Stories After “I Love You.”: 5 Romance Manga About What Comes Next
Romance
Kana
One of the biggest payoffs in romance manga is the moment two people finally realize they feel the same way. But the story doesn’t have to end at happily ever after.
Some sides of a person only come out once you’re dating. Some feelings grow slowly after you’re married. Everyday conversations. Little gestures that say “I’m thinking of you.” The more time you spend together, the more you find yourself falling in love.
The will-they-won’t-they tension is great, but sometimes you just want to soak up everything that comes after.
Here are five manga that let you enjoy the story once the relationship begins.
The Soldier Groom and the Daikon Bride
At first, I thought I was just here to smile and root for Hana as she fell in love.
A tall, quiet soldier suddenly enters her life as her husband. He’s hard to read, and watching Hana slowly fall for him is utterly endearing. I was happily reading along, smiling as these two began their life together with marriage. And then…
As the story shifts to the soldier’s perspective, exploring his family relationships and his place in the military, a loneliness I hadn’t noticed before starts to emerge. I’d been cheering Hana on, but before I knew it, I was wishing just as hard for him to find happiness, too.
And there’s one thing I especially want you to notice: the colors.
Village life and scenes centered on Hana are painted in soft, warm tones. Scenes involving the military, meanwhile, use cool colors, and the shift can send a chill through you. That makes returning to those warm pages feel like coming home—even for the reader.
Little by little, you begin to understand how much this quiet soldier wants to hold on to the life they share. Their days together become so dear to you that you never want to stop watching them unfold.
Fly Me to the Moon
Like The Soldier Groom and the Daikon Bride, this one starts with a couple getting married almost as soon as they meet. What follows is newlywed life so sweet you’ll be grinning the whole time you read.
And then there’s that title: Fly Me to the Moon. What does the moon have to do with this sweet newlywed romance? The hints of mystery tucked between their happy days together gradually reveal a deeper meaning behind the title. To find out what it is, you’ll have to keep reading.
How to Grill Our Love
Here’s another story that begins with marriage—with one catch: they live apart and only see each other on weekends. Even a barbecue at home becomes a special occasion, a chance to get to know each other a little better.
They’re already married, yet the emotional distance between them closes ever so slowly. It’s agonizing. And that’s exactly what makes it so good!
The food looks fantastic, too. I’ve actually gotten plenty of use out of this manga as a cookbook.
Horimiya
Sometimes, the best part of a romance manga is watching the characters slowly realize they’re in love. Horimiya, though, moves so quickly that you might find yourself thinking, “Wait, they’re getting together already?”
But that’s where the story really gets going! With the two of them now a couple, their friendships and high school lives keep changing in all kinds of ways.
If you’ve only seen the anime, I especially recommend picking up the manga. The chapters that didn’t make it to the screen are full of more everyday moments with these characters.
Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie
This story opens with its leads already dating. Izumi has the worst luck and is constantly getting into trouble, but Shikimori swoops in to save him—and every time, it’s almost too precious to handle.
She’s usually adorable, but when it counts, the look on her face is ridiculously cool.
The short chapters make this an easy manga to dip into. On days when you could use a little dose of heart-melting sweetness, consider this your prescription.
Getting together with the person you love doesn’t mean you suddenly know everything about them. If anything, there’s a whole world left to discover. An unexpected side of them makes your heart skip a beat. The distance they haven’t quite learned to close leaves you squirming. An ordinary day starts to feel irreplaceable.
These are the everyday moments that keep you following a couple’s story a little longer. Just one more chapter.
There’s still so much to love about romance manga.