Lord Protectorate of the Potatoes and Cheese
You'd want Seinen manga. However, most of these tend to be either 90% ecchi or really disturbing.
The worst. Literally the worst. Massive shipper. Also a Bay12 Denizen.
Gintama features an adult main protagonist. Gintoki Sakata is somewhere in his 20s and fought in a war prior to the series.
So much generalizing. :/
Here a list of some manga's that feature a older main character Ymmv if you hate all of them.
Murcielago, Golden Time, Servant X Service.
edited 16th May '14 5:40:01 AM by danjo
One Punch Man has almost no kids in the cast at all.
edited 16th May '14 6:06:25 AM by TrueShadow1
Owner of Dead End
United Earth
Thank you, many of these manga are quite interesting.
Oh, by the way, whatever happened to Oyasumi Pun Pun? Did he graduate yet?
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Many Shonens include older protagonists as well. Rurouni Kenshin an Claymore immediately sprung to my mind. Bakuman as well, sortanote .
But, seriously, there is plenty manga with older protagonists out there. The ones I am reading currently are Monster and 20th Century Boys. Both really great.
edited 16th May '14 7:41:31 AM by Heatth
Jojo protagonists are usually in their late teens, but none of them look it.
Also highschools very rarely feature, even then.
edited 16th May '14 7:49:43 AM by Elfive
Radical Moderate
Let's not forget Josei manga here as well — Honey And Clover, Nodame Cantabile, Kimi Wa Petto, Hataraki Man, etc. Adult female perspectives are just as important!
Also, Maison Ikkoku, because it's one of the best ever.
First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.
Let's see... Knights of Sidonia, Vinland Saga, Otoyomegatari and Shut Hell are only some currently ongoing manga that I'm reading that fit your criteria, Handle. All of them are Seinen and monthly series, and for some reason, most of them are historical in nature. Perhaps it's because of this that all of them are well-plotted, with great attention to detail.
United Earth
Most of the stories mentioned I've already read. They are, indeed, good.
Special mention to Jojo for being balls-out insane.
And God, do I love Farmland Saga.
edited 16th May '14 8:42:25 AM by TheHandle
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
TWO YEARS OF
don't those tend to include teenage protags in school anyway
I'm pretty sure Blassreiter had an adult protagonist (if it doesn't, it at least has adult major characters), I think Dantalian No Shoka had an adult protagonist, Steins;Gate doesn't have a protagonist that goes to school(I don't remember his actual age, though he probably is old enough), Psycho Pass has an adult protagonist, Hataraku Maou Sama has a main character that looks like a teenager but doesn't actually do teenager things, Log Horizon had a protagonist who was supposed to be graduating college I think, and then there's things like Crimsons which is about hot blooded salmon.
MMORPGs are serious business.
United Earth
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Seen most of these too. Love Maou-sama; he's very manly. I put him somewhere near Dr. Tenma and Thorfinn in my sliding scale of manliness VS boorishness.
And yes, the overly youthful state of hentai is utterly deplorable. Nowadays most of them get a "Get those horny brats away from my sight. Where can I get a plot about adults having affairs and going through all kinds of emotional turmoil that can upend their daily lives, their livelihoods, their families, their futures, and may well tear asunder the very foundations of their lives and their assumptions about themselves?" Less cream, more tears! Less rape, more mind games and Questionable Consent! Also, do throw a happy married couple in once in a while, dammit!
edited 16th May '14 11:50:17 AM by TheHandle
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Immanentizing the eschaton
The Tatami Galaxy would technically qualify.
Edit: oh, and Mushishi!
edited 16th May '14 11:58:24 AM by majoraoftime
United Earth
MoNoNoKe. Not the film.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
United Earth
Hello, my name is Puck, and I'm here to
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Nyanpasu~
Not many. Kuragehime!! Canaan. Hakkenden Touhou Hakken Ibun. Technically. Nodame Cantabile. Planetes. Moyashimon, although I wasn't a big fan. Spice And Wolf, although I didn't watch it. The protagonists in Shin Sekai Yori eventually grow up, but it begins with them as 12-year-olds and ends with the main character in her 30s.
And there are a ton of manga and anime about teenagers who don't go to school, but I wouldn't count those as they're still enforcing the Animation Age Ghetto .
Loves feel-good animation a whole lot.
Face me now, Bitch!
Technically Asuras Wrath due to the manga adaptation Asuras Wrath Kai (Which has, to date, not gotten a scanlation done, sadly).
Watch Symphogear
Murciélago and Hellsing. I believe Ashita no Joe counts as well.
Because I've seriously had enough of those. Enough of student councils! Enough of club activies! Enough of lunches on the roof and running in the morning to arrive on time! Enough of sailor uniforms!
Give me college-aged people at the very least, and the older the better. Tiger And Bunny. Samurai Flamenco. Ghost In The Shell. Fate Zero. Give me grownups!
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.