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Best New Shoujo Manga of 2016

December 29, 2016

Not as many new series this year as last year. However, many new titles we got are read-worthy for shoujo fans. Just for clarity’s sake, only titles published in print in English are considered. Here’s what we’ve determined are the best NEW shoujo manga of 2016.

Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi

Synopsis:

Princess Yona lives an ideal life as the only princess of her kingdom. Doted on by her father, the king, and protected by her faithful guard Hak, she cherishes the time spent with the man she loves, Soo-won. But everything changes on her 16th birthday when she witnesses her father’s murder!

Yona reels from the shock of losing her father and having to fight for her life. With Hak’s help, she flees the castle and struggles to survive while evading her enemy’s forces. But where will this displaced princess go with such an uncertain path before her?

Heart of Manga Review

The Prince in His Dark Days by Hico Yamanaka

Synopsis:

A drunkard for a father, a household of poverty…For 17-year-old Atsuko, misfortune is all she knows and believes in. Until one day, a chance encounter with Itaru–the wealthy heir of a huge corporation–changes everything. The two look identical, uncannily so. When Itaru curiously goes missing, Atsuko is roped into being his stand-in. There, in his shoes, Atsuko must parade like a prince in a palace. She encounters many new experiences, but at what cost…?

A heartrending modern love story.

Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition by Natsuki Takaya

Synopsis:

After a family tragedy turns her life upside down, plucky high schooler Tohru Honda takes matters into her own hands and moves out…into a tent! Unfortunately for her, she pitches her new home on private land belonging to the mysterious Sohma clan, and it isn’t long before the owners discover her secret. But, as Tohru quickly finds out when the family offers to take her in, the Sohmas have a secret of their own–when touched by the opposite sex, they turn into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac!

That Wolf-Boy is Mine by Yoko Nogiri

Synopsis:

After some traumatic experiences, Komugi Kusunoki transferred from the city to start a new life in rural Hokkaido. But on her first day of school, the school heartthrob Yū Ōgami blurts out, “You smell good!” Despite the hijinks, Komugi tries to adjust to her new school, but it’s not long before she stumbles across Yū dozing off under a tree. When she attempts to wake him up, he transformed…into a wolf?! It turns out that Yū is one of many other eccentric boys in her class year–and she’s the only one who knows their secret…!

Heart of Manga Review

The Heiress and the Chauffeur by Keiko Ishihara

Synopsis:

At an all-girls school during the Taisho era in Japan, rumors swirl that heiress Sayaka Yoshimura is having a forbidden love affair with her chauffeur, Shinobu Narutaki! Sayaka scoffs at the rumors, but could a romance between master and servant actually be brewing?

Sayaka wears a crimson ribbon that signals she is at the top of her class, and her classmates all revere her. So when Narutaki ignores decorum and breaks school rules to protect Sayaka, will she stand by him or dismiss him as the school demands?

Honey So Sweet by Amu Meguro

Synopsis:

Little did Nao Kogure realize back in middle school that when she left an umbrella and a box of bandages in the rain for injured delinquent Taiga Onise that she would meet him again in high school. Nao wants nothing to do with the gruff and frightening Taiga, but he suddenly presents her with a huge bouquet of flowers and asks her to date him—with marriage in mind! Is Taiga really so scary, or is he a sweetheart in disguise?

Heart of Manga Review

Orange by Ichigo Takano

Synopsis:

Everyone has regrets in life. So who wouldn’t take the chance to change the past if given the opportunity? When sixteen-year-old Takamiya Naho receives a mysterious letter, claiming to be from her twenty-seven-year-old self, her life is suddenly thrown into flux. The letter tells her that a new transfer student by the name of Naruse Kakeru will be joining her class, and to keep her eye on him. But why? Naho must decide what to make of the letter and its cryptic warning, and what it means not only for her future, but for Kakeru’s as well.

Heart of Manga Review

Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura

Synopsis:

Tsukimi Kurashita has a strange fascination with jellyfish. She’s loved them from a young age and has carried that love with her to her new life in the big city of Tokyo. There, she resides in Amamizukan, a safe-haven for girl geeks who regularly gush over a range of things from trains to Japanese dolls.

However, a chance meeting at a pet shop has Tsukimi crossing paths with one of the things that the residents of Amamizukan have been desperately trying to avoid – a beautiful and fashionable woman! But there’s much more to this woman than her trendy clothes! This odd encounter is only the beginning of a new and unexpected path for Tsukimi and her friends.

Everyone’s Getting Married by Izumi Miyazono

Synopsis:

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 Ryu Nanami, the popular newscaster at PTV. 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.

Heart of Manga Review

Yaoi: Ten Count by Rihito Takari

Synopsis:

Corporate secretary Shirotani suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. One day he meets Kurose, a therapist who offers to take him through a ten-step program to cure him of his compulsion. As the two go through each of the ten steps, Shirotani’s attraction to his counselor grows.

A lot of explicit BL action in this series, so definitely for the older crowd.

Yuri: NTR Netsuzou Trap by Kodama Naoko

Okay, really this was the ONLY new yuri title this year. But there are a bunch of new titles coming out next year, and quite a few within the next couple months. Hang in there, fans!

Synopsis:

Yuma and Hotaru have been friends since childhood. It is only natural that when Yuma is nervous about her new boyfriend, she asks Hotaru along with her boyfriend for a double date. But when Hotaru offers herself to Yuma as “practice,” both girls realize that they’re more interested in each other than they are in their own boyfriends.

With boyfriends in the foreground but a secret, passionate tryst in the background, will Yuma and Hotaru try to forget what happened between them or have they fallen into a trap of true love and betrayal?

What was YOUR favorite new series this year?

2 Comments

Hi I came across your site by accident and loved it ever since. I’m like you a mom and devoted wife and I also love to read manga and do some manga artwork in secret. It’s hard to do something you like and have no one to share it with in my country there are a very small amount of people tho even know what manga is and appreciate it. I’ve been told countless of times that I’m wasting my time and talent on something that has no value here but I still do it anny way. Mang’s something that can be enjoyed by every one in anny country. Thank you for the hard work and effort.

Natacha Jun 04, 2017
- Nice to have you! We manga fans need to stick together!
  
  Laura Jun 08, 2017