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Manhua Review | Me and My Zoo by La Mian Hua Tang De Tu Zi

Title: Me and My Zoo

Author(s): La Mian Hua Tang De Tu Zi

Artist(s): Chry

Duan Jiaze has recently graduated from college. Unfortunately, the job market isn't all that fruitful for a fresh graduate, but his luck takes a turn when a relative passes away, leaving behind a derelict zoo in the hands of Duan. While it isn't much to look at, with most of the facilities in disrepair and the animals on their last legs, Duan has no choice and takes the opportunity to take over the zoo and bring it back to greatness.

Thankfully, Duan isn't alone. He is inexplicably chosen by the heavens in the form of an app on his phone to take on the zoo under the Lingxiao Hope Project. This zoo will not be inhabited by just zoo animals but by deities needing vacations or punishments in the mortal realm. As Duan works at the zoo, he is given missions by the app to complete, and in turn, is gifted with feed from the heavens, free facilities, and, better yet, gods with animal forms to draw people to the zoo.

Duan is sure his Wonder Park Zoo has every chance in the world to succeed if only he can wrangle these godly animals dispatched to him. That's easier said than done when his first divine animal, the three-legged crow Lu Ya, sent there as a punishment, acts more like a lord than a prisoner. Can Duan find the courage to command the great Lu Ya, or will he lose the zoo and what little pride he has left?

Title: Restart After Growing Hungry

Author(s): cocomi

Artist(s): cocomi

Yamato and Mitsuomi have been together for three years, having only known each other for four years. They spend almost every moment they can together, and though they've never labeled their relationship, they don't question what they mean to each other and are just content being in each other's presence. That is until they attend their friend Harada's wedding together. During the reception, it becomes clear that word of their relationship has gotten around, but thanks to Harada and Yamato, the pair avoid being outed among their peers. Still, with so many people aware and such great effort being taken to diminish their role in each other's lives, Mitsuomi can't help but wonder how Yamato sees their relationship.

It gets even more confusing when Mitsuomi's mother brings up the new partnership system their prefecture has accepted. While it doesn't function the same as marriage, it does help legitimize same-sex couples in the local government's eyes. Mitsuomi doesn't see much point in it since it doesn't provide any benefits that traditional marriage does, but he can't help but bring it up to Yamato just to see his reaction. Shockingly, Yamato seems put off by the idea and makes it clear that he is happy with their relationship as it stands. That was no different than Mitsuomi's own reaction, but for some reason, hearing it from Yamato hurts Mitsuomi.

Just what are they to each other, and does Yamato actually love Mitsuomi like Mitsuomi thinks he does?

Title: Restart After Coming Back Home

Author(s): cocomi

Artist(s): cocomi

Mitsuomi, from the time he was a teen, has had one goal: escape his small town and make it in Tokyo. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done, as time and time again, Mitsuomi's anger gets the better of him. Once again, he gets fired and has no other choice but to return home to stay with his parents. While he has always avoided staying in the countryside and taking over his family's business, at the age of twenty-five, with no other direction in his life, that might be his only option, if his dad will even give him the opportunity.

While bemoaning his fate, Mitsuomi meets an unfamiliar face, which is odd for his hometown. The young man is Yamato, adopted by Mitsuomi's long-term neighbor and farmer who never did have children of his own. Yamato is the same age as Mitsuomi, but his life seems completely put together, with Yamato helping his adoptive father out in the fields and making deliveries around town, all with a smile on his face. However, no matter how well-integrated Yamato is in this rural town, everyone still whispers, questioning his reliability as an outsider.

Mitsuomi can't stand the judgment and makes it his mission to befriend Yamato. But no matter how hard Mitsuomi tries, there are walls around Yamato that he just can't seem to tear down. More importantly, this mission of friendship has evolved into something deeper for Mitsuomi. He doesn't just like Yamato as a friend. He's steadily falling in love.

Title: A Home Far Away

Author(s): Teki Yatsuda

Artist(s): Teki Yatsuda

Alan never feels more uncomfortable than he does when he is at home. His parents are intensely religious to the point that they are stunted into praying their lives away at home, blaming even the most slight inconvenience on sin and the devil. This would be bad enough, but Alan suffers from a chronic disease that his parents blame on some sin he has committed and believes that prayer and repentance will heal him. Alan's life is suffocating, but he has nowhere else to go.

One evening, having stayed out past curfew, Alan refuses to go home, though he knows he will be punished when he gets home. Instead, he hangs out on the front steps of a restaurant. While sitting there, he's approached by one of the workers, Hayden, who offers to let him out of the cold after his nose starts bleeding, which is a common symptom of his disease. The two share a deep conversation that continues daily, where Hayden reveals that he's a drifter and will be moving on soon. Alan is heartbroken, but what can he do?

The day Hayden is set to leave, after a desperate and emotional confession from Alan, Hayden offers him a chance to escape with him. Of course, there's a chance, even if they run, that Alan will never find happiness, but at least it would be his choice. So the two escape together, trying to find any small moments of joy they can cultivate for themselves while their dark pasts loom over them.

Title: Offering My Neck To You

Author(s): Yun Zhong

Artist(s): Yun Zhong

Yanchen has been living an odd life for the last decade. It's already strange enough that he is a vampire, but he's also raising a child that he never should have. After killing a werewolf, he discovered the werewolf he killed had a half-werewolf child. Feeling immense guilt for his actions, he takes in the child named Luoan. Werewolves and vampires are natural enemies, and having a half-werewolf around is even more dangerous since their blood has unique properties that empower vampires. Regardless, Yanchen does everything he can to raise Luoan to be an upstanding and strong young man.

Things are a bit complicated. Because Yanchen is immortal, his appearance never changes. To protect his family, they have to move every three to four years to avoid suspicion, but as Luoan gets older and older, it's harder and harder for Yanchen to be able to play his guardian. Things come to a head when the new school Luoan moves to happens to also have other werewolves attending, and they recognize Luoan as one of their own immediately. While Luoan wants to learn more about himself and where he came from, he doesn't want to be separated from Yanchen.

But Yanchen, seeing Luoan among his kind, wonders if it wouldn't be better for the half-werewolf to be with them. While Yanchen and Luoan struggle to come to terms with their family foundation weakening, a deadly threat lurks in the darkness. Half-werewolves are ideal for vampires, and with more eyes on Luoan, it's only a matter of time before the other vampires come out to get a taste of that power. Can Yanchen protect Luoan? Or will he have to give up Luoan to ensure his safety, even if it means living life alone once more?

Title: Unintentional Love Story

Author(s): PIBI

Artist(s): PIBI

Wonyoung's successful career is put on hold after his superior gets caught in a scandal. The company, Taepyung Group, is unsure if Wonyoung played a role in the scandal, so to hedge their bets, they fire him. Needless to say, Wonyoung is heartbroken. His parents were beyond proud of him for getting a job at such a prolific company, so he can't bring himself to tell them about his situation. Rather than finding a new job, he desperately wants to get back into Taepyung Group. To gather his thoughts and wait out the ensuing investigation, with little hope that he'll be brought back, Wonyoung leaves Seoul for the countryside, where he tries to relax.

While checking out the area, Wonyoung happens upon a pottery studio and store where a potter sells all manner of bowls, cups, and the like. It just so happens that the man who owns this store is none other than Yoon Taejun, the chairman of Taepyung's favorite potter who has been missing for a long time. However, he isn't going by Taejun anymore. Instead, the name he answers to is Joohun. Is this the same guy? There's no question in Wonyoung's mind that it is, but why is he hiding out in the countryside?

Seeing this as an opportunity to win back favor with the chairman and get his job back, Wonyoung relays Taejun's location to his former coworker, who talks Wonyoung into getting close to Taejun in hopes of winning an exclusive contract with Taepyung. While Wonyoung feels this is unethical, his desperation pushes him forward.

Title: I Have a Boyfriend

Author(s): PIBI

Artist(s): PIBI

Hyunho is a show-out when it comes to soccer. It's his life, and he hopes to go pro before graduation. When he isn't thinking of soccer, though, he keeps the torch for his middle school friend Gyul lit. Unfortunately, due to unfortunate circumstances in Gyul's family forcing him to move away and Hyunho having to go to a different school, the two never speak again. Even so, Hyunho can't help thinking back to that sweet little boy who gave him the courage and opportunity to follow his dream as a soccer player.

To Hyunho's surprise, he ends up running into Gyul on campus. Hyunho is ecstatic, considering this his chance to confess his feelings to his long-lost love finally, but Gyul isn't the bright and smiley boy he once was. Instead, when Hyunho tries to get close to him, Gyul is cold. So cold that Hyunho wonders if this is even the same person. As Hyunho scours campus to get more information on Gyul, he discovers that most people avoid Gyul simply because he isn't at all friendly and spends all his time studying or working to pay for his little brother's school fees and put himself through college at the same time.

This doesn't deter Hyunho in the least. He's determined to do everything he can to help lighten Gyul's load and, hopefully, woo him in the process. Regardless, he just wants Gyul to be happy again.

Title: Mr. Mini Mart

Author(s): Junko

Artist(s): Junko

Nakaba has become a NEET. He dropped out of school due to intense bullying and has spent every day at home ever since. He would be in high school right now, but the thought of returning to that situation is too much to bear. But being stuck in his room for the rest of his life is neither feasible nor ideal. So when the opportunity to work at a relative's convenience store comes up, he takes this chance to get back out into the world and start a new life for himself.

Unfortunately, it isn't all that simple. His coworker, Yamai, is a big tough guy, and even though they are close in age, Nakaba can't help feeling intimidated by him. Nakaba also can't help hating him, even just a little bit. That is until he catches Yamai saving a kitten in a busy street. Yamai smiles so gently and tucks the kitten into his jacket. Nakaba isn't sure he's looking at the same person. Now that he knows that prickly exterior is hiding a much softer inside, Nakaba wants to get to know this sweet Yamai. But will getting close to another person lead him to a devastating end like his school life had?

There's only one way to find out.

Title: Snow Fairy

Author(s): Tomo Serizawa

Artist(s): Tomo Serizawa

Haruki has been living alone in snowy Hokkaido since the death of his parents years back. His life is very routine and ordinary. He helps his elderly neighbors clear their driveways, makes deliveries around the small town, cares for his grandmother next door, and maintains the house his parents left behind. His existence is a lonely one, but one that he enjoys. He never plans to change his lifestyle until he finds an abandoned, snow-covered car on the side of the road. Worried for the driver, he stops and gets out, only to find a strange photographer in the middle of the snow.

Narumi is an animal photographer, and he's traveled to Hokkaido to capture images of an animal called a snow fairy. Unfortunately, he has nowhere to stay but no plans to leave. If nothing else, he'll stay in a tent until he can photograph his elusive snow fairies. Haruki can't bring himself to leave Narumi out in the snow, so he offers him a place to stay in his empty house.

Narumi has no qualms about taking Haruki up on this offer. The routine life Haruki has built for himself is flipped upside down by the boisterous Narumi. Yet, Haruki's not sure that he minds all that much.

Title: Modern Wizard Hunting Project | The Modern Story of Majo

Author(s): Luma

Artist(s): Xiyuer

Ye Zhu is a wizard, though not by choice. Wizards and witches were created when certain individuals grew to hate their own kind, separated themselves from society, and made contracts with magical beasts. As a result, wizards and witches naturally exude bad luck on humans around them. Unfortunately, Ye Zhu really likes humans, and unlike his fellow witches and wizards, he tries to stay around humans and work a job alongside them.

Ye Zhu even went so far as to adopt and raise a human child he called QiQi. Unfortunately, QiQi eventually leaves him, and Ye Zhu spends the rest of his time alone… until a QiQi lookalike appears at his job. However, this lookalike is an adult man named Ye Shengqi. He's the new manager at work and seems to know Ye Zhu, but Ye Zhu has no clue who this man is. What's worse, this new manager has no sense of personal space, and Ye Zhu has to put in extra effort to make sure he doesn't catch any of the bad luck Ye Zhu lets out.

Can Ye Zhu save Ye Shengqi from himself? And who is this strange man who can't keep his hands off Ye Zhu?

Shounen-ai

Manga Review | Restart After Growing Hungry by cocomi

Manga Review | Restart After Coming Back Home by cocomi

Manga Review | A Home Far Away by Teki Yatsuda

Manhua Review | Offering My Neck To You by Yun Zhong

Manhwa Review | I Have a Boyfriend by PIBI

Manga Review | Mr. Mini Mart by Junko

Manga Review | Snow Fairy by Tomo Serizawa

Manhua Review | Modern Wizard Hunting Project by Luma

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