Kinichirou Imamura is a guy who is unremarkable in every way. In his high school years, he wasn’t Mr. popular nor did he participate in any extracurricular activities. Simply put, he was someone who just grazed through high school. When graduation day finally arrives, Kinichirou recounts his time, remembering one girl who stood out from the crowd, a girl who actually acknowledged him, a cheerleader no less! Making his way to the cheer practice room, he unintentionally startles a classmate, resulting in the both of them tumbling down the stairs. Coming to, he emerges back in time, on his first day and first year of high school! A dream or time travel? Whatever it may be, Kinichirou is given a second chance to make things right!

Kinichirou and Shiki are both high school guys who slide under the radar, but demonstrate immense passion towards unconventional sports, e.g., Cheer club and Quiz club. Showing great potential in their hobbies, both fellas bring to the story a lot of excitement, as well as spotlight distinct pastimes that aren’t normally popularized by the modern male teen.

Mika Sawamura doesn’t really call the shots when it comes to her life, drifting leisurely by as if time and life were unimportant elements. One day, Mika sees something eye-catching; her classmate, Kaede Minakami, is occupied in a game of pool. As he is known as a guy who keeps to himself, Mika observes how his personality drastically alters when he has his head in the game. Interested in how Kaede’s persona differs while playing pool, this quality of his grabs Mika’s attention, producing a newfound spark in her existence.

In comparison, we notice our main characters, Mika and Shiki, participating in sports that demand a lot of skill and training in order to be called an accomplished participant. Although Nine Puzzle and Nana Maru San Batsu differ in cast dynamics, both stories offer an interesting take on non-conventional school activities, offering readers a glimpse of what really takes place in after school extracurriculars.

Diligent, hardworking, and passionate are words you would not use to describe Fujioka High student, Sakurai; average and uneventful is more his style. However, things begin to change for Sakurai when he is caught in a compromising position, as he catches the Lacrosse Club’s team captain, Misora Toyoguchi, unclothed. After this event, he is forced to become the team’s new manager as settlement for that awkward situation. Starting off as the team’s lackey, Sakurai becomes entranced by Misora’s devotion to lacrosse, inspired to learn more about the sport. As a bonus, Sakurai’s found something valuable to exert his energy into.

Sakurai from Cross Manage and Shiki from Nana Maru San Batsu are the underdogs of their stories, achieving something they wouldn’t have imagined possible if it weren’t for Misora and Senpai drawing their attention to lacrosse and competitive quizzing respectfully. In their school setting, we observe their growth and development, and with it, a lot of positive influence due to the aid of their close supportive friends.

Mizuki and Sachi are two girls who are involved in playing tabletop RPGs. The girls are also starting their first year in high school and want to bring this fantastic activity to light in their new surrounding. As they engage in their favorite hobby, they gain an enthusiastic prospect, a girl named Fumi who seems very interested in learning how to play. While the trio spends a great deal of time together, they learn and teach each other new techniques and strategy, growing closer in their passionate gaming group.

Comparably different in length, with Quick Start!! being a 4-koma comic strip, and Nana Maru San Batsu consisting of eight volumes so far, both stories spotlight a range of animated characters participating in uncommon and alternative sports. As the world of anime/manga documents a wide variety of subject matter not normally marketed throughout widespread media, tabletop RPG and the quizzing circuit appear super cool and absolutely intense, drawing readers to learn more about these games.

Kishimine Kengo is a major bookworm, someone who would rather spend his time daydreaming with a great novel than staring at a screen and playing video games all the live-long day like the many teens around him. Differing from the modern teenager, Kishimine gets sucked into the world of videogames suddenly, discovering that the very storylines he gets drawn into are very similar, although derived from varied mediums. Will Kishimine be able to sink into the narrative of the games in an identical fashion as his books? Continue on to see for yourself!

We often hear of video games being a terrible influence on the mind, in addition to being total time wasters, as books and reading are more fundamental. In this case, it’s totally the opposite because videogames are demonstrating to be a positive force in Kishimine’s life. Comparing Boku to Kanojo no Game Sensou to Nana Maru San Batsu, we are able to draw the similarities between Kishimine and Shiki, as they develop a skill for/interest in an activity completely opposite their style. Furthermore, their introverted personality changes extremely once they become more involved in videogames and competitive quizzing.

Fancy a quick game? Asobitagari no Kiryuu-san is a manga about a gal, Sayaka Kiryu, who absolutely loves playing board games. Sayaka is someone who keeps her nose clean, but rumors are going around that she is spending a lot of her time with adults. What could she be doing? Putting rumors to rest, her classmate, Takuya Takatsuki tags along with Sayaka on one of her game days, finding out what she really does with adults is none other than playing board games.

Both following the game and school genres, Asobitagari and Nana Maru San Batsu are intriguing and compelling manga to read, as readers are absorbed in Sayaka’s enthusiasm toward board games, and Shiki’s unnoticed intellect that later becomes an important factor for his team. Moreover, our protagonists don’t have a normal run-of-the-mill personality, with characteristics that stand out from the typical “star of the show.”