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Manga like It’s Not Easy Being Cute

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Cover of Princess Jellyfish

Top pick

Princess Jellyfish

Kuragehime

2008, Manga, 94 ch, 80%

Josei, Female Protagonist, Crossdressing

Tsukimi Kurashita has a strange fascination with jellyfish. She’s loved them from a young age and has carried that love with her to her new life in the big city of Tokyo. There, she resides in Amamizukan, a safe-haven for girl geeks who regularly gush over a range of things from…

More manga for fans of It’s Not Easy Being Cute

  1. Cover of A Queen and an Old Maid
    A Queen and an Old Maid

    2017, Manga, ongoing, 81%

    Josei, Primarily Adult Cast, Female Protagonist

  2. Cover of Skip and Loafer
    Skip and Loafer

    2018, Manga, ongoing, 86%

    Coming of Age, Female Protagonist, School

  3. Cover of Cinderella Closet
    Cinderella Closet

    2019, Manga, 32 ch, 79%

    Shoujo, Female Protagonist, Heterosexual

  4. Cover of Aoi-kun Wants This Muscular Girl to Flex!
    Aoi-kun Wants This Muscular Girl to Flex!

    2024, Manga, ongoing, 73%

    Primarily Adult Cast, Work, Heterosexual

  5. Cover of Veil
    Veil

    2018, Manga, ongoing, 87%

    Foreign, Heterosexual, Primarily Adult Cast

  6. Cover of Smile Down the Runway
    Smile Down the Runway

    2017, Manga, 194 ch, 82%

    Fashion, Work, Female Protagonist

  7. Cover of Blue Spring Ride
    Blue Spring Ride

    2011, Light novel, 20 ch, 80%

    Shoujo, School, Heterosexual

  8. Cover of Wandering Son
    Wandering Son

    2002, Manga, 123 ch, 80%

    LGBTQ+ Themes, Female Protagonist, Coming of Age

  9. Cover of Bless
    Bless

    2022, Manga, ongoing, 79%

    Makeup, Fashion, Male Protagonist

  10. Cover of Neighborhood Story
    Neighborhood Story

    1995, Manga, 34 ch, 81%

    Shoujo, Fashion, Heterosexual

  11. Cover of Or Something Like It
    Or Something Like It

    2017, Manga, ongoing, 79%

    Family Life, Found Family, Josei

  12. Cover of Koudai-ke no Hitobito
    Koudai-ke no Hitobito

    2013, Manga, 47 ch, 78%

    The same kind of story: gentle josei everyday romance.

  13. Cover of School Back
    School Back

    2023, Manga, 28 ch, 79%

    Female Protagonist, School, Episodic

  14. Cover of Real Clothes
    Real Clothes

    2006, Manga, 102 ch, 76%

    Josei, Fashion, Primarily Adult Cast

  15. Cover of Ashita no Ousama
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    Josei, Female Protagonist, Primarily Adult Cast

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    A Story of Seven Lives

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    Animals, Josei, Time Skip

  17. Cover of Ao no Hana: Utsuwa no Mori
    Ao no Hana: Utsuwa no Mori

    2018, Manga, 50 ch, 81%

    Josei, Primarily Adult Cast, Heterosexual

  18. Cover of Goodbye, Mom
    Goodbye, Mom

    2019, Manga, 18 ch, 81%

    Female Protagonist, Full Color, Primarily Adult Cast

  19. Cover of Eat and Sleep Together, Live Together
    Eat and Sleep Together, Live Together

    2012, Manga, 25 ch, 77%

    Seinen, Primarily Adult Cast, Heterosexual

  20. Cover of Hopelessly Devoted
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    2011, Manga, 40 ch, 76%

    Boys' Love, Male Protagonist, Primarily Male Cast

  21. Cover of Onnanokogare!
    Onnanokogare!

    2015, Manga, 20 ch, 75%

    The same kind of story: gentle josei everyday romance.

  22. Cover of Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly
    Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly

    1995, Manga, 9 ch, 75%

    Josei, Female Protagonist, Fashion

  23. Cover of Sheltering Eaves
    Sheltering Eaves

    2022, Manga, 77%

    The same kind of story: gentle josei everyday romance.

Anime for fans of It’s Not Easy Being Cute

NANA2006, TV, 47 eps, 85% JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death – The Movie2025, Movie, 1 ep, 84% Orb: On the Movements of the Earth2024, TV, 25 eps, 86% Nichijou - My Ordinary Life2011, TV, 26 eps, 83% Cowboy Bebop1998, TV, 26 eps, 86% Steins;Gate2011, TV, 24 eps, 89% LOOK BACK2024, Movie, 1 ep, 86% The Apothecary Diaries2023, TV, 24 eps, 88%

About It’s Not Easy Being Cute

2024, Manga, ongoing, 79%

College student Himesaki Nozomi was a girl who took her beauty into her own hands through plastic surgery. One day she was asked by the natural beauty Tennōji Ruka to teach her how to be "cute." At first, Nozomi was irked by her ignorance. How could she ask her for something like that when she had never even tasted the pain of being ugly? However, she soon learns that Ruka has her own struggles: she’s trapped by a "princely" image that prevents her from being the girl she truly wants to be. Together, they navigate the pressures of modern lookism to forge their own paths.

(Source: Manga UP!)

Note: Originally self-published on Twitter, was then licensed by Square Enix for serialization.

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