Manga is something I’ve gotten hooked on in the past two or three years. If you’re like me, you love reading like you have to breathe air. You can’t live without books. Of course, that may be a bit extreme, but I’m not sure how else to put it that I’m addicted to buying books and I have to have a book with me wherever I go. I even bought a bigger purse so I can put all of my junk in it and have room, but I also have room for one book.
I have been a bookworm since I was a young child. My love for reading was cultivated by a family friend who would give me a book every birthday and at Christmas and she would sign them with her name and the year. I miss that friend dearly. When we moved in 2002 from Chicago to Nashville, I lost touch with her for years. The books that were once gifted to me twice a year stopped. But my love for reading never stopped.
However, another friend introduced me to manga a couple of years ago. My world expanded and so did my bookcases. I got into manga and have been voraciously reading and buying them ever since. I have a bookcase filled with manga only. I have several tropes and I follow several stories at once. I’m one of those people who can read multiple books at once and keep the stories straight. So without further ado, here are five manga that I recommend for your summer reading.
1. ‘My Happy Marriage’
My Happy Marriage has been an absolute favorite manga for about two years. I first started with the light novel, which came first. The light novel gives more details and is by Akumi Agitogi. The manga has been based on the novel and does a good job of consolidating the novel into manga form. The manga is by Fujimi L. Bunko/Kadokawa. They are up to book 5, but no news is out yet when the next manga will be out. However, the light novels go up to book 6.
My Happy Marriage starts differently in the manga than in the light novel. This story is a “Cinderella-inspired slow-burn historical romance with a paranormal twist set in Taisho-era Japan.” Taisho-era Japan ran from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926. Miyo Saimori is the legitimate daughter of her father, Saimori, but she is treated like a servant in her own home. Miyo is sent away from her home to live with her betrothed, whom she has not met. He has a reputation for turning away potential brides and being cold and cruel. When she arrives at her betrothed’s house, Kiyoka Kudo, she has nowhere else to go. Kiyoka treats her coldly when she first arrives.
In this series, Kiyoka and Miyo grow closer together and Kiyoka repents how coldly he treated Miyo. Instead, he researches her family history and finds out how she was treated in her own home. Kiyoka is a major general, after all, so he can’t go into anything blind. As they grow closer, Miyo’s heart opens up more and she becomes happier now that she has finally found a home and someone to love her.
2. ‘Spy Family’ & 3. ‘A Sign of Affection’
Spy Family is a manga about just that — a unique family unit that consists of a spy, an assassin, and a telepath. Created by Tatsuya Endo, this manga series is about a telepath who knows everyone’s secrets while everyone else remains in the dark about the true nature of the person they’re living with. This manga mixes hilarity and seriousness perfectly in a blend of comedic stumbling, and yet, it all somehow comes together in the end.
Loid, the father and spy, is told by his handler that he needs to get married and have a kid to blend in well with others. Loid’s mission is to keep the peace between the east and west of his city, Westalis. Loid finds this to be an outrageous request. But he does this anyway and finds Anya at an orphanage and adopts her, and then happens upon his wife, Yor, the assassin, in a rather hilarious way. It miraculously does not blow either of their covers. The manga series is out and has been published up to book 11. Book 12 will be out on August 6, 2024.
A Sign of Affection is another manga series I recommend. This series is up to book 8 as of May 2024. Book 9 comes out on July 23, 2024. This is about a deaf girl named Yuki, who is asked for directions on a subway by a foreigner. But because of her disability, she cannot understand what the guy is asking her. Who should come to her rescue but fellow-classmate Itsuomi! Itsuomi is multilingual, speaks Japanese well, and helps the stranger who asked Yuki for directions when Yuki couldn’t understand. His fascination for language helps him develop a relationship with Yuki who uses sign language.
4. ‘Demon Slayer’ & 5. ‘Perfect World’
Demon Slayer is a huge hit right now among people who love manga and anime. Made by Kimetsu no Yaiba, the Demon Slayer series is on Netflix as well as Crunchyroll. There is also a spin-off series called Kimetsu Academy, a comedy based on the original Demon Slayer series. It has the main characters going to school and other characters as the teachers who endure various antics from the students. The original series takes place in the Taisho-era in Japan. This series is about a young boy, Tanjiro, who saves his little sister, Nezuko, after she turns into a demon.
Demons are thought of differently in Japanese culture than they are in American culture. Demons in Japanese culture are bloodthirsty creatures who eat humans and can’t be reasoned with. Well, one day, Tanjiro goes to town to sell coal and is kept overnight. When he returns home, his entire family is murdered save for Nezuko, who turned into a demon.
Tajirio’s one mission is to turn Nezuko human again. She has not eaten or harmed any human. She is unique in how she acts by protecting Tanjiro, which is unheard of in a demon’s nature. Along the way, Tanjiro becomes part of a Demon Slayer Corps as he searches for a way to make Nezuko human.
Perfect World is another couple who has to overcome a disability — his. Ayukawa is disabled from a car accident and is wheelchair-bound. Kawana and Ayukawa went to high school together. Back then, Ayukawa was not in a wheelchair. He was Kawana’s first crush in high school as well.
But as fate would have it, the two were not meant to be together then. Years later, the two met again while they attended an architectural firm work party. While Kawana is reunited with her first crush and given a second chance, the big question looms: Can she overcome the obstacles that occur while dating a paraplegic? This question and more come up as they traverse a rocky trail.
Go out there and read to your heart’s content!
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