Welcome to Reader’s Corner, our weekly column where we review manga, manhwa, and light novels and let you know which to try out and which to skip. This week, we try out a bunch of new series, including Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, and a one-shot collection from the mangaka behind Demon Slayer!

The Boy I Loved Became the Jaded Emperor (Vol. 1) • Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga – Anthology (Vol. 1) • I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince (Vol. 1) • Koyoharu Gotouge Before Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba • Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite (Vol. 1) • Spider-Man: Octo-Girl (Vol. 1)

Koyoharu Gotouge Before Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Manga

Is this book milking the Demon Slayer franchise by consolidating the mangaka’s one-shots and promoting the collection as being related to that series? Yes. But this is also true: the four one-shots in Koyoharu Gotouge Before Demon Slayer are entertaining and full of potential on their own, and they each feature characters resembling those in Demon Slayer, if not outright inspiring them. Koyoharu Gotouge Before Demon Slayer‘s tales all deal with the supernatural, focusing especially on demons and curses, as you might expect. The first story was the one-shot that led to Demon Slayer, and even features Tamayo (whose personality is quite altered) and Yushiro (whose personality is not). It’s followed by two stories sharing a connecting thread: “The Monjushiro Brothers,” a violent and fascinating story featuring the titular antiheroes, and the more optimistic “A Man Called Ribs.” The final story is my favorite: “Zigzag from Haenawa” deals with an antihero who is a curse breaker who’s been cursed himself. It’s such a fun manga that I was left wishing Koyoharu-sensei would have developed it into a full series. But truly, all four are fun (if not fully tidied up as stories) and evoke all feelings that Demon Slayer readers will recognize. You fully get a sense for Koyoharu’s talent, and I recommend this short anthology precisely because of that—at least to all those who can suffer through reading excellent one-shots knowing that they’ll never be serialized. ~ Twwk

Koyoharu Gotouge Before Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is published by VIZ Media.

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Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga – Anthology, Manga Vol. 1

Calling all Twisted Wonderland fans! If you’ve ever wanted to read a manga where it was all about our favorite guys doing random everyday things, this is your manga! An anthology where a variety of manga creators come together to share their love for their faves in a variety of situations? A win-win for every fan! And it was truly wonderful in every single way! Honestly, this anthology felt like a love letter of sorts to a variety of Twisted Wonderland characters, and I was absolutely here for it! I was excited to see some of my personal faves have the spotlight and even enjoyed seeing some of my less favorite characters—thanks to the chapters, which even made me view these characters differently! (Looking at you Leona… Ha!) When it comes to favorite stories, it’s hard to say! I definitely loved the Idia-centered one! I also loved the Idia and Aul 4-koma about games! Ha! The arm wrestling chapter with Jack was surprisingly one of my favorites as well! Though considering he is one of my faves, I shouldn’t be surprised! Ha! Also the chapter with Azul and him trying to have the “influential power” was hilarious! However, the ending of the chapter was surprisingly heart-touching! And not just that ending, but the “final” chapter of the volume was such a touching one! It honestly felt the perfect way to wrap up this volume, especially with how gorgeous the art was! Overall, I deeply loved reading this anthology and will for sure reread it because it was so much fun! Definitely a recommended read for any Twisted Wonderland fan! I would also mention that even though they didn’t form a “chapter,” the colored pages at the beginning were amazing! I never expected we would get a color page for each dorm! So cool! ~ Laura A. Grace

Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga – Anthology is published by VIZ Media.

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Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, Manga Vol. 1

What do you do when an anime changes you from the shut-in you’ve been for the past thirty years to now wanting to fangirl to the fullest for said anime? You move to Japan, of course! That’s exactly what Hina, a vampire, did for the sake of her favorite character, Mao, from Vampire Cross! It’s after moving that she meets her neighbor, Kyuta, who just looks like Mao, but has a personality far from her beloved fave. When their paths keep crossing, could he soon be one of her first otaku friends since moving to Japan? This was everything I was hoping it would be and more! I love Hina! Kyuta isn’t bad, but Hina is definitely the fictional character I would love to live through, because her life is so much fun! I admire how she moved to Japan to live out her otaku activities in “real-time,” through pilgrimage, going to collab cafes, special viewings, and so forth. She is so free-spirited, and I found her relatable in how naive she was because girl, same! Now that I’ve fangirled about Hina, I really liked Kyuta too! He may be a tsundere, but I quickly found him endearing and definitely not a total jerk, as you see in quite a few moments when he cares for Hina and is looking after her. I also really liked how we saw his motivations very early on as to why he was adamant that he wanted Hina to not go out at night and just live overall safely. He is very much a great guy! The story itself was fantastic! I wouldn’t say a lot happens, but I loved everything that did, including the cliffhanger! Very, very, very excited for the next volume and over how much this lived up to my high expectations for this new series! Definitely would recommend it if you’re looking for a fun shoujo comedy with vampires! ~ Laura A. Grace

Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite is published by VIZ Media.

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I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince, Manga Vol. 1

Leia is the saint who lives her role to the fullest when helping those in the kingdom where she lives. However, when she’s at home, her younger sister acts to the fullest the “tragic heroine,” claiming that Leia abuses her. Her sister even goes so far as to “steal” her fiancée, who believes that Leia is nothing but two-faced and mistreats her sister. Devastated that no one in her own family believes her denials, she runs off and into Prince Erik, the “Righteous Judge.” Will he see past the rumors and believe her, or claim that she is what the rumors say to be? What a whirlwind of a first volume this was! That first chapter was extremely engaging but also very triggering! Jill’s bullying and manipulation towards Leia are very blatant, making it very upsetting that everyone falls into her lies about how Leia is supposedly bullying her. There was even a moment that I felt I might need to put the book down just so I could give myself a moment to breathe, because it was so intense! While I very much enjoyed reading the entire volume, I was quite bummed that everything happens very fast. I don’t mean me just reading it quickly, which I did, but that the story itself is moving extremely quickly. I honestly felt this story is maybe more focused on the plot than the characters themselves, which is odd to say, and it is a first for me that I felt the plot was moving the characters instead of the characters moving the plot. That makes me a little sad because I genuinely liked Leia a lot! So all in all, I enjoyed my time reading this manga, but I don’t foresee myself getting the next volume because I felt there were too many times that something felt like it was missing. I think for this particular story, checking out the light novel would be the preferred route to go in reading. ~ Laura A. Grace

I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince is published by Seven Seas.

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The Boy I Loved Became the Jaded Emperor, Manga Vol. 1

Prince Alexei and a friendly monster named “Pie,” who once rescued him, lived their days in bliss in the forest, without care or worry. This is especially true for Alexei, who was left for dead on the side of the road “thanks” to the royal family. However, when somehow the royal family discovers he is in fact not dead, tragedy strikes, leaving Alexei alive, alone, and bitter. What he doesn’t know is that “Pie” is now reincarnated into a young noblewoman who longs to see him again, but would he even recognize her if she did? And would she recognize the man he has become? I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would! I was hopeful, but I felt unsure when I heard someone mention it was bittersweet, which is not how I prefer my romance if I’m honest. Ha! Surprisingly, though, there really isn’t that much romance in this first volume! I feel like the majority of the story was the flashback of the leads, which was so engaging and broke my heart a little bit! The happy bits that “Ham” and “Pie” had together were so beautiful and extremely precious that Ham’s anger about what happened really wrapped around and engulfed me as a reader. Goodness, I was shocked and angry too! The ending was extremely hopeful, and I am planning to get the second volume because while the beginning of their story may have been tragic, I really feel it will end with love and happiness (especially based on the pose of the figure on the second cover). But rewinding a little bit, one thing I thought incredibly interesting is Eleonora’s accent! What a fascinating concept that when reincarnated, you still have the accent from your previous life! It’s the first time I’ve read something like that, and I think it added a very down-to-earth feel to this story when she was living out her life as Eleonora. Again, I enjoyed this a lot and will be writing the new volume’s date on my preorder list because I’m excited to find out what happens next! ~ Laura A. Grace

The Boy I Loved Became the Jaded Emperor is published by Kodansha.

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Spider-Man: Octo-Girl, Manga Vol. 1

As Doc Ock falls toward his death during his most recent battle with Spider-Man, he activates one of his new inventions, which transfers his consciousness to another being; it’s successful, but there’s one problem—he now lives within the body of a meek middle school girl in Tokyo. And thus begins Spider-Man: Octo-Girl, a new Marvel manga adventure that sounds like a miscalculation worse than the doc’s, but surprisingly turns out to be heartfelt and engaging. The girl, Okutamiya, is drawn like a geeky, bullied kid (and her being bullied is the first thing we really get to know about her), but as the series unfolds in a well-structured way, we realize that she’s quite a strong young lady and that her bullies have dimensionality too. Meanwhile, this is Marvel, so expect other villains and comic book characters to jump in, including one of my new favorites (I won’t spoil who that is here, but here’s a hint: this character made an appearance in Deadpool: Samurai, if you’ve read that release). By the end of volume one, the writer, Hideyuki Furuhashi, has developed a really good cast of characters, advanced the story nicely, and put us a little on pins and needles in anticipation of future volumes. This is a fun manga for any Marvel fan—and a great transition point for comic book readers who may be looking to make the leap into manga. ~ Twwk

Spider-Man: Octo-Girl is published by VIZ Media.

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“Reader’s Corner” is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works they’re reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works, and those older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.