07 Ghost
Teito Klein is sixteen, orphaned, and cannot remember much of his past. Until recently, he'd been a battle sklave used by the Barsburg Empire, but for the last year he has been enrolled in a premiere military academy. There, he meets his one and only friend, Mikage Celestine, and dazzles his professors (and makes some enemies) with his command of zaiphon, a powerful energy force. Teito and Mikage are two of only a handful who pass exams and their future looks bright - until Teito accidentally overhears his name in a conversation about the Eye of Mikhael - a powerful weapon - and the death of the King of Raggs, the kingdom that fell during the war ten years earlier. Believing the king may have been his father and newly afraid for his life, Teito flees the academy with Mikage's help and is forced to leave him behind. Some time later, an exhausted Teito falls unconscious on his hawkzile, a small flying craft, plummeting to his would-be death. He is saved at the last moment by Frau, one of three bishops from the nearby District 7 church, who give him sanctuary. Teito is overjoyed when Mikage finds him in District 7, but his happiness is short-lived when it’s revealed Mikage is under the control of the empire in an effort to recapture Teito. Devastated by the death of his only friend and grasping at information revealed to him by fragments of memory, Teito trains to become a bishop and is apprenticed to Frau, a seemingly young and perverted man who is actually one of Seven Ghosts sent by God to search for and destroy the evil death god Verloren. With Frau at his side, Teito leaves District 7 on a pilgrimage to Seele - a place he’d travelled to as a child with Father Kreuz, the bishop who had raised him. He believes Seele holds the answers he is looking for about the death of his father and the destruction of a kingdom. 07-Ghost is a story of loss, of perseverance, of grief, of hope, and above all, love. The love between Teito and Mikage is fraternal, but that love is a driving force behind this story, and Teito’s love for the other people in his life carries him. In my opinion, the closest to romantic love we see is between Teito and Frau during their journey to Seele. The 100th chapter is not included in the US translation released by Viz. The story ends after Frau’s final line about a picnic.
Mayonaka no Acchimono
A love story between a demon and a fire god.
Mo Dao Zu Shi
Thirteen years after he's killed as the result of a raid led by his once closest friend, Wei WuXian - the YiLing Patriarch - finds himself reincarnated in the body of a tormented young man who gave his life and soul to summon him in exchange for revenge. Wei WuXian pieces together bits of the young man's life, and in fulfilling his wishes, comes back into contact with his former best friend, Jiang Cheng, and someone he'd desperately tried to befriend ever since they met twenty years earlier as students - Lan WangJi of the Gusu Lan Sect. To Wei WuXian's dismay, Lan WangJi takes Wei WuXian back with him to the Cloud Recesses in order to protect him -- a place he visited as a student twenty years ago and wants to avoid due to its strict rules. In an attempt to get himself kicked out, Wei WuXian climbs into bed with the once modest WangJi, who shocks him by telling him to stay for the night. As they continue to spend time together solving the mystery of a demon arm that attacked Mo Village, he sees a new side to Lan WangJi and discovers that his feelings may not be -- and never were -- what Wei WuXian believed. This is a survey of the novel, which is much richer in detail, but it's a great complement to the story! The art is pretty and I like how they're drawn in it versus the animated series (which I also love).
Sword and Expedition
Koiseyo Sennen Neet
A drowning man ends up in a fairytale when he’s rescued by Urashima Tarou and goes to live at the bottom of the sea. Tarou has been there for 1000 years. It’s finally time for him to return to the surface, but he’s afraid to age. Features a side story between the turtle he saved and a seahorse. If they had been the main story, I might have given this five stars.
Hyakunen Kesshou Mokuroku