When I was younger I used to read mangas everyday. I miss the time when I would look forward to visiting our local library to see what mangas I hadn’t read yet. I must have been in second or third grade when our school took us to that library and made us our very first library cards to encourage reading. We spend some time there so that we could walk around and I believe that was the day I discovered mangas. The covers were so beautiful and colourful. I don’t remeber whether I borrowed mangas that day but I do remember going back to that manga aisle for most of my childhood. So, today, I want to share some older mangas – maybe the nostalgia will hit you as well.
Disclaimer: Since I read them all in German, I will likely use those character names and titles.
Mirmo!
The first one I want to share, is Mirmo!. I don’t really remember much of the plot but I do remember that the main character, Kaede, had this little magic being/fairy with her, named Mirmo, and he would help her in her teenage life problems. Biggest problem being her love life. Kaede’s crush also has a fairy and her love rival as well. So, it wasn’t just about human relationships but also about the love life of the fairies.
Thinking back, the banter between the characters and their fairies was probably my favourite thing about the mangas. I have fond memories of reading this one.
Definitely check it out, even if it’s just for appreciating the older drawing style.
Author: Hiromu Shinozuka, Manga Genre: Shojo, Romance, Humour, Fantasy
First volume: 2002 (Japan), No. of Volumes: 12
Sugar Sugar Rune
Now, this one, I absolutely adored! The main character, Chocola, and her best friend, Vanilla, both compete to be the next queen of the magic world. In order to decide who that will be, both are send down to our earth and are on the quest to steal as many human hearts as possible. Yes, human hearts! The way the whole heart-stealing thing was described is really well-thought-out. Depending on how you converse with someone, their hearts can turn multiple colours: friendly green, crushing orange, loving red, hateful black and many more. A simple but great concept, right?
Another reason to start reading this one is character dynamics: Chocola and Vanilla’s relationship later turns into a kind of Naruto x Sasuke situation. As if that’s not interesting enough, our main character also has to fight her feelings for Pierre, an Ogul and, therefore, witch-heart-eater.
Author: Moyoco Anno, Genre: Shojo, Romance, Fantasy
First volume: 2008 (Japan), No. of Volumes: 8
Dengeki Daisy
Maybe this one started my love for mystery stories?
The story is about Teru, a girl who’s lost it all – family, siblings… The only thing left is a phone her brother gifted her. With this phone she can talk to Daisy, a mysterious hacker guy who helps Teru. However, she also gets help from the young male school janitor, Tasuku. A whole lot happens and I don’t remeber whether Tasuku turned out to be Daisy or not, but to my defence, the manga ran quite a while, with 16 volumes in total.
But mangas with more volumes also have a charm, don’t they? Like Kimi Ni Todoke or Akagami no Shirayukihime 😀 Loved those.
Author: Kyousuke Motomi, Genre: Shojo, Mystery, Romance
First volume: 2007, No. of Volumes: 16