I went to an anime convention last weekend, so I decided to start looking at what manga I’m excited about, and to check out what new releases have been published recently. The library I work at has a good manga selection, but not necessarily the new releases I’m interested in. As this is part two, I included a few oldies that looked interesting.
Heiress and the Chauffeur by Keiko Ishihara – May 3, 2016
I think this one sounds really cute, and I like that it is a really short series (only two volumes)!
At an all-girls school during the Taisho era in Japan, rumors swirl that heiress Sayaka Yoshimura is having a forbidden love affair with her chauffeur, Shinobu Narutaki! Sayaka scoffs at the rumors, but could a romance between master and servant actually be brewing?
Sayaka wears a crimson ribbon that signals she is at the top of her class, and her classmates all revere her. So when Narutaki ignores decorum and breaks school rules to protect Sayaka, will she stand by him or dismiss him as the school demands?
Karneval by Touya Mikanagi – Vol. 1 was released back in 2015, and Vol 7. comes out May 23, 2017
This seems to be a popular Josei series, which I’d like to give a try.
When innocent country boy Nai sets foot into the sordid cutthroat realm of the city, he might as well have painted a target on his own back. Kidnappers, murderers and desperados abound, waiting to take advantage of a boy guileless enough to believe blood is merely “red water”. When he is framed for a murder, it is the bandit Gareki who bails him out. Being a shrewd and sharp-eyed thief, however, Gareki’s motives are less than pure. Nai is looking for a friend who has disappeared and left behind something particularly intriguing – an I.D bracelet from the organisation named “Circus”, the country’s supreme defense agency. While Gareki has his sights set firmly on the bracelet, “Circus” in turn, has shifted its eye onto the duo as well…
Honey So Sweet, Vol. 7 by Amu Meguro – July 4, 2017
I recently read the first volume of this series, and I’m considering purchasing it. It is really cute and sweet, but also has surprisingly dark elements. I like the main character a lot because she is quiet and shy, but also has a lot of other great qualities.
A charming high school romance between a tender hooligan and an orphaned girl.
Little did Nao Kogure realize back in middle school that when she left an umbrella and a box of bandages in the rain for injured delinquent Taiga Onise she would meet him again in high school. Nao wants nothing to do with the gruff and frightening Taiga, but he suddenly presents her with a huge bouquet of flowers and asks her to date him–with marriage in mind! Is Taiga really so scary, or is he a sweetheart in disguise?
Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 9 by Aya Shouoto – July 4, 2017
I’m interested in trying out some of these supernatural romantic series, to see which ones are good quality or unique. I am really enjoying Spell of Desire by Tomu Ohmi, so I was looking to try something similar.
On her sixteenth birthday, orphan Himari Momochi inherits her ancestral estate that she’s never seen. Momochi House exists on the barrier between the human and spiritual realms, and Himari is meant to act as guardian between the two worlds. But on the day she moves in, she finds three handsome squatters already living in the house, and one seems to have already taken over her role!
Love at Fourteen, Vol. 1 by Fuka Mizutani – Vol. 6 was released March 21, 2017
This is another Yen Press publication. I like manga series that cover their characters over many years of their lives, and this seems to go from high school to college. Goodreads lists the series as ongoing, with about one volume out each year. I have the first few volumes from the library, so I’m excited to see if I like it!
The second year of junior high, when most students are in the throes of puberty and feeling the pangs of first love. It’s no different for Kanata Tanaka and Kazuki Yoshikawa, a girl and a boy who have been friends since elementary school. But even though Kanata and Kazuki are at the same point in life as their classmates, an air of adulthood sets the two apart. Kanata is taller and more attractive than the other girls, but the boys stay away because she seems too mature for them. Kazuki too stands out from the other boys, but the girls are wary of him because he seems like a player. And so, Kanata and Kazuki are thrown together in a charming, bittersweet tale of two very adult students falling in love like the teenagers they are.
Demon Love Spell by Mayu Shinjo – Vol. 1 published in English Dec 4, 2012
This is a completed series, and it’s relatively short (5 volumes). It also came up as being similar to Spell of Desire by Tomu Ohmi.
Miko is a shrine maiden who has never had much success at seeing or banishing spirits. Then she meets Kagura, a sexy demon who feeds off women’s feelings of passion and love. Kagura’s insatiable appetite has left many girls at school brokenhearted, so Miko casts a spell to seal his powers. Surprisingly the spell works—sort of—but now Kagura is after her!
Emma Kristensen 