明けましておめでとう (Akemashite Omedetou) everyone! It’s a new month, and we hope that you enjoyed the manga recommendations of last month. For the new year and the month of January, our manga recommendations relate to works that tackle romantic relationships, platonic friendships and relationships at work.
Here are Lipstiq’s manga recommendations for this month:
1. Perfect World – Author: Aruga Rie (Josei Manga)
A rare gem that has a physically disabled male lead – Perfect World has a different feel for a normal josei manga, as disability is not often shown or depicted in Japanese media. Perfect World also has 2 live-action adaptations – Movie (2018) & JDrama (2019). Perfect World tackles relationships both romantic and platonic, with their main leads, as the disabled are often seen as a burden to those around them.
Sypnosis: Tsugumi Kawana reunites with her high school crush, Itsuki Ayukawa, at a get-together between an architecture firm and an Interior Design Company. Old feelings reignite; however, Itsuki is now disabled and is wheelchair-bound.
Anime Adaptation:❌
English Translation:✔️
Completion Status: Completed
2. Cardcaptor Sakura series – Author: CLAMP (Shoujo Manga)
CLAMP’s most popular series, Cardcaptor Sakura stylized as CCS by fans, is a cute and fun story about collecting cards and dressing up in cute costumes. However; the lore of Cardcaptor Sakura extends to the companion series – xxxHolic & Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles (not related to the main CCS story – the lore of the relationship between Sakura and Syaoran, extended to the other two stories). Cardcaptor Sakura is a must-read for the story, the cute costumes that Sakura wears, and the relationship progression between Sakura and Syaoran.
Synopsis: Sakura Kinomoto accidentally releases a set of magical cards that are stored in a book in her basement; Sakura must recollect all the lost cards with the help of her friends; romance blossoms along the way as well.
Anime Adaptation:✔️
English Translation:✔️
Completion Status: Clear Card Arc (Ongoing); Main Series (Completed)
3. Kaicho wa Maid-Sama! (Maid Sama!, translation readers) – Author: Fujiwara Hiro (Shoujo Manga)
A contemporary high school romance that is both comedic and dramatic in the family drama department. Kaicho wa Maid-Sama also brought maid café culture to the mainstream and garnered interest among girls and guys to visit maid cafes.
Synopsis: Being the first female student council president at a former all-boys school, Misaki Ayuzawa puts in a lot of effort to make the school grounds a bit friendlier to the female student minority. Misaki secretly also has a part-time job as a maid at a maid café to support her family. Hijinks occur when her secret is found out by Takumi Usui, a fellow schoolmate.
Anime Adaptation:✔️
English Translation:✔️
Completion Status: Completed
4. Chihayafuru – Author: Suetsugu Yuki (Josei Manga)
Categorized as a sports series as well, Chihayafuru introduces Karuta – a type of Japanese playing card game, and the variant of Karuta played in Chihayafuru is the Utagaruta (Poetry Karuta) that has classical Japanese poems written on each. The poems used for Utagura are from the Hyakunin Isshu poems, a game of Utagaruta uses two types of cards – Yomifuda (lit. “Reading Cards”) & Torifuda (lit. “Grabbing Cards”), the strategy in playing this particular karuta is to know the poem and hearing the reader read out merely the first letters of the yomifuda poem – one may be able to take a card right away. Reading technique is also crucial, as is knowing how to space out the words and the seconds of the pause correctly.
Competitive Karuta is an actual sport in Japan, Chihayafuru has 3 live-action adaptation movies to promote and popularize Karuta to the masses and younger generation.
Synopsis: Chihaya Ayase is a mundane high school girl who is supportive of her older sister’s modelling career. She was introduced to the world of competitive karuta after meeting a boy – Arata Wataya.
Anime Adaptation:✔️
English Translation:✔️ (Digitally)
Completion Status: Ongoing
5. Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii – Author: Fujita (Josei Manga)
Originally a webmanga, similar to a webcomic illustrated by Fujita for Pixiv – Japan’s top art sharing online community, similar to DeviantART. Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii (WotaKoi) is a relatable and realistic story for working otakus who often harbour secrets due to their abnormal lifestyles.
Synopsis: This stars Momose Narumi; a working Office Lady (OL) who enjoys BL manga and games that hide her lifestyle – she is a Fujoshi otaku in the public eye. Nifuji Hirotaka is a handsome and capable company man who is also a game otaku. They are a match made in heaven, yet love is difficult for otakus.
Anime Adaptation:✔️
English Translation:✔️
Completion Status: Completed
Hope you’ll enjoy this month’s recommendations, and we’ll be recommending more mangas to you the following month! Happy reading ~
All mangas are available locally at Kinokuniya KLCC
