The problem with being into manga is you’ll always stumble upon series that look good but need English translations. Fortunately, publishers sometimes hold surveys asking what titles they should pick up, so you can always shout about them. But until then, if you want a copy? You’ll have to grab it in Japanese or another language if it’s been translated elsewhere.
Since I’ve started collecting more series in Japanese, I’ve got a growing list of series that I really want English publishers to pick up. So today, I wanted to share my excitement for some of these series with you all! You may wind up wanting them translated too.
Kashoku no Shiro/White of a Wedding Ceremony – Shinobu Takayama
This is a series I’ve spoken about several times. I’ve even got a review of the first volume. But this is a beautiful historical fantasy manga published in Monthly Comic Zero Sum. I’m a big fan of josei series these days, and this manga is an excellent example of why. If you want manga that can be romantic and dark, with stunning art? There are so many josei series that you can describe that way, and this is one of them.
In this series, a mysterious disease has killed people and brought some back to life. The tell is the flowers on the body, and newspaper reporter Kiso has been sent to investigate. During his research, he meets Shiraume, a tempting young woman who calls herself a “Demon’s Burning Light”. Fascinated by her, the two start looking more into these strange cases.
I adore Shiraume as a protagonist. She’s had your typical hard upbringing but is caring and determined. And also so done with Kiso shortly after meeting him. I said before Kiso’s my favourite. He wasn’t in every chapter of volume one, but he’s gorgeous, and I love him. He seems like a himbo but is actually so sly and ughhhh. I want to truly be able to understand him.
For those of you who prefer your manga with plenty of action, this series has that for you too. The scenes with the demons will truly grab you and keep your eyes glued to the page. This is a historical series, which I know puts some people off. Still, you don’t need an understanding of Japanese history to enjoy this.
If josei is going to be more popular, then we need more series like this that both guys and girls will adore for different reasons.
Tamon Kun Ima Dotchi!?/ Which Face Does Tamon Have Now? – Yuki Shiwasu
The second manga series on this list is a shoujo title, which could be pretty popular with you guys! The manga-ka of this series already has one series available in English, so you might already be in love with her art. I’ll be honest; part of me does want to pick up Takane and Hana after starting this one. But I can’t do the age gap in that one. Makes me uncomfortable. Fortunately, the romance in this one is going to be between two teenagers. If you love idols or at least series with celebrity/fan romance? This one could be for you.
Utage is a massive fan of the idol group F/ACE. Her oshi is Tamon, a guy who seems so sexy and wild on stage. To earn the money she needs for all the events and merch, Utage has been working part-time as a cleaner. One day, one of her coworkers is off sick, and she has to visit a new house. A house whose owner happens to share the same name as Tamon… When so goes inside and discovers that it is, in fact, her idol, she’s shocked, especially when she sees how gloomy and anxious he truly is. Utage hates to see her oshi speaking about himself in this way and winds up befriending him as she tries to help him love himself for the fans’ sake.
Are you looking for a cute manga where you’ll be rolling around, squealing and laughing? You’ll definitely find that here. I adore both Utage and Tamon, and I’m already getting merch of this series where I can. I’m really into my idol series and love Tamon’s design, so this series was made for me. It’s got similar vibes to a series like Phantom of the Idol, and it can be ridiculous. Especially with some of the nosebleed reactions, but it’s genuinely so enjoyable.
For people who love idols or adorable romances, where the protagonist really helps their love interest come into themself? This one is for you.
Tokyo Mew Mew Olé – Madoka Seizuki
If you’re a fan of shoujo manga, then you’ve probably heard of the classic magical series Tokyo Mew Mew. If it’s a series you liked, then you probably heard when a few years ago that there was going to be a spin-off by a different manga-ka following a group of boy Mew Mews. It was news that excited me a lot, and I finally managed to get my hands on a couple of the volumes in Japanese earlier this year. With it being a spin-off of a series already available in English? This is the most likely series to get a translation in English, but I’m not sure if it will.
In this spin-off, we follow Aoi Shibuya, a 17-year-old boy whose DNA is mixed with an irimote wild cat. Now a Mew Mew created to save the earth from Aliens, he has to rely on his new friends, including 16-year-old Anzu Hinata, as he does his best to save the world…and learn to love himself.
I know, I know. From that summary, it doesn’t sound like much. But from the first chapter alone, it’s a series that will be a lot of fun. If you loved the original series, are just drawn to series about fighting aliens, or are just drawn to pretty guys…this could be for you. It finished in the summer of 2022, so this is a series that, if it gets an English translation, you know there will be a set end for the run.
Magical boys have been popping up a little more over the last few years, so I’d love to see one such series in English.
A Couple More Suggestions
I’m finishing this post with a few more series I don’t want to go into detail on but would love to see. I’ve gotten pretty into gacha games recently, and there are a bunch of manga and light novel adaptions of games I’ve loved. Admittedly, if there’s an anime adaptation, they tend to follow the same story, but I’d still love to be able to read them myself.
Ensemble Stars is now available in English but with us only getting Music, we need to be given the opportunity to read the older stories ourselves. The manga and anime adaptations might not cover much, but releasing the manga would allow us to read the main story.
A3! no longer has an English server, but it’s such a fun series. I loved watching the anime, and I’d love to be able to enjoy the story again through manga and light novels. On top of that, a couple of the light novels follow the troupes set after the anime. So we’d get an opportunity to enjoy some new content too.
On top of that, I’d love to see the Twisted Wonderland, Hypnosis Mic and Promise of Wizard manga series available in English too. It would just be a lot of fun. And you know these are the sorts of series that fangirls will go crazy for, so there are lots of opportunities for the publishers to make plenty of money.
Just saying.
Are there any manga series not available in English currently that you’d love to see official translations of? Let me know down below.
Lace and Dagger Books 