Favorite Josei Manga Vol.2
Today on the blog, I’m delving into the wonderful world of Josei Manga! If you’re interested in seeing my previous post on Josei Manga click here!
Josei manga is a Japanese comic aimed at older teenage girls and adult women who are able to read kanji without the aid of furigana. It’s a genre that specifically targets female viewers around the age range of 18-40. With that age range, the manga here is depicted in a more mature light usually with very realistic romance and less dreamy, less-idealized portrayals.
I’ve read so many over the years, but here are some picks of stories that I’ve read and continue to stick with me. Enjoy!
Nurse Nanase has striven to once again meet the prince of her dreams, so how is it he’s become such an aggravating doctor?!
After witnessing a handsome and charming young doctor saving a stranger’s life five years ago, Nanase Sakura trained to become a nurse. But when she meets the doctor again and they start working together, she finds Kairi Tendo to be nothing like the man she imagined him to be!
This is about the third (or fourth?) series I’ve read by Maki and she is one of my favorite Josei mangakas. This series takes place in a hospital with a nurse, Sakura, who has an unrequited love for Kairi, after meeting in a chance encounter years ago. He inspires her to want to become a nurse, but he ends up being cold-hearted and standoffish, unlike the kind man she thought he was. But since they work in the same hospital she tries to put her feelings aside and move on.
This is an entertaining opposite-attracts romance, where it balances comedy with more serious moments. It made me smile and I enjoyed reading the romance aspects as well as the colorful cast of hospital workers that Sakura interacts with. It’s more of a medical romance with a josei feeling. Maki’s artwork as always is superb at capturing the emotions of the characters through her designs. Though it can be a bit formulaic it’s still a fun series to read.
Successful career woman Asuka Takanashi has an old-fashioned dream of getting married and becoming a housewife. After her long-term boyfriend breaks up with her to pursue his own career goals, she encounters popular newscaster Ryu Nanami. Asuka and Ryu get along well, but the last thing he wants is to ever get married. This levelheaded pair who want the opposite things in life should never get involved, except…
Everyone’s Getting Married is a manga about adulthood as much as it is about love and relationships. The two main characters, Asuka and Ryu, are at a crossroads in their career and love life. They excel in what they do but are also pressured into marriage. The juxtaposition comes when Ryu and Asuka start to fall in love after a few chance encounters. However, they both want something different in life.
It is a romance story that will have a lot of push and pull as they progress in their relationship. I appreciated how the series opens up a discussion about adulthood’s obstacles. From the first volume, you can tell that Ryu and Asuka will be going on a true journey of self-discovery to find what they want in life.
The main characters are Narumi, a female office worker who hides her fujoshi lifestyle, and Hirotaka, a handsome and capable company man who is a game otaku. The two seem perfect for each other, but love is difficult for otaku.
This series is cute, lighthearted, and full of nerdiness. I always find myself laughing at each episode and I like its relatability to the aspects of nerd culture it discusses in the series. It’s cute to see two longtime friends who decided to become a couple and to see them adapt to being a couple. Anyone who is a part of a fandom, a gamer, or a nerd, in general, will enjoy this show and how it tackles being a geek in the workplace. The series follows three very different couples and their journey of love and overcoming life’s obstacles.
One morning, HARUHI wakes up to find that she’s married to an old man she doesn’t know!?
Haruhi works as a heavy machinery operator at a construction site full of men.
One night, Haruhi meets a middle-aged man with grey hair at a pub, and submits a marriage certificate under the influence of alcohol.
She had taken him straight into her room !!
‘Don’t judge a man by the colour of the hair’.
Love comedy by a silver fox and a girl physical worker.
The synopsis for Black Seasame Salt and Custard Pudding is a bit weird, but I can assure you the story itself is very charming and sweet. My only complaint is that this series isn’t long enough as it only lasts three volumes. The series follows an age-gap relationship between the two main leads that decide to get married suddenly (a contract marriage situation) and how their lives change suddenly. Though the first part of the series is fast-paced the latter half takes time to develop their relationship and character development. The series shows that their relationship has great potential and the romance over is very cute!
That concludes my favorite Josei manga list! What are your favorites or recommendations?
