Novel Review | Little Mushroom: Judgement Day and Little Mushroom: Revelations by Shisi

Title: Little Mushroom: Judgment Day | Little Mushroom: Revelations


The world has become an unrecognizable habitat for . Since the disappearance of the magnetic poles over a hundred years ago in the year 2020, the Earth has been in a state of chaotic flux. Finally, after generations and generations of trial and error, the remaining humans of the world have restored the magnetic field. Still, the areas surrounding the few remaining human bases are inhabited by creatures known as xenogenics, made up of various body parts, including human parts, animal parts, insect parts, etc. These creatures also have the ability to spread their deformation to humans through open wounds, but the change isn’t immediate. So, to prevent these infected humans from entering the bases and spreading the infection, there are people designated as Judges who are given the right to judge if a person is a xenogenic or not. If found guilty, the person can be killed on the spot.

In one of the most dangerous areas out in the wild, a tiny mushroom tries to raise his spore. Unfortunately, one day, a human being exploring the wild for materials comes upon the mushroom and steals his spore. Desperate to get his spore back, the mushroom encounters a dying human named An Ze. They become friends, and An Ze allows the mushroom to use his body to take on a human form of his own. Once the mushroom can take human form, he accumulates all of An Ze’s memories and essentially his identity. Before An Ze passes, he gives the mushroom a name: An Zhe. With the ability to now integrate with humanity, An Zhe travels to a human base with the sole goal of getting his spore back.

Unfortunately, the only way to do that is to survive the Judge’s test, and An Zhe’s first encounter is with none other than the most accurate Judge of all: Lu Feng.

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Manga Review | Please Don’t Bite Me So Much! by Sangou Mitsuru

Title: Please Don't Bite Me So Much!



Yanagi wants to be cool. So he’s bleached his hair and changed his image to achieve just that. But even with that change, Yanagi still isn’t putting out the image he desperately craves as a self-proclaimed “plain face.” Of course, it doesn’t help that he is put face-to-face every day at work with a guy who embodies all of the attitude and aesthetic he craves for himself: Igarashi. Igarashi is the talk of the town. He’s good-looking, a bit of a playboy, and he’s got an aesthetic that Yanagi would die for.

Needless to say, Yanagi isn’t Igarashi’s biggest fan. Even so, much like everyone else, Yanagi can’t help but be drawn to the tall, dark, and handsome coworker. But what draws Yanagi to Igarashi isn’t the same thing that draws anyone else in. Igarashi has a unique characteristic: a set of pronounced fanged canines. For whatever reason, Yanagi desperately wants to touch them. Instead, he wouldn’t mind if Igarashi bit him with those sharp teeth. But when would that chance ever come about?

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Manhwa Review | My Way with You by u-pi

Title: My Way with You



Giran doesn’t care about most things anymore. Since his father’s suicide as a child, Giran has been raised by his grandmother, who devoted her entire being to raising him all on her own. As a result, Giran feels wholly indebted to her and spends his whole life working hard so he can one day pay her back for everything he has received from her. Unfortunately, though, Giran’s grandmother passes away at home alone during his work. Wracked with guilt for leaving her to pass away alone and being unable to fulfill the many promises he made to her, Giran’s life and goals fall by the wayside. He spends his days simply going through the motions, unable to move on with his life.

That is, until one day, he is at a club and catches the eye of a beautiful man named Seon-gyeong. The two have this immediate connection and magnetism that Giran can’t seem to shake. Somehow, they are constantly and inexplicably drawn to each other until they finally spend day after day together. Without any official declaration from either of them, they end up living together and spending more time together than they do doing anything else. But, as time goes on and their flame and passion fail to wane, it is clear something darker is pulling them together. Where did Seon-gyeong come from, and why is Giran so drawn to him?

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Manhwa Review | A Man of Virtue by GGANG-E

Title: A Man of Virtue



Jinwoo works with his greatest enemy, Sangtae. Their rivalry began back in high school, where Jinwoo used to dominate academically. However, when Sangtae transfers to Jinwoo’s school, it isn’t long before Jinwoo roots himself firmly in Jinwoo’s spot, leaving Jinwoo permanently in second place. While this is frustrating, Jinwoo isn’t too worried about it. Of course, this won’t last forever. Sangtae is going to go to , and they probably won’t ever see each other again, right? Wrong. As luck would have, Sangtae ends up working in the same company and even in the same department, and just as he did in high school, Sangtae rules the roost, leaving Jinwoo in the dust.

One evening, when Jinwoo is particularly frustrated by Sangtae, Jinwoo drinks excessively. Then, in his drunken stupor, he pukes on a haechi statue, drawing the beast’s ire. The following day, at random, Jinwoo is inundated by dirty fantasies to the point that he can barely function. Unfortunately, amid one of these fantasies, Sangtae catches Jinwoo trying to relieve himself, resulting in further embarrassment and rivalry between the two. Amid their fighting, though, Jinwoo realizes that he only gets the fantasies when he is near Sangtae, leading him to conclude that these are actually Sangtae’s fantasies.

With Sangtae mysteriously at the crux of Jinwoo’s curse, will he be able to team up with his greatest enemy to solve this issue? Or is this just one more reason to avoid Sangtae for the rest of his life?

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Manhwa Review | Home Alone Together by Shin Yuri

Title: Home Alone Together



Junwoo is a hikikomori – a young adult who has become a recluse. For the past five years, since graduating high school and after the death of his parents, he has holed himself up in his childhood home, where he spends his days in idle existence. The only thing he has to look forward to is the occasional visit from his neighbor Hanbit, a guy he’s had a crush on since he was a kid. Otherwise, his days are filled with severe loneliness and the self-loathing he hasn’t been able to shake.

One day, Hanbit comes by, implying that he might be moving in with Junwoo. This lights a fire under Junwoo, and he immediately assumes this is his chance to win over Hanbit. However, when Hanbit comes over, he brings along a stranger: Wooyeon. It turns out that Hanbit isn’t planning to move in. On the contrary, he is moving away to be with his longtime girlfriend. However, in fear of Junwoo being left alone unsupervised, Hanbit has the great idea that Wooyeon should move in with Junwoo.

Neither Junwoo nor Wooyeon seem jazzed about the idea, but both seem compelled to go along with it because of their affection for Hanbit. So begins the awkward orbiting the two have as they live together. Despite their disdain for each other’s company, slowly but surely, they grow to tolerate one another. And soon, that tolerance evolves into something more, something neither of them expected it would be. But these two have a lot of old wounds that threaten the peace they have created with each other. Will they be able to move forward, or are they destined to drown amid their surging trauma?

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Manga Review | Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku by Fujita

Title: Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku



Narumi and Hirotaka have been friends since childhood when they bonded over their love of nerdy hobbies. For Narumi, she loved manga and anime. For Hirotaka, his love of video games dominated everything else in his life. However, as their carefree childhood days flew by, Hirotaka soon realized that he cared for Narumi almost as much as his video games. Unfortunately, though, those idyllic days of childhood bliss faded away, and so did Narumi and Hirotaka’s friendship.

As adults, Hirotaka and Narumi end up working at the same . While they don’t immediately kick off as friends again in adulthood, they find solace in each other’s company once they reveal that their previous obsessions have only intensified. Able to be 100% herself with Hirotaka, Narumi spends a lot of her time complaining and confiding in him, whether it be about her fujoshi-related hobbies, work concerns, or even her failing love life. Hirotaka, still infatuated with Narumi, faithfully stands by as her shoulder to cry on. One day, though, listening to another tale of woe from Narumi due to her various love interests leaving her because of her otaku hobby, Hirotaka takes the plunge. He asks Narumi:

Why doesn’t she just date him instead?

And so begins the struggle of love between a closeted fujoshi and a game-obsessed, antisocial otaku. What could go wrong?

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Manhwa Review | Undercover Partners by JayJay

Title: Undercover Partners



Kyuho Je is over being a conglomerate family heir. He is looking for any way possible to get out from under his family while maintaining his lifestyle for himself. He finds the answer to all his problems through a money-laundering expert by the codename “Smurf,” who, in the real world, is known as Kangha Nam. Once Kyuho catches Kangha, he extorts him into entering a contract. Kangha will help Kyuho launder money from Jeho corporation, his family’s corporation, while acting as Kyuho’s lover. Kangha isn’t all that willing to go along with it at first, but when Kyuho offers to compensate him at any price Kangha sees fit, the offer is just too good to be true.

Kyuho gets to work on his plan immediately. He gets Kangha on at work as his secretary and begins setting the stage for their very fake but very public . Kangha charges for every touch, every event, and every favor, which grows his nest egg exponentially. However, as time goes on and they spend more and more time in these compromising scenarios, it becomes much harder to distinguish what emotions are real and which are just part of the act. While Kyuho and Kangha try to identify the legitimacy of their feelings and relationship, the looming threat of their illegal schemes being discovered is ready to ruin everything.

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Novel Review | Lip and Sword by Jin Shisi Chai

Title: Lip and Sword


Xing Ming is the host of Pearl Line, a news analysis show for the station Pearl TV Station News Center. He’s attractive, talented, and truly cares about the news he puts out. As a result, during the end-of-the-year banquet for the station, Xing Ming is awarded the Top Ten News Centers of the Year award. However, not everyone feels he is deserving of it. Director Chen Linan, who actually recruited Xing Ming initially and put him in the position of hosting Pearl Line, now no longer feels he is worthy of his accolades or role on the show. This is all because Zhuang Lei, rumored to be Chen Linan’s niece or lover, was the host of Pearl Line before she went on maternity leave, which allowed Xing Ming to be her replacement. Even though she has recovered and is ready to return, Xing Ming refuses to give up his spot.

Due to his frustration and drunkness, Chen Linan confronts Xing Ming at the party. At first, Xing Ming isn’t worried over the drunken Chen Linan’s pestering… until Chen Linan brings up Xing Ming’s dead father, a convicted rapist. In a blind rage, Xing Ming beats Chen Linan over the head with a wine bottle in front of everyone at the party. In a panic, knowing his job is on the line, Xing Ming reaches out to the station chairman, Yu Zhongye, and offers himself up in exchange for leniency regarding his punishment. While Yu Zhongye does take him up on his offer, and they spend a night together, the director and chairman are set to fire him the following day. Once more, in a fit of rage, Xing Ming fights off the security guards and poses an offer to the chairman: let me create my own show with my own team from scratch. If he doesn’t get decent ratings during a six-month period, he will leave on his own.

Yu Zhongye agrees, but as Xing Ming faces setback after setback, he constantly has to return to Yu Zhongye for favors. As he gives himself over to the chairman repeatedly, Xing Ming begins to question if this is all worth it and what his sexuality is. However, more than anything, Xing Ming wonders if what he feels for Yu Zhongye is truly admiration or if it is something deeper? And is Yu Zhongye capable of loving anyone for more than their body?

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Manhwa Review | The Devil’s Temptation by Youn

Title: The Devil's Temptation



All Hyun of the owl tribe wants out of life is yummy food, comfy furniture, and never having to leave the house. But unfortunately, he has to work to survive. To keep up with his corporate job, he has to attend the holiday party at the end of the year. What makes it worse is his archnemesis from the snake tribe, Ivan, is there and makes it a point to tease Hyun as much as he can. To survive the night, Hyun drinks himself into a tizzy, only to embarrass himself in front of the director of the company and his crush from the snake tribe, Alek. Thankfully, Hyun doesn’t have to suffer the party for too long as he passes out.

When he wakes up, not only is he in bed with Ivan, but he has a weird mark on his neck. This is an imprint specific to the snake tribe that binds the marker to the marked so that the marked craves physical intimacy with their marker. It’s okay, though, because there is a cure, but it could take months to develop, and in the meantime, Hyun could experience flu-like symptoms… or possibly go blind if he doesn’t get enough pheromones from Ivan. The worst part, though, is that the mark also attracts other members of the snake tribe and him to them, so he has to juggle intimacy with his enemy Ivan and try to keep from pouncing on his crush and boss Alek, too.

Can an owl like Hyun survive in the snake pit? And even if Hyun does survive, what does this new level of intimacy mean for his relationship with Ivan and Alek? Do they only like him for the mark, or is there something more?

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Manhwa Review | If You Hate Me So by Fargo

Title: If You Hate Me So



Minjae is doing his best to get through school as quietly as possible. Unfortunately, that goes all out the window when he walks in on Hyung-jo doing something… inappropriate while the T.A., Jinhan, is asleep. Hyung-jo is obsessively in love with the T.A., and when he realizes Minjae has caught him, Hyung-jo is willing to go to any length to protect his secret crush from ridicule, even if it means hurting Minjae. Hyung-jo clarifies that he doesn’t care what anyone says about him, but he won’t tolerate anyone bad-mouthing Jinhan.

If that isn’t bad enough, Minjae also develops a crush on Jinhan, but Minjae refuses to back down. Only to make matters worse, Jinhan constantly brings Minjae and Hyung-jo together, forcing the two to interact even when they would both instead do anything but be in the same room with each other. Somehow, while they are fighting each other over Jinhan, Jinhan slowly stops being their focus. Instead, the only people in their view are each other. But, from enemies to lovers, is that even possible?

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