Girls Love Manga Recommendations: Part 2

Ach ja, this is the long-awaited[citation needed] sequel to the first part about girls love manga recommendations. For now, this will also be the last one, though I guess there is a rather high possibility of recommendations for girls love light novels in the future. I’ll spare you the preamble this time, so let’s jump right into it.

A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow

To be honest, the only reason I didn’t just straight up put this series into the top spot of the first post is simply due to me not wanting to finish reading it. It has been over 3 years since I bought the first volume and I simply stopped reading after volume 3, because I figured I need it all back-to-back for full emotional impact. And… I was right.

If there is one thing A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow exceeds in, it is the portrayal of loneliness and the sense of needing someone in your life. Konatsu and Koyuki are both lonely in their own way and learn over the course of the manga to not only understand and accept their loneliness, but also what part of the other person plays in their life. Honestly, seeing them interact together was, even if at time a bit frustrating, always cathartic in a way that is hard to explain, but might actually come very close to the initial definition of well… catharsis. The two girls genuinely try to understand each other, but are always held back by their own weaknesses and seeing them slowly overcome their inner struggles with a certain relatability to it all makes for an emotional through line. Also, bonus points for the two not being totally oblivious and attempting to talk to each other about their feelings.

As mentioned, it can be a frustrating at times and I don’t seem to be the only one more fond of the less dramatic first half, but it somehow always sticked the landing for me. A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow might not even be girls love in the same way all the other entries are, as it portrays a genuine platonical friendship, but it is still one of the most enjoyable manga I had the pleasure of reading, so make of it what you want.

Goodbye, My Rose Garden

Goodbye, My Rose Garden hits this specific sweet spot of “A forbidden relationship between two women” by setting it in and commenting on the social climate of victorian england. It also seamlessly weaves the excellent drama of their relationship into the characterization of both Alice and Hanako, which makes it work on more layers than either a, for the most part, tragic romance or a strict political mouthpiece. It also fully embraces the aesthetic of the noble young woman and her maid, which, depending on the person, is just peak. In this light, it kind of bears, even if only superficially, some similarities to Portrait de la jeune fille en feu, which is also really good and scratches the same itch.

In general, the story has a lot of nuance to it, from the way Alice has to struggle between choosing her own freedom and independence, while simultaneously keeping up her family name to Hanako finding footing in a new country and becoming a writer. Even the “antagonist” surprised by not actually being homophobic, though he makes it up with a good amount of sexism. If there is on thing bothering me, it would be the relatively rushed ending, as it tries to quickly wrap up all the threads it so carefully introduced over its three volume run, essentially losing some of its potential impact. But beyond this, I had trouble finding the right words for this manga, as it is just generally very good and I imagine especially so if you are jaded of you classical highschool romance and in search for a different setting and thematic core than young (first) love.

Days of Love at Seagull Villa

Okay, so I may or may not have a bone to pick with the author Naoko Kodama. Her stories tend be kind of formulaic and not that well written, which is why I keep buying her manga, as the law of probability commands that one of them has to turn out good eventually, right? All jokes aside, Days of Love at Seagull Villa finally finds a comfortable middle ground between the exhausting introspection of oneself and the slow appreciation of the people close around you, by giving the main character a lot more time to breathe inbetween events. It also helps that there is not just a single focus on her eventual love, but also the connections to several other people, as well as the idea the Seagull Villa represents and the concept of family.

It arguably still suffers from Kodama’s other works shortcomings, like the initial lack of agency from the main character, mostly outside influences driving the plot and the introduction of a “disruptive element” in the latter half, but it is still successful in finally making me care about the story in its entirety, which is why I can finally recommend a work of her. Maybe I will some day be strong enough to read her NTR manga.

Whisper Me a Love Song

I was always under the impression, that Whisper Me a Love Song was kind of talked about in the same way that Bloom Into You is and just looking at the cover, I figured I would most likely enjoy it, which is why I was kind of disappointed in the beginning of the manga. The characters fell a bit flat at first and the story seemed a bit without direction, but later caught itself, once it dives into its exploration of what it even means to love someone and a look into different kinds of affection.

Starting with volume 3, it really picks up on its character drama, though considering how slow, or rather not dense (Even I only need a bit more than an hour to read a volume) the manga is in general, it still has to fully captivate me yet, even with the arguably huge amount of patience I give this series. But even if the writing still has room for improvements, the basic building blocks are already layed out and the character art is very cute and detailed, so I am not averse to keep giving it a chance. There is also an anime adaptation planned for 2024, so we will see how this will turn out.

Mizuno and Chayama

We will now go into the more laid-back and less dramatic (in terms of romance) series. Mizuno and Chayama presents a Romeo and Juliet-esque situation with the titular characters being pressured by various societal factors to keep their relationship a secret. But beyond all else, it is mostly a story about anger and bottled up feeling. Mizuno feels completely robbed of any opportunities for herself, being stuck in a small town somewhere in nowhere and her father being the next major, while Chayama’s life was apparently already set on its tracks by her parents. The both of them can only find happiness in each others presence, which makes their effort to stay together, despite their world trying to separate them at every turn, quite engaging to read, even if the actual romance may come short for some people. Also, shout out to Aikawa for being an absolute mess of a character and unfortunately getting the short end of the stick in an already fast-paced ending.

The Evening and the Sea

Staring blankly in front of my screen, I find it hard to talk about this series, because despite being three volumes long, simply telling what little happens in them doesn’t really capture what The Evening and the Sea is about. There is this intertwined metaphor of a fish in the ocean and the vampire princess atop her lonely castle going on from each character’s perspective. Both are unable to really approach and understand another, despite most of the time being barely a few meters apart and the only thing stopping them is wondering what kind of relationship they even want from another. Trying to overcome this hesitation and finally reaching out to another can be said to be the actual meat of the story. I suppose it speaks for this manga’s strong character writing that it never feels repetitive, despite it mostly lingering on a similar point on end, even if its entirety could have been trimmed down to a single volume.

I thought about not even including this entry to begin with, as I wouldn’t recommend this series if you are looking for a sense of “normal” romantic progress. The Evening and the Sea (and maybe Mizuno and Chayama by extend) certainly has a different air to it, even for my sensibilities, though it is also not to be interpreted as making it onto the list due to a technicality. As explained in part one, girls love can take many forms, even those different from the ones I initially wanted to promote with my posts :D.

Honorable Mentions

Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl, by all means, doesn’t treat any new ground, but succeeds in what it tries to present: An equally convoluted as sweet little romance about a girl mistaking another girl as a boy and the both of them slowly opening up to each other by spending more and more time together and valuing the others company. Beyond its comedic moments, it unfortunately could never grab me with its romance, but it was still a nice little read.

My opinion on Vampeerz is kind of hard to pinpoint and the reason why I didn’t mention it in the first part was simply for me not knowing whether I will continue to read it or not. For what it is worth, it is a good manga with an interesting couple dynamic, fun characters, nice art and even a kind of overarching plot. However, I always found it hard to actually commit to another volume (and not just due to the price tag). Sure, actually reading it was fun, but I never felt the need to continue beyond what is already in my hands. Honestly, this manga more likely deserves a recommendation than some of the other entries here, so if you want a girls love story including a bit more meat and less fluff, go for it.

And this is it for now. Again, unless there will be a plethora of (good) new releases in the near future, I doubt there will be another part, at least not without a long break inbetween, but depending on my reading habits, you can expect a recommendation post for girls love light novels in the future. Until next time.