The Best Manga With A Christmas Theme
Although many people cherish watching anime, they often forget that most anime serve as adaptations of the original source material. While there are some instances where the anime is better than the manga, those instances are few and far between.
With the amount of manga released on a daily basis, it could be hard to cut through all those books to find the “Best of” for any chosen topic.
Well, we’re here to help celebrate and shine a spotlight on some of the latest, greatest, and unforgettable manga through the years. For our ongoing series of articles depicting the best manga, our attention this time turns to those with a strong focus on Christmas. From captivating dramas to fantastic retellings, there’s a good choice to whet your appetite.
Of course, if we’ve missed any of your favorites, feel free to comment below and we’ll get them added on!
Anastasia Club – Chiho Saitou
Anastasia Club is an interesting mystery manga with compelling adventure and drama components. It follows Tsubaki, a shop worker who meets Sena, a man who wants to prove he’s a surviving member of a Russian Empire called Anastasia. After something from his potential family’s lineage gets stolen and he’s blamed for the crime, he must work together with Tsubaki to clear his name.
This manga offers a nice romantic affair with hints of mystery components to keep readers engaged. Chiho Saitou’s illustrations bring the world to life and the characters to life especially when they’re interacting with each other. Although it doesn’t touch upon the holiday concept with great integrity, there is a volume dedicated to the Nutcracker.
If you’re after a manga with a nice stand on friendship, and family, and a whole volume dedicated to the spirit of Christmas, check this out.
The Magic of Christmas – Andrea Edwards
The Magic of Christmas is an interesting romance manga with a fine cast, delightful atmosphere, and charming world. It follows Merry, a girl who accepts her customer Peter’s offer to become his girlfriend. Although she took the offer for monetary reasons, their relationship blossoms into something magical.
Andrea Edwards does a wonderful job at developing Merry and Peter’s connection throughout the work. You’ll adore seeing Merry interact with Peter and his folks and learning more about them as people. Moreover, Motoro Fujiwara’s compelling art style lends itself to the holiday fever felt throughout The Magic of Christmas’s work, giving readers a soft and pleasant vibe as they read.
If you’re looking for a fun manga series that’ll get you in a jolly mood, I’d give this a shot.
Sugar Family – Akira Hagio
Sugar Family is a touching rom-com that’ll surely captivate readers. After losing her mother and seeing her father remarry a woman with a son named Taichi, our protagonist, Yuka, learns what it means to be a part of a true family. While the story doesn’t touch upon Christmas as much as others on this list, Akira Haigo delves deeply into the core aspects of family life.
As such, family is a core aspect of Christmas, making this a suitable selection for a list such as this one. As for Sugar Family itself, the story is well-crafted and gives audiences a great amount of comedy and romantic endeavors to please them. Readers will adore seeing Yuka become more acquainted with her father, stepmother, and stepbrother.
The feel-good aura surrounding this family will likely rub off on readers and will encourage them to spread similar warmth to their relatives and others.
Sweet Rein – Sakura Tsukuba
Chocolate Christmas – Naoko Takeuchi
As you can tell from its art style alone, this is a Christmas-themed work written and illustrated by Sailor Moon’s Naoko Takeuchi. This story follows Ryoko, a girl who adores Christmas. One day, she listens to a DJ named Choco prattle on about his sadness with the holiday. To make him smile, Ryoko crafts a cake and delivers it to him. Thus, we examine the two’s ever-growing relationship.
This is one of Naoko’s earlier works and it shows through the story’s short length and illustrations. Nonetheless, it’s a sweet tale that’s guaranteed to make you smile with glee as you read. The story contains some holiday cheer through its rich backdrops to the activities our lovely duo gets roped into through its 5-chapter run.
If you want something that’s short, warm, and from one of Japan’s finest writers, check this out.
Merry Unbalance Christmas – Yuu Tomofuji
Merry Unbalance Christmas is a manga one-shot that’s quick yet well-crafted. This manga features a female protagonist whose been saving cash to buy an expensive pudding to try. However, our female meets a wealthy boy who wants to buy the same pudding she’s after. After they get into a heated discussion, she meets the boy the following day. This time, he asks for her to become his soulmate.
Based on the medium, fans shouldn’t go into this tale expecting much depth. It’s a simple romantic tale that explores the relationship between a male and a woman who’ve experienced different paths in life. Nonetheless, Yuu Tomofuji adds a few interesting twists and compelling activities for our female and male protagonists to participate in.
If you’re looking for a funny and wholesome Christmas tale that you can finish within the span of an hour, check this out.
Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas – Jun Asuka
Whenever you’re visiting a library or a bookstore, you may come across some manga that are based on famous properties. Whether it’s a video game or a beloved animated film, many of these properties often get adapted into manga. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas happens to be a Disney gem that received a marvelous manga adaptation, making it a nice candidate for this list.
Like the beloved film, the manga follows Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, as he stumbles upon Christmas Town and becomes enchanted by the holiday. Jun Asuka does an excellent job at capturing what fans love about the movie but applies their own unique spin on the tale to make it feel somewhat refreshing.
If you loved the movie but wanted to see what it would look like with an anime and manga approach, give this a read.
Are <—- Nochi Kareshi – Yuki Shiraishi
Following the trend of short Christmas manga for readers to get into, we’d like to recommend Are <—- Nochi Kareshi. This manga gives the characters the best depth due to it only being a few chapters long. Nonetheless, our characters’ romantic affairs take place during the holiday seasons and the activities they get roped into should be enough to get people into the holiday spirit.
The manga follows a misunderstood female lead getting together with one of her school’s popular males during the holidays. They get into a bunch of mischief related to this jolly season. The story doesn’t have much going for it as Yuki Shiraishi decided to wrap up the tale within a span of 5 chapters. Nonetheless, the conflict our duo deals with strengthens their relationship a bit.
The story’s illustrations are its proudest achievement. Everything about the scenery to the characters’ designs is appealing enough to keep you from tossing this tale aside.
If you’re in need of work that you can swiftly add to your completed reading lists, this one’s worth checking out, especially if you value Christmas.
Glittering X-Mas Story – Mizuho Hidaka
Glittering X-Mas Story is another one-shot manga that’ll get you in the mood for the holidays. This one’s a bit special as it contains two stories. However, many will gravitate toward its second tale more so than its first. The second tale focuses on Mizuho, a girl who forms a band with a guitar player named Tenshi to win a cruise dinner.
As the tale unfolds, Mizuho questions if she should return to her former boyfriend or start anew with Tenshi. This tale’s loved more because of the tension that brews between our couple during the holiday season. While Christmas is about spending time with loved ones and enjoying the sincerity life gives us at times, this tale is great for those who value works with a spice of drama during the holiday season.
If you’re looking for a simple Christmas anthology manga to read during the season, give this a try.
Almighty X 10 – Aqua Mizuto
Imagine scheduling plans with people on Christmas and they bail on you. That’s the situation that occurs for our female protagonist in Almighty X 10. After her brothers cancel out on her on Christmas Eve, Ten heads off to a party and meets a boy with the same name as hers. He leaves behind his nametag and learns he attends a school nearby.
We follow Ten’s journey to become a student at this academy so she can establish a closer connection with this boy. This manga delivers solid character interactions and pacing. Aqua Mizuto does a fabulous job at building upon the relationship between the Tens and gives each Ten a likable personality and goal to achieve that’ll resonate with readers.
On top of having splendid art that captures the joys to be had with the shojo demographic, Almighty X 10 is a great rom-com to read during the holiday season.
So, there we have it, our picks for the best manga with a Christmas theme through the years!
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!