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.
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.
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!
42-year-old Kyoko Otsuka has spent the last 13 years living life as "mom" for her rebellious daughter and soft-spoken husband. Kyoko thought her average and hectic life would continue this way until one day she is told that she only has a year left to live! Shocked by this news, Kyoko decides she wants to spend the remainder of her life "living for herself." She declares to her family, who have been spoiled and taken her for granted, that she is done being their "mom" and is going to take back her life as "Kyoko"!
Set on becoming a clothing designer, she got herself a job at a leading apparel company - only to end up assigned to the reception desk. Yet Mio Adachi didn't give up there. She spent her days practicing design, on top of performing her receptionist duties, in hopes of one day moving to a department where she could actually work in fashion design. That fateful day comes, though with an unfortunate twist, when a higher-up in the design department sees a sketch by handsome top-class designer Miyabi Shito and mistakenly thinks it's one of Mio's...! Caught between the pull of her lifelong dream and the weight of starting it off with a lie, what path will Mio take next...?
What would you do if the perfect marriage candidate came along and said he wanted to be a "househusband"?
Having been focused on her career until now, Michika has finally begun looking for a marriage partner at the age of 35 when she meets Sho Unomori, a department manager at a major company who is kind, thoughtful, handsome, and one year older than her. "There's got to be something!" Michika throws question and after question at him, seemingly unable to find anything that even remotely resembles a flaw in this perfect man. That is... apart from the confession that he reservedly shares at the end of their date of his dream to be a househusband. Shocked, Michika thinks to herself, "Absolutely not," and kicks all hope aside. But as she spends more time with Unomori, she starts to want to get to know him better...?!
"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.
"Can you remain calm if I do this to you?" "I can...but...ahh..." "Really?" The places stroked by his passionate tongue feel so hot that my brain is going on overdrive. It all began when Homare's mother brought home a handsome yet sarcastic man to be her new live-in butler. As she holds a deep hatred for men, Homare complains to her mother, but alas she refuses to change her mind. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, not wanting to be the odd one out, she lies to her friends that she has a boyfriend and promises to go on a double date! Unfortunately for her, there's only one man whom she can rely upon on such short notice... Cue the start of a love lesson taught by a sensual, sharp-tongued butler!
"Stop talking and sit down. Then, I'll teach you how to have them falling head over heels for you." Dumped after turning thirty and left on read by the guy she met at a mixer, Miho has fallen into despair as she struggles with her love life. One day she stops by a bar and meets a mysterious woman named Beniko who is surrounded by handsome men, even though she doesn't have what society would normally consider "good" looks. From that day forth, Beniko takes the clumsy in love Miho under her wing, and begins teaching her "how to be a loved woman." Every chapter includes a "Make Your Love Come True Q&A" by popular relationship columnist, and author of this manga, Yusuke Asada. Check them out for tips & tricks on how to gain confidence in yourself & improve your love life!
"I got myself fired in the fall of my 33rd year." Six years into marriage, Mai Murata is now raising two young children while both she and her husband work full-time. Her colleagues often say she's "living the dream," but in reality she's struggling to handle work on top of doing all the childcare on her own, and it feels like she's constantly apologizing: to her boss, to the daycare center, and on and on. Amidst all this, she happens to try out a virtual flea market app and finds an amazing deal that makes her day... and leaves her chasing that same high again and again until it's all she can think about. Addiction can happen to anyone, even you. This tale explores one person's struggle to escape that insatiable, unstoppable need and find genuine fulfillment.
I want to be married... And someone like Tomizawa would be perfect!
Mariko, 29, wants to seal the deal by 30. However, marriage requires affection and Mariko's affection is reserved to a man she can respect! She's single at age 29, also aware that she can't let go of her pride. One day, a chance to date THE ideal-candidate, Tomizawa, falls right into her lap!! Delusional or not, she can't let anything jeopardize her opportunity to hear those wedding bells ring. A chaotic private life and dramatic sequence of events keeps her on her toes. Is marriage even on the table?!
I got totally wasted at a party and ended up spewing my guts... and some hot guy saw me?! I ran away, thinking I'd never see him again, but we ran into each other on campus the next day! He may be good-looking, but he spilled the beans about me throwing up to his friend, and on top of that, he keeps calling me by my first name! He's seriously the worst! Despite all of that, my best friend Yuka is head over heels for him, and now she wants me to help hook her up! She even brought his friend into this mess... What will happen in this 4-way love affair...?
"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?!
Within Breighlinam Palace, rumor has it that Prince Edouard has executed may of the maids and butlers that have come to serve him. Philippa is desperate. After her parents fell to the epidemic, her aunt and uncle wants to sell off her younger brother and sister. To hold them at bay, Philippa is determined to work at the palace to save her. However, on her first day, sword drawn, the prince threatens her if she were to betray him. Can Philippa save her brother and sister, or will she end up another victim of the Prince's?
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...?
A rose desperate to hide her thorns finally blooms in this office romance. Suzu Takamine, the office's unattainable beauty who turns down anyone that asks her to date, is carrying a painful secret. Whenever she tries to be intimate with a man, they faint for some reason. Suzu wants to get married someday, but with her condition ruining her dating life, she's losing hope for any happily ever after. When the office playboy, Kinase, learns of her unbelievable secret, Suzu is shocked to hear him offer his "expert assistance" in resolving her problem. Now she has to decide: Will she give him a try?
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!
*This volume compiles ch. 1-6 of "From Zero to Office Romance"
"Did you notice my feelings for you back then?" Back in high school, Hinako had secretly loved her classmate Masashi. Ten years later, they're suddenly reunited! Once reserved, Masashi has become much more handsome. When he openly expresses his thoughts to Hinako, they send her heart racing! "I love him... I want to hold his hand. I want to be close to him." A love reunited and finally fulfilled...?!