Manga NOT featuring high-school or younger protagonists

Nope; high school girl. (Even if it isn't shown much)

I don't know why..., but this topic made me yearn for The Cabin In The Woods inspired anime-manga wherein a secret worldwide organization is running a super-elite college in order to have a steady supply of potential trope-approved sacrifices to the Ancient Ones.

edited 17th May '14 6:59:44 PM by probablyinsane

Uchuu Kyoudai and Moonlight Mile. I want to say Twin Spica but apparently they just skip a few years of high school.

edited 17th May '14 7:24:04 PM by KnightofNASA

I have always worried for children caught up in fantasy worlds (for those where I cared at all) but just as much as for adults. If there's one place outside the home where children are safe, it's in a world of their own imagining. They know how it works. I hate Adults Are Useless because it's a waste of characters. But I don't see children as needing protection, just guidance at most.

Maybe that's why I'm never trusted to look after my cousins.

On why high school is so used, there's the target demographic but probably more importantly, it's an age where independence meets childishness, giving potential for discovery and growth. Adults often look back upon it nostalgically, more than early childhood (memory is vague) or college and first employment (the start of responsiblities and worries). This may be particularly strong in Japan's stagnant economy. And finally, it's the age where they can be drawn cutesy and, at least in Japan, be sexualised.

High School is the border between childhood and adulthood, which fits perfectly with the Coming of Age theme most shows have, so yea.

Japan can probably relate better than America, most anime fans here are college age and above (20 and up) so that might be a reason.

wut independence

all I remember is "It's like middle school, but with more work and sluttier people"

"There's a ton, if not a majority then at least about half of good live action shows, books, and films with adult main characters. It's really silly that a good 90% of manga artists and anime producers think that life suddenly ends or becomes completely unable to be interesting after high school. "

I was thinking more about realistic depictions of student life. I'm sure there are novels that fits the description, but when I think of American media, what comes first to my mind is excessive partying and extreme segregation into nerds and jocks.

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru is surprisingly complex and realistic.

Still high school though.

Just double checking, and I see that no one has mentioned Ghost in the Shell (it all its varied incarnations) yet. Which also reminds me. Psycho-Pass.

No one has named dropped Toriko? What the hell...

One Piece's characters aren't high-school aged anymore.

Most of the main cast in Hamatora aren't high-schoolers anymore right? Then there's Arakawa Under The Bridge and Saint Onii-san.

I keep thinking "No Relation to that Arakawa"

edited 18th May '14 5:25:06 AM by TheHandle

I'm surprised that's the first one that comes to mind when you think of the mangaka Arakawa.

There's also Silver Spoon, which so far removed from what a usual high-school is and so much closer to the working world that you can't help but love it.

The Protags of FMA are young, but there's not a highschool in sight. So half marks I guess?

Still a story featuring teenage protagonists (Though at least it really averts Adults Are Useless). Really, a lot of shonen feature them, probably due to the target audience, which'll have a harder time identifying with the protagonist if they're older.

FMA is still a Shonen about a teenager at hear though.

There's also Steins Gate; the cast are early college age, so like 18, but its not in High School and lacks most of its tropes...aside from a Tsundere anyway.

Drifters. The protagonists are historical figures in their 20s and 30s.

Dogs Bullets And Carnage is an action seinen with a mostly adult cast.

For yuri, Iono The Fanatics, The Mikos Words And The Witches Incantations, and Wife And Wife all have adult protagonists.

edited 18th May '14 5:12:43 PM by Rynnec

Darker Than Black, Dantalian No Shoka, Jormungand, Kamisama Dolls (although a few of the important characters are young...), Le Chevalier Deon (but one of the main characters is a kid), Log Horizon have manga, as well as Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, Spice And Wolf is in manga form too, Phantom Of Inferno has a manga adaptation, Samurai Champloo, Trinity Blood (although Esther is young and another one LOOKS young lol), and White Album.

I forgot to mention Space Adventure Cobra, although its anime adaptations are more widely available than the manga.

edited 19th May '14 7:24:24 AM by harkko

Speaking of yuri, Collectors is a series about a couple who've graduated college and moved on to work or grad school. They also have almost completely opposite personalities but still fit together as a couple.

Kurogane Puka Puka Tai is about three ships' crews in the Indian Ocean during WWII. Three improbably female crews filled with lesbians. It's mostly silly.

Living Game has one protagonist who's high school-age, but she's not in school and most of the story is about a crazy workplace full of older folks.

Rose of Versailles might start with its characters around this age, but they grow out of it fairly quickly. And of course they're not actually in school. Classic series, though there's a heavy sense of doom hanging over it all if you know the first thing about history.

Kamen Rider Spirits. All adults there.