I’ve been blitzing through the
manga on Kindle Unlimited. Some of it is
fun, some is meh, and some I have tried to block from my memory. I thought I would share some of my recommendations
with you! If you have recommendations too, comment below!
Captive Hearts of
Oz Volumes 1-4 (complete series)
Dorothy finds herself in a
strange (and strangely familiar) land and sets out along the Yellow Brick
Road. But something is wrong in this
version of Oz… I really loved this
story. It has friendship, action, and a
smidgen of romance, as well as some fun new characters. My favorite is Crow. Watching him try to seem scary is hilarious.
Days Volumes 1-7
(not complete series)
I didn’t think I would like
sports manga, but they are actually a lot of fun. They center around friendship and hard
work. This one is especially good, with
a shy but hard-working hero and a fun ensemble cast that each have their own
character arcs. Go Seiseki soccer team! If you like this manga, the first two volumes
of All Out, a scrappy and hilarious rugby manga, and the first seven
volumes of Ace of the Diamond, a classic baseball manga (I’m not as fond
of this one but it is okay), are also on KU.
Aoba-kun’s
Confessions Volumes 1-5 (not complete series)
A shoujo story set in a Japanese
high school. Mayo is a very shy and
quiet person; her classmates don’t even remember she exists. But when she finds out that something is
troubling the popular basket player Aoba-kun, she wants to help by listening to
his problems, just as he once listened to her.
This is a cute, sweet romance about a girl who slowly gains courage and
a boy who learns to be honest. If you
like this story, I am Here omnibus volume 1 and I’m in Love and it’s
the End of the World volumes 1-2 are also on KU; I like these a lot too!
Fairy Tail Volumes
1-18 (not complete series)
In a magical world, wizards
assemble into wizard guilds and solve magical problems for the general
public. One of the most famous wizard
guilds in the kingdom of Magnolia is Fairy Tail. When celestial wizard Lucy joins the guild,
she soon makes friend with fire dragonslayer Natsu, his talking cat Happy, his
perpetual rival Gray, and the scary but good-hearted Erza Scarlet. Together, they fight dark wizard guilds,
break curses, overcome monsters, and lots of other stuff. They also make lots of new friends (mostly by
defeating them in battle to show them the error of their ways). Kind of a fantasy action comedy. I really love the anime that is based on this
manga, which is carrying me through the shonen weekly-magazine drawing style.
Content warning: This is shonen
manga, so all of the female characters look like they live in an extremely hot
climate, and there is some crude humor from some of the characters. I will say, though, that there is very little
romance in this series, so no matter how awkward things get for Lucy, it is
less awkward for the reader because Natsu and Gray completely fail to notice. If you like shonen fantasy action manga,
volumes 1-5 of Fire Force, volumes 1-18 of Rave Master, as well
as some of the Fairy Tail spin-offs like Fairy Tail S and Fairy
Girls, are also on KU. If you like
fantasy action without the shonen content problems, try Saigami volumes
1-2.
My Little Monster
volumes 1-4 (not complete series)
A wacky high-school romance
between a grade-obsessed, introverted girl and a boy who is the definition of
socially inept. Those two… I’m going to
die of laughter. There’s a great
supporting cast too, from the girl who’s convinced that all boys are in love
with her, to a gang of would-be punks and their bored leader, to Haru’s pet
chicken. I’m laughing just thinking
about them…
Sweetness and
Lightning volumes 1-2 (not complete series)
A widowed dad tries to cook good
meals for his small daughter with the help of a high-school student. Very funny and sweet! No romance, although I wonder what will
happen when the student’s mom finally enters the story. Comes with recipes! I love recipes! If you also like recipes, Kitchen Princess
omnibus volumes 1-2 are also on KU - very cute food romance.
Other Recommended
Manga on KU
Manga Dogs volume 1 – comedy
Let’s Dance a Waltz volumes 1-2 – sweet romance/sports
Wake Up Sleeping Beauty volume 1 – romance/mystery
Waiting for Spring volume 1 – romance/slice of life
Heart Break Club volume 1 – romance/comedy
DON’T READ THESE
These were… not what I was
expecting. I have learned not to just
read the Amazon book description but also the entry on Wikipedia. I strongly recommend NOT reading these.
Sexual content: LDK, Missions
of Love, Say I Love You
Violence: Real Account
All the Problems: Mars, My
Wife is Wagatsuma-san, Gakuen Prince (Amazon, stop recommending this to
me! I do not want you to recommend this
to me! Gah!)