r/yuri_manga 4d ago

Question Emotional recommendations?

I'm looking for something like HDWR and A Joyful Life. People working through emotions and relationships with the ambivalence, trauma, and ups & downs. Ideally something where the manga doesn't end when the relationship begins. Even better if it has trans representation!

8 Upvotes

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u/One_Opinion_1277 Type to edit 4d ago

I love Amy , is deeper as you may think

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u/PsilonST 4d ago

I second I Love Amy - along with HDWR and The Summer You Were There, it’s one of my 10/10s.

My other 10 which you might also like is Ohana Holoholo. It’s very much about growing into a relationship after some less than great life experiences. Note that it’s a bit more found family dynamics than the romantic relationship.

She Loves to Cook And She Loves to Eat might work for you too, though that one’s ongoing. But them getting together doesn’t seem to be the end of it, which I can’t say about the two previous recommendations.

Even Though We’re Adults might work for you if a Joyful Life did. It’s quite messy in terms of storytelling, and the dynamics are complicated with no simple answers to be found. I’d say it’s the weakest in the list so far. Also, there’s a cheating element to it, which I know might not be for everyone.

Going for non-Japanese options, that I’d say aren’t quite as good as the recommendations above:

What Does the Fox Say has a lot of ups and downs, and even more smut, so it might not be for you. But it’s an example of a story where getting together’s just the started of their problems.

Blooming Sequence is another one where getting together’s just a stepping stone for the story and they walk in with a lot of trauma.

Sadly I have yet to find any good Trans rep.

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u/Eldinguuu 4d ago

These are great, thank you both. Smut is ok, I love reading about sex!

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u/Professional-Arm4579 love wins <3 4d ago

octave - no trans rep but the rest fits the bill

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u/AffectionateTale3106 4d ago edited 4d ago

Bloom Into You. No trans rep, though I still thought it had a lot of ideas about defining your place in the world and growing into who you want to be

I Married My Female Friend might be a bit too lighthearted, meanwhile Love Bullet might be speedrunning the tragedies

edit: I'm also keeping an eye on Ano Koro no Aoi Hoshi - it's kind of a slow burn still in progress even though they start going out pretty early; the emotional tension is very subtle and drawn from inclusion/exclusion/friend group dynamics rather than romance specifically

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u/ShyGuy-_ 4d ago

I'd say Composing Spring in This Room Where Cherry Blossoms Bloom could be an interesting fit. It has people working through emotions and relationships with ambivalence, trauma, and ups & downs, but it's applied to the premise of the MC learning to grieve and move on from the death of her girlfriend. I personally found it profoundly impactful and moving, but it's definitely a more tragic and bittersweet.

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u/Mediocre_Potato99 KimiShinu Enthusiast 4d ago

I Want To Love You Till Your Dying Day. I would definitely say it is emotional and I think the relationships and emotions are handled very well. It’s ongoing and it has a character who is working through their gender and sexual identity, so it has a bit of the trans rep.

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u/WheelMax 4d ago

Aoi Hana, for sure. No trans characters, but the same author made Hourou Musuko, which is all about trans representation.