High schooler Yuuto Sakuraba is a proud otaku who was never interested in 3D girls until he met Kotone Kashiwagi. Unfortunately for Yuuto, his dreams of being able to talk to her are dashed when he is told Kotone hates otaku. One day while working his job at a manga shop, Yuuto runs into a girl from his school looking at the manga. The girl turns out to be Kotone who has been a closet otaku since elementary school, when a group of girls teased everyone for liking manga, forcing Kotone to hide her hobbies in fear of being teased as well. Yuuto promises not to tell anyone that he saw Kotone at the store and he starts to slowly befriend Kotone and learn more about her. Despite knowing one of Kotone's secrets, Yuuto still hasn't learned that Kotone is the online artist Sayane.

Both manga have similar setups, with the main characters in both Tonari no Kashiwagi-san and Horimiya connected by the secret sides of themselves that they don't show to others. Hori, Miyamura, and Kotone all keep parts of themselves hidden in fear of what others will think about them, but these secrets are what ultimately lead them to a new form of happiness they hadn't experienced before. Miyamura and Kotone are both cold and they don't have many friends, but after their secrets are revealed to a few people, they start to open up to everyone and their personalities start to change for the better. Tonari no Kashiwagi-san and Horimiya are both slow paced romantic stories, with the characters taking their time in their romantic endeavors making it all the more satisfying when their relationship progresses. Both stories have a nice mix of comedy, romance, and show off the daily lives of its characters that keep the stories from getting stale.

As a child, Mao Motomiya was always alone, her parents always worked and even when they were home, Mao felt like her family wasn't together. Mao's intuition was right as her parents would soon get divorced forcing Mao to choose to live with her father instead of her mother. The only comfort she ever found as a child was when she would eat dinner at the Nakamura house. Mao's happiness there wouldn't last long, as the parents of the Nakamura house both passed away and the two younger children went to live with other family members, leaving just the oldest son Hiro in the house. Now in high school, Mao's father has remarried and grown even further from Mao. After Mao leaves the house in anger, Mao's father tells her not to come home and asks Hiro if he would take care of Mao. Hiro and Mao start to regain some of the happiness that their childhoods provided and begin to grow even closer.

While Taiyou no Ie starts out with a more serious tone, it doesn't take long for the story to show off the comedy and romance that make the manga similar to Horimiya. Both manga feature the couples slowly developing their relationship with one another as they come to care for one another and learn that the feelings they have is love. Mao and Hiro also have a bond due to a secret they keep from others that eventually leads them to become closer similar to Hori and Miyamura's situation. Both manga also show both of their main character's internal monologues, giving the reader a look into both of their minds and how they are approaching their lives.

Haduki Masaka spends her days doing nothing but working and reading manga. At 25-years-old, Haduki has never been in a relationship and can never join in when her coworkers talk about relationships. Haduki's sister Miya decides it is time for Haduki to be happy and introduces her to a 16-year-old boy from her class named Yukimura Iwai. Despite not knowing what being in a relationship is like, the inexperienced Haduki and the timid Yukimura begin to experience love for the first time.

Hitorimi Haduki-san is a wonderfully pure romance manga with a splash of comedy. The main characters in both Hitorimi Haduki-san to and Horimiya play similar roles in the relationship with Yukimura and Miyamura being shy and timid when they start their relationship while Haduki and Hori are the ones who are pushing the relationship forward. This gives the story of Hitorimi Haduki-san to a similar vibe to Horimiya with how the relationships develop. Both manga focus on the romance elements as they show off a couple that is romantically naive and they learn what all love has to offer.

Hoshino, Me wo Tsubutte tells the story of the antisocial Kobayakawa and the outgoing and popular Hoshino. Koboyakawa lives his high school life not wanting to get involved with any of the popular people and spends his days drawing portraits. One day after school, Kobayakawa runs into Hoshino who is trying to save a cat stuck in the water. After Kobayakawa jumps into the water to save the cat, he ends up almost drowning as well. Kobayakawa gets saved by a plain looking girl who turns out to be Hoshino without any makeup. Ever since middle school, Hoshino has been hiding her insecurities behind her makeup and fears that if her friends saw her without it, they would all leave her. Now that Kobayakawa knows Hoshino's secret, Kobayakawa's uneventful life is going to get a lot more exciting.

Hoshino, Me wo Tsubutte has a similar setup to Horimiya with the main characters bonding over the secret appearances they hide from other people. Although Kobayakawa and Hoshino are brought together and bond like Hori and Miyamura, Hoshino, Me wo Tsubutte is closer to Horimiya with the style and execution of its comedy more than its romance. The comedy in both manga revolve around the banter of the two main characters and will often lead to serious situations allowing them to grow closer. Hoshino, Me wo Tsubutte and Horimiya also show the main characters growing to not only love each other, but also learning to love themselves for who they are.

Umiho started her new math class without anybody she knew, but she quickly became friends with the boy sitting next to her named Namose. Every day, Umiho would let Namose look at her notes and she eventually came to develop feelings for Namose. Unfortunately for Umiho, Namose's bad grades and lack of effort got him demoted to the lower math class separating the two of them. After hearing Umiho talking about her problems, a strange girl named Yachiyo encourages her to confess her feelings to Namose. As the sole member of the promise-keeping club, Yachiyo decides to help Umiho to confess in any way possible. After Umiho confesses to Namose, Umiho and Yachiyo become friends and began to support each other in both love and life.

Unlike many of the manga on this list, Hana to Rakurai doesn't start with secrets that bring the main characters together and although romance plays a key part in the story, the story focuses on the friendship that forms between Umiho and Yachiyo. The way Umiho and Yachiyo begin to support each other and help them get through troubling times is similar to how Miyamura and Hori acted when they became friends. This serves as the main thing carrying both stories forward allowing them to throw in the romance and comedy round out the story. With Hana to Rakurai only being eight chapters long, it isn't able to flesh out the characters as well as Horimiya is able to, but it is able to give you a great story featuring romance, friendship, and a lot of drama that puts it on par with some of the best chapters of Horimiya.

Akina Komatsu is a photographer for the school newspaper who has never experienced love. One day, Aoi of the student council asks Akina to be his girlfriend. Akina is unsure of her feelings for Aoi and isn't sure if she should date him or not. With Aoi always surrounded by pretty girls, Akina starts to doubt herself even more. Growing tired of waiting for a response, Aoi gives Akina a week to give him an answer. After battling with her lack of confidence, Akina decides that sometimes in life, you just have to take a leap of faith.

Shinbun-bu no Komatsu-san takes place in the same universe as Mizuno’s other manga, Seishun Trickers, both telling the story of a romance between two of the side characters. Despite being only one volume, Shinbun-bu no Komatsu-san still features a romance that gives off the same vibes you get while reading Horimiya. Although the story never explains why Aoi has feelings for Akina, it does shows the thought Akina puts into their relationship and shows how she develops her feelings for Aoi. The relationship between Akina and Aoi builds slowly with Akina coming to learn what it means to love somebody, similar to how Hori and Miyamura build their relationship. Horimiya and Shinbun-bu no Komatsu-san also focus on the comedy just as much as the romance giving the manga a good mix of emotions for the reader.