Contrary to how I feel, I actually have read quite a bit during my hiatus. While I’ve steered clear of my normal YA reads I’ve fallen deeply in love with manga.
And, what better way to showcase that love than to share what manga really stole my heart (and wallet) during my two year hiatus!
Eating around other people is a struggle for salaryman Yutaka, despite his talent for cooking. All that changes when he meets Minoru and Tane—two brothers, many years apart in age—who ask him to teach them how to make his delicious food! It’s not long before Yutaka finds himself falling hard for the meals they share together—and falling in love!
Our Dining Table was such a feel good story about someone finding that they didn’t have to be alone, the innocence of enjoying the company others, and every single page was such an aww inducing read. The art style was simple but for some reason that just made it even better. Without a doubt this is one of my favorite manga I’ve ever read.
Rihito Sajou, a hyperventilating overachiever, winds up attending a high school where the only requirement for graduation is knowing how to write your name. Due to some extenuating circumstances, he is now being tutored by one of the many school idiots, Hikaru “Beyan” Kusakabe. For two students who had never before had a real conversation, what does the future hold now that they are constantly together? Follow these boys as they experience excitement, betrayal, depression, and love; that unyielding, crazy, poignant, and fantastical kind of love.
Similar to Our Dining Table, Classmates hit me right in the feels. I loved watching Rihito and Hikaru grow over the course of their high school year and I loved watching their love grow and develop and ugh! JUST READ THIS ONE OK?! It’s so freaking cute but grounded and I can’t say enough great things about it.
Mass murderers may not have much by way of careeer skills, but Kuroko Koumori seems to have landed her dream job as a hitwoman for the Tokyo police! A license to kill other killers? That’s some serious job satisfaction, right there!
On the complete other side of the spectrum is Murcielago. Where Classmates, and Our Dining Table, was cute and feelsy Murcielago is all about violence and sex and not always in that order. Kuroko is terrifying but she’s also this giant perverted dork I can’t get enough of! I’ve read more of this series than any others (at this time) and every time I finish a volume I immediately want to start another. It is really fun, and as long as you don’t mind the graphic bits you’ll enjoy the ride.
“I don’t like caramel sauce. I prefer something bitter…” Masahiro Setagawa doesn’t believe in heroes, but wishes he could- He’s found himself in a gang of small-time street bullies who use him to run errands. But when high school teacher (and scourge of the streets) Kousuke Ohshiba comes to his rescue, he finds he may need to start believing after all…and as their relationship deepens, he realizes a hero might be just what he was looking for this whole time.
Are you starting to notice a theme? What can I say. I love cute boys who love cute boys! Hitroijime My Hero was first introduced to me in it’s anime form and I LOVED IT SO FREAKING MUCH (but we’ll talk about anime next week)! This story doesn’t hold the same level of cute as others but I think the ups and downs that Kouske and Masahiro go through bring a level of realness to the genre that I really enjoyed seeing.
Mako’s always had a passion for photography. When she loses someone dear to her, she clings to her art as a relic of the close relationship she once had…Luckily, her childhood best friend Kei encourages her to come to his high school and join their prestigious photo club. With nothing to lose, Mako grabs her camera and moves into the dorm where Kei and his classmates live. Soon, a fresh take on life, along with a mysterious new muse, begin to come into focus!
Annnnnnd back to the cute! I honestly was a little hesitant to pick this one up because I assumed it was going to run into love triangle territory (yes I judged a book by it’s cover). But my fantastical friend Patty (HEY BOO) was having none of that and next thing you know I had finished all 3 volumes and was grinning from ear to ear. I enjoyed how the characters developed at a pace that seemed realistic and natural.
It’s a day in the life of your average househusband—if your average househusband is the legendary yakuza “the Immortal Dragon”! A former yakuza legend leaves it all behind to become your everyday househusband. But it’s not easy to walk away from the gangster life, and what should be mundane household tasks are anything but! He was the fiercest member of the yakuza, a man who left countless underworld legends in his wake. They called him “the Immortal Dragon.” But one day he walked away from it all to walk another path—the path of the househusband! The curtain rises on this cozy yakuza comedy!
CAN I JUST SAY HOW FREAKING FUNNY THIS IS!?! The premise is super straight forward. Once the leader of the yakuza and now just your average everyday house husband; we follow “The Immortal Dragon” as he goes about his day to day life. Grocery store run? Yep. Making bentos for his wife as she runs to work? Yes! Making sure he gets the most out of coupons? DAMN RIGHT. But normal errands can go left quickly when everywhere you go people only see The Immortal Dragon from before and not the husband of today.
Beelzebub–the formidable right hand of Satan–commands fear and respect throughout Pandemonium. What her underlings don’t realize, though, is that she’s an airhead with a love for all that is fluffy and adorable! The only thing she might enjoy more is teasing her new attendant, Mullin, who is learning that serving Beelzebub is both heaven and hell…
IT. IS. SO. FREAKING. CUTE!!!! I watched the anime (shocking yes I know) and I spent the entirety of each episode squealing like a small child and going AWWWWW. You’d think a show about the right hand woman of Satan would be sinister but NOPE. And the manga was the same. The story is so fluffy and cute and the art is freaking ADORABLE.
Yuji Itadori is resolved to save the world from cursed demons, but he soon learns that the best way to do it is to slowly lose his humanity and become one himself! In a world where demons feed on unsuspecting humans, fragments of the legendary and feared demon Ryoma Sukuna were lost and scattered about. Should any demon consume Sukuna’s body parts, the power they gain could destroy the world as we know it. Fortunately, there exists a mysterious school of Jujutsu Sorcerers who exist to protect the precarious existence of the living from the undead! Yuji Itadori is high schooler who spends his days visiting his bedridden grandfather. Although he looks like your average teenager, his immense physical strength is something to behold! Every sports club wants him to join, but Itadori would rather hang out with the school outcasts in the Occult Club. One day, the club manages to get their hands on a sealed cursed object, but little do they know the terror they’ll unleash when they break the seal…
So this one kind of reminded me of another series I started….but done RIGHT! There’s the determined kid who is just trying to do the right thing and dammit I just want to root for him forever. Plus there was blood. And I’m sure we already know how much I appreciate my manga/anime gore.
I know this was supposed to be a “Top Ten” list but I haven’t read anything else (during my hiatus) that deserves to be on this list….yet. I’m currently participating in the Manga Madness Readathon so who knows! Maybe this will be a monthly feature of manga? I know I’ll only read more as time goes and it was really fun to sort through which ones I wanted to share. I hope someone of these piqued your interest! And stay tune for next week when I share my Top Ten Anime Hiatus edition. 🙂
I’ll be adding some of these to my TBR. I don’t read manga as much as I used to, but I’ve found myself really enjoying Webtoons, and I’v been persuading everyone on my dance team to check out Ballroom e Youkoso.
YAY!!!! I really hope you like some of these. Welcome to the Ballroom is on my anime watch list!
Aww, now I simply must pick up a manga! I haven’t read one in a while and the quarantine is the perfect excuse! I think that Love in Focus would be my cup of tea 🙂
I’ve read so much during quarantine I’m in awe lol. Let me know if you like Love in Focus. It’s such a cute read. 🙂
What a great list!!! I’ll be keeping an eye out for your anime list next week. Ahem LOL
Thanks boo!!!!!
I definitely need to check some of these out. I don’t usually like a lot of cute stuff, but it’s definitely a nice break from all the shonen I watch/read. I’ve watched As Miss Beelzebub Likes and it is so precious.
Michelle @ In Libris Veritas recently posted…Tell Me Tuesday #103
Right!?!? When I started it I didn’t realize it would be so darn cute, and now that the anime is over I’m like welp time to read all the manga lol. Let me know if any of these work out for you. A lot of them caught me by surprise so I’m interested to see if you felt the same!