Vote for the Hidden Gem of Manga - January 2024

Oyayubihime Infinity
Kanoko Himemiya is the only reserved girl in a school full of delinquents and slackers. In contrast to her older sister Mayu whose fame is constantly rising, Kanoko, with her plain looks and personality, is destined to live a life of mediocrity. The only thing the sisters have in common is a unique butterfly-shaped birthmark on their thumbs. However, Kanoko catches the eye of Tsubame Yoshizawa—a ladies' man who enjoys painting girls' nails—and he insists on painting Konoko's as well, although his every advance is rejected.

When Kanoko finds herself being harassed by the paparazzi regarding her sister, Tsubame unexpectedly comes to her aid. As they make their getaway, their thumbs touch and memories of a past life rush through their minds. Tsubame explains the phenomena: following a double suicide, he and his lover have now have been reborn in the present, destined to search for their soulmate. Their only means of uncovering these memories is by pressing their butterfly-shaped birthmarks together, but the visions they see do not always match.

Believing Kanoko to be his destined lover, Tsubame wants her to be his girlfriend, but Kanoko has a strong suspicion that it is her sister that he is looking for. The vision Kanoko and Tsubame share begins to complicate itself as more people with the same birthmark appear, weaving a complex tale that binds a group of friends to a tragic past. With only faint glimpses into the events that happened centuries ago, they have to decide whether to pursue their star-crossed lovers or reject their own predetermined fates.

Orochi
Orochi is a philosophical horror manga series from Japan's master of the horror genre.

Each chapter is a separate story that explores different aspects of humanity and the human condition. The main character, Orochi, is a mysterious woman with odd powers and a keen interest in understanding human nature. In her travels, she meets people that she is so fascinated by that she takes an interest in their lives, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.

Rasen no Vamp
Legend tells of an oak forest, in which anyone who died with a deep sense of regret would be reborn as an immortal vampire. By now, in the year 1980, the remnants of that forest have been paved over to form the streets of London, England. In these streets, the "Alleyway Killer" has been garnering publicity for murdering people and draining them of blood under the cover of night.

Out for a walk one evening, Alan Everett stumbles upon a woman who claims she was being stalked, and who might have been the killer's next intended victim. Beyond being grateful to Alan for saving her, she also seems elated to see him face to face. She introduces herself as Marie Noblue and begs him to take her to his home, since she has no place to call her own. Alan is strangely comfortable living with this stranger, although her presence elicits fragments of memories that he cannot fully recall. When Marie is suddenly arrested under suspicion of being the Alleyway Killer, he does not know what to think. Did she contrive to cross paths with him and purposely enter his life because she was seeking revenge on someone who caused her to die with regrets nearly three hundred years ago?