Not only is high schooler Tasuku Kaname the new kid in town, he is also terrified that he has been outed as gay. Just as he’s contemplating doing the unthinkable, Tasuku meets a mysterious woman who leads him to a group of people dealing with problems not so different from his own.
Representation: gay MC; queer, questioning, asexual/aromantic, nonbinary, and trans side characters.
Ownvoices: for nonbinary and asexual representation.
Volume 1 of this yuri manga series introduces Konatsu Amano, a new girl in a small seaside town in Japan. Finding herself in a new town and a new school is tough, but then she meets Koyuki, an older girl who is the sole member of the Aquarium Club. Konatsu finds it hard to open up to new people and make friends, but she thinks Koyuki might be worth getting to know better.
Representation: sapphic MCs.
Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte’s war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened, Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the real story.
Hoping to uncover more about Jun and the events that led to his death, Jay is forced to reckon with the many sides of his cousin before he can face the whole horrible truth — and the part he played in it.
Representation: lesbian side characters.
Ownvoices: Filipino-American representation.
Jason Zhou survives in a divided society where the elite use their wealth to buy longer lives. The rich wear special suits that protect them from the pollution and viruses that plague the city, while those without suffer illness and early deaths. Frustrated by his city’s corruption and still grieving the loss of his mother, who died as a result of it, Zhou is determined to change things, no matter the cost.
With the help of his friends, Zhou infiltrates the lives of the wealthy in hopes of destroying the international Jin Corporation from within. Jin Corp not only manufactures the special suits the rich rely on, but they may also be manufacturing the pollution that makes them necessary.
Yet the deeper Zhou delves into this new world of excess and wealth, the more muddled his plans become. And against his better judgment, Zhou finds himself falling for Daiyu, the daughter of Jin Corp’s CEO. Can Zhou save his city without compromising who he is or destroying his own heart?
Representation: All Asian cast; bisexual and lesbian side characters.
Ownvoices: Asian representation.
Jason Zhou, his friends, and Daiyu are still recovering from the aftermath of bombing Jin Corp headquarters. But Jin, the ruthless billionaire and Daiyu’s father, is out for blood. When Lingyi goes to Shanghai to help Jany Tsai, a childhood acquaintance in trouble, she doesn’t expect Jin to be involved. And when Jin has Jany murdered and steals the tech she had refused to sell him, Lingyi is the only one who has access to the encrypted info, putting her own life in jeopardy.
Zhou doesn’t hesitate to fly to China to help Iris find Lingyi, even though he’s been estranged from his friends for months. But when Iris tells him he can’t tell Daiyu or trust her, he balks. The reunited group play a treacherous cat and mouse game in the labyrinthine streets of Shanghai, determined on taking back what Jin had stolen.
When Daiyu appears in Shanghai, Zhou is uncertain if it’s to confront him or in support of her father. Jin has proudly announced Daiyu will be by his side for the opening ceremony of Jin Tower, his first “vertical city.” And as hard as Zhou and his friends fight, Jin always gains the upper hand. Is this a game they can survive, much less win?
Representation: All Asian cast; lesbian and bisexual side characters.
Ownvoices: Asian representation.
On a cold Sunday evening in early 1957, Sarah Dewhurst waited with her father in the parking lot of the Chevron gas station for the dragon he’d hired to help on the farm…
Sarah Dewhurst and her father, outcasts in their little town of Frome, Washington, are forced to hire a dragon to work their farm, something only the poorest of the poor ever have to resort to.
The dragon, Kazimir, has more to him than meets the eye, though. Sarah can’t help but be curious about him, an animal who supposedly doesn’t have a soul, but who is seemingly intent on keeping her safe.
Because the dragon knows something she doesn’t. He has arrived at the farm with a prophecy on his mind. A prophecy that involves a deadly assassin, a cult of dragon worshippers, two FBI agents in hot pursuit—and somehow, Sarah Dewhurst herself.
Representation: biracial (Black and white) MC; Japanese American MC; gay MC; Guatemalan Canadian gay MC.
Ownvoices: author is queer.
A charming love story about two young women who together discover that their dreams of a heart-pounding romance can indeed come true.
Yuu has always loved shoujo manga and fantasizes about the day that she too will get a love confession that will send her heart a-flutter. Yet when a male classmate confesses his feelings for her … she feels nothing. Disappointed and confused, Yuu enters high school still unsure how to respond. That’s when Yuu sees the beautiful student council president Nanami turn down a suitor with such maturity and finesse that Yuu is inspired to ask her for advice. But when the next person to confess to Yuu is the alluring Nanami herself, has Yuu’s shoujo romance finally begun?
Usagi just wants to have a normal life before she meets talking cat Luna, who helps her awaken
into Sailor Moon. She must awaken the other Sailor Senshi to help her defeat ancient forces of
evil. Together they must learn who they are and who they are destined to become.
Publisher’s Description:
Usagi Tsukino is a normal girl until she meets up with Luna, a talking cat, who tells her that she is
Sailor Moon. As Sailor Moon, Usagi must fight evils and enforce justice, in the name of the Moon
and the mysterious Moon Princess. She meets other girls destined to be Sailor Senshi (Sailor
Scouts), and together, they fight the forces of evil!
Genre: Fantasy, Manga
Representation
Gender:
Cis girls: Usagi, Ami, ,Rei, Makoto, Minako, Setsuna, Hotaru
Cis boys: Mamoru
Genderqueer/Nonbinary: Haruka
Sexuality:
Lesbian: Haruka, Michiru
Heterosexual: Usagi, Mamoru, Ami, ,Rei, Makoto, Minako, Setsuna,
Not Mentioned: Hotaru
Romantic Orientation:
Not mentioned in the book.
Race/Ethnicity:
The whole cast in the reprint of the original manga is Japanese.
Religion:
Shinto: Rei
Trigger Warnings: Violence, brainwashing, death.
Additional Notes: This entry is for the whole series, as the LGBTQIA characters do not appear until the third arch about half way through, but are very important as the story moves forward.
Reiko is the bisexual, American-born and raised daughter of Japanese parents sent to Japan after a suicide attempt. When she visits a historic village, she is pulled back in time into the life of Miyu, who is even angrier than she is.
Yagate has an endless number of female admirers, but he wants the man of his dreams. He has his heart set on the college student who just came to town, but he’s not the only one.
Publisher’s Description:
Yagate was more than happy to help his best friend Yoshitaka with his girl troubles, but now it’s Yoshitaka’s turn to return the favor. Yagate’s ready to escape his crowd of female admirers and find the man of his dreams. He’s get his heart set on Ra-Myun, a handsome college student who just came to town. Unfortunately, Chana has her eye on Ra-Myun too and is ready to put up a fight! Meanwhile, Ju-Jin’s long-awaited photo shoot ends in total disaster! Will Yoshitaka finally tell Ju-Jin how he feels about her before she turns to the arms of another?
Genre: Contemporary, Manga
Representation:
Gender:
Cis boys: Yagate (main character), Yoshitaka, Ra-Myun
Cis girls: Chana, Ju-Jin
Sexual and Romantic Orientation:
Yagate is gay and homoromantic. The rest of the main characters are heterosexul and heteromantic.
Race/Ethnicity:
Yagate and the other characters are Japanese
Trigger Warnings:
Additional Notes:
Ownvoices: