After a life of hardship as an orphan, Jia Han finally achieves the dream of homeownership... only to have her moment of jubilation cruelly cut short. While indulging in her guilty pleasure--a riveting soap opera--she experiences a sudden, piercing chest pain and meets an untimely demise. But when she wakes up, she finds herself not in the afterlife, but within the very drama she was watching and as none other than its villainess! In a realm where a glance sparks a scandal and a step triggers a landmine of emotions, what fate lies ahead for Jia?
Trapped in a Soap Opera It is also Known as: I'm Stuck in a Crazy Drama, I'm Trapped in a Drama, I'm Trapped in a Terrible Drama, 我被困在了狗血剧里, 狗血劇反派的宿命
Genres: Drama , Romance , Josei , Reverse Harem
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Top 5 Manhwa/Manga Like Trapped in a Soap Opera (Makjangdeuramae Gatyeobeoryeotda) [2025 List]
5. Dame na Watashi ni Koishite Kudasai
The unemployed Shibata Michiko is betting everything she has on her romance with a younger man—literally. In order to keep him happy, she deprives herself of the things she wants and buys him expensive clothing and accessories. Since she's flat out broke, she needs to find a job before she starves to death and loses her young love interest. However, Michiko discovers that the boy was never interested in her romantically. Depressed at being dumped and after a series of unsuccessful interviews, she bumps into Kurosawa—an intimidating former boss she used to dislike.
Please Love the Useless Me has finished publishing and it has 43 Chapters. It is also Known as: ダメな私に恋してください, Please Love Me, DameKoi, ダメ恋
4. Hachimitsu to Clover
Takemoto lives in a run down student apartment, where his greatest worry is when he'll next be able to afford to eat meat and whether he'll get to class on time. Although he's away from home and living on his own, Takemoto is far from finished growing up. Along with his crazy cast of friends, Morita, Mayama, Yamada, and Hagumi, Takemoto sets out to discover life and his true self.
Honey and Clover has finished publishing and it has 71 Chapters. It is also Known as: ハチミツとクローバー, HachiKuro, Honey & Clover, Sora no Kotori, Hoshi no Opera, HoneyClo
3. Sakamichi no Apollon
Nishimi Kaoru has moved from city to city and school to school because of his father’s job. So the first day at his new school was just routine for him. Being intellectual and the new transfer student, he has always been seen as an outcast and all Kaoru had to do was bear it until the next time he moved. But things were slightly different this time. First, he started to get close to the class president, Mukae Ritsuko, and, secondly, unlikely as it seemed, grew closer to Kawabuchi Sentaro. Sentaro was infamous for getting into fights, skipping class and was an overall bad boy. Strangely enough, the three of them find common ground in music, namely jazz, and Kaoru finds himself actually enjoying the new town.
Kids on the Slope has finished publishing and it has 45 Chapters. It is also Known as: 坂道のアポロン, Sakamichi no Aporon
2. Chihayafuru
Chihaya is a girl in the sixth grade, still not old enough to even know the meaning of the word zeal. But one day, she meets Arata, a transfer student from rural Fukui prefecture. Though docile and quiet, he has an unexpected skill: his ability to play competitive karuta, a traditional Japanese card game.
Chihaya is struck by his obsession with the game, along with his ability to pick out the right card and swipe it away before any of his opponents. However, Arata is transfixed by her as well, all because of her unbelievable natural talent for the game. Don't miss this story of adolescent lives and emotions playing out in the most dramatic of ways!
Notes:
- It won the 2nd Manga Taisho Award and the 35th annual Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shoujo.
- It was nominated for the 20th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2016.
Chihayafuru has finished publishing and it has 248 Chapters. It is also Known as: ちはやふる, Chihayafuru
1. Paradise Kiss
Yukari wants nothing more than to make her parents happy by studying hard and getting into a good college. One afternoon, however, she is kidnapped by a group of self-styled fashionistas calling themselves "Paradise Kiss." Yukari suddenly finds herself flung into the roller-coaster life of the fashion world, guided by George, art-snob extraordinaire. In a glamorous makeover of body, mind and soul, she is turned from a hapless bookworm into her friends 22 own exclusive clothing model.
Paradise Kiss has finished publishing and it has 48 Chapters. It is also Known as: パラダイス・キス, ParaKiss
