2014 is the year I made a concerted effort to read more manga in Japanese. I ended up reading a lot of oneshots from Extra Cheese!, Petite Princess, and The Margaret. Unfortunately I didn’t keep a list of what I read and what I thought of the oneshots. I’ll try to do better in 2015. I did a better job keeping track of the series I read. Here are some lists of my favorites.

My favorite new series that begun in 2014

• “Kaori no Joou” by Rikachi
• “Mermaid Oujisama” Volume 1 by Yuana Kazumi
• “Sora Wo Kakeru Yodaka” by Shiki Kawabata

My favorite series that I read in 2014 (not debuted in 2014)

• “Mahou Shoujo Ore!” Volume 1 by Moukon Iccyokusen
• “Bread & Butter” Volume 1 by Hinako Ashihara
• “Kanojo ni Naru Hi” Volume 1 by Akane Ogura
• “Kanojo ni Naru Hi Another” Volume 1 by Akane Ogura
• “Innocent” Volume 1 by Shinichi Sakamoto

2014 Series that had excellent First Chapters

• “Poisson” by Yukari Koyama and Kayoko Shimotsuki, Hatsu Kiss
• “Sora wo Kakeru Yodaka” by Shiki Kawabata, Betsuma
• “Gori Puri” by Vega Hakashima, Betsucomi
• “Yumebu e Yokoso” by Toru Fujieda, Gekkan Princess
• “Incomplete Lovers” (“Child Love Lock”) by Midori Murasaki, Sylph
• “Watashi no Ookami-kun” by Yoko Nogiri, Aria
• “Kudlak no Bansan” by Kayoko Shimotsuki, Aria
• “Itsuka no Haru” by Takagi Shigeyoshi, Betsuhana
• “Chisana Ningyo Hiyori” by Umi Minami, Hatsu Kiss
• “Yuugure Light” by Maki Usami, Betsucomi

Other Favorites

• Favorite Magazine — Petite Princess
• Guilty Pleasure Magazine — Bessatsu Harmony Romance
• Favorite New to me Mangaka — Ai Kurimi (Petite Princess)
• Favorite Mangaka — Akane Ogura
• Favorite Oneshot — “My Brother Complex” by Akiko Naoe (The Margaret Issue 6/2014)

Manga I’m Anticipating for 2015

• “Sora wo Kakeru Yodaka” by Shiki Kawabata, Betsucomi
• “Kudlak no Bansan” by Kayoko Shimotsuki, Aria
• “Seirou Opera” by Kanoko Sakurakouji, Betsucomi
• “Petite Peche” by Bisco Hatori, Ane Lala
• “Yumebu e Yokoso” by Toru Fujieda, Gekkan Princess
• “Hakuba wa Oujisama” by Kineko Abekawa, Gekkan Princess
• Oneshot and Short Series and any special magazine projects

Now to move on to licensing. Separate from my wishlist, here are some manga series I think may get licensed in 2015 or 2016.

License Watchlist

• “QQ Sweeper” by Kyousuke Mutsumi — Viz/Shoujo Beat, Announced 2/6/2015
• “SP X Baby” by Maki Enjouji
• “Shuriken Pleats” by Hino Matsuri — Viz/Shoujo Beat, Announced 7/4/2015
• “Bread & Butter” by Hinako Ashihara
• “Ao Haru Ride” by Io Sakisaga
• “Watashi no Ookami-kun” by Yoko Nogiri — Licensed by Kodansha USA

My License Wishlist

• “Mahou Shoujo Ore!” by Moukon Iccyokusen
• “Bread & Butter” by Hinako Ashihara
• “Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun” by Izumi Tsubaki — Licensed by Yen Press
• “Kaori no Joou” by Rikaichi
• “Mermaid Oujisama” by Yuana Kazumi
• “Mikado Boy” by Riko Miyagi
• “Pochamani” by Kaname Hirama

This year my license wishlist is much more modest than years before. To be honest, I don’t believe the new series by popular already licensed shoujo mangaka aren’t compelling enough in their early chapters. A lot new series debuted in 2014, but it’s too soon for me to say I want to see them licensed.

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Notes:

Here’s a list of the magazines I bought over 2014.

Ongoing before 2014:

• Lala
• Lala DX
• Ane Lala
• Hana to Yume
• The Hana to Yume
• Betsuhana
• Aria
• Princess
• Petite Princess
• Wings
• Itan
• Haruca
• Mystery Bonita
• Next F Anthologies

Started Reading in 2014 (Started most of these in September as an experiment)

• Betsucomi
• Betsucomi DX
• Betsuma
• The Margaret
• The Dessert
• Cheese!
• Extra Cheese!
• Friend
• Hatsu Kiss
• Extra Petite
• Various Harmony Romance

Dropped in 2014

• Cocohana
• Princess Gold
• Asuka
• Avarus (The printed magazine ended publication and the magazine went online online)
• Zerosum Ward
• Kiss + (Ended publication and was replaced by Hatsu Kiss)

Most of what I picked up are oneshot compilations.