Looking for the best gift for your gay friends this year? We got you! And maybe you need a card? We have those too! And we can wrap your gift for you for just a $5 fee. The following are all of my recommendations for the best MANGA to gift your friends this year.
NOTE: These are all SERIAL – I recommend doing a little recon with your friends’ bookshelves and see what they’re reading to make the best, most educated and knowledgeable decisions for gifting this year.
Remember, books make the best gifts! Introducing your friends to an amazing story makes you the coolest friend ever, seriously.
X-GENDER vol. 1 – This is a great pick for non-binary and genderqueer friends. X-Gender vol. 1 is a graphic memoir/manga memoir from the experience of a nonbinary/genderqueer person in Japan – where they call it “x-gender”. This is a super interesting look at queer life in Japan and it’s told in a very humorous way.
Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon – A wonderful sapphic office romance that spans four volumes (very reasonable) – it includes discussions around compulsory heterosexuality and discovering queer identity as well as asexuality.
Even Though We’re Adults – Brought to you by the mangaka who gave us Sweet Blue Flowers and Wandering Son, this series is a melodrama sapphic romance of two women encountering their feelings for each other while one of them is currently in a heterosexual marriage and then, subsequently, her attempts to find her way out of that marriage and navigate these new feelings and this new sexuality she had not considered. It’s a melodrama and encounters topics of compulsory heterosexuality, pushes back on the narrative of how it’s “okay” to be gay when you are young, but that you have to be het-married and prepare for a family when you’re an adult.
Ramen Wolf & Curry Tiger – Really cute furry manga series that has some BL (boys’ love) elements.
Sasaki & Miyano – Classic, incredibly popular BL series. Takes place in high school, and there is also an anime. A great “starter” manga for your friend who doesn’t read many comics, but loved Heartstopper.
After Hours – Short yuri series (complete at three volumes) about finding yourself in the most interesting places when you’re feeling lost in the world. Very touching and heartfelt romance; takes place in the underground rave scene.
Days of Love at Seagull Villa – Another short yuri series (complete at three volumes) that is a chosen family narrative, and an adopted orphan narrative as well. A teacher moves to the countryside and is taken in by a woman and her niece. Very cute romance blossoms between the two of them.
Given – An all-timer in the genre of boys’ love. Given is about music, love, friendship and growing through stress and trauma. Gay boy band drama, much beloved by all. There is also an anime.
Blue Flag – Another classic in terms of queer manga series, and also a trailblazer in the genre as it was published more as slice of life high school than explicitly queer storyline. Follows a sort of “love rectangle” of friends who have crushes on each other through high school. A reasonable eight volumes.
To Strip the Flesh – A trans masc narrative of a young son of a butcher who keeps himself in the closet to his father. Discusses the trauma of the closet and then, the relief of coming out to those closest to you. Bonus short stories by the mangaka at the end. The mangaka, Oto Toda, was an assistant for Tatsuki Fujimoto, of Chainsaw Man fame.
Cinderella Closet – Really cute love triangle that we put in the “gender fun” category. Art style and some themes are definitely reminiscent of Ai Yazawa’s Paradise Kiss – possibly worth gifting to a queer friend who was a fan of that series.
Boys Run the Riot – A classic trans masc story of a young artist going through high school and starting a fashion brand with help from an unlikely friend and ally.
Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing – Very cute yuri fluff. Certain to be appreciated by your lesbian furry friends.
She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat – One of the best yuri series, hands down. Extremely relatable and heartfelt slow burn apartment romance and food manga.
There are a lot of others I would have liked to put on this list, but let’s cap it there for now! The above titles are some of our favorites here at Sour Cherry and titles we have noticed as the most popular.