Editor's Picks: Best Yen Press Manga

Dreaming of someday owning his own shop, traveling merchant Kraft Lawrence spends his days looking for trade opportunities. One day, however, Lawrence's adventure takes an unexpected turn when he discovers a naked wolf girl asleep in his wagon. The charming girl claims to be Holo, the wolf deity of the nearby town Pasloe. Having grown weary of the ungrateful locals, she requests Lawrence to take her back to her hometown of Yoitsu, located farther north. In return, she will help him with his mercantile affairs, lending him her shrewd mind and keen judgement. The pair now travels from town to town, dealing with various people and the troubles they come with. But as their hearts and destination grow closer, their days of companionship are numbered. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Confessing to your crush is no easy task for any teenager, and it is no different for Chiyo Sakura, who was saved from being late on the first day of school at Roman Academy by Umetarou Nozaki. Touched by his action, Sakura begins to develop feelings toward him. One fateful day in their second year of high school, Sakura finally musters up the courage to confess. Swallowing her fears, she reveals it to him in a classroom after school. However, unbeknownst to her, Nozaki is actually a praised shoujo manga artist working under the pen name of "Sakiko Yumeno." His work is acclaimed for being sensitive toward girls' feelings, but Nozaki himself has no experience with love or being in a relationship. All this results in him misunderstanding Sakura's confession as nothing but praise from a fan, and he simply hands her his autograph. One misunderstanding leads to another, and she somehow ends up working as an assistant for his manga. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun follows Sakura as she continually tries to convey her feelings to the oblivious Nozaki while helping him with his manga, as well as meeting his quirky assistants who coincidentally also attend Roman Academy. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Although admired at school for her amiability and academic prowess, high school student Kyouko Hori has been hiding another side of her. With her parents often away from home due to work, Hori has to look after her younger brother and do the housework, leaving no chance to socialize away from school. Meanwhile, Izumi Miyamura is seen as a brooding, glasses-wearing otaku. However, in reality, he is a gentle person inept at studying. Furthermore, he has nine piercings hidden behind his long hair and a tattoo along his back and left shoulder. By sheer chance, Hori and Miyamura cross paths outside of school—neither looking as the other expects. These seemingly polar opposites become friends, sharing with each other a side they have never shown to anyone else. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sixteen-year-old Ai Hoshino is a talented and beautiful idol who is adored by her fans. She is the personification of a pure, young maiden. But all that glitters is not gold. Gorou Amemiya is a countryside gynecologist and a big fan of Ai. So when the pregnant idol shows up at his hospital, he is beyond bewildered. Gorou promises her a safe delivery. Little does he know, an encounter with a mysterious figure would result in his untimely death—or so he thought. Opening his eyes in the lap of his beloved idol, Gorou finds that he has been reborn as Aquamarine Hoshino—Ai's newborn son! With his world turned upside down, Gorou soon learns that the world of showbiz is paved with thorns, where talent does not always beget success. Will he manage to protect Ai's smile that he loves so much with the help of an eccentric and unexpected ally? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

With a smirk, the mischievous middle school boy Nishikata glances over at Takagi, the girl seated next to him in class. He has just devised a master plan to finally get back at her for all the merciless teasing inflicted upon him. As he is about to set his plan into motion, Takagi intervenes with a single comment that halts Nishikata right in his tracks. She had turned the tables on him yet again. "If you blush, you lose." That has been the unwritten rule set between the two ever since they encountered one another in middle school. Day after day, loss after loss, Nishikata strives to see Takagi red with embarrassment, but his futile attempts are only met by further ridicule. Beyond this vicious cycle of trying to outwit one another, will their relationship ever evolve? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

See the world you've come to know and love through a different lens in this manga adaptation of the Rascal series through Shoko Makinohara's eyes! After a young Shoko meets Sakuta on the beach, it kicks off a thrilling adventure to save the one she loves from a fate she'd resigned herself to accept—if she can she find the solution before it's too late... (Source: Yen Press)

The Light Music Club indulges in easy and simple activities, or that is what the carefree Yui Hirasawa first believes. When Yui goes to formally quit the club, she finds out that if she leaves, the club will not have enough members to continue its activities. This puts Yui in a sudden dilemma. However, its members—the mature Mio Akiyama, the playful Ritsu Tainaka, and the ladylike Tsumugi Kotobuki—decide to perform an instrumental piece to try and keep Yui. The song not only fills her up with excitement, it also leads her to decide to remain in the Light Music Club. While the sounds of cheerful girls fill the clubroom of the Light Music Club, the members juggle both schoolwork and their love for music. They may play around once in a while, but that makes the high school life in K-On! even more exciting! [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hyakkaou Private Academy is a school for the privileged and influential, playing host to the children of businessmen and politicians. However, unlike other schools, students at Hyakkaou do not pride themselves on academic achievement. Instead, they value strategic prowess and the ability to read people. Come nightfall, many places on campus transform into gambling dens overseen by the student council, where players compete for rank, money, and more. Ryouta Suzui spends his days as a "house pet"—a student ranked in the bottom one hundred, forced to serve his peers. His circumstances soon change when a mysterious new transfer student, Yumeko Jabami, arrives at the academy. Despite Suzui's warnings, Yumeko quickly becomes immersed in the school's gambling scene, facing off against several high-profile opponents. Her exploits draw the attention of the student council members, who start meddling in her affairs. Suzui tries his best to keep Yumeko out of trouble, but to his chagrin, she turns out to be the type of person best suited to attend Hyakkaou: a compulsive gambler. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Miko Yotsuya is a typical high school student whose life turns upside down when she suddenly starts to see gruesome and hideous monsters. Despite being completely terrified, Miko carries on with her daily life, pretending not to notice the horrors that surround her. She must endure the fear in order to keep herself and her friend Hana Yurikawa out of danger, even if that means coming face to face with the absolute worst. Blending both comedy and horror, Mieruko-chan tells the story of a girl who tries to deal with the paranormal by acting indifferent toward it. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

High schooler Hajime Tsukiyoda went to Shibuya that day hoping only to find inspiration for his next film. he never expected to find himself smack-dab in the middle of a real-life horror movie. Without warning, schools of massive goldfish descend upon the crowded streets, and the mystified onlookers' confusion quickly turns to terror as the fish begin to feed. From their tentative shelter, Hajime and a handful of survivors await a rescue that seems more and more unlikely as the days and hours tick by. meanwhile, all around them, the bloody feeding frenzy rages... (Source: Yen Press)

Kyon is your ordinary high school freshman who has long given up on his childhood dreams of encountering the fantastic and supernatural…or so he thought. From the very first day of school, his classmate–the beautiful but eccentric Haruhi Suzumiya–makes it very clear that her only desire is to meet aliens, time travelers, and psychics! A chance conversation between the two inspires Haruhi to form the SOS Brigade, a school club created for the sole purpose of getting these supernatural beings together. The initial members consist of the mute bookworm Yuki Nagato, the timid but voluptuous Mikuru Asahina, and the polite and ever-smiling Itsuki Koizumi. By the end of this first volume, Kyon quickly finds out that these seemingly "helpless victims" of Haruhi's are actually members of secret organizations–both futuristic and alien–keeping watch over Haruhi as she is the pinnacle of some major calamity on the horizon… (Source: Yen Press)

Fourteen-year-old Madoka Kaname has a surreal dream about a strange creature and a girl in trouble. The next morning, a mysterious girl named Homura Akemi transfers into Madoka's class; to her surprise, Homura appears to be the exact same girl that she saw in her dream. Later that day, Madoka hears a plea for help in her head. It turns out that the cries belong to an injured Kyuubey, the cat-like creature who was also in her dream. But she finds Homura at Kyuubey's location, who warns Madoka to get away from the small entity. Making the connection that her new classmate attacked the helpless creature, Madoka takes Kyuubey and runs away with the help of best friend Sayaka Miki. After their escape, Kyuubey offers the girls an enticing opportunity: become a magical girl in exchange for having any wish granted. However, not everything is as it seems, as the weight of their wishes may be a lot heavier than they might have expected. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Atsushi Nakajima is on the brink of death after being kicked out of his orphanage. With no food and nowhere to go, all hope seems lost—until he saves a mysterious man called Osamu Dazai from drowning. Much to his partner Doppo Kunikida's irritation, Dazai offers Atsushi a meal and reveals they work for the Armed Detective Agency, an organization of gifted individuals who take care of criminal cases the authorities cannot. The two ask Atsushi for his assistance in tracking down a supernatural tiger that has been wreaking havoc throughout the city, and he reluctantly agrees. After they resolve the case, Dazai offers him a position in the agency. But the job is about to get a lot more dangerous as the Port Mafia, the local crime syndicate, begins to move against them. Caught in the middle of a turf war, Atsushi must master his newfound special ability in order to protect himself, his new friends, and the entire city. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Momonga is an average salaryman who spends his free time playing Yggdrasil, a DMMO-RPG (Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) well-known across Japan for its immense world and limitless customization. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and Yggdrasil's servers shut down in the year 2138. Wanting to witness the game’s final hours, Momonga, the leader of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown, logs in for the last time and heads toward the guild’s headquarters. After reminiscing about his comrades and adventures, Momonga prepares for the server to automatically log him out as the clock strikes midnight. However, he is not forcefully booted out of the game. Instead, he finds himself in a new world—now trapped in the body of his avatar and where non-player characters are aware of their feelings. Left with no other options, Momonga takes on the name of his guild in hopes that other players would recognize Ainz Ooal Gown. Determined to make sense of the bizarre situation, Momonga embarks on a journey to unravel the mysteries hidden in this uncharted world. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

I'm gonna survive-just watch me! I was your average, everyday high school girl, but now I've been reborn in a magical world...as a spider?! Wait-this isn't how these stories are supposed to go! Can I get a do-over? ...No? But how am I supposed to survive in this big, scary dungeon as one of the weakest monsters? It's "every spider for herself " in here! I gotta figure out the rules to this QUICK, or I'll be kissing my short second life good-bye... (Source: Yen Press)