14 Best Romance Manga Featuring Childhood Best Friends
There is nothing as sweet as a romance between childhood friends. What better way to experience the love blossom than in an amazingly illustrated manga?
These romance manga are still as interesting and imaginative as the others, but just contain that extra little spice of love. Join in the journey of childhood friends who through trial and error, discover that there is much more between them, even when they can’t notice it themselves at first.
Here are some of the best romance manga featuring childhood friends:
1. Something About Us
Sometimes, the two people in a friendship are the last ones to see the relationship budding between them. In this story, the two characters consider themselves to be the best of friends, but those around them can see something much deeper between the two. Follow the two friends through their journey of realizing their true feelings, and possibly diving into something else, no longer being the friends they so desperately think they are.
2. Boku Girl
Boku Girl is a slightly obscure romance between two childhood friends. The story revolves around Suzushiro Mizuki, who is a first year high school student. To everyone else, he looks like a girl. His feminine appearance is so apparent that many men confess their love to him. His childhood friend, for whom he holds a secret crush, even thinks of him as one of her girlfriends.
The story takes a twist when the trickster God Loki turns her attention to mortals. She see Mizuki and decides to have some fun with him. She gives Mizuki a pair of breasts, and takes away his male anatomy.
Mizuki has to deal with this new transformation, and find his way around this raw deal that he has been dealt.
3. Kanojo ni Naru Hi
While this may appear at first to be a sweet love story between two childhood friends, it takes a bit of an odd turn.
Miyoshi and Mamiya are childhood friends. Miyoshi is always competitive with Mamiya, but always finds himself losing to him, he is just too good at everything he does.
One day, Mamiya collapses due to an illness. He is hospitalized for several weeks, and soon the world is turned upside down for these two friends. Mamiya returns to school, but he is now a she. Miyoshi now has to deal with the horror of his best friend now being female. How will the relationships develop, will these two friends remain best friends?
4. Takkoku
Maunouchi Gaku has returned home to Japan after being away from her home town for 10 years. He soon reunites with this childhood friend and sweetheart, Tamano Kako.
They fall back in love, but before they can officially date again, Gaku must beat Kako in a game of Takkoku. This seems simple enough, but in actual fact Kako is the number 1 Takkoku player in Japan, and she will not take it easy on Gaku.
Watch this light-hearted story about two best friends, reunited again after 10 years apart, desperately falling back in love, with an obstacle standing in their way.
5. Kanojo wa Rokurokubi
There is something brewing between Kanoi Natsuki and her childhood friend Istuki. They go to the same school as each other, but there is a deeper connection that ties the two together
Being a Rokurokubi, Kanoi is able to stretch her neck, even at times when she chooses not to. It is normal for her and her surroundings. But when Itsuki and her come into contact, she fears to tell him how she feels about him, and wonders if he would hold the same feelings for her.
Kanoi finds herself in difficult situations, filled with misunderstanding and shame. At her side, Itsuki manages to dissolve these situations, all while being the creator of some himself.
It is a story of acceptance and friendship, and a love developing between two friends, too scared to speak their feelings.
6. Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii
During middle school, Hirotaka Nifuji and Narumi Momose were best friends. Hirotaka is a gaming otaku while Narumi is a fujoshi.
When they hit adulthood, they discover that they work together at the same company and still share the same geeky interests.
They soon rekindle their friendship and find themselves feeling the same they did back in middle school, except now they have the freedom of adulthood. At work they remain professional and mature, but outside of work they decide to go for a drink. This inevitably leads to them beginning a relationship, venturing out on dates together.
While their relationship grows, they find that love between two otakus isn’t as simple as one might think. Be a part of their journey of love and fun, and navigating through adult life, rekindling what they once had.
7. Teasing Master Takagi-san
This is a sweet and mischievous story where two young friends are constantly at each other’s throats.
They live their life in school by a simple principle – if you blush you lose. Takagi-san constantly teases her neighbor Nishikata. Nishikata constantly feels his pride is shattered because of the way Takagi-san treats him, and vows that one day he will turn the tables and get revenge on her.
He attempts to reverse the roles but just ends up being teased by her each day. He is adamant that he will make her blush – and this proves to be what brings their friendship closer than ever before.
8. NG Life
Keidai Saeki is special. He is a high school student who remembers his past life – an Italian warrior Sirix who lived in Pompeii. In the past, Sirix was married to the beautiful Serena, and his best friend was Loleus, a fellow warrior.
In present day Japan, Serena is actually Yuuma Ujoh, who happens to be the boy next door. Loleus is now his best friend and girl, Mii Serizawa. Both do not remember anything about their past lives. Yuuma falls head over heels in love with Mii when they meet, which just complicates things for Keidai, who is still in love with Yuuma, who is his former wife, and still cares for Mii, who is his former warrior best friend.
It becomes even more complicated when he realizes that he cannot see his friends in their present forms, but only as they were back in Pompeii. Because of this, the relationships are all very messed up and thrown for a loop, especially since the other two do not remember their past lives at all.
Mii is the only who knows what is going on, as Keidai has confided in her. But they are set for a very rocky friendship, where nothing is as it seems.
9. Apothecarius Argentum
As a child, Argent had been fed all different types of poison to become immune from them. This has now turned his touch toxic, and turned his hair silver. Because of his immunity, he was hired as a food tester to help protect the Princess Primula, who hated seeing him imprisoned and eventually freed him.
Over the years of his freedom, Argent becomes a skilled healer and apothecary. He returns to Primula and their friendship soon blossoms again. Friendship soon turns into something more serious, but how can Primula love someone who is poisonous to the touch?
Love must overcome the obstacles presented to them in this tricky situation, and they need to find the hope to continue the love growing between them.
10. Nekota no Koto ga Kininatte Shikatanai
So this story is a little odd. Mikki Amane transfers between different schools often. Because of this she is aloof and has a detached attitude. She is very strangely surprised when she meets a classmate at her new school – Nekota. Nekota happens to have the face of a cat. It doesn’t matter how you look at it or what angle you view his face from, he looks like a cat.
What is even more strange is that Mikki seems to be the only one who finds this strange. She becomes really interested in this oddity and decides she will decode the mystery behind her cat-faced classmate. She needs to get close to him, something she never does, and find out what the mystery is.
It is a story of a friendship that slowly develops into a deeper, more meaningful connection.
11. Sei Dragon Girl (St. Dragon Girl)
Momoka Sendou is nicknamed Dragon Girl. Her childhood friend is Ryuga Kou, who is a Chinese magic master that banishes demons, while Momoka is a martial artist.
The only way to increase his power is for Ryuga to call on the spirit of a dragon to possess him, however the spirit possesses Momoka instead by mistake.
The two must now join forces to fight demons together, bringing a friendship closer than ever before. Their demon battles and banishment only act as a barrier to the true feelings lying beneath the surface.
12. Koi Dano Ai Dano
Kanoko transfers from school to school during her middle school years and never really settled in. When she joins Takara no Tani High School she meets Tsubaki.
Some strange mishaps see her landing up as the Strategist for the Cultural Affairs Department with regards to the Three Kingdoms, and also ends up joining the Newspaper Club.
Kanoko is a sneaky and brilliant heroine in the story, and Tsubaki is the handsome best friend. The middle school friends are now together after Kanoko has been to 108 different schools, and they are in for a journey together. The comedy and childhood romance will keep viewers entertained and glued to their screens.
13. High Score Girl
In 1991, sixth grader Yaguchi Haruo lives for his video games. He isn’t handsome, funny, nice, friendly or popular at all. The only good aspect is that he is really good at video games. He visits the local arcade one day and plays Oono Akira, a pretty, smart and rich classmate. She completely destroys him in Street Fighter II, but also beats him 30 more times in a row. He cannot handle the fact that he has been beaten over and over again by a girl, and to make it worse she follows him to the arcade every day after school just to beat him again.
Through this irritation and frustration, the two start up an unusual friendship and bond that turns into something special. A bond between them forms into something more than a friendship, and it is such an interesting journey to follow. Young competition turns into a sweet bond that maintains throughout their schooling career.
14. Special A
Hikari Hanazono has always been the best at everything. She was always able to do the things normal people couldn’t, and nobody ever managed to beat her at anything. She one day meets Kei Takishima, who she carelessly challenges to a match thinking she could easily beat him. She ends up losing to him, even losing again after challenging him to a rematch. Hikari then swears to beat him at everything – from academics to athletics.
Hikari can only do this by enrolling in the same school as Kei, Hakusenkan which is a prestigious school for the most wealthy. Together they hold the top two rankings in school and form part of the seven top students in the academy, known as the Special A.
Although Hikari treats Kei as a rival and enemy, she has no clue that he has deep feelings for her. Their journey through competition and the special A sees them conquer many trials together. Love and friendship develop and the two are sent on a journey that will change their lives forever.
Watch young friendships turn into a deeper love with some of these childhood friend romance manga. They are full of great storylines, but the true hero of each is watching true love blossom from a much deeper connection.
You can still enjoy the uniqueness of manga, but satisfy your softer side with really authentic love stories. Who doesn’t love a happy ending after all?
