Historical
A literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to past events but is fictional.
Manga Review | The Lord’s Bride by Pyoco Asahina
Title: The Lord's Bride
Shion is part of a powerful family, but as a branching cadet family with no blood ties to the main family, he gets all the ire from all the other branches, but without the power the main family has. The main reason for all of the ire? It’s due to a long-held tradition between his bloodline and the head of the main family. Their ancestors were once in love but could not be together due to their differing classes. Unwilling to be without each other, the ancestors performed a bonding ceremony, rebelling against their families and solidifying their love for one another.
Now that Ao, Shion’s former childhood friend, has obtained the role of head of the main family, he fully intends to carry on the tradition of binding their two families together through this bonding ceremony. Unfortunately, this needless tradition has caused immense fury amongst all of the other family members, all of it directed toward Shion, who doesn’t have the power Ao does to defend himself. Shion never wanted to go along with this stupid tradition and, as such, fully intends to escape as soon as he gets the chance. Ao, though, has no intention of letting Shion go.
On the surface, it may seem that Ao is just going along with all of this for the sake of tradition, but there are much deeper reasons that even Shion can’t fathom.
Manga Review | Married to the Dragon God by Shogo Ikegami
Title: Married to the Dragon God
Tsuwabuki, the illegitimate child of the head of the wolf family to a lion-dog mistress mother, is a lion-dog. His life as a young child starts out well enough with the protection of his mother, but when she dies, his worth to the family severely declines. Though he’s related to the legitimate children of the family head, he is treated just like any other servant, except by his half-sister, who bullies him incessantly just because she can. Tsuwabuki does his best to ignore her taunts, serving the wolf family as best he can while honoring the god of the mountain they live on, just as his mother taught him when he was a small child. He’s perfectly content with his life, though he secretly longs for a bit more freedom and the affection he lost when his mother passed.
The members of the wolf family are considered the divine messengers of god, so it only makes sense that they are called upon to offer a bride to the god in order to heal him of his impurities. The god specifically requests the youngest child, who happens to be Tsuwabuki’s cruel older sister. She doesn’t want to marry the god and is disgusted by the idea of having to cleanse the impure god, as it requires having sex. Instead, she demands that they offer Tsuwabuki, as he is also a child of the wolf family. Without a word, Tsuwabuki accepts his new role.
After being taken underwater, a gateway to where the mountain god Shuro resides, Tsuwabuki is married and bedded. Though Tsuwabuki doesn’t feel worthy of being Shuro’s bride, Shuro assures him that no one else could be worthy enough to be by his side. Still, Tsuwabuki is sure that there is a better bride for Shuro. As it happens, his elder sister is sacrificed to marry Shuro after the wolf family is destroyed. Tsuwabuki is sure his sister would be better for Shuro, but deep inside, Tsuwabuki loves Shuro and wants him all to himself.
Does Shuro really need Tsuwabuki? And even if he doesn’t, can Tsuwabuki let Shuro go?
Manhua Review | My Delicious Dream Boy by Xiyuer
Title: My Delicious Dream Boy (Less Censored) | Watch Out for the Dream Demon (Censored)
Joel Lin has had a lonely life. His family did their best to keep him happy and occupied, but nothing could replace the fun of school and public places. Unfortunately, Joel has suffered from an undiagnosable chronic illness that weakened him to the point he had to be homeschooled and kept out of any excitable public places at the risk of his life. He was nearly at the end of his rope when he and his mother visited a purveyor of magic called the goddess, who gave Joel a talisman to keep in his home and a charm to carry on him that successfully staves off most of his dire symptoms. Still, the nightmares he has been subjected to every night persist.
Being healthier now than he has ever been leads to the first time in his life that he can physically attend school for his first year in college. There, he meets a popular pink-haired man named Mara, who latches on to Joel immediately and solidifies himself as Joel’s first friend outside his family. Incidentally, his new best friend is very similar to the main villain in his nightmares, a pink-haired monster with wings, horns, and tentacles who captures and threatens him until he wakes up. This has to be just a coincidence, though, right?
Mara, though, has an ulterior motive for befriending Joel. As it turns out, Mara is a dream demon, a supernatural creature that feeds on human dreams. The most delicious of dreams are nightmares, and with his powers, he can determine how healthy his targets are and how likely they are to have nightmares. As it turns out, Joel has a 100% chance of having a nightmare every single night, and Mara is determined to have this delectable feast. But no matter how hard he tries, he can’t seem to taste Joel’s dreams, and he has no idea why. But the more he tries, the closer he gets to Joel, and soon, he wants to taste much more than Joel’s dreams.
Manhwa Review | Rent Boy by Studio Stellas
Title: Rent Boy
Anton Arnault has finally come of age. Unfortunately, his celebration isn’t all that fun. Since he is a child of mixed blood, most attendees (the upper crust) don’t see him as the heir to the Arnault fortune but as an invader into their exclusive world. They foresee his rise to power as the end of the prestigious Arnault name. They don’t try to hide their disdain and mockery of him either, and all Anton can do is shoulder their judgment and do everything he can to prove them wrong.
Unfortunately, the coming-of-age party isn’t the end of the ritual. Now that he is of age, it’s time for him to visit the Cyrene Salon, a pretty facade, hiding behind it an exclusive brothel where the upper crust can explore all manner of pleasure hidden from the eyes of general society. Anton must also visit and give up his virginity to one of the many workers there to finally enter the noble world as a man. Wanting to establish himself in this society, he requests the top sex worker in the brothel, who turns out to be a young man named Arwin. Anton is instantly smitten and finds himself drawn in again and again just for Arwin.
Unfortunately, Anton isn’t the only one bewitched by Arwin. As it turns out, Arwin is also his father’s favorite, and Klaus Arnault isn’t above challenging his son for the affection of Arwin. Can Anton maintain his foothold as heir to the Arnault family, or will he lose it all just to be with Arwin?
Manga Review | Anti-Platonic by Yupopo Orishima
Title: Anti-Platonic
Anti-Platonic
Ryoya is a player, and that is putting it mildly. He lives his life by the crotch of his pants, jumping from bed to bed and, in turn, wallet to wallet to keep himself fed and housed. His current favorite is his roommate Io, this cold and quiet guy with a strange fetish: for scent. Io likes Ryoya’s scent, and he presumably likes Ryoya’s body, which leads to Io allowing Ryoya to move in with him. They spend their nights romping around in bed before going their separate ways in the morning; Ryoya often goes to his other lovers while Io goes to class.
It’s a playboy’s dream, but for some reason, Ryoya can’t shake his discomfort over Io’s lack of interest in him. With so many other lovers clambering for Ryoya’s attention, why can’t he get Io’s? More importantly, why does Ryoya care so much about the introverted Io?
The Demon’s Definitely Lovesick
Rintaro is a sixteen-year-old boy with the weight of his family on his shoulders. Unfortunately, after his father passed, his mother was left to feed herself and Rintaro alone. Then, she fell sick, leaving Rintaro to take on the mantle of the breadwinner for his small family. Rintaro doesn’t complain, fishing every day to feed his mother and get money from the market in his village. Things are going well, but he hears whispers of bigger and better fish to be found in the forest, but there are legends of a fox demon in those woods who eats those that dare travel into his territory.
While Rintaro is just as frightened as everyone else, the chance at a large haul is just too alluring. Of course, while fishing, Rintaro comes face to face with the fox demon, Shiranui. Rather than eating him up, Shiranui gives Rintaro a fish and asks the boy to never return. Rather than heed the fox demon’s warning, Rintaro is only encouraged to return, determined to return Shiranui’s kindness. All the while, whispers continue to swirl, with the village prepared to rid themselves of the demon altogether if need be.
Manhwa Review | Surge Towards You by Cheongyeon
Title: Surge Towards You
Cheong-ho is a prolific athlete. He’s an Olympic-grade swimmer, but his position is constantly questioned with his diminishing records. His condition would be better as an alpha if he would have sex with an omega, but his fear and repulsion toward omega pheromones make it impossible. Due to a traumatic event in his childhood, Cheong-ho can’t stand being around omegas, which is part of why he loves to swim because they can’t trigger him in the water. With suppressants, he can achieve his goal of being a professional swimmer, but with them being banned as performance enhancers and considered doping, Cheong-ho’s future in the sport is bleak.
At the end of his rope, he tries exposure therapy to overcome his repulsion. While in a park, he encounters someone hanging out on a bridge. The person looks unwell, which leads to them passing out and falling into the water below. Without hesitation, Cheong-ho jumps in to rescue them, but upon pulling them out of the water, he discovers that it is an omega in heat. Strangely enough, he isn’t put off by them, but the reason is even stranger still: they’re odorless. The person he rescued is Olympic figure skater Yi-rim, a “defective” omega with odorless pheromones.
Yi-rim has never been able to attract an alpha since no one can smell his scent, and, as such, he assumed his life would be lonely until he met Cheong-ho. Cheong-ho needs Yi-rim, and Yi-rim will give anything to be with Cheong-ho, even at the risk of his heart.
Manga Review | A Strange & Mystifying Story by Tsuta Suzuki
Title: A Strange & Mystifying Story
Aki’s family is cursed, specifically on his mother’s side. Unfortunately, the curse isn’t limited to his mother’s side. His father, who married in, suffered from the same affliction and ended up with the same fate as Aki’s mother and many other family members over the years: death. The only one left is Aki’s grandfather, who is frail and sick, just like all of his family members who passed before him. In his final moments, Aki’s grandfather tells Aki about someone who can help him survive the curse but doesn’t provide much more information before he passes.
On his own, Aki is doing his best to get through life but grows frail as he is struck with an incurable disease he attributes to the curse. After passing out and being unable to return to work, Aki is desperate to keep himself alive and beat the curse. As he is on the cusp of succumbing to the curse, he follows his grandfather’s advice and finds a bone hidden away. Disheartened by the useless discovery, Aki is ready to accept his fate when he gets blood on the bone, causing it to grow and expand with more bones, flesh, muscles, and skin until it takes the form of a half-man, half-god.
As it turns out, Aki’s family acquired a guardian deity. The reason Aki’s grandfather was able to live to old age is that this guardian deity helped consume the curse, prolonging his life. Aki can hardly believe it until the deity reaches into his body and pulls out a part of the curse, providing instant relief. Unfortunately, the best way for this deity to find the curse is to be intimate with the person. Now that Aki has completed the contract by giving the deity a name, Setsu, he has to suffer through the uncomfortable touch to keep himself alive. Even as he continues to claim he dislikes it all, he finds himself looking forward to the pleasure he can receive from Setsu. Once Setsu isn’t needed anymore, he’ll turn back into bone. Once the curse is cured, can Aki return to a life without Setsu?