u/ToaKarn

▲ 4 r/Seinen+1 crossposts

Need recommendations for lonely/depressing manga when in a feel

Looking for "depressing" manga is almost always worthless, as normie manga almost always frame it as some form of drama; it's always some grand tragedy with someone's love dying, or something more philosophical (which I enjoy, but not what I'm looking for here), or a childhood regret come back to relevance, or some kind of gory killing game. I haven't found many manga that just "get it". Ideally I'm looking for something about a "struggler", or some kind of character with no direction in their life, or being a loner, or failing at love and life no matter what they do--something more slice-of-life. So far all I have are:

<Berserk> - King of kings, and every so often there are these moments, but understandably primarily an action series, so doesn't fit the bill.

<Houseki no Kuni> - Similarly, it has its moments, but is mostly action-focused.

<Girls Last Tour> - The setting is dreary, but I consider it more cute than depressing.

<Kizu Darake no Nagai Jinsei> - Again, more action and comedy focused.

<Welcome to the NHK> - An old favorite of mine, but he does have Misaki and Yamazaki supporting him, and it leans more into the mental illness and comedy aspects of it, so not quite what I'm looking for.

<Oyasumi Punpun> - Another favorite, but also a little more dramatic and a little too trippy, so I feel it falls more into the "drama/shock value" territory.

<Yuu-utsu Kun to Succubus> - I like this one, but it's a little comedy heavy, so his character feels more like a "gimmick".

I'm looking for series specifically like these two:

<She doesn't know why she lives> - One of the only two I've ever felt "gets it". Unfortunately quite short, so I've reread it many times already.

<Yande kita mahou shoujo> - The one I feel "gets it" most of all. Unfortunately the author seems to have abandoned it, ironically like the main character. Has the most nuance and points of view regarding the same subject, and in my opinion a masterpiece.

Also, please don't leave any "are you okay OP" comments; being performative for imaginary internet points is just a silly thing to do, and it just wastes everyone's time.

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u/ToaKarn — 8 days ago