#the second alpha

Home Office Romance by Kintetsu Yamada

The newest one-shot by Kintetsu Yamada (the mangaka of Sweat and Soap) is about two people who meet during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This slice-of-life romcom is adorable and sweet in all the right ways. Rating: ★★★★☆

Senpai, This Can’t Be Love! by Shinta Harekawa

This single volume story is a workplace romance about a senior CG designer that mentors a new hire who shows nothing but indifference towards him. That is until he finds out underneath that frosty exterior this new hire is his biggest fan.  I think this story needed more time to develop its characters to have the emotional pay off. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to go out of their way to read this title. I think there are a lot of better manga to read in this genre. Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Let’s Eat Together, Aki and Haru by Makoto Taji

Two roommates share a love of cooking and eating together. The art style is very adorable and goes great with the slice of life theme. Don’t be hungry when you read this though or it’ll make you salivate.  This manga was very similar to She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat if genderswapped and the two main leads started out as two best friends but a little lighter on overall store depth. With only three volumes it's worth reading if you’re looking for some cozy manga. Rating: ★★★☆☆

H.P. Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu by Gou Tanabe

“In his house at R’lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.” After the death of his grand-uncle, a young man stumbles upon a link to a disturbing cult and a mystery that changes his life forever. Tanabe captures the unhinged and terrifying themes from these Lovecraftian stories just as they’ve done in previous adaptations. The full page spreads, the dark ink background, the expressions of these characters, all shown in an art style perfectly befitting these eldritch horrors. Rating: ★★★★☆

This Wolf is Not Scary by Riko Sakura

A story about two half-human, half-animal guys on the opposite ends of the food chain. I didn’t really get what I wanted from this manga. The story has no depth or character development even for a single volume, but the art is nice. Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Solo Leveling vol. 10 by Chu-Gong, So-Ryeong Gi and Hyeon-Gun

This volume picked up towards the tail end with the start of a fight that's been simmering since volume 2 of this series, quickly escalating into a heavy hitter duel. Beru is one of my favorite characters despite his origins. His chibi form is adorable. Rating: ★★★☆☆

Colette Decides to Die by Alto Yukimura

Overworked apothecary Colette decides to jump into a well one day to avoid her never ending droves of patients. She unknowingly travels to the underworld to discover not even the underworld can keep her from work when Lord Hades is in need of an apothecary as well. I love this story so far and the artwork. It has a surprising amount of depth I wasn’t expecting. This series is emotional and caught me off guard a few times with how introspective this story is. Rating: ★★★★★

All or Nothing by Shikke

A four man friend group is suddenly split when two of them reveal they are dating. The two outcasts then decide to try a physical relationship to see what the big deal is. There really is nothing here for readers. No story or character development. Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary vol. 1 by Mine and Area Ikemiya

A broke mercenary is forced to join an incompetent new party for funds. After a disastrous first mission, he learns one of his companions is more than she seems. This manga is based on a Light Novel. The artwork is good and the main character was interesting enough. The end of the volume started to develop the story more. Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Confession by Nobuyuki Fukumoto and Kaji Kawaguchi

After a hiking accident, two friends become lost in a blizzard. Thinking his death is imminent, the injured man confesses to a murder. However, instead of dying, they both find shelter. The problem is now that their rescue is on the way, the secret hangs heavily over them both. The premise of this story was interesting but the execution was comically bad. Rating: ★★☆☆☆

The Second Alpha by Shibue Yofune

On his first day of his new job an alpha meets his fated mate only to discover the omega of his dreams is already wearing a wedding ring.  Finally an actual STORY in an omegaverse manga, and a good and unique premise too! I would give it 4 stars but there’s a dubcon heat scene at the start of the manga. Other than that the story is actually quite heartwarming and deals with what happens when you get a second chance at love. Rating: ★★★☆☆

I Hear the Sunspot: Four Seasons vol. 2 by Yuki Fumino

The cliffhanger from the last volume is finally explored, bringing with it the amount of drama you would expect from this series. I’m curious to see how all the plot threads evolve as the story continues. Especially with the troublesome new hire. The romance is still going at a snail's pace, but the story and side characters make this series worthwhile. The last section of this volume was a short story titled My Little Boy. This story in particular showcased just how wonderful Taichi’s grandparents are. His grandfather is 10/10. Rating: ★★★★☆

Thunder 3 vol. 1 by Yuki Ikeda