizuku, who wrote a whole girls’ love novel she’d rather keep secret.
However, Kaori, the most popular girl in school, ended up finding it and giving it a read. Shizuku thought Kaori would rip her apart for it, but she ends up loving it and dares Shizuku to either write a GL about her and Shizuku or go on a date with her. Is she teasing her, or is she genuine? Readers won’t know for sure until they get to this series' last few chapters, as its story keeps them guessing as its tensions rise.
