TOP MANGA OF THE WEEK

From Shoujo Crusade:One day, while in search for more food, our heroine stumbles upon a jar of what looked like umeboshi; little did she know that it would bring her more than just a full stomach. The mysterious snack somehow makes her shrink and she can only grow back when she eats something (which is a bit of a chore if you're THAT tiny). And if that's not troublesome enough, she's also dealing with her crush who seems to like her best friend!?

Sakuraba Junko is turning 27 years old soon, but even so, she is without a boyfriend. But who cares?! Junko has a stable job as an English teacher and she is fine with spending her upcoming birthday alone. Well, until she is set up with on an omiai with a Buddhist monk... which, of course, she rejects. But then he shows up at her school where he has enrolled in private lessons... what will become of our Junko-sensei?

High-schooler Kou has left his grandparents in Tokyo to return to Yamami-chou, where he lived as a child. An incident he experienced in his youth has left Kou with a crippling fear of fire, until he meets with a “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” who changes his life. A coming-of-age story revolving around boys who dream of becoming pyrotechnicians, brought to you by Kino Hinoki, of ‘No.6’!

Once Koharu's favourite actress told her that a good woman never gets dumped. Ever since then, Koharu has lived a life where she has neither failed a confession nor she got dumped. Prideful Koharu decides to take up a challenge and confesses to Kanzaki-senpai, 'the smiling guillotine' only to be turned down even before she gets to complete her sentence. This cannot and shall not be accepted! Koharu refuses to back down and decides to keep on confessing until she gets an OK from Kanzaki-senpai

Ah-chan and Ryouko, childhood friends eight years apart, are now teacher and student. Though Ryouko wants to rush into things, Ah-chan can’t take one step beyond her role as a teacher. After receiving a matching cellphone charm as a present, Ah-chan buys paired rings for a return gift, only to realise that she’s lost the charm…!?The distance between them shrinks away in “STEP UP”; a girl in love with Ryouko appears in “STEP FORWARD”; and then “step by step” calls for tears of joy with wedding dress x wedding dress… The road to love between Ryouko and Ah-chan is bountiful.Also included are “Leave hickey?”, about the radiant proof of love school girl Kimu carves into the body of the art teacher Miyano-sensei; and “secret love”, not previously published in a commercial magazine!

The Sakura household is a household which has since ancient times worked as sake brewers. One day the daughter of the household finds a katana in her family's warehouse and when she unsheathes it, the sword starts to shine. The title Sakura Juuyuushi is a play on words of Sanada Sakura Juuyuushi, a story of the group of 10 ninja who assisted the warlord Sanada Yukimura during the Warring States era of Japan.

The “Special crime investigation department 007? includes the most capable and extraordinary investigators and Fuyuki, who also becomes one of its members, is very capable too. And she is paired with Kuze, a cool and very bishonen detective. Their combination proves to be the most dangerous one the police headquarters had ever seen!

From The Paper Dolls Project:Hotaru Kunoichi of the Iga Village has accepted a request to infiltrate Oda Nobunaga’s castle, Aduchi Castle. Under the guise that she is the younger sister of Mitsuhide, Nobunaga's confidante, she investigates the Oda army for dissenters. Hotaru deepens her relations with great military commanders, from Nobunaga to Hashiba Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. However, it will all be over if they find out who she truly is . . .

Laid-back and somewhat absent-mindedly seductive umbrella craftsman Shiro, and hot-blooded officer Kojiro, who stands against all things undisciplined, become involved in a bloody and erotic thrill-ride in an off-kilter town. This action-packed jack-of-all-trades manga will have you swooning at its sexiness and leave you more addicted than opium!

The background is in the distant future, a post-apocalyptic world after the destruction brought about by Armageddon. The war between humans (Terran) and vampires (Methuselah) continues, as a struggle between two factions: the Vatican and the New Human Empire.Yet, amidst the bloodshed and violence, many desire a peaceful co-existence between the two species. However, standing between them and this goal is the Rosenkreuz Orden, a group of vampire extremists who manipulate the two sides and pit them against each other. To combat them, the Vatican special operations group "AX," led by Cardinal Caterina Sforza, must use everything they have - even a vampire who preys on the blood of other vampires.Adapted from the light novel series of the same name.

The story's about the blond-haired Haru and the dark-haired Ryotaro who are the best of friends. A girl suddenly steps into their life and caught their attention, and thus romance blossoms! The thing is that she is experienced in the field of love, but on the other hand, they have zero love experience?!

"I fell in love with you... But you're the only person who has ever hurt me."Haruki and Hikaru are step-brothers. While the older brother wants to deepen his bond with his new brother, the younger one begins to develop feelings which send them both down a dark and twisted relationship...

Why am I in a place like this...... kissing HIM......?'' Awkward class loner Mitsuo Hanaori has a pet peeve - the handsome and popular Hachiya, who's always at the center of the class. He has soft hair and clear skin, everything comes easy to him, and his voice is easy on the ears - it's all just so irritating...... But Mitsuo can't take his eyes off Hachiya, who scores perfect shots in basketball class, and he twists his ankle as a result. After helping walk Mitsuo to the nurse's office, for some reason Hachiya suddenly brings his face close as if to kiss him!! Mitsuo's freaking out and his heart's pounding like crazy, and to his mortification, his JUNK is responding......! To make things worse, ever since that day, Hachiya's started coming onto him on a daily basis...... Just what the hell is going on!?

Six stories by Imura Ei.

Nishimi Kaoru has moved from city to city and school to school because of his father’s job. So the first day at his new school was just routine for him. Being intellectual and the new transfer student, he has always been seen as an outcast and all Kaoru had to do was bear it until the next time he moved. But things were slightly different this time. First, he started to get close to the class president, Mukae Ritsuko, and, secondly, unlikely as it seemed, grew closer to Kawabuchi Sentaro. Sentaro was infamous for getting into fights, skipping class and was an overall bad boy. Strangely enough, the three of them find common ground in music, namely jazz, and Kaoru finds himself actually enjoying the new town.It won the 57th Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga.Volumes 1-6 contain unrelated oneshot extras at the end.

Back in high school Sono confessed her love to Sato, but she was turned down.Now she lives as a freeloader in an apartment shared with her girlfriend, Hiroko. However, she still hasn't forget about Sato and when she cries out her name while having sex with Hiroko, she finds herself in some serious trouble...

Seira Muraboshi, a 16 year-old girl, can see the auras of people. Because of that, everyone calls her a witch. One day, as she is walking to school with her only best friend, Mika, she meets a boy shining with a golden aura who rudely asks her if she is the "Witch of Himesaki", even after he breaks her sunglasses!

Tayoko is a gyaru who flaunts herself on the outside, but is still a virgin who has not yet known love. Despite being a student in the agricultural department, she works parttime in a hostess club, where she meets and becomes interested in a patron's grandson named Shishio.

Shima, who is an outcast at her school and unable to get along with her mother’s third husband, decides to move out to Sapporo and live with her father. There she meets Wao and Gen, the most popular and idolized boys in her class. Even though she knows she would be shunned by every girl in school for hanging out with them, she still does it anyway, because she has fallen in love, and she just can’t help it.

Strange things are happening all over town, and Kouichi's nightmares have started again. Several clans have been spurred into action as the past gradually resurfaces. Just what is going on, and how do the Amano brothers fit into the picture?

Painfully shy Chiaki is devastated when she doesn't recognize any names on the roster of her new class, but the boy she's sat next to, Goto, is so outgoing and funny, they soon become good friends. Little by little, Chiaki begins to come out of her shell, but will it be enough when she realizes her feelings go beyond friendship…?Also includes two other stories: One and Only, and He Won't Love Me.

Hanadera Keisuke is obsessed with yuri, and he's read all the Yuri Hime manga. However, he is sadly aware that there is one thing a lesbian romance absolutely does not need-- him. One day, a student named Akane transferred to his class from an all-girls school. She used to go to school with another classmate, Saori, and Akane immediately tried to pick up their friendship. However, her clinginess, desire for alone-time, and intensity all convinced Keisuke that he was finally seeing yuri in reality! Soon enough, Keisuke had stalked them enough to see a love triangle between Saori, newcomer Akane, and their standoffish classmate Matsuoka. Is there truth to his observations, or is he viewing the world through yuri-tinted glasses?

Ogata, a serious salaryman, is said to have a blemish free life throughout his school years and into his working life. He was an honor student who would pay attention to his surroundings and without exception, would not allow for prejudices to be made as he believed that one’s hands should be extended to save the weak.His co-worker, Ayase, feels irritated by this. His hatred becomes stronger as Ogata waves his ideals of justice over his head. He uses a new employee (and prostitute) recruited by the company’s president, named Kamiya, and devises a plan to deceive Ogata.A man who wants to get rid of the unavoidable darkness that resides within him.A man who has no choice but to be a bystander to his parents’ fate.A man who discovers love and hope in a life where he can’t find a purpose to live.Punishment, grief, emptiness…each ivy overlaps and entangles. Just when flowers of different color show…a dark and gloomy garden will surely leave a new seed in your heart.

“I have an unusual attachment to my older brother.” Hayato and Yuki are two high school students who are also stepbrothers. Although they share a mother, she works in a bar and moved in to live with her lover, leaving the two brothers to rely on each other. However, older brother Yuki who was always concerned about Hayato suddenly starts avoiding him. Why? Loneliness and doubts will eventually turned into an abnormal obsession! This is a brother’s criminal grade love that went overboard!cw: rape/noncon, homophobic slurs