Nicole. Volume Covers of Phantom Tales of the Night and Call the Name of the Night on a dark background.
An RMR April Fool’s Tradition
Last year I recommended 7 non-romance mangas for April Fool’s Day, which consisted of a variety of action, adventure, and drama series. That’s right, I do indeed read things other than romance, haha!
Since it is that time of year again, I wanted to share some more non-romance focused mangas that I have enjoyed. This year, there isn’t really a theme—they’re just some titles I really liked! I hope you like them, too! (´｡• ᵕ •｡)
1. Blade Girl
Author: Narumi Shigematsu
Status: Completed
Number of Chapters: 3 volumes, 14 chapters
Blade Girl is a fantastic read that’s about a 16-year old girl named Rin, who recently had a below-knee amputation and is learning to walk again with prosthetics.
She understandably doesn’t have a ton of motivation as she navigates this drastic life change, and is afraid she won’t get to enjoy her passion for running ever again.
However, her physical therapist suggests she meet a friend of his, who happens to design prosthetic running blades. This creates a whole new determination in Rin!
This story is incredibly exciting. It pulls you in and quickly makes you feel an overwhelming rush of emotion. While it does portray the struggles of experiencing a physical disability, this manga also feels very inspirational, powerful, and full of hope.
I really love the main character. Although she has her own struggles, she is a beautiful ray of positivity and determination. I love how her character is drawn—often with genuine happiness in her smile, and always in motion!
Blade Girl a nice and quick read, but still has an awesome and impactful plot. I really loved reading this story, and it was very nice to see some representation in the sports manga scene. Definitely give it a read!
2. Call the Name of the Night
Author: Tama Mitsuboshi
Status: Completed
Number of Chapters: 5 volumes, 33 chapters
Call the Name of the Night Yen Press page
Content warnings: Topics and depictions about life, death, dying, illness, anxiety, and mental health.
If you enjoyed the magical feel and whimsicality of Howl’s Moving Castle, I feel like you may also enjoy this manga. This story features fantastical imagery of magic that reminded me of the famous Ghibli adaptation.
Although, Call the Name of the Night is more of a wholesome slice-of-life rather than a romance (hence why it made this year’s April Fool’s post).
The plot follows a young girl named Mira, who seems to have a rare illness involving anxiety—which brings about darkness during her anxiety attacks (literally, darkness consumes the area around her). She lives with a magical doctor named Rei who helps her manage her condition.
While I call this a wholesome story, there are definitely some more dark parts to it that allow for the portrayal of the main character’s anxiety attacks. Readers who experience anxiety themselves may relate heavily to the story, as Mira’s experiences are very realistic.
Outside of these more serious scenes, this manga is incredibly positive and whimsical. It’s sure to make you smile more than once!
(*´︶`*)
The best part of this lovely manga, other than the very likable characters featured in it, is the absolutely stunning and creative art style and word building found throughout. It’s the kind of manga that makes you feel so excited, as if you’ve entered a completely different world.
Something about this magical fantasy really draws you in, and I found myself absolutely in love with this story’s beautiful illustrations. The character designs, environmental art, and overall creativity of this manga was such a joy to experience.
The physical manga covers and pages are also so beautiful. I love the dark, matte covers of the volumes, and the frequent usage of dark backgrounds and shading throughout the inner pages.
If this manga were to ever be adapted into an animated work, I would be ecstatic to see the result! Regardless of that though, I am happy to include it here in this list of manga recommendations.
3. Girl Crush
Author: Midori Tayama
Status: Ongoing
Number of Chapters: 8+ volumes in English / 98+ digital chapters
This amazing story follows a young girl named Tenka Momose, who since elementary school aimed to be perfect at everything—academics, sports, and dance. However, once high school comes around she finds a rival (named Erian) who is passionate about becoming an idol in Korea.
As Momose becomes frustrated by this imperfect girl gaining attention, she slowly begins to feel as though she is losing in terms of what truly matters—sincerity and passion. To her find her true self through the art of dance, Momose leaves for Korea to train, where she once again meets her rival.
This manga explores friendships between women in a very realistic and thought-provoking way. These two girls don’t become friends “just because,” or even due to proximity.
Instead, these two start out as enemies (sort of), and yet they help each other grow and earn respect for each other. It is so lovely see a unique, realistic, and strong friendship bloom in this manga series.
This manga also portrays the idol industry in such a cool and unique way. The characters feel realistic and relatable, having to work hard and struggle to achieve their goals.
I was so excited when I heard that Viz Media picked this one up, as the plot is very good! I expected it to be romance related (because of the title) but instead found a beautiful story of developing passion and friendships. The art style is also beautiful!
4. Don’t Call It Mystery
Author: Yumi Tamura
Status: Ongoing
Number of Chapters: 14+ volumes (7 omnibus)
Don’t Call it Mystery Seven Seas Entertainment page
Content warnings: Violence, death, kidnapping, murder, SI, and other mature or sensitive topics
If you read my April Fool’s manga recommendations from last year, you may remember my very long rant about how much I love 7 Seeds by Yumi Tamura. This year, I wanted to recommend another fantastic work by the same author!
Don’t Call It Mystery is a josei manga series following a college student who often ends up in some strange scenarios. This student, named Kunou Totonou, is a very inquisitive, calculating, and observant character—often sharing opinions, perspectives, or observations that others typically don’t consider.
This series is sort of episodic, often involving crime-solving plots or mysteries. However, due to Kunou’s unique personality and views on life, the topics throughout the manga are often philosophical, psychological, or debating of things like ethics. This manga surprisingly touches on a variety of topics involving different world views, and how different cultures have different values.
Basically, if you have an open mind, enjoy murder mysteries, and like to think deeply about numerous topics—you’ll enjoy this manga.
It is very dialogue heavy, but the subject matter is always very engaging and thought provoking. Yumi Tamura has created an incredibly interesting character, and a manga that somehow captures your attention through dialogue more than the imagery—something I’d say is a bit unconventional for manga, haha. Regardless, I am always delighted to see Yumi Tamura’s unique art style!
Obviously this manga has performed very well and practically speaks for itself, but I wanted to still talk about it in this space! Give it a try!
Also, feel free to read my review for Basara, another amazing work by Yumi Tamura.
5. Phantom Tales of the Night
Author: Matsuri
Status: Completed
Number of Chapters: 12 volumes, around 59 chapters
Phantom Tales of the Night Yen Press page
Content warnings: Death, dying, murder, body horror, mature content, and other mentally disturbing topics/imagery
Phantom Tales of the Night follows many separate stories of yokai and other unique Japanese folklore, uniquely portrayed through an intricate and imaginative art style.
These episodic stories each have their own purpose or “message,” and are connected by one main character, called “owner.” Owner is someone who runs a mystical inn of sorts, and lures in humans or creatures to gain something from them.
Each character introduced throughout this manga has their own complex emotions and backstory, which the readers get to learn about over time. It may feel like there’s a lot to take in, but I’d recommend you just take your time to read each chapter. There are many themes of life and death, human emotion and purpose, and other deep or thought-provoking topics.
This fantasy manga series is only something I could describe as both grotesque yet also strangely beautiful. It somehow makes you feel very disturbed and creeped out in a way that is difficult to explain.
The art of this story is very intricate, detailed, unique, and pretty—yet also very effective in terms of the creepiness and portrayal of this unique horror. It also occasionally features some strange, sensual imagery that may be considered either disturbing or pretty, depending on your personal tastes.
It’s not scary necessarily due to gore or the supernatural, but something about the art and storytelling just creates a really strange impression on the reader. It often mirrors stories or situations from real life, which makes the horror a bit more impactful.
It is a very unique horror shrouded by mystery that is slowly uncovered as you progress further in the series. Regardless of the creepy topics explored within the series, you may find yourself unable to stop reading these disturbing tales.
Overall, I’ve enjoyed this strange and entrancing manga series. It’s weird and creepy in the best of ways. I feel like if you’re not easily disturbed and enjoy series with similar uncomfortable vibes, then perhaps give this one a try!
6. Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare
Author: Yuhki Kamatani
Status: Completed
Number of Chapters: 4 volumes, 23 chapters
Our Dreams at Dusk Seven Seas Entertainment page
Content warnings: SI/SH, hate speech towards LGBTQ+
(Technically, there are aspects of romance within this manga, but it is not the main point or purpose of this series.)
This emotional seinen manga follows a young high school boy named Tasuku Kaname, who finds himself struggling with the fact that he is gay.
He’s terrified of being found out at school, and is full of despair and frustration right at the start. Just as he begins to question the purpose of living, he meets a strange person who leads him to a drop-in center full of unique individuals from all walks of life.
Turns out, these individuals may not be very different from Kaname, and have lived their own lives experiencing difficulty, fear, and hate as members of the LGBTQ+ community. However, throughout this beautiful series, Kaname comes to learn more about all of these people and the troubles they’ve faced—but also the happiness that they have experienced nonetheless.
This coming-of-age manga doesn’t simply follow an easy road to acceptance and belonging for Kaname. He finds individuals similar to himself, but he is never babied by them. He has to gain an understanding of these people—and his own identity—completely on his own. He often struggles with this, but that is part of the magic of this manga.
This series showcases a bitter realism for LGBTQ+ folks and the struggles they face even today. These realistic depictions may feel uncomfortable, but they are important and impactful. While the manga is overall very bittersweet, it still leaves you feeling motivated, thanks to the lovely relationships built between the members of the drop-in center.
The vulnerability of the characters, the strange psychological feel of this manga, and the raw emotion in each chapter pull this manga together into one incredible reading experience.
Not only is the story impactful and the characters all very lovable, but the art style of this series is top notch, too. It skillfully portrays all sorts of emotions expressed by Kaname and many other characters of the manga. It perfectly captures all the beautiful and “ugly” moments of this fantastic manga.
I could go on and on about all the amazing things I enjoyed about this manga, but I think it is important for you to just experience it yourself!
Final Thoughts
I hope you’ve enjoyed this year’s April Fool’s manga recommendations! I feel like this year’s list had a lot of variety in genre, but each and every title has been very memorable and enjoyable for me. (๑˃ᴗ˂)
Check out my April Fool’s posts from other years, too:
April Fool’s 2024: Action, adventure, and drama manga recommendations!
April Fool’s 2026: Horror manga recommendations
