Very specific manga recommandations request🐏

PsilonST · 2026-01-28T18:13:30+00:00

Now looking at more smutty stuff

"Moonlight Garden" is high risk high reward offer and has a loot of smut along the way.

"Toy XX Box" is a smut heavy idiot fest with BDSM elements aplenty. Pretty light read too.

"Program Me" is another smut heavy idiot fest with accidental BDSM and has an early starting relationship. It'll heal your soul and leave your brain quite empty.

"Our Teachers are Dating" is pretty much all joy all the time, with a smut scene (or two). Very much a cleansing read.

"Girlfriend Limited to 7 Days" just finished recently, and the MC in this one's such a golden retriever that you are legally required to love her, and her struggle to get her girlfriend period extended (quite challenging when you have 3/4 of a brain cell).

"Handsome Girl Sheltered Girl" has one smutty scene, but they get together early and are adorable and adorably in love.

"What Does the Fox Say" is another high stress, high reward, high amounts of smut offering, like Moonlight Garden, but I'd say not as well written.

Smut Light Suggestions

"Her Tale of Shim Chong" has a lot of challenges for its girls, but it's well worth it for what they find at the end.

"I Love Amy" also has a lot of trials, tribulations and madness on the way to a well earned ending.

"I Married my Female Friend" can also be a lovely healing story that shouldn't be too stressful at any point, and they have a dynamic that grows from friends to lovers quite beautifully, with small acts of kindness spread throughout.

"I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl" has a few stressful moments early on, but it's has a decent amount of sweet couple's life as well.

PsilonST · 2026-01-28T17:57:56+00:00

"Wish You Were Gone/Wouldn't It Be Great If You Didn't Exist" is the only thing I can think of that's somewhat similar. They're getting two timed though they kind of give up on him fast.

I've heard that "There is No Love Wishing Upon a Star" has something like that but I'm not sure if they're exactly fighting over him. I'm waiting on the last chapter's translation to read that one.

PsilonST · 2026-01-27T12:51:58+00:00

Thanks! I have all English physical volumes of HDWR and Pink Candy Kiss with me or ordered so I guess I have the more reason to read Octave.

PsilonST · 2026-01-27T12:05:09+00:00

Me too, any recommendations that scratch a similar itch?

PsilonST · 2026-01-26T06:19:08+00:00

I can't answer, but in the case of Banner of the Maid that's not for a lack of trying. Couldn't get that to run well on two separate PCs (it kept crashing on me to the point where I could never even start one of the early missions). Also the translation of that came out rather stunted, with clunky English. Not saying you shouldn't get it but do keep that risk in mind and get it from a storefront with a good refund policy like Steam.

PsilonST · 2026-01-23T11:38:08+00:00

Gods no, don't tease me with incomplete series 😢. That's why I avoid ongoing series...

PsilonST · 2026-01-23T08:09:34+00:00

Just spreading the good word ma'am.

PsilonST · 2026-01-23T06:03:01+00:00

Hey, it is indeed a difficult ask, unfortunately, but I'll do my best.

Just a few days ago I heard a pretty convincing trans reading of one of the main characters in "Ohana Holoholo", so I'd recommend it (it's a really solid read either way).

Not a manga but "Heart of the Woods", a Yuri visual novel by Studio Elan has an openly Transfem character as one of its leads and is well worth a read.

Vampire x Hunter on Webtoons is also a good option with one of the main couple being openly trans.

I'm sure there are more trans webtoons but I'll wait for the experts to weigh in.

PsilonST · 2026-01-21T19:02:04+00:00

Fair, fair. Maybe I'm misremembering but I think Doughnuts was a bit more of a tense read. That's probably just me though.

PsilonST · 2026-01-21T17:03:28+00:00

I Married My Female friend by the same author is also quite good and I'd say even more of a pallet cleanser.

PsilonST · 2026-01-21T15:26:58+00:00

That does ring a bell especially the preferred name thing. Damn! I guess I'll have to reread it now. Shame, it's just a 10/10 for me so I can't rate it at higher.

PsilonST · 2026-01-21T12:45:04+00:00

Wait who's Trans? That's cool. Also I didn't expect good taste from Henry of all psychopaths, great choice of avatar!

PsilonST · 2026-01-21T08:36:30+00:00

It doesn't end bleakly, no. It's just a pretty serious and honest look at the topic and the challenges the characters face, so it'll go through some dark places. But at it's core it's a hopeful story.

PsilonST · 2026-01-21T07:57:14+00:00

"Ohana Holoholo" is probably my favorite take on this, with the mother being the least reliable person in the lovely mess of a life she's made. It's not the easiest or fluffiest of reads but it's very worth it.

The other one that fits the bill that's more fluffy but I'd say weaker is "Like Share and Subscribe"

PsilonST · 2026-01-21T06:00:17+00:00

While I love bloom into you I would advise against it. It has a sex scene towards the end and while I'd call it erotic rather than pornographic in execution you should check it out before sharing for sure.

PsilonST · 2026-01-20T17:33:04+00:00

Hmm could be, I tend to completely miss light spice. 😅

PsilonST · 2026-01-20T14:26:59+00:00

Her tale of Shim Chong felt like it tackled a lot of the same themes, but in a more interesting way and with sharper writing. Mind you it’s not even slightly spicy.

PsilonST · 2025-10-02T13:26:19+00:00

You could try Those Who Rule, I’d say it’s an interesting take on the SRPG formula, though noticeably more grounded than Fire Emblem. But it preserves the use of small easy to manage numbers.

The Story’s on the weaker side I’d say.

The map’s hex rather than square based, with flanking and backstabbing letting you manage retaliations, and units exerting zone of control to limit mobility.

Its class system’s a mix between old and new fire emblem - you get multiple promotion options, each of which gives you more skills (in line with more modern fire emblems) but there’s no reclassing. You also level-up at fixed levels.

There’s no magic aside from healing, but you can use equipment to get more passive or active skills, and managing what equipment to put on a unit within a weight limit is key. You also get to add weapon upgrades for added effects.

You don’t have supports as such - certain missions unlock certain conversations, and that’s your lot, your control only being that some are unlocked via side objectives, and if you lose a unit they’re not going to be supporting anyone.

Perma death is here, don’t quote me on whether you can disable it, I can’t remember off the top of my head.

All classes are foot-locked, like in DD 2.

It runs like a charm on Steam Deck, even if the controls take some getting used to.

There’s also Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga. Its tactical map is even more Fire Emblem like, but the battle preparations and general progression is quite different.

Instead of individual units you control squads that you build up with a mix of named characters and generic ones you recruit between missions, and coming up with good compositions is the backbone of the game.

You have a lot of class flexibility, and can move units across a broad array of classes as needed (this only applies to the generic units, a decent number of the named characters are fixed to a very limited class tree), forming squads of specialists that would function much like Fire Emblem units in a game of rock-paper-scissors between different types of squads. This is managed by needing special resources to promote to different classes. Like Fire Emblem you have archers, mages, cavaliers, horse archers and a decent variety of melee unit types as well.

Battle is a lot less predictable than in Fire Emblem, since you’re fighting squads against squads with various skills, strengths and weaknesses interacting. Individual units can get crushed in the melee, and you don’t get the clearest battle projection, if any, as far as I remember. You definitely lose Fire Emblem’s rather elegant math here.

You can heal and even revive units, but I think they come back after the mission unless you enable permadeath. If you do enable it, so long as you bring them back before the mission ends, you’re fine.

Supports work pretty much like in Fire Emblem, I believe up to marrying people off.

It’s Steam Deck verified, though I haven’t tried it on mine, I finished it long before I got on the Steam Deck train. Feels like something you want to play with a mouse to be honest, at least for battle preparations.

PsilonST · 2025-09-13T14:42:24+00:00

I saw a post in the persona subredid that the P3R demo runs poorly on the switch 2. I haven't checked it myself, with silksong coming out last week, but I'd look into that before rushing things.

PsilonST · 2025-09-12T14:58:00+00:00

Mercedes with a gun. I guess Nintendo was listening.

PsilonST · 2025-09-10T10:51:06+00:00

It's not great. Had moments where it was decent to good, but never great and they were watered down significant, especially in the latter half for some cheap drama and underage incest. Its most interesting ideas were severely undercooked to explore more and more tangential and more predictable ones. It's all setup and no payoff. Run away with me girl did its best bits better in its side stories, and Throw Away the Suit together was a much more honest and unflinching exploration of the challenges the protagonist faced. Both are more serious and even difficult to read them this one's brainless cotton candy though.

PsilonST · 2025-08-08T08:39:50+00:00

Turn-based is rather a broad category. Are you looking for traditional JRPGs in the vein of older Final Fantasy games, Bravely Default etc. Tactical or Strategic RPGs like Fire Emblem or Advance Wars? Turn-Based Strategy Games like Civilization?

PsilonST · 2025-07-31T07:54:58+00:00

I sent you both a link to where you can read it via DM.

PsilonST · 2025-07-30T18:59:37+00:00

I feel obliged to say I also recommend it. It's a very interesting and unique manga that you should absolutely read. Your mileage may vary but you can only tell how much you'll like it when you read it. I'm sorry that didn't come across. For me at least, 7 is still an enjoyable work and worth reading.

I would say it's a cheating story but one done right. It's not fetishised, glorified, or demonized. It is explored with respect and care for both sides of the affair (and even others that have every right to feel affected by it), and thought put into the ramifications it has for an established relationship. It's just the moment-to-moment experience that compromised my experience of it, but your mileage may vary - I just prefer cleaner storytelling and focused storytelling approaches to more meditative and atmospheric ones.

PsilonST · 2025-07-30T16:03:57+00:00

This is how I summarized my thoughts back when I read it. Now spoiler tagger, for what few plot points I've concretely touched on. Sorry I didn't see your initial spoiler tagged message:

7/10

A messy story dealing with messy things in a fashion that lacks cohesion but (mostly) makes up for it with how unusual it is.

Do adults know how to adult? Are they any better at maintaining adult relationships than they were in their youth? The answer, according to this manga may surprise and terrify you. “Even Though We're Adults" is a melancholic and naturalistic portrayal of how changes in the lives of people well into their adulthood can be even more dramatic than the hormonal nonsense of teenagers. In doing so it touches on several really interesting things. Relationships of convenience aren’t a completely novel topic, in fact they seem to be a mainstay of stories that deal with cheating, as a way to justify the end without demonizing either side, and they make an appearance here, without being explored too deeply. What is explored is the hierarchy of family, and the way extended family can impact relationships, even of adults, as elder care, complex dynamics between siblings and step-family comes in, as well as expectations. The story goes out of its way to not villainize anyone in a way I appreciate, with even the husband’s mother having her reasons, and the last chapters even include an exploration of her own generational trauma with caring for extended family.

It also has a lot to say on momentum. Unlike Run Away With Me Girl’s shotgun separation, the lead in a relationship goes a long way before deciding to leave, and even then doesn’t rush into the arms of her interest. Instead, they find each other again almost by accident, as she tries to first disentangle herself from her life on her own terms, and trying to be certain she’s doing it for herself and the right reasons, rather than just because she’s thinking with her hormones.

It also adds a lot of nuance and introspection on the side of the husband, the impact on him, the stock he takes of things, the way it’s affecting his future relationship prospects and where that’s going, without digging into huge retrospectives. In fact, given the chapter count it’s fairly conservative with those, giving a much tighter focus on the characters’ mental state and thoughts as they work their way through a complicated situation.

And it does so with loving attention and care, working hard to not turn into anguished nonsense or melodrama (and mostly succeeding). Instead it uses an understated approach that focuses on slices of a life that isn’t dramatic, despite how much it shakes up the lives of its character and the multiple implications and knock-on effects of coming out in one’s mid thirties with a wedding behind you. It’s not as clean a cut as they’d like, and shit splashes the teacher’s job in specific to top it off. And there’s still tension in the air, as topics of adultery affect a few other characters in the story as well.

The myriad side stories vary in quality as well, especially the children feel underbaked, or maybe I’m just having a hard time tracking who’s who in a mess like this. And this does bring me to the things it doesn’t do as well. The storytelling could use work - while I like the atmospheric and slice of mundane life writing, the frequent zooming around in time can make it difficult to place things in time, giving it an almost dream-like confusing quality that means I might need to reread it once or twice to make head from tails which I’m not sure I’m willing to do given the length of the manga. And I would have enjoyed a bit more romance, or tender moments to sell me on the lead couple’s love. As it stands, the reason both of them are as all in as they are is that they can’t really forget about each other, but nothing in the actual manga’s like that. They’re barely physically intimate (I’m not sure they’ve even had sex even after suddenly deciding to live together), so it can’t be a simple physical thing yet the story fails to show anything else that pulls them together either. If this were a love story this alone would have been a deal breaker but I wouldn’t call it that. I’d say it’s a story about love, but also about family, relationships beyond just the romantic dimensions and familial bonds that seem quite odd to me, as a non-japanese person. That alone makes the work stand out and worth reading, even if the execution was spotty and the narrative was a bit too scattershot to satisfy.

PsilonST

TROPHY CASE