Manga Monday: The Foxy Mouse’s Romance

Creator: Hanasawa Namio

Demographic: BL/Boys Love

Themes: Omegaverse, Romantic Comedy, Workplace Romance, Editor/Author, Predator/Play, Fear Play , Hybrids/Beastmen

Status: Ongoing (with English Simulpub) 

Published By: Brite Publishing via Renta

LINK

Official Summary:

Sachio Kurumizawa is an omega mouse manga artist, and Ukano, the alpha fox, is his editor… but Sachio can’t help but feel uncomfortable around Ukano.

He always seems to look at Sachio with predatory eyes.

One night, Sachio goes into heat at an omega-only bar, and Ukano saves him.

Unfortunately, Sachio has no idea how long he’ll stay in heat… and then, Ukano offers to help him stop it.

Will Sachio say yes to getting between the sheets with Ukano despite his terror of being devoured…!?

Thinky Thoughts

Omegaverse is obviously a majorly important thing in my life. I am always reading it, thinking about it, and writing it. I only haven’t put out some horrifying Mahito/Junpei omegaverse yet because there are so many other, worse AUs that I’ve been busy with.

Anyway, I got into The Foxy Mouse’s Romance because… I saw a TikTok about it. For a site that punishes you for basically wiggling a toe out of step, the social media platform sure has become the main first site/sight for me when it comes to spicy webtoons and manga.

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[Manga Monday] My Girlfriend Gives Me Goosebumps!

Title: My Girlfriend Gives Me Goosebumps!

Creator: Shunsuke Iino

Demographic: Shonen

Themes: Psychological, Thriller, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, Stalking, Yandere

Status: Ongoing (with English Simulpub) 

Published By: MangaPlus/Shueisha

LINK

Official Summary:

Meet Haruka Kawatsuji, a young boy who miraculously survived a fall from his apartment’s balcony as a child. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts to find that same thrill in sports and horror movies, he’s never quite managed to feel as alive since. However, that may all be about to change in a fateful encounter with one very eccentric girl!

Thinky Thoughts

I don’t have a ton to say about this as I’m reading it right now. Like as I write this, I have my phone on my bed and I’m powering through the chapters. Normally, I try to recommend things I’m thinking about for a a while or in some serious depth but… with this? I had to recommend it because this series is fully a freak for freak relationship of a kind I rarely see outside of R18 media or seinen series.

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[Manga Monday] Godchild

Title: Godchild

Creator: Kaori Yuki

Demographic: Shojo

Themes: historical fiction, European setting, crime and punishment, murder mysteries, supernatural, incest, romance, horror, fairytales, mad science, and tragedy

Status: Complete and fully translated

Published By: VIZ (North America), Hakusensha (Japan)

LINK

Official Summary:

Deep in the heart of 19th Century London, a young nobleman named Cain walks the shadowy cobblestone streets of the aristocratic society in which he was born. Forced to become an Earl upon the untimely death of his father, Cain assumes the role of head of the Hargreaves, a noble family with a dark past. With Riff, his faithful manservant, and Mary Weather, his 10-year-old adopted sister, Cain investigates the mysterious crimes that seem to follow him wherever he goes.

Thinky Thoughts

The sequel to the original Earl Cain series (first published in 1991), Kaori Yuki’s Godchild is one of the single most formative pieces of media in my life. Honestly, between this and Angel Sanctuary, Kaori Yuki’s body of work has actually shaped a huge portion of my interests and personality. Even my early writing as a tadpole owes to her brilliant worldbuilding, capable writing, and gorgeous art. 

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[Manga Monday] Brutal: Confessions of a Homicide Investigator

Title: Brutal: Confessions of a Homicide Investigator

Creator: Kei Koga (Original Story) and Ryo Izawa (Art and adaptation)

Demographic: Seinen

Themes: crime and punishment, serial killers, thriller, horror

Status: On indefinite hiatus but fully translated 

Published By: Tokuma Shoten

LINK

Official Summary:

There is a man who delivers the most painful death to hardened criminals the law can’t judge: Hiroki Dan, Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Division. The son of the former commissioner, he seems to be on a solid career path. But in secret, he’s a serial killer who’s murdered over 100 criminals. An eye-for-eye murder suspense story begins in this spinoff of “Trace: Forensic Scientific Researcher’s Recollections.”

Thinky Thoughts

I nearly bit through my hand while reading the first chapter of Brutal.

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[Manga Monday] Don’t Blush, Sekime-San!

Title: Don’t Blush, Sekime-san!

Creator: Shigure Tokita

Demographic: Seinen

Themes: first love, contemporary, high school romance, romcom, classmates

Status: Completed and Fully Translated

Published By: Shueisha

LINK

Official Summary:

His girlfriend is super popular, but he’s the only one who sees her turn bright-red! A rom-com about a boy and his over-embarrassed girlfriend!

Thinky Thoughts

Don’t Blush, Sekime-San! sits at the same table as Komi Can’t Communicate and The Dangers in My Heart. All three series are those contemporary male fantasies where a short semi-loser and a tall girl that’s just a little weird (or a lot weird, in Anna Yamada’s case in the third series) wind up in a warm relationship after some trouble. The difference between the three series is that Don’t Blush, Sekime-San!… isn’t about an easily overlooked guy or a loser. (I say this with warmth because I like Tadano from Komi and Dangers stars a Junpei Yoshino-looking little freak that I adore.)

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Manga Monday: The Apothecary Diaries

Title: The Apothecary Diaries

Creator: Natsu Hyūga (original novels), Itsuki Nanao (adaptation), Nekokurage (art/illustrations)

Demographic: Seinen

Themes: palace intrigue, historical fiction, (very early) romance, casefic/mysteries, medical drama, NO romance

Status: Ongoing (11 volumes, Japanese; 8 volumes, English)

Published By: Square Enix

LINK

Official Summary:

Maomao, a young woman trained in the art of herbal medicine, is forced to work as a lowly servant in the inner palace. Though she yearns for life outside its perfumed halls, she isn’t long for a life of drudgery! Using her wits to break a “curse” afflicting the imperial heirs, Maomao attracts the attentions of the handsome eunuch Jinshi and is promoted to attendant food taster. But Jinshi has other plans for the erstwhile apothecary, and soon Maomao is back to brewing potions and solving mysteries?

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Manga Monday: An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess

Title: An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess

Creator: Shiki (author) + Natume Hasumi (illustrator)

Demographic: Shojo

Themes: villainess, romance, fantasy, comedy

Status: Completed + Fully Translated to English

Published By: Alpha Manga

LINK: Kindle (3 Volumes) + Full series on Alpha Manga

Official Summary:

Because Prince Cecil is extraordinarily intelligent, life is boring for him. His days are without much excitement, but he becomes engaged to Bertia, the daughter of a marquis. The first thing she says to him when they first meet is quite baffling. She claims she is the “villainous heroine” in the story of his life!! According to Bertia, she has memories of her previous life. In a certain “romance game” she played in her life before, she played the character of the “villainess.” Her purpose in her new life is to become an exemplary villainess and ruin the prince’s engagement. In order to achieve this goal, Bertia does one outrageous thing after another and brings chaos and confusion into his life. A unique “love” story with a twist!!

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Manga Monday: This Vampire Won’t Give Up!

Title: This Vampire Won’t Give Up!

Creator: Madoka Kitaji

Demographic: Josei

Themes: contemporary romance, supernatural, (light) smut, workplace romance, vampires, werewolves, fluff

Status: 5 Volumes Fully Translated/Published

Published By: Kodansha

LINK:KODANSHA

Official Summary:

Minami has awful luck with men—she falls for their looks only to find that they’re the worst of the worst. So when she finds out that her next work assignment involves a good-looking, rude-off-the-bat man, she feels just fine about kissing any feelings for him goodbye…that is, until she finds out he’s the son of the author of her favorite childhood picture book series, Bride of the Vampire. But the rude son soon changes his tune, and Minami doesn’t have long before she discovers the secret his gorgeous lips hide…

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Manga Monday: Love Me For Who I Am

Title: Love Me For Who I Am/Fukakai na Boku no Subete o

Creator: Kata Konayama/Tozaki Ei

Demographic: Seinen

Themes: LGBTQ+, romance, high school, drama, found family, comedy, slice of life

Status: Fully Translated/Completed

Published By: Seven Seas

LINK

Official Summary:

An LGBT+ manga about finding friendship and common ground at an untraditional maid café!

Mogumo is a cute but lonely high school student who just wants a few loving friends. Fellow student Iwaoka Tetsu invites Mogumo to work at his family’s café for “cross-dressing boys,” but he makes an incorrect assumption: Mogumo is non-binary and doesn’t identify as a boy or a girl. However, Mogumo soon finds out that the café is run by LGBT+ folks of all stripes, all with their own reasons for congregating there. This touching manga explores gender, gender presentation, and sexuality from many different angles, including the ways people are pushed to conform in a world that doesn’t understand them…until the world begins to learn, one person at a time.

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