My Favorite Mangas 💕 feat. What’s On My TBR

Hello fellow bookworms 💕 I have been discovering some great manga series over the last couple of years and decided to talk about my favorites in this post!! Having a good library access to mangas and graphic novels has helped me discover amazing books and let me try out books I wouldn’t otherwise have picked up. In this post, I will be sharing my Top 5 favorites and some mangas that are still on my TBR. Definitely let me know if you have any recommendations, as I’m still relatively new to this 🥰

My Brother’s Husband Vol 1 & 2 by Gengoroh Tagame

➽ This was such a heartfelt story about loss and unlearning prejudice 💗 My Brother’s Husband is about Mike visiting Ryoji, the twin brother of his deceased husband, and his daughter in Japan. Mike is still dealing with his grief and hopes to explore the place that his great love grew up in before immigrating to the US. This is a great commentary on the homophobia that is prevalent in Japan. The book did a great job showing that Ryoji is already aware that some of his opinions aren’t right and slowly unlearning the harmful stereotypes he was socialized with. It was really well done and Ryoji went through so much growth, becoming close to Mike and speaking up instead of staying silent.

➽ The found family was so touching and the end made me cry 🥺 As Ryoji, Kanna, and Mike grow closer together we get to see them become a small family. Once Ryoji unlearns his internalized homophobia, he also begins to see Mike as a part of the family. Even though their relationship starts out strained they explore the connection they have through Ryoji’s twin and their shared grief!

Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo

• Status in Country of Origin: 8 Volumes (Ongoing)
• My Progress: 8 Volumes Read

➽ This series is one of my favorite mangas!! It’s a “fake family” story with lots of secrets and heists where every member hides a secret and that was super intriguing to see. Twilight is a spy and secret agent who gets assigned a new mission: infiltrate Eden Academy and get close to the reclusive Desmond. However, he needs a child and wife in order to complete the charade, even though he’d much rather rely on himself. I immediately grew to like him, as despite his serious and competent nature, he’s genuinely caring. He decides to adopt young Anya but unknown to him she’s the result of an experiment and a Telepath 😱 Anya was so sweet, she’s struggling with the impact of her powers but also carefree and curious, a real whirlwind. Most of all she’s terrified of getting sent back to the orphanage again 🥺 The last person in the family is Yor, a young woman and secret assassin who faces sexist comments and scorn from family and society itself for being unmarried. I loved that she was capable of holding her own and had a lot of hidden depths people usually overlook! The found family vibes are honestly immaculate, each volume is a delight 🥰

The Girl from the Other Side by Nagabe

• Status in Country of Origin: 11 Volumes (Finished)
• My Progress: 5 Volumes Read

➽ I didn’t expect to love this one as much as I did! I choose it randomly without knowing too much about it and really enjoyed The Girl from the Other Side ❤ It’s a fantasy story set in a world separated into the Inside (where humans live) and the Outside (where the ‘monsters’ roam). Basically, the monsters are all ‘cursed’ and can spread it by touching humans. It has gotten to a point where anyone who is even suspected of having the curse is killed and entire towns have succumbed.

➽ I love how it centers on a ‘Monster’ who used to be a teacher/medic living his life and taking care of a small human girl who was abandoned when her village was cursed. It was so heartwarming to see the Teacher take care of Shiva even though he didn’t have to and just because he was honoring the plea of her aunt. He basically becomes a surrogate parent, though Teacher also knows he can never touch her, or she’ll be cursed. I loved all the domestic scenes but there was also some sadness with Shiva wanting to go back to her family and still holding out hope.

The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai & Posuka Demizu

• Status in Country of Origin: 20 Volumes (Finished)
• My Progress: 3 Volumes Read

➽ This is a popular horror graphic novel series for a reason! It’s set in the future at Grace Field House, an isolated orphanage that is much more sinister than it seems. Much of the outside world has been withheld from the kids, so they have no idea how the world looks like. They get tested every day and the most talented, smartest kids are by far Emma, Norman, and Ray. That’s why they are hoping for a good life once it’s their turn to leave the orphanage. Yet they have no idea that they have been exposed to a lie their entire life.

➽ Emma, Norman, and Ray uncover a conspiracy. I don’t want to give away too much, but the orphanage has some dark secrets, as does their ‘Mother’ who they thought wanted the best for them. Even worse, there are potentially monsters in the outside world 👀 This is a horror series, which you can tell, as it gets quite dark and sinister. There’s lots of manipulation and lies to uncover. The trio of the house’s brightest kids is trying to solve the mystery and save themselves, each with their own talents!

Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate

• Status in Country of Origin: 45 Volumes (Finished)
• My Progress: 4 Volumes Read

➽ I kept hearing so much hype for this manga, so I had to read it! I know people who are obsessed with Haikyu, so I was like 👀 It’s a sports manga and as I have enjoyed this type of story before (see: Fence) The story centers around Volleyball and Shoyo Hinata, who has been dreaming of becoming a good player for ages. Sadly, his school never had a good team for him and he’s short for a player, so he has just been scraping by. That is until he joins a new school and finds out that the prodigy Tobio Kageyama is on his new team. Hinata isn’t thrilled as Kageyama beat his team and generally acted a bit like a snob about it.

➽ I loved the rivalry between Hinata and Kageyama! Both of them have their own struggles. Hinata never had the chance to become a good player despite his talent and is desperate to prove himself. He’s determined and courageous. Meanwhile, Kageyama has all the skill and is a volleyball prodigy but he struggles to be a team player, which led him to be excluded from his last team. I love when there are two characters that are perfectly complementary and could help each other grow, but aren’t willing to give the other a chance yet!

Mangas on my TBR

• Sweat and Soap by Kintetsu Yamada
• Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama
• Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

• Komi Can’t Communicate by Tomohito Oda
• A Man and His Cat by Umi Sakurai
• My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi

Have you read any of the mangas on my list? Did you like them? What mangas can you recommend? 💕

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