My Top 5 Favourite 2 Volume Manga Series

This month marks the Two Year Anniversary of the relaunch of Al’s Manga Blog!

I wanted to do a special post to celebrate the occasion, and one of my friends suggested that, since I’ve been blogging about manga for two years, I should talk about my favourite series that are two volumes in length.

How could I say no to a suggestion that’s so on theme?!

5. X-Day

Rika is a miserable teen who can’t stand going to school any longer. She had to quit the Track Team due to an injury, her boyfriend broke up with her and is dating someone else, and she’s tired of pretending like everything is fine. Rika tries to find solace in complaining about her life with other students online, where no one knows who she really is. When she spontaneously mentions that she wishes that the school would just disappear in one of those chat rooms, one of the other members of the chat group latches on to the idea and suggests that they make it happen. That’s how Rika and her 3 co-conspirators decide to blow up their school.

Created by Setona Mizushiro, the mangaka of Afterschool Nightmare and The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese, X-Day is an exciting teen drama that tackles some serious topics. I haven’t read it in a while, but teen me ate up all of the melodrama and the edgy narrative. I think it’s worth checking out if you’re a Setona Mizushiro fan, though I should include a content warning for depictions of attempted suicide and parental abuse.

4. The Heiress and the Chauffeur

Sayaka has it all: she’s rich, beautiful, the top of her class and the epitome of poise and grace. She also has the love of her chauffeur, Shinobu, who’s been her devoted friend and servant for years. But with the gulf between their social and economic status being so vast, is it possible for these two to ever be together?

The Heiress and the Chauffeur is a fun and sweet historical romance with all of the things I love about period dramas: plenty of beautiful outfits and a sentimental love affair. This manga is by Keiko Ishihara, who is currently working on Prince Freya, so, if you’re enjoying that series, you might want to try this manga too.

3. Therapy Game

Minato and Shizuma’s relationship begins with a drunken one-night-stand that Shizuma can’t remember. When Minato discovers that the now sober Shizuma has completely forgotten everything that transpired between them the night before, he feels hurt and humiliated. So, he decides to get revenge! He’ll make Shizuma completely fall in love with him, and then, he’ll dump him and crush his heart! Minato’s plan quickly goes sideways, however, when he finds that the one falling hopelessly in love is him!

I’ve already talked a lot about this series on this blog, so, if you want a more thorough description of this manga and why I think it’s so great, be sure to check out my review of volume one. Suffice it to say, this is a boys love manga that has it all; it’s funny, sexy and very touching. I give it a *chefs kiss* and highly recommend that you give it a read!

2. Kieli

Kieli is a lonely orphan girl with an unusual ability – she can see ghosts! Unable to get along with the other girls at the boarding school where she lives, Kieli spends most of her time hanging out with spirits, until she meets Harvey, a mysterious young traveler who can also see ghosts. He’s gruff and not very social, but Kieli is thrilled to have finally met someone like herself. But Harvey is a completely different kind of being from Kieli, he’s an “Undying”, a special kind of undead soldier that was created during The War. All of the Undying were supposed to be gone now, and getting involved with Harvey could be extremely dangerous for Kieli, but she finds herself drawn to him anyway. So, she decides to accompany him on his journey, along with the Corporal, the ghost of a man whom Harvey likely killed during the war and who now possesses an old radio. The three of them are headed to the battlefield where the Corporal died, in the hopes that he will be able to find closure and then pass on. But what will become of Kieli once their travels come to an end?

Kieli is a fantastic supernatural action series, by Shiori Teshirogi, that incorporates elements of horror. I loved this manga so much, I wound up reading the whole light novel series, by Yukako Kabei, that this is based off of. The manga only adapts the events of the first volume of the light novels, but it leaves off in a very satisfying place and feels like a complete story. I actually like that the manga ends where it does, so, if you’re interested in it, don’t be put off by the fact that it doesn’t cover all of the books.

1. CLAMP School Defenders Duklyon

Who do you call when the CLAMP School campus is being threatened by monsters, evil organizations and aliens? The CLAMP School Defenders Duklyon, of course! The serious Takeshi and immature Kentaro make unlikely partners, but they’re actually superheros in charge of protecting their elite school from all manner of threats. Will these bumbling teens manage to keep their school safe? Or will they kill each other first?

CLAMP School Defenders Duklyon is one of CLAMP’s funniest series! A ridiculous parody of the super sentai genre, this title has plenty of action, comedy and even some romance. It also features cameos of characters from the other CLAMP School series’, so I’d consider it a must read for fans of those manga and for CLAMP fans in general.

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So, those are my favourite 2 volume manga series. I’ve really enjoyed all of them and I’d recommend giving them all a try. After all, they’re only 2 volumes long, so why not take a risk on them and check them out?

Thanks for reading and be sure to let me know about some of your favourite short manga series in the comments!

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