Iori's your average high school student... except that he couldn't be without Hazu ever since he was born. Hazu's 5 years older and friends with Iori's older brother, and is busy working as a celebrity and model. He's gorgeous and mature, but has a little bit of a mischievous side to him... He's been turning down Iori all of these years, but the two are overjoyed just being around each other! Finally on the day Iori graduates from high school, something seems different...?
Uru and Ibuki have been childhood friends for years. He was practically her big brother. Uru has always admired him, but now that she's in college, she wants something more. Ibuki, now an extremely handsome and popular model Eve, has every girl after him. He still sees Uru as a little sister and refuses to see her as a woman. Using her womanly assets, Uru will go to any lengths to seduce him. Can Uru finally make him hers, or will Ibuki need to teach her a thing or two about being in an adult relationship?
Pregnant and stuck at home with her emotionally abusive husband and self-serving in-laws, Sekka tried to grin and bear it by holding onto the hope that he would change once the baby came. Then she finds out he's been cheating...and while she's still reeling from that news, he deliberately sets her beloved pet cockatiel loose, which finally pushes her past the breaking point. Unable to stand by and watch her suffer anymore, her twin sister Rikka makes an offer: "I'll take your place and get revenge on your husband!"
I should have died in the accident, but when I woke up, I found myself inside my favorite novel...To make matters worse, I'm just a side character?! According to the story, the duke and duchess have disappeared, and all the servants are about to be fired...I've made up my mind. I'm going to live as I please! Or so I thought. Somehow, I've ended up as the guardian of two orphaned twins?! This wasn't supposed to be my role, but how could I abandon them? Just as I resolved to take the twins on their journey...
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 has been working in her company as the manager of a Judo team. One night, Akari is introduced to one of the team members, Iwashiro, during an evening outing, but things take a sudden turn when Iwashiro has a few too many drinks and Akari finds herself in his arms... and spending the night together?! Being wrapped in toned muscles and being whispered sweet words, having him all over her even with the insecurities she has...!
As things get hot and heavy, he's earnest and communicative with his feelings. All of this is enough to make anyone melt!!
*This volume compiles ch. 1-7 of "My Young Medalist Lover is a Devoted Beast: Learning to Love Each Other Despite our Size Difference"
Kei Wataya, age 28, is an unwed single mother from a small town... whose beloved son refuses to go to class. The pitying looks she gets from her fellow clinic staff, not to mention the rest of the world, are almost bad enough to make her wince. Between work and trying to help her son integrate into school better, Kei's got her hands too full to worry about romance... and that's assuming anyone would even be interested in a woman with so much "baggage." That's where 40-year-old doctor, Nagisa Kamijo, comes in. He's more than a decade older than Kei, and his disparaging view of women is just one of many reasons they don't get along, so there's no danger of love blooming between them... Or so she thought, until a bizarre proposal from Kamijo lights a spark that might just become more. She couldn't care less about love or romance, and she doesn't regret the life she chose, but some nights she yearns to feel the warmth of another body... Tune in for an age-gap romance just as off-kilter as it is passionate, between a single mother who's "done with men" and a doctor who "hates" women.
It all started as an accidental call. But it was actually a phone call from three years in the future!
Masaki had finally gotten her life back together after a devastating breakup with her boyfriend, who severely mistreated her. Then, one night, she received an accidental call on her supposedly broken phone. Why does it only work with him?! Although it started as a mistake, they began calling each other more and more. What started as something light and casual has grown into a bond of healing for Masaki. Now she wants to meet Kanzaki, but there's one big problem...
What in the world is going on? Could this be destiny? A stunning story of love filled with twists and turns, born from a paradox in time!
Tae has been practically inseparable from her best friend Kiyo since college. And while Kiyo may be loose with women, Tae can always count on him for support - like whenever she crashes at his place to drown her sorrows over being dumped yet again. But what lies ahead in the morning after another night spent drinking together till dawn?! They're not quite lovers and not quite friends... but a revelation threatens to change all that. Can they move past mixed messages and misunderstandings to become something more? Or are they stuck as "best friends forever"?
In order to shake off the hurt of being cheated on by her now ex-boyfriend, Hana goes on a trip with her best friend Mizuki. At their destination, the two meet a pair of guys, but just as they've started to get to know each other, it dawns on Hana that her troubles are the result of her own too-sweet personality. Now determined to better herself, Hana sets out to change her pushover ways...?! This is the hapless love story of a clumsy quartet: Hana, who's always sacrificing herself for others; Mizuki, who only wants to be loved; Narita, who earns others' ire when he tells them blunt truths; and Ayumu, who is kind, but also something of a playboy. Can the four of them get their acts together long enough to avoid stumbling over themselves?
Have you ever cried while looking in the mirror...? "With this face, if I talked about fashion or went out to buy cosmetics, I'd be a total joke." Living with such thoughts, pitifully ugly office worker Tachibana Rin passed the days miserable and taunted by fate since she shares a first name with the most beautiful woman at her company, Kaizuka Rin. But that's just how it had to be. After all, for ugly girls, life's over before it begins... Then one day, Rin wins 11,910,000 yen in the lottery!! "Life's over for ugly girls, but for me this is just the beginning."
My work at a clothing store keeps me busy every day, and my only hobby is playing erotic dating sims. While I was leading that lonely life, my friend's ultra cute younger brother appeared before my eyes. When he unexpectedly had to drop me off at home, I couldn't resist his masculine features and without thinking it through...we became friends with benefits! I know we shouldn't keep this up, but what can I do? My body can't help but yearn for him...!
Suddenly told she was going to inherit all her grandmother's kimonos, Hotori needs to learn kimono dressing in a hurry. But with her intense stranger anxiety, there's no way she can go take a class for it! Just then, a man named Ichigo - who runs a kimono shop - helps her in the street and offers to teach her kimono dressing if she'll work part-time at his shop. At first she declines, but Ichigo's gentlemanly manners put her at ease so finally she takes the job. And no sooner does he say, "Well, let's get you undressed" - could there be a devil's face hiding behind that kindly mask?!
Beginning Chapter 11 is a spin-off focusing on Amamiya, the guy who was trying to get between Haruhisa and Io, and a new character, Komatora!
Kitazono Haruhisa has always been popular with the ladies! But then underclassman Io appears, and all the girls including Haru's girlfriend leave him to fawn over Io. An annoyance at first, Io is soon smitten with Haru thanks to a certain incident. He's good-looking enough to get more girls than Haru, but this dang pretty boy Io just trails after Haru like a loyal pet and gazes at him so passionately... That's nothing to feel good about!! These past ten years, Haru has let Io's affection go to his head, but now...?
That flirtatious manner... Those sweet nothings... She's had enough of playing around with men who are more concerned with themselves than a potential partner! But if she's going to have something sweet, she might as well get her fill...!! Eri Hosokawa, a thirtyish office worker in Tokyo, is beautiful and popular with men, but terminally unlucky in finding a lasting love. Nagata, a senior colleague, is reliable and well-liked around the office, but he's the same sort of no-good, full-of-himself perpetual bachelor she swore she wouldn't fall for... and yet, when she sees Nagata lamenting his lack of prospects, even she can't help but feel bad for him. But how did she end up staying at his apartment?!
Personality, education, status, money... Everything about him was perfect! Ayako Makuuchi, an up-and-coming office worker in Tokyo, has put her shameful past behind her and now struggles to become one of life's "winners". She's set her sights on Nagata, a senior colleague and her ideal man, and as the distance between them decreases day by day, she seems well on the way to a blissful wedded life... or so she thinks. Enter her childhood friend Eiji, who knows her dark secret and somehow ends up crashing at her place in the city...?!
"Will you be taking a bath, dinner, or...?" The man uttering that cliched line was the middle-aged male housekeeper I suddenly ended up hiring! A man in the home of a radiant young (okay, twentysomething) maiden?! And on top of that, he's way older than me! What gives?! The curtain rises on a heartfelt tale of the odd-couple antics between Mei, a woman devoted to her career, and Nagisa, a man overflowing with maternal(?) warmth.
Takakura and Yatsuka, who attend the same university, are such close friends that they live together. However, when Takakura told him "I have feelings for you," Yatsuka started rushing things forward without stopping to think it over?! I like you... But now's not the time!! It's a love affair that twists itself into knots while these two guys impatiently race around and around only to get nowhere.
"That does it; my life is over now, for sure...!" -- Though he's good at his job, due to a stubborn streak and an overly serious attitude, office worker Sakura tends to take on too much. But he has a secret - after sunset on the weekends, he becomes "someone else." However, his junior coworker Arima sees him in this other form, and Sakura even gets stuck sharing his secret with the guy...!! Can straight-laced, earnest, bespectacled Sakura handle the onslaught from his blank-faced, pushy junior on top of all the rest of his stress?!
One day, my older brother came home with a young coworker, and I'd never seen someone so innocently, earnestly, uselessly in love as this guy was. What does he mean, just looking is enough for him? Getting off is obviously the better option here. His attitude was a novelty to me, as a notorious slut (and card-carrying bottom to boot). So at first it was out of curiosity, plain and simple, that I laid hands on him without a second thought (figured I'd let him show me the sexual side he can't show to the one he so virtuously loves). That was the idea, at least...
There was a time when, overflowing with love, I let myself run wild without a thought for the other person's feelings or the people around us, and soon enough my love crashed and burned. Traumatized by this, I've now developed a bad habit of avoiding anyone I have eyes for, to keep my affection from showing. Then one day, my coworker invited me out to a bar, where I met Sawaguchi and fell in love with him at first sight - but thanks to my avoidant tendency, I ended up making him hate me... No matter how many times I reflect and repent, I just can't get this bad habit of mine to change. I want to be able to say "I love you" to the person I love! With my conviction made, I set out to see a counselor, but there I find none other than-?!
Unpopular manga artist Rikka is troubled by the fact that she can't draw an attractive man to save her life -- or her livelihood. This is rooted in a childhood trauma that resulted in her developing a fear of men. "I seriously need to get a series picked up...!" With her career as a cartoonist hanging by a thread, she decides to take kickboxing lessons in order to get back a life where she doesn't fear the opposite sex. While learning how to fight from Goromaru, her coach at the gym, she is touched by his awkward but sincere kindness, and falls for him hard, but....?!
High school sweethearts Akiharu and Teru were as happy as could be. However, those happy days did not last for very long. Teru, who was aiming to become a professional soccer player, had an unexpected accident one day... After losing out on his soccer career, Teru began to grow sullen and mean, almost like he'd become another person, and finally the damage spread to Akiharu, too... "I'm telling you to go sleep with another guy!" Following that order from his beloved boyfriend Teru, Akiharu smothered the pain in his heart and set out for a gay bar...
"It's not that I don't want to get married. I just want to be accepted for who I am. Is that so much to ask...?" Suzu is a thirtyish woman with a cute-and-fluffy exterior that belies a strength no man can hope to match. But when she tells off her insistent mother by saying she'll only marry a man stronger than she is, she's set up with... a ninja?!? Is that his job...? How does he earn a living...? But Akitsuki the Ninja just smiles away, oblivious to Suzu's confusion. There's no way she could take him, and yet this kindhearted man, who nonchalantly accepts the true self that put off every other suitor she's ever had, secretly makes Suzu's heart flutter...
Yuina Sawada, 24, currently single. Her ex-boyfriend was working as a porn star (unbeknownst to her!), and by learning under him, Yuina picked up enough know-how about sex to call it a special skill; her knowledge even pulled a married couple she was friends with out of a rut! Then one day, seeing promise in her ample know-how, a young CEO selects her for the position of his sex counselor...!! She never taught him to do that, though?! This young CEO seems as sweet and earnest as a puppy dog, but he's actually a hard-as-nails [redacted]!! "Ohhh, I just can't escape him...!!"
"Why don't you have a child with me, then?" A woman who lost the husband she adored, and a man who lost the brother he revered, united in the depths of their grief.... The widowed Shion, age 35, spends her days trying to manage the small store she ran with the husband who died three years earlier. But from a sorrow that time doesn't seem to heal, she comes to think, "If only I'd had a child with him, a piece of him would still be here with me." When her college student brother-in-law Kosei learns of Shion's wish, he makes an unexpected proposition that shakes her to the core. Is he doing it out of respect for his older brother, or is it something else...? These two bereaved souls, aching for the same lost loved one, become transfixed by a forbidden notion....
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...
High-school senior Chihiro is attracted to Ayuta, another boy at his school, but Ayuta only has eyes for his childhood friend Hayato, even though he knows Hayato already has a girlfriend. Ayuta continues to play the role of a devoted friend, but the anguish that shows through on his face from time to time only serves to pull Chihiro even closer... It may be too soon to call these pent-up feelings crying out from their hearts "love", though.... It's a youthful, lyrical lovestory between two immature and uncertain high school boys.
Homurako Yoshii, a country girl born and raised, transfers into an elite girls' school in the heart of Tokyo. There, she meets Sasara Takamura, admired by those around her for her brains and her beauty... but she's actually a he?! The two of them, polar opposites in both status and personality, are drawn to each other....
Komachi Sakanoue, 20 years old. Ten days into a new part-time job and can't follow directions. But, come on, I'm so curious... I just have to know more about that man in the special seat by the window, where the sunlight hits... - The cafe where I work has a long-time regular, a comic book artist who writes a certain popular comic series, and right now I'm pretty obsessed with him. Even the boss getting angry doesn't discourage me from sneaking stealthy peeks as he works. Sure enough, the world flowing from his pen is brimming with love again today. I adore his work, and I adore him, too. I want those listless eyes to be fixed on me. I want to know what he's thinking, and what the world looks like through his eyes. Sir, please, tell me what I have to do to become someone special to you...
Living together with a handsome man...no, wait, ghost...?! Yui Yamada's in her second year of high school when her nagging parents are sent overseas to Brazil for work. She was about to rejoice over finally getting to live alone in her very own apartment (yay!!) when she found out there was a ghost already living there...?! But wait, this ghost isn't scary at all... Though he sure is obnoxious! Whether she likes it or not, this ghost whose awful personality puts his handsome face to shame is going to be her roommate from here on out...!
I've been preparing for a competition that could open doors for me as an aspiring artist, but one day, in one fell swoop, I lost my art model and my girlfriend. I was still reeling from it when a young girl suddenly showed up beside me and said she would be my new model. However, now she says I need to offer up my body in exchange for her help...?! I had lost everything, and she knew nothing of the world; this is the story of our warped and fleeting, yet innocent, love.
On my first day working part-time at a bookstore, the trainer Kai was so mystifyingly handsome that the very next day, I impulsively asked him out!! He was so quick to agree that I couldn't help asking, "Are you sure you understand what I mean?" But he fired back with a heated kiss and said, "You mean this, right?" That blitz attack had me completely head over heels, but then I learned of a rumor about Kai: "He'll hook up with people, but he never lets things get serious." Huh...?!
Due to a stroke of fate, Yachiyo takes over as the owner of a butler cafe after her father suddenly falls ill. But things don't go as planned, and Yachiyo gets called a washboard by Kido, the cafe's most popular butler. Just what will ensue from this? Will these two end up in huge fight?!
"I've been in love with him...ever since that day when he cried underneath the fake, starry sky. I didn't initially intend to confess to him. I only wanted us to be closer - to spend more time together... So how did things end up this way...?" Kawai is a member of his high school's Astronomy Club. He grows close to Ohara, his fellow classmate, when Ohara helps him out with his club's exhibit for their last school festival. After the two graduate, their paths begin to diverge, little by little...until one fateful day. So close that they can feel each other's breath, yet so tragically distant. A romantic tale of two men constantly just beyond each other's reach. Chasing after one another, like shooting stars.
I ran into Natsume again at our junior high class reunion and, long story short, a group of us have been going out for drinks together lately. My friend claims Natsume is into me (Wow!), but if that's true then he doesn't show it. If anything, he's always giving me attitude...! (Grr...) How does he really feel about me? I need to know, so I can decide on my next move...! In this romantic comedy of self-sabotage, will Hanako keep digging herself into a deeper hole, or will she finally be upfront about her own feelings?
What do you do when nothing's going right in your life?
Minori (29), who has been struggling from day to day, has become pessimistic about life as a whole. This year has been especially dreadful. Work has become a hellish experience because of her new boss. Her childhood friend and longtime crush, Asai, just told her he only sees her as a friend. When all seems hopeless, Minori is suddenly visited by a "Toshiotoko", a fairy whose job is to bring luck and happiness to their charge. With his gentle and encouraging support, she slowly learns to take control of her life by the reins. What will Minori discover as she continues her search for what happiness really means to her?
Nanami dreams of falling in love with a prince... And she's 29. She finds fulfillment in love through fantasizing about Yuhi, her favorite character from a love simulation game. One day, while out at a pub with her friends from work, she meets Minato -- a college student who is the spitting image of Yuhi... but then Minato calls Nanami a middle-aged hag. "What a shame, with that personality your stunning visuals amount to nothing. I know -- I'll fix that worthless personality of his and get him to cosplay as Yuhi!"Thus begins Nanami's plan to turn Minato into a prince! A romantic comedy featuring a pair mismatched in both age and personality. Your heart is sure to pound out of your chest!
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.