In Fallen Words, Yoshihiro Tatsumi takes up the oral tradition of rakugo and breathes new life into it by shifting the format from spoken word to manga. Each of the eight stories in the collection is lifted from the Edo-era Japanese storytelling form. As Tatsumi notes in the afterword, the world of rakugo, filled with mystery, emotion, revenge, hope, and, of course, love, overlaps perfectly with the world of Gekiga that he has spent the better part of his life developing. These slice-of-life stories resonate with modern readers thanks to their comedic elements and familiarity with human idiosyncrasies. In one, a father finds his son too bookish and arranges for two workers to take the young man to a brothel on the pretext of visiting a new shrine. In another particularly beloved rakugo tale, a married man falls in love with a prostitute. When his wife finds out, she is enraged and sets a curse on the other woman. The prostitute responds by cursing the wife, and the two escalate in a spiral of voodoo doll cursing. Soon both are dead, but even death can’t extinguish their jealousy. Tatsumi’s love of wordplay shines through in the telling of these whimsical stories, and yet he still offers timeless insight into human nature. (Source: Drawn and Quarterly)

Yuuki is a girl who lies about her gender to enroll in the theater department of Getsuryou academy, an all boys’ school where all the students are required to stay in the dorm. While hiding the fact that she’s a girl, every day, she tries hard to study acting, the subject that she loves so much. One day, an upperclassman, Riku, found out her secret, causing Yuuki to be very worried, but she gradually got attracted to him. At the same time, she came to know the real reason why she was brought up as a boy… (Source: Aerandria)

I've never been able to stand the typical heroine's “goody-two-shoes” routine. Thankfully, all my dreams come true when I'm reincarnated as a villainess! Determined to become a woman no one can criticize, I do my best to train my body, improve my intellect, and hone my magical skills. But for some reason, the harder I try, the more everyone seems to like me! No matter—I'll betray their every expectation and become the greatest villainess the world has ever known! (Source: Yen Press)

The great hero Devota worked tirelessly to save the world from evil, only to be betrayed and killed by the very man who raised her. Luckily, she’s granted a new life as a young orphan named Diamond and, through a twist of fate, is taken in by an old comrade, now a powerful duchess. The whole family dotes on her like she’s one of their own, and as it turns out, she actually might be… But with her murderer still at large and her revenge still unfinished, will Dia be able to open her heart to love? (Source: Tapas) *Note: Chapter count includes a 20-chapter side story*

Mirai is willing to fight to defend others. One day she defeats some thugs attacking Ryo, the idol of her school and is moved up to class 1, the top class, from the normal class 3. After defending a girl from class 0, the lowest class, from the arrogant members of class 1, she says that she wants out of the two-faced class 1. She is not only kicked out of class 1, but down graded to class 0, with the girl she defended and a mysterious black-haired boy she met earlier. The real fight begins now! *Note: Includes two extra chapters.*

Susumu Yamaji, a twenty-four-year-old pianist, is arrested for murder and ends up handcuffed to a career criminal on the train that will take them to prison. An avalanche derails the train and the criminal takes the opportunity to escape, dragging a reluctant Susumu with him into the blizzard raging outside. They flee into the mountains to an abandoned ranger station, where they take shelter from the storm. As they sit around the fire they built, Susumu relates how love drove him to become a murderer. A cinematic adventure story, Black Blizzard uncovers an unlikely love story and an even unlikelier friendship. (Source: Drawn & Quarterly)

This fantasy story conveys the bond between a beast tamer and the strongest cat girl starting from their first meeting! Rein, a beast tamer who fights with the help of animals, has been a member of the hero's party for the longest time. However, unbeknownst to him, he was dragging down his teammates because he had no other abilities. "You have no worth outside of taming animals. You're fired." With that, he was kicked out of the party. At that moment, Rein no longer wanted anything to do with saving the world and decided to live for himself. Once he set out to become an adventurer, he met a girl from the cat tribe, a tribe believed to be part of the superior race. Meanwhile, the hero's party was unaware they were only able to fight the Demon King's army all along because of Rein's power... This story is about how the oppressed beast tamer met his destined comrades and formed bonds with them all. (Source: Manga UP!)

From the creator of Doll and Beautiful People comes a biting black comedy that shows us nothing is scarier than family. Haunted House follows the misadventures of Sabato, a hapless young teen trying to find himself, which is made all but impossible by his flamboyant family (who look like the Addams Family by way of Tim Burton). Scaring away every girl he brings home, Sabato's family seem to revel in his misery, but could there be more to their torment than meets the eye? Rest assured, Mihara-sensei keeps you guessing and giggling every step of the way. (Source: TOKYOPOP)

In this world there exist spiritual pathways, called Gates that draw in the souls of the departed and move them to a new realm of existence. However, at times, a Black Gate appears, and the Black Gate does not wait for death...but instead forcefully sucks the souls out of living humans! Senju is a “Mitedamashi,” an agent with the power to summon or seal Gates, and save people’s souls. He is guardian to Hijiri, a boy whose life he once saved. After Hijiri discovers his own hidden powers, he begins a journey of self-discovery where the distant past comes back to haunt him and his choices determine life and death, not only for those he cares about, but the whole world! (Source: Tokyopop).

In a castle in a far-off western land, there once lived a baron with empty eyes, whose melancholy ways belied a love of beauty and song. A wondrous garden surrounded the baron’s home–a place of quiet splendor that served to remind him of his painful, untended memories. Could the songs of two bards bring dreams of a happier tomorrow? Or would they bring more loss than the baron might possibly bear? (Source: DMP)

Ash is an 8-year-old boy with apparent past-life memories, who lives in a remote deserted village. As he remembers leading a bountiful life, he cannot bear living in a world akin to the Dark Ages, where not even the internal combustion engine exists. For that reason, he needs to consult books containing knowledge from a highly developed ancient culture, that is said to have existed far in the past. This is only the beginning of story about a young boy who sets out to revolutionize the world in order to rebuild civilization and achieve his ideal life! (Source: J-Novel Club)

A boy lives two lives: a young leader in a magical world and a high-schooler in reality. And he’s determined to live in both! Dive into this action-packed martial art fusion comic!