I’ve been mulling over making a thread about this for a while now, and given that one of my examples is freshly coming off an anime adaption I’m finally getting around to it.
This is a genre of manga/anime that centers around a specific real-world interest or hobby. The main character stumbles into the interest with little knowledge of it and they (and the audience) have many things explained to them along the way. It is typically ally a low-stakes slice-of-life story that doesn’t necessarily go anywhere in particular. Here are some that I like as manga. (I’ve never watched the anime for any of them.) In all samples, read left page, then right page. Panels read from right to left.
Houkago Teibou Nisshi, known under several awkward attempts at English translation: Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater, Afterschool Embankment Journal, Diary of Our After-School Fishing Club:
A girl moves back to a seaside town. She has no experience with fishing but is quickly drawn into the school’s fishing club where the other members teach her about many types of fish and fishing methods. The manga is ongoing at 85 chapters, the anime ran for 12 issues and is on Crunchyroll.
Yuru Camp, translated as Laid-Back Camp:
A girl joins her school outdoors club and learns about camping techniques, and locations. The manga is ongoing with 102 chapters. The anime has 37 episodes, 5 OVAs, and a movie (some but apparently not all available on Crunchyroll.)
Himitsu no Reptiles, translated into Reptile Secrets:
On impulse a salaryman walks into a large pet store thinking about picking a pet. While looking at the typical pets he encounters an employee who is really, really, really into reptiles and gets drawn into their (and her) world. The manga ran for 135 chapters, there is no anime as of yet
Dagashi Kashi:
No attempt was made to translate the title into English, which is a pun. Dagashi is a term for cheap sweets traditionally sold in specialty shops in Japan, like the early 20th century candy stores in the US (and like candy stores, pretty rare now. The main character is the son of a Dagashi shop owner who doesn’t want to spend his life running the store, who meets a girl who is extremely enthusiastic about all things dagashi and spends much of the manga describing various sweets and their history in detail. Here she waxes on about ramune drinks. The manga ran for 186 chapters and the anime (available on Crunchyroll) for 12 episodes.
Ruri no Houseki, translated into Ruri Rocks or Introduction to Mineralogy:
A high school girl who discovers an interest in crystals meets a graduate student in mineralogy, taking her under her wing and teaching her (and the readers) about aspects of mineralogy, geology, and, in these pages, how to create thin section slides. The manga is ongoing with 38 chapters. The anime is 13 episodes and on Crunchyroll.
