 If you liked
Banana Fish
|
 ...then you might like
Kaze to Ki no Uta
|
These highly-acclaimed shoujo manga may have vastly different settings and premises, but the dynamics of the main characters are very similar. Both have a talented but naive character that is drawn into an intense new world after a personal tragedy. This character (Serge in KazeKi; Eiji in BF) becomes close to another boy whose horrid past has made him broken and unapproachable (Gilbert in KazeKi; Ash in BF). They're both romantic (although BF only has romantic undertones) without being full of fanservice; and tragic without lacking hope that the leads will one day be happy.