Akari is good at her job, beautiful, and her sense of style is beyond compare... but she has a secret. She's almost 30 and she's still a virgin! One fateful day, a new department chief takes over -- the handsome Shinomiya. "You're my subordinate now, which means from today, you have to do what I say." Shinomiya is a condescending bully and he and Akari clash from day one. Akari finds herself drinking her worries away at his welcome party and before she knows what hit her she's completely smashed. She wakes up the next day to find -- Shinomiya emerging from her bathroom half naked?!?! Thus begins Akari's comedic office romance with her callous new boss!
"Pain, pain, go away!" Masa Takato is a regular customer at a small shop that sells cute things, run by a woman named Sakura. He's an easygoing guy who loves adorable stuffed animals, and is popular with kids. Sakura secretly has feelings for Takato because of how sweet and caring he is. One day, she was at risk of eviction from the building by the Yakuza running the building, but Takato stepped in to save her business. Suddenly, the two of them are close to each other?! For him to say, "If there's anything I can do, please let me know," could he be talking about something more than just the store...?! Sakura, while still caught up in all of these feelings, catches sight of Takato in conversation with a group of Yakuza... Takato, what exactly are you?!
Yoshiwara has been reborn in modern-day Tokyo.... In this new Yoshiwara, beloved actresses whose talents grace the screen by day spend their nights selling both their bodies and the idea of romance to their male clientele. Thrust into this world is the ingenue Asuka, who's been sold out by her foster parents to pay off their debts. While at first oblivious to the nature of Yoshiwara, she accidentally barges in on a "transaction" between a courtesan and her client. Confronted with her new reality of being bought and sold, she longs to make a break for it... but is there anyone around her she can trust...?!
*This volume compiles ch. 1-8 of "Worth a Billion: Modern-Day Courtesan"
She's finally got her shot at a nice job at one of the biggest companies around... working as the CEO's girlfriend?! Asahi hasn't been able to find work but has been getting by on a delivery job while looking for a more permanent arrangement. When she gets into her next interview, she realizes that she's just walked into a less-than-favorable reunion. Taiga Kagura, managing director of the company, is heading the interview. Just a day ago Asahi accidentally ruined his suit while chasing down a taxi, and now he wants compensation... for her to be his girlfriend in an elaborate contract. 3 Months. Asahi doesn't like the sound of it, but what other opportunity will she have for her resume...?
Aya (29) and Shota Shinozaki (31) have been married for two years. Recently, they've hit a rough patch due to a disagreement on when to have children. Aya wants to give it more time to prepare for their child financially. Shota on the other hand, is getting impatient, telling Aya she's just overthinking the situation. Needless to say, she's shocked by his unfounded and irresponsible optimism. And as he continues to pressure her, she only grows more disheartened, and a rift forms between her and Shota...
"My smile is specially reserved for you." Kotori Ogata, self-conscious about her plump figure, is inexplicably adored by Soma, a younger coworker known for his frosty demeanor. The reason likely traces back to a rainy day encounter: Kotori finds Soma shivering at a bus stop and, being a meddlesome caretaker, helps him warm up. Since then, Soma has been incredibly affectionate toward Kotori. He defends her from sarcastic comments from her manager, holds her hand claiming he's cold, and even sweetly tells her, "Everything you do is adorable to me." Step into this romance and experience the cute moments between warm-hearted Kotori and her frosty younger coworker, Soma!
When middle school teacher Rika's lack of self-care catches up to her, she quits her job to recover her health and ends up taking a part-time gig at the local Chinese restaurant: no overtime, no take-home work, and two delicious employee meals a day. The owner Momose and his lack of brain-to-mouth filter prove to be a handful, but his amazing cooking shoots Rika's quality of life straight through the roof! This exhausted overachiever is realizing that being a "proper adult" is harder than it seemed... and her journey of healing might just come with a side of romance!
Mami has tried marriage once and failed, so now she's looking for something else. Even if her peers won't get it, she wants what she wants: not marriage, not romance, just a man to spend time with when she needs some company! Sure enough, when she brings this up at her junior high class reunion, her friends all gang up against her. However, a handsome former classmate she'd almost never spoken to before--Nakamura--does empathize with her! When Mami learns that Nakamura is also once-divorced and, just like her, is looking not for a wife or a girlfriend but just a woman to spend time with, she makes a life-changing decision. She's given up on living her life according to what's "normal." After spending thirty-some years toiling under the crushing weight of societal expectations, one woman finds herself a partner in crime and a new lease on life in this modern-day survival story.
"I will never draw comics again... so please forgive me, mother." Megumi is a girl who received a sponsorship award for her manga comic at only 16 years old. However, it caused such a great distress amongst her family that it forced her out of her home. Now. 15 years later, she's living with her partner Tamaki while working as an assistant in various jobs. Out of nowhere, a famous manga artist by the name of Unsui Genda appears, putting into motion something in Megumi's life that has been at a standstill for too long.
A day before my 40th birthday, it dawns to me that my most accomplished trait is that I've been working in the same office for 18 years. Struggling with an angry customer during an event for a new department, a charismatic salesman comes to the rescue; twelve years younger Kohei Nakajima. On the way home, tears fall as anxiety kicks in, realizing I had turned 40 years old. Suddenly out of nowhere, Kohei appears and confesses his love for me?! I had lost hope... At this age, is it too late to welcome spring into my life?
"I got my happy ending after marriage! Or so I thought..." Three ladies who went to the same school together admit they have dated nothing but losers. Miraculously, they have all gotten married, but marriage was not the goal. A controlling husband, an overbearing husband, and a mama's boy... with these marital problems, where will they go from here?!
The bane of my existence? This body of mine that curses men into becoming obsessed with me... But all I have ever dreamed of is finding true love! Having grown up on fairy tales, I've always been a sucker for the kind Prince Charming type. But it seems I'm not destined for the happy ever after of my dreams. Apparently, I have what some guys call a "legendary snatch" and every man I have dated so far has turned into nothing more than a lecherous zombie! And just when I was sure there was no hope... I met Suzui. He seemed different from others, made me feel safe with his kindness and that hint of sadness behind his eyes. And I'd soon find out that he had his own secrets he's keeping...
"Ah...jeez! I want to have sex...!" Aya is a 33-year-old office worker who's dealing with sexual frustration. She wants to feel the touch and love of a man but hasn't had a boyfriend in 8 years. And societally speaking, if women show their desire, they are looked down upon. One day, Aya's flirty supervisor Dojima invites her out for drinks. Dojima is divorced and down to have a one-night stand instead of a partner. Hearing this, Aya makes up her own rules to not get carried away or have any regrets for having a one-night stand and sets out to make her one-stand a reality.
After marrying the person she met in the office, it's been 5 years... and he never comes home. Yuka's been juggling housework and her full-time job. She's treated at a housewife by her husband and pressured for children by her mother-in-law (typical). Everyone's got to be like this, right? It just means that more needs to be done... or at least that's what Yuka's thought. One day, after some harsh words from her husband, Yuka darts out to try and find some peace. But suddenly the headlights are coming at her when-... As she found herself dying in a hospital bed, one thing burned into her retinas... her husband embracing Riko, her childhood friend. They can never be forgiven. They need to pay. As Yuka swears this onto herself while her life begins to fade, she suddenly finds herself at the moment she was proposed to... five years ago. Now it's time to devise a plan for revenge.
A coworker who keeps chasing after teen idols despite her age; a useless boss; and a completely unsociable new hire. Ann, a fortyish woman who looks down on those around her and blames everything on others, dreams only of marriage with the boyfriend who won't sleep with her. But then one day, when she learns that one of the colleagues she looked down on is getting married, she reveals her hidden nasty side right in front of the newbie. From that day on, she is visited by one misfortune after another....
She doesn't know how it feels to be in love, and her body can't bear children, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want a perfect family like the ones you see on TV! And who should appear before down-on-her-luck, marriage-crazy Sachiko, but Keiichi! He's got looks and money to spare, and most importantly, he accepts all of Sachiko's conditions! But Keiichi's got secrets of his own... Can Sachiko overcome these hurdles to obtain the happy home she's dreamed of?!
Is this love a dream come true? Or is it the beginning of a nightmare? From cheating, to gold-digging, to dangerous cults, Satoru is a man so unlucky in love that every woman he's ever fallen for has betrayed him. He decides that if he's only capable of falling in love with wicked women, he might as well go with the marriage match his parents have picked out for him. But one look at Michiru, the woman they've set him up with, and Satoru is head-over-heels. And that can only mean one thing...
How reliable would you say your memory is? As humans, our minds can omit memories. Memories can become idealized. Sometimes, they can even be entirely fabricated. There are various ways by which one's recollection of past events can become distorted. One could even say that it is a type of mental defense mechanism meant to protect us. But what if you had the chance to see your memories in their original state, unblemished and untouched...? Would you take it?
Meet Hakucho, the hippocampus and their assistant, Rohen, two mysterious individuals that live and work at an old-fashioned cafe that's more than meets the eye. Their shop comes to those plagued by their past, offering a chance to see the truth behind their memories. When restoring a client's memories, Hakucho summons a mystical creature from their ancient pipe. The creature enters the client's mind, scouring its depths to reveal that which has become obscured. However... sometimes, the truth is perhaps best left forgotten.
"Why do I have to be the one to 'put it in'?"Shun Mizuo has always got a smile on his face. He's popular amongst his coworkers and he's good at his job... but he's useless in the bedroom. One day, heartbroken after discovering his girlfriend cheating on him, he drinks himself into a stupor and reveals his "situation down there" to Amachi, his beautiful-yet-frosty coworker. What happens when, suddenly, Amachi says that she feels that this moment with Mizuo must be fate?! An office romance between two people both hopeless in the bedroom!
Sayaka Shimada, 36 and single, loves three things: her job, her favorite singer, and her mother, who lives with her. Even with her junior coworker Sugaya tossing thoughtless comments her way, she'd poured herself into her work, and when she paused to look up she found herself on the cusp of her late 30s. Partly at her mother's suggestion, Sayaka visits a matchmaking service. The man she's introduced to is sweet and earnest, and things start moving smoothly toward marriage. Though it hasn't all sunk in yet, she is well on her way to a happy future--and that's when a sudden injury leaves her mother hospitalized. The injury is nothing too serious and Sayaka is settling her nerves, until she notices something off about her mother... A poignant and much-acclaimed depiction of the struggles of caretaking and building a future, issues faced by countless people every day!