Book Recommendations: Manga

After a disastrous defeat at the 2018 World Cup, Japan's team struggles to regroup. But what's missing? An absolute ace striker. The Football Union is hell-bent on creating a striker who hungers for goals and thirsts for victory, so Blue Lock--a rigorous training ground for 300 of Japan's best and brightest youth players--is created. To survive this battle royale, the last striker standing will have to out-muscle and out-ego everyone who stands in his way!

Shouta Kikuzato's hopes of starting on his school's prestigious soccer team are derailed when a terrible incident costs him his leg. Now in his first year of high school (again), Kikuzato has resigned himself to never reaching his athletic dreams. But when Chidori, a passing prosthetist, notices Kikuzato's artificial limb--and speed--as he races through the train station, the specialist proposes a partnership: Chidori will build Kikuzato a brand-new leg designed solely for speed. All Kikuzato has to do is run!

Ever since he saw the legendary player known as "the Little Giant" compete at the national volleyball finals, Shoyo Hinata has been aiming to be the best volleyball player ever! Who says you need to be tall to play volleyball when you can jump higher than anyone else? After losing his first and last volleyball match against Tobio Kageyama, "the King of the Court," Shoyo Hinata swears to become his rival after graduating middle school. But what happens when the guy he wants to defeat ends up being his teammate?!

Midori and Sumire are soccer stars at rival middle schools, destined to collide--one's a striker, the other's a goalie. But the two girls end up in the same high school, with a lazy coach and a bizarre teammate, Nozomi, who brags that she's a soccer prodigy but can't seem to stop kicking the ball into her own goal. To become champions, Midori and Sumire will have to get over their rivalry and work some magic on the field.

Despite belonging to a family of four, the Aoyama residence is typically home to three due to father Akiyoshi's job. While he's away at work, mom Tomoko and her two beloved sons Hiroki and Yuri go about their everyday lives--going to school, making dinner, doing homework, etc. But now that Hiroki's in his first year of high school, his thoughts are turning ever so slightly to sex and romance and his mom can't help but notice his slips of the tongue when he's talking about who he likes. Supportive Tomoko has an inkling Hiroki might be gay, but she's going to let him figure it out for himself.

After struggling with his feelings for his adorable kouhai Mya-chan for almost a year, Sasaki takes the plunge and admits how he really feels. But has Miyano's admiration for his senpai turned into...something more? Or will Sasaki be friend-zoned--permanently?

In this new addition to the 'I Hear the Sunspot' series, Kohei continues on as a student, while Taichi makes his way out into the working world to pursue his own calling and the two begin a new life together!

Aoki has a crush on Hashimoto, the girl in the seat next to him in class. But he despairs when he borrows her eraser and sees she's written the name of another boy--Ida--on it. To make matters more confusing, Ida sees Aoki holding that very eraser and thinks Aoki has a crush on him!

"Not only is high schooler Tasuku Kaname the new kid in town, he is also terrified that he had been outed as gay. Just as he's contemplating doing the unthinkable, Tasuku meets a mysterious woman who leads him to a group of people dealing with problems not so different from his own. In this realistic, heartfelt depiction of LGBT+ characters from different backgrounds finding their place in the world, a search for inner peace proves to be the most universal experience of all.

In a world where sorcery rules from the shadows, young women adept in magical arts train at a mysterious academy. These budding witches diligently study, driven by generations of resentment after witch hunts decimated their kind long ago. Star student Alice has always strived to live up to the great expectations placed upon her, but her world is turned upside down when Mari, an inept recruit, enters the school...and her heart!

When Akira's class is magically summoned to another world, he and his classmates are awarded fantastical powers--but while one of them is lucky enough to become a true Hero, Akira becomes a mere Assassin. However, against all odds, the Assassin just might be the most powerful role of all! Harboring doubts about the intentions of the king, Akira uses his newfound strength as a master of the shadows to uncover the secrets and conspiracies of the crown.

Kill some time with former hit man Taro Sakamoto! Taro Sakamoto was once a legendary hit man considered the greatest of all time. Bad guys feared him! Assassins revered him! But then one day he quit, got married, and had a baby. He's now living the quiet life as the owner of a neighborhood store, but how long can Sakamoto enjoy his days of retirement before his past catches up to him?! Time has passed peacefully for Sakamoto since he left the underworld. He's running a neighborhood store with his lovely wife and child and has gotten a bit...out of shape. But one day a figure from his past pays him a visit with an offer he can't refuse: return to the assassin world or die!

Master spy Twilight is the best at what he does when it comes to going undercover on dangerous missions in the name of a better world. But when he receives the ultimate impossible assignment--get married and have a kid--he may finally be in over his head! Not one to depend on others, Twilight has his work cut out for him procuring both a wife and a child for his mission to infiltrate an elite private school. What he doesn't know is that the wife he's chosen is an assassin and the child he's adopted is a telepath!

Naruto was a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He achieved his dream to become the greatest ninja in his village, and now his face sits atop the Hokage monument. But this is not his story... A new generation of ninja are ready to take the stage, led by Naruto's own son, Boruto! Years have passed since Naruto and Sasuke teamed up to defeat Kaguya, the progenitor of chakra and the greatest threat the ninja world has ever faced. Times are now peaceful and the new generation of shinobi has not experienced the same hardships as its parents. Perhaps that is why Boruto would rather play video games than train. However, one passion does burn deep in this ninja boy's heart, and that is the desire to defeat his father!

Watching the news, Hanagaki Takemichi learns his junior-high girlfriend Tachibana Hinata has died. A sudden shove sends him 12 years into the past to face the Tokyo Manji Gang that once made his life hell, which is also responsible for Hinata's death in the present. To save Hinata and change the future, Takemichi must rise to the top of Kanto's most sinister delinquent gang! But things aren't so simple when he befriends the gang's leader, Mikey. What turned Mikey from a petulant child to the leader of the most infamous gang in Tokyo?

He was the fiercest member of the yakuza, a man who left countless underworld legends in his wake. They called him "the Immortal Dragon." But one day he walked away from it all to travel another path--the path of the househusband! The curtain rises on this.

Every time a promising villain appears, Saitama beats the snot out of 'em with one punch! Can he finally find an opponent who can go toe-to-toe with him and give his life some meaning? Or is he doomed to a life of superpowered boredom?

At Kanmore Academy, rumors abound about the school's Seven Mysteries, one of which is Hanako-san. Said to occupy the third stall of the third floor girls' bathroom in the old school building, Hanako-san grants any wish when summoned. Nene Yashiro, an occult-loving high school girl who dreams of romance, ventures into thus haunted bathroom ... but the Hanako-san she meets there is nothing like she imagined!

In a world where cursed spirits feed on unsuspecting humans, fragments of the legendary and feared demon Ryoma Sukuna have been lost and scattered about. Should any demon consume Sukuna's body parts, the power they gain could destroy the world as we know it. Fortunately, there exists a mysterious school of Jujutsu Sorcerers who exist to protect the precarious existence of the living from the supernatural! Although Yuji Itadori looks like your average teenager, his immense physical strength is something to behold! Every sports club wants him to join, but Itadori would rather hang out with the school outcasts in the Occult Research Club. One day, the club manages to get their hands on a sealed cursed object. Little do they know the terror they'll unleash when they break the seal

Asta is a young boy who dreams of becoming the greatest mage in the kingdom. Only one problem--he can't use any magic! Luckily for Asta, he receives the incredibly rare five-leaf clover grimoire that gives him the power of anti-magic. Can someone who can't use magic really become the Wizard King? One thing's for sure--Asta will never give up.

Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as 'Mom,' all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn--what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing.

Ever since she was little, Mashiro has been able to see ghosts--of people, of animals, and of some strange creatures that don't seem to be either. For years, she's pretended not to see the eerie sights around her, but then a chance encounter plunges Mashiro into the world of the inhuman Nomans. An accidental kiss leaves Mashiro partnered with Bazu, a human-hating crow lady, as she joins the Boundary Preservation Society to help the dead that walk the earth move on.

Living the workaholic life in her mid-20s, Sei never expected she'd be summoned to another world, let alone obtain the power of a living Saint. And she especially didn't expect to be totally ignored by the locals! While the kingdom desperately needs a hero, it turns out Sei was just the backup option. Left alone, she explores her newfound powers at the royal Research Institute, unraveling the mysteries of magic potions. As she helps the sick and the dying, her talents reveal themselves. Might Sei be the Saint this world needs after all?

In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: she wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch - until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician. After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she's never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody 'knows' might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem.

.Raised by Father Fujimoto, a famous exorcist, Rin Okumura never knew his real father. When Rin discovers that his father is actually the Demon Lord Satan, Rin vows to defeat Satan, but to do so he must enter the mysterious True Cross Academy, keep his bloodline a secret, and become an exorcist himself, which will not be an easy task, especially after his demonic powers awaken.

Light Yagumi comes across a Death Note dropped by a Shinigami death god and vows to use this power to rid the world of evil; but when criminals start dropping dead, the great detective is sent to track down the killer.

It's tough being evil when you have to pay the rent! This comical tale of a demon-lord-turned-fry-slinger follows the daily travails of (former) Devil King Sadao Maou and his general Shiro Ashiya as they navigate the complexities of life in modern-day Tokyo. Having suffered utter defeat at the hands of a plucky hero, they've been banished to earth and stripped of magical power. And if that wasn't enough, that pesky hero is still hell bent on finishing the job.

From the day his parents named him, Nasa Yuzaki has felt connected to outer space... whether he likes it or not. His efforts to outperform the space program veer off course when an accident introduces him to Tsukasa, a mysterious girl with strange powers. Is she an alien, a moon goddess or something else? Since she insists on marrying him, Nasa will have plenty of chances to find out!

Nino Arisugawa, a girl who loves to sing, experiences her first heart-wrenching goodbye when her beloved childhood friend, Momo, moves away. And after Nino befriends Yuzu, a music composer, she experiences another sad parting! Both boys promised Nino that they would find her one day through her singing, so she holds on to that hope and continues to reach out with her voice. Now in high school, Nino serendipitously reunites with Yuzu, but she yearns to see Momo again...

On the day that Naho begins 11th grade, she receives a letter from herself ten years in the future. At first, she writes it off as a prank, but as the letter's predictions come true one by one Naho realizes that the letter might be the real deal. Her future self tells Naho that a new transfer student, a boy named Kakeru, will soon join her class. The letter begs Naho to watch over him, saying that only Naho can save Kakeru from a terrible future. Who is this mystery boy, and can Naho save him from his destiny?

Any love story aficionado will say that the key to a successful couple is intense desire for one another--but what if the characters in question are an asexual woman with a passion for Boys Love stories and a gay man whose heart forever belongs to his oblivious childhood friend? Although romance will never be in the cards for newlyweds Yuriko and Gakurouta, the bond blossoming between them promises to be a wonderful relationship--the likes of which neither has ever experienced before...

Fifteen-year-old Ninako Kinoshita experiences her first feelings of love for quiet Ren Ichinose after a chance encounter on the train, but Ren already has a long-time girlfriend.

Fujishiro Nanaki is super cute, super popular, and super annoyed with anyone as plain as her classmate Kurokawa Kanade. When Nanaki finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, however, her life makes a complete 180--as does her relationship with Kanade.

You can rent a girlfriend, but can you buy love? Hapless college first-year Kazuya Kinoshita, reeling from a bad breakup, rents a few hours of friendly companionship at the aquarium with the idol-beautiful and polite Chizuru. But rock bottom might be lower than Kazuya thought! Family, school, and life all start to go wrong, and to make matters worse, Chizuru is much more than the pretty face and sweet demeanor he thought he'd bargained for

Forget the familiar: family circumstances wrest high schooler Meeko from an ordinary family life to her uncle's boarding house, where she must learn to live with housework and... rather unusual adult housemates. What's more, the oldest of the bunch, Matsunaga-san, is a little scary... but also always looks out for her!