Here's a compilation of manga that I've read that haven't left enough of an impact on me for them to receive separate posts about them. This could be entirely because I've forgotten to do a post for them right after completion (this is actually the case but I'm trying to justify my actions) or because they didn't inspire me to write a post about them up until now.
First we're going to start off with one that's actually a completed version of this newer subgenre of isekai where it's usually a girl that dies and is reborn into an otome game or a fantasy world where magic is real. Yeah, from my brief description it doesn't seem all that interesting, but I've really enjoyed discovering new isekai from a female's perspective. The only downside is that I think that this subgenre has only caught on recently, and thus there aren't many that are completed. This is one of the few that are. It's called
Eh? Heibon Desu yo?? which is an interesting title in and of itself with the punctuation and colloquial nature of it.
It follows the rebirth of this ordinary schoolgirl from Japan that dies in a tragic accident and by "transmigration" ends up reborn as a baby in this fantasy land as the daughter of a count. Her father looks after the surrounding land and she uses knowledge from her past life in order to improve life in this new world. That's basically it. She teaches them things like how to increase crop productivity and about prenatal care, as well as alternative cooking techniques. It's a pretty mundane (in a good way) isekai about this little girl trying to do her best for everyone in the surrounding area. There is this one part that focuses on how OP her powers are, but overall it's just a very cute and calm story.
I'd say that if you're looking to be introduced into this new subgenre or you're like me and you're head over heels for this type of isekai and are looking for a completed one that this is a good read. It's 18 chapters so it's relatively short and it's lowkey realistic too with some pretty cute worldbuilding aspects as well.
This second manga is called
Kaichou-kun no Shimobe and it features a closet otaku girl that lives a humble life, Hirayama, and a two-faced popular school president that's secretly the next head of the yakuza, Kujou. The story itself reminds me a little bit of Wolf Girl Black Prince, but with less romance and more conflict between the two main characters. This one is definitely more of a comedy with Kujou being almost a completely delusional idiot. Despite his outward appearance of someone put together and cool, Kujou is actually directionally challenged, not good at fighting, unable to swim, and is full of himself among other questionable character attributes. Hirayama on the other hand is a hard-working girl that just wants to draw her fan manga for Comiket and such, but doesn't want to be exposed at school for being an otaku so she's basically enslaved by Kujou. The story loosely follows Kujou's journey to become less of a self-entitled brat, as well as a spicy little subplot in there about how Hirayama and Kujou first met as children and led Kujou to believe that she was his fated fiancee through a tragic misunderstanding on his part.
I'd recommend it if you're looking for something that's definitely more of a comedy and if you get a kick out of kinda dumb characters like Kujou. I think that you'll find the yakuza portion of the story surprising as well. There's not a heavy plotline to follow or anything, but it's an interesting read.
The third manga was quite surprising. I think I found out about it through a collection of manga focusing on the theme of aliens. It reminds me kind of that series by Stephanie Meyer's
The Host (yes I know the author of Twilight whatever) with the whole aliens taking over the bodies of humans thing. It focused on this girl named Chiyo and this popular guy she has a crush on named Tsubaki. The relationship between the two is just one sided love on Chiyo's part with Tsubaki treating her like the mortal enemy. This seems like the normal set up for a shoujo, but there's a twist when, due to various circumstances, an alien comes to inhabit Tsubaki's body. The alien goes by the name of Shin-sama and when Shin-sama is in control of the body Tsubaki doesn't remember any of what occurs during that time. Chiyo is conflicted because Shin-sama looks like Tsubaki and is actually nice to her which is kind of a dream come true. The only catch is that Tsubaki dies a little more the longer Shin-sama inhabits the body. And so, eventually the romance between Shin-sama and Chiyo is cut short as Shin-sama's friend's UFO comes to take him(?) away. And Tsubaki has changed too and become less of a jerk and more of a sweet and sensitive dude. So then Chiyo and Tsubaki end up going out...which I don't really know how I feel about this whole thing. And Shin-sama comes back to Earth and possesses a dog, only to see Chiyo end up with Tsubaki, the guy she's liked all along. And I really felt for Shin-sama because he loved Chiyo, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.
It really was a wack manga. There were so many times I thought to myself "wtf am I reading?" in a good way. The feeling I got from the story itself was also super intriguing. The art style was a little strange for my tastes, but I think that's just the style from that time. I'd really recommend it. It's a short 7 chapter read for something that's very unique.
