forbidden relationship

Best Shoujo Manga and Josei Manga featuring a forbidden or taboo relationship.

Mixed Vegetables the heroine and the male lead are kissing

Mixed Vegetables

Name: Mixed Vegetables
Mangaka: Komura, Ayumi

Volumes: 8 (Complete)
Licensed: Viz (8 Volumes: Digital (App) / Paperback(OOP))
Type: Manga
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Age Group: Everyone/Teen

Summary:  
Hanayu Ashitaba is the daughter of the celebrated Patisserie Ashitaba, but all she wants to do is be a sushi chef. Hayato Hyuga is the son of the prestigious Sushi Hyuga, and all he wants to do is be a pastry chef! It’s love and leftovers at Oikawa High School Cooking Department as these star-crossed gourmands do their best to reach their cuisine dreams!

– Mangaupdates

Graphics Rating: 4/5
Plot Rating: 3/5

Opinion: I’m glad I had the opportunity to read this series with Viz Manga as it is out of print. That said this series carries a lot of the melodrama that most shoujo had in the early 2000s. It got a little old by the end but I’d be lying to say I wasn’t hooked the whole way through.

I love the art so much. It was really popular in the 2000’s and you don’t see it much. It’s a little mature but also still very detailed and feminine. I think the art continued to carry the series when it got a little boring at the end.

The plot is cute, it’s nice to see a very driven heroine. If you’re here for the cooking though it takes a bit of a back seat half way through as they spend most of their time out of cooking school.

The only thing I disliked was how MELODRAMATIC everything is. I guess when you’re a teen everything is a bit melodramatic anyways. Their relationships, their goals in life, everything just seemed so intense when all the adults in their lives are very caring and supportive either way.

Regardless, I enjoyed myself and it was just a nice silly shoujo series about cooking. I couldn’t put it down.

Final Rating: 4/5

Extra: N/A

Purchase:
Kindle
Google Play
iBook
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Red River Manga image of the heroine and the Prince

Red River

Name: Red River
Mangaka: Shinohara, Chie

Volumes: 28 (Complete)
Licensed: Viz (Digital /VizManga App / Print)
Type: Manga
Genre: Historical/Adventure/Drama/Supernatural
Age Group: Teen

Summary:  
Yuri, a pretty Japanese girl, is ecstatic after passing her college entrance exam and having her first kiss with her childhood friend-turned-boyfriend. However, her luck soon changes. She starts to notice that water becomes agitated whenever she goes near it. One night, hands appear out of a puddle on the street and drag her into the water. Transported to an ancient village in the Middle East, she is then captured by armed troops and taken to the Queen’s palace for a human sacrifice.

– Mangaupdates

Graphics Rating: 4/5
Plot Rating: 4/5

Opinion: Red River is considered a classic, and I’m so excited Viz is re-publishing this series! Considering I read Red River right after Basara I really hold it up to that comparison.

The art is really gorgeous. It’s very much classic shoujo from the 90s. I will say the angular faces on the guys is a bit weird, but it’s a very common look so I’m very forgiving on that.

What really drives the series is not only the heroine and the male lead, but all the friends and characters around them. I love how we meet so many external people and fall in love with them and watch their rise and fall. It can be heartbreaking at times.

I think overall the series is exactly what you expect for a historical drama. I do think it went on a bit too long, I ended up skipping some subplots with the wars ect. But I will say the length is great if you like a slow burn romance. That was done really well.

I think overall Red River is a must read and I’m so glad I can own it in my personal collection. If you liked Basara I think you will like Red River too!

Final Rating: 4/5

Extra: Was originally licensed by Viz over 15 years ago and is currently being reprinted in VizBig format!

Purchase:
Kindle
Kobo
Google Play
iBook
VizManga App

Basara Manga Image of Sarasa and Ageha

Basara

Name: Basara
Mangaka: Tamura Yumi

Volumes: 27 (Complete)
Licensed: Viz (27 Volumes: Digital (App) / Paperback OOP)
Type: Manga
Genre: Adventure/Action/Fantasy/Drama
Age Group: Teen

Summary:  
Basara is a post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure series and one of the most popular shôjo manga of the 90s in Japan. It is the story of how a young girl becomes “the child of destiny” and finds the strength to free her people and seek revenge for the death of her brother.

–Manga Updates

Graphics Rating: 3/5
Plot Rating: 4/5

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Nana Komatsu and Nana Osaki by Ai Yazawa

Nana

Name: Nana
Mangaka: Ai Yazawa

Volumes: 21 (Hiatus)
Licensed: Viz (21 Volumes: Digital/Paperback)
Type: Manga
Genre: Drama/Slice of Life
Age Group: Older Teen

Summary:  
Nana Komatsu is a young woman who’s endured an unending string of boyfriend problems. Moving to Tokyo, she’s hoping to take control of her life and put all those messy misadventures behind her. She’s looking for love and she’s hoping to find it in the big city. Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is cool, confident and focused. She swaggers into town and proceeds to kick down the doors to Tokyo’s underground punk scene. She’s got a dream and won’t give up until she becomes Japan’s No. 1 rock’n’roll superstar.

This is the story of two 20-year-old women who share the same name. Even though they come from completely different backgrounds, they somehow meet and become best friends. The world of Nana is a world exploding with sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties.

–Manga Updates

Graphics Rating: 5/5
Plot Rating: 5/5

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Game Between The Suits

Game Between the Suits

Name: Game Between the Suits
Mangaka: Nishitaka Mai

Volumes: 5 (Ongoing)
Licensed: Seven Seas Entertainment (2 Volumes: Digital/Physical)
Type: Manga
Genre: Josei/Drama
Age Group: Mature

Summary:  
Sayo is a “modern” and uninhibited woman whose greatest passion, however, is her work. Her workaholics ended up removing all the men with whom she had a relationship, who complained about how much Sayo was “married” to her work. One day, a new employee starts working in her company; Ryouichi Kiriyama seems different from any other man she has ever met, but she still doesn’t know that underneath Kiriyama’s facade, he hides something else…
–Manga Updates

Graphics Rating: 4/5
Plot Rating: 3/5

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