Manga Haven

3D Material

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:54:49 GMT

A collection of gritty and edgy short stories, far from the usual shoujo fare. Be prepared for small doses of heartbreak and large doses of realism. Yum.

Title: 3D Material
Artist: Fujisue Sakura
Scanslators: ShoujoMagic
Category: Manga
Genre: Josei
Status: Complete.
Last update: August 31, 2004.
Latest release: Volume 1, chapter 5 [end].
Downloads: Entire volume.

Good Father

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:47:31 GMT

Nakamura Sano naturally feels stressed out when his girlfriend asks him to meet her father. When he gets the courage to come visit, he discovers that her father is actually a first class DJ who doesn't want his daughter to date Sano. As a result, Sano throws himself into the DJ world and enters the DJ prelimary match!

While this is a shoujo manga, it's more acutely observed and subtle than a lot of shoujo manga out there. Sano's predictable urge to overcome the alpha male (his girlfriend's father), is as amusing as it is touching. There's also an interesting backstory behind some of the minor characters, and the art is fabulous. I'm sure you'll enjoy this.

Title: Good Father
Artist: Kagaya Uzuki
Scanslators: Impossibility
Category: Manga
Genre: Shoujo
Status: Complete.
Last update: July 20, 2005.
Latest release: Volume 1, chapter 5 [end].
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

Koi

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 11:40:07 GMT

A collection of bittersweet tales of all the different shapes an unrequited love can come in. Why is it so difficult to confess your love? Why is it that another person can affect someone else so strongly? When a powerful man is fickle, he is allowed to be. But if a woman is unfaithful, she is called a tramp. Koi tells the realistic stories of six different women of different ages, and completely different outlooks on life.

Title: Koi
Artist: Ohkawa Ageha & Okazaki Takeshi
Scanslators: Be With You Scans
Category: Manga
Genre: Josei.
Status: Complete.
Last update: June 19, 2005.
Latest release: Volume 1, chapter 8 [end].
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8].

Helter Skelter

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 11:27:58 GMT

Spine-tingling, thought-provoking and bizarre. This is the first time I've seen a female character "deconstructed" to this degree in a manga -- and I do mean deconstructed both mentally and physically.

Through round after round of extensive plastic surgery and vigorous maintenance, Ririko has become the absolute manifestation of beauty, and becomes a wildly successful model, actress and singer. However, soon her body, unable to withstand the burdens of surgery, begins to crumble, and along with it so does her mind, as she plummets towards a frightening and inevitable end.

A story about a woman's vanity, greed, hatred and despair, by the author of River's Edge.

Title: Helter Skelter
Artist: Okasaki Kyoko
Scanslators: Mangascreener
Category: Manga
Genre: Josei.
Status: Complete.
Last update: August 6, 2004.
Latest release: Volume 1, chapter 9 [end].
Downloads: Entire volume.

Extra Heavy Syrup

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 11:20:09 GMT

This is one of the zaniest, most kick-ass josei stories you're likely to come across. ShoujoMagic aptly describes it as "Charlie's Angels meets Ogawa Yayoi" -- yes, there's a mysterious man who commands the unwavering loyalty of two (not three) beautiful young women, and uses them to fight dirt of all kinds, from the messy household variety to the far more deadly filth that haunts the city's crime-ridden streets.

Yuki and Emiri, the two women in question, are both as weird as they are wonderful -- they insist that their faceless boss, Akira, is in fact their long-lost boyfriend. Follow them as they try to reunite with him, despite the many hilarious (and often dangerous) mishaps that come in their way.

Title: Extra Heavy Syrup
Artist: Ogawa Yayoi
Scanslators: ShoujoMagic
Category: Manga
Genre: Josei.
Status: Ongoing.
Last update: June 19, 2005.
Latest release: Volume 1, chapter 3.
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3].

The Yellow Book

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 02:59:50 GMT

Published by Kodansha in 2002 and awarded the prestigious Tezuka Cultural Prize, Fumiko Takano's The Yellow Book is one of those rare works which you enjoy reading in order to feel the tender familiarity that arises between the protagonists and yourself. This collected volume was named after the longest of the four stories that it contains: a drama about an adolescent girl who falls in love with Roger Martin du Gard's saga, Les Thibault. The remaining stories capture various fragments of everyday life with tenderness and humor. Through the kaleidoscope of its feminine views, The Yellow Book touches the reader's heart by attending to what, in sum, makes up life -- the little things of our every day.

Title: The Yellow Book
Artist: Takano Fumiko
Scanslators: Kotonoha
Category: Manga
Genre: Seinen, josei.
Status: Complete.
Last update: August 8, 2005.
Latest release: Volume 1, chapter 8 [end].
Downloads: Entire volume.

Keep On Vibrating

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 02:54:20 GMT

A collection of short stories by the fabulous Matsumoto Jiro. Expect the usual perversity and graphic sex scenes, although the way Matsumoto renders sex makes it far from your standard hentai porn. You'll see what I mean when you read the story -- Matsumoto-sensei is, after all, a master at employing shock tactics.

Title: Keep On Vibrating
Artist: Matsumoto Jiro
Scanslators: Kotonoha & Omanga
Category: Manga
Genre: Seinen
Status: Complete.
Last update: March 21, 2006.
Latest release: Volume 1, chapter 7 [end].
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

Love My Life

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 02:47:43 GMT

Ichiko Izumiya is a young student of English who would like to walk in the footsteps of her father, a translator of trendy American novels. She finally decides to confess to him that she is in love with Eriko, a law student. Ichiko will attempt to live out her homosexuality in peace and will be brought to wonder about the nature of her relationship: is she really homosexual or simply in love with a sensitive being who happens to be of the same sex?

Title: Love My Life
Artist: Ebine Yamaji
Scanslators: Kotonoha
Category: Manga
Genre: Yuri
Status: Complete.
Last update: June 4, 2005.
Latest release: Volume 1, chapter 12 [end].
Downloads: Entire volume.

Goth

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:03:03 GMT

Itsuki Kamiyama and his classmate Yoru Morino have a common hobby: they're both interested in murders that happen around them and are themselves drawn into them... Goth, Ooiwa Kenji's extraordinary manga debut, is based on a novel by the critically acclaimed author Otsuichi.

Title: Goth
Artist: Ooiwa Kenji
Scanslators: Kotonoha & Manga-Sketchbook
Category: Manga
Genre: Seinen
Status: Complete.
Last update: August 2, 2004.
Latest release: Volume 1, chapter 5 [end].
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

Deep Love

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 12:56:51 GMT

Based on Yoshii's hit novel series, Deep Love depicts the struggling life of Ayu, a 17-year-old high school girl who believes neither in a future nor the happiness it could bring to her. By selling her body as a teenage prostitute, she's trying to justify her existence, which is as bleak as her heart. It's not until her encounter with a kind-hearted old lady that Ayu begins to realize the true meaning of happiness...

Title: Deep Love
Artist: Yoshii Yuu
Scanslators: Kotonoha & Eden [defunct]
Category: Manga
Genre: Josei
Status: Complete.
Last update: September 3, 2005.
Latest release: Volume 2, chapter 8 [end].
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3, 4] + Volume two [5, 6, 7, 8].

Uncivilized Planet

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 12:50:49 GMT

From the author of Freesia comes a story of three childhood friends -- Nicolo, Cookie and Naomi -- who grew up in a sleepy backwater town on an uncivilized planet. They struggle to get by while holding on to their dreams of leaving town and finding a better life... But can their friendship endure the tests of time? Can it withstand invading armies, broken dreams, conflicting ambitions, divided loyalties, jealousy and even betrayal?

Title: Uncivilized Planet
Artist: Matsumoto Jiro
Scanslators: Kotonoha, Omanga & The Hawks
Category: Manga
Genre: Seinen
Status: Complete.
Last update: March 6, 2006.
Latest release: Volume 2, chapter 11 [end].
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] + Volume two [7, 8, 9, 10, 11].

Sakuran

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 06:47:21 GMT

A poor peasant girl was sold to a brothel called Yoshiwara in Edo. Her new life started from the day when she had her first full bowl of rice. After many struggles, she became a cultivated Oiran. While her beauty never failed, her hope for freedom faded with the passing seasons. Yoshiwara of Edo was a man's heaven, but a woman's hell: all was sakuran.

Title: Sakuran
Artist: Anno Moyoko
Scanslators: Fifay.net
Category: Manga
Genre: Seinen
Status: Complete.
Last update: October 1, 2006.
Latest release: Volume 1, Chapter 13 [end].
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13].

Yanjing Linren Chao

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 06:43:27 GMT

Beijing of the 1920s is where the young and fashionable generation confronts the old and conservative one. During this period of social change, three brothers and one sister struggle to free themselves from the oppressive traditions of their grandfather. Help comes in the unlikely form of a Peking Opera actor, and his lively crew.

Title: Yanjing Linren Chao
Artist: Sumeragi Natsuki
Scanslators: Fifay.net
Category: Manga
Genre: Seinen
Status: Ongoing.
Last update: October 1, 2006.
Latest release: Chapter 2.
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2].

Royal Tramp

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 06:37:03 GMT

The story of Royal Tramp is about a little rascal named Wei Xiao Bao, who grew up in a brothel in 17th century China. With excellent luck and a clever brain, Wei became a fake “eunuch” and the best friend of Emperor Kang Xi. Wei's adventures include gambling, killing, fighting, cheating and (of course) womanizing...

Title: Royal Tramp
Artist: Jin Jong
Scanslators: Fifay.net
Category: Manhua
Genre: Shounen
Status: Dropped [incomplete].
Last update: June 11, 2004.
Latest release: Chapter 2.
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2].

Adult's Problems

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 05:01:41 GMT

Naoto is a stressed-out college student doing his best to juggle the eccentricities of his divorced parents with his own burgeoning romance. His stress deepens after his gay father proposes to a handsome and elegant male lover. This is a humourous series by Ima Ichiko about the modern dysfunctional family.

Title: Adult's Problems
Artist: Ima Ichiko
Scanslators: Fifay.net & Eathlinn
Category: Manga
Genre: Yaoi
Status: Complete.
Last update: June 17, 2005.
Latest release: Volume 1, chapter 5 [end].
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

Emerald

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 14:01:16 GMT

A short story about the Wild West, with lots of swashbuckling action and incredibly dynamic, eye-catching art.

Title: Emerald
Artist: Samura Hiroaki
Scanslators: Dragon Voice
Category: Manga
Genre: Shounen
Status: Complete.
Last update: July 31, 2005.
Latest release: Chapter 1 [one-shot].
Downloads: Here.

Free Soul

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 07:05:13 GMT

A painful story of love and lust, featuring Keito, a young comic artist, and her rocky romance with another woman named Niki. Unfortunately for Keito, Niki isn't interested in an exclusive relationship, but Keito isn't willing to give up that easily...

Title: Free Soul
Artist: Ebine Yamaji
Scanslators: Lililicious & Kotonoha
Category: Manga
Genre: Yuri
Status: Complete.
Last update: Decemter 16, 2005.
Latest release: Volume 1, extra [last chapter].
Downloads: Entire volume.

Historie

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 06:56:48 GMT

Historie is a suspenseful and cruel, yet funny seinen manga about the young boy Eumenes who later becomes Alexander the Great's secretary. He lives in a time of conspiracy, robbery and war, but also a time that has nurtured geniuses and great thinkers. If you like stories set in Ancient Greece, you'll love Historie.

Title: Historie
Artist: Iwaaki Hitoshi
Scanslators: Afternoon Illusions
Category: Manga
Genre: Seinen
Status: Ongoing.
Last update: February 3, 2006.
Latest release: Volume 1, chapter 3.
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3].

Baby Pop

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 06:55:50 GMT

After her mother's death, a young girl has no choice but to move in with her perverted idiot of a stepfather. Hilarious and often touching hijinks ensue.

Title: Baby Pop
Artist: Ogawa Yayoi
Scanslators: ShoujoMagic
Category: Manga
Genre: Shoujo
Status: Complete.
Last update: January 9, 2005.
Latest release: Volume 2, chapter 11 [last chapter].
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] + Volume two [7, 8, 9, 10, 11].

Safe Again Today

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:11:06 GMT

The trials and tribulations of a group of aliens on Planet Earth. Quirky and humorous, with interesting questions of ethics and philosophy thrown in.

Title: Safe Again Today
Artist: Suhiah Park
Scanslators: Entropy
Category: Manhwa
Genre: Shoujo
Status: In progress.
Last update: November 19, 2006.
Latest release: Volume 1, chapter 3.
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3].

The Bride of the Water God

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 11:46:46 GMT

A heavy drought has been ravaging Soah's village. Soah is a young woman whose hopes of a normal life are dashed when the villagers decide to sacrifice her to the Water God in exchange for rain. Will the exchange work? Will Soah live to become the Water God's new wife?

Title: The Bride of the Water God
Artist: Yoon Mikyung
Scanslators: Entropy
Category: Manhwa
Genre: Shoujo
Status: In progress.
Last update: January 1, 2007.
Latest release: Volume 2, chapter 8.
Downloads: Volume one [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7], Volume two [8].