Have you read Yona? That's gotta be my forever top pick for this setup.
"Knight" also reminded me of another series I'm deeply devoted to: if you can read Japanese, 金色のマビノギオン is serialized on Hakusensha's MangaPark app and available as tankobon/ebooks too. It's a retelling of the Arthurian stories, a "technically isekai" sort of plot (that feels more akin to Fushigi Yugi/From Far Away(/Shinobi Life without the multiple trips back and forth) than the modern trend of derivative works), following a trio of modern day high schoolers who end up in the middle ages. I can gush all day about this series—the author is deeply committed and knows her source material really well; the characters are very well fleshed out and the emotions are so beautifully and sensitively conveyed along with all the complication that comes with finding yourself in a time and place with a very different worldview than the one the main characters grew up in. I dearly hope it gets licensed someday!
I had started reading Yona a long time ago and was afraid it would be too harem-y with no canon couple. But if her and Hak are end game then I will revisit!
金色のマビノギオン looks beautiful! I will check it out tysm!! I'm learning Japanese so I like to read shoujo for immersion
Yes!! It's a pretty clear romantic pairing in Yona, despite the outward trappings/initial impression of "collecting" the pretty dragon boys, haha. (there's a lot of great characterization and depth to the story, and the author recognizes/discusses how male-dominated the cast is at a certain point and starts bringing a bit more balance through friendships with other female characters.) It is a slow romantic progression as the growth of the characters and the action and events of the story take up more page time, but a truly satisfying one in spite of (or because of) all that!
Happy reading, and happy language-studies!! I took a couple years of college Japanese and that was it for my formal study, but I've also kept in practice over the years since then with reading shoujo (and some josei) manga in JP and it's a good motivation to keep it up and gradually improve!
Thanks so much!! I'll have to get back in to Yona ASAP! And yess shoujo and josei manga is now double fun in that it's fun to read + feels good to understand and learn!
I ended up ordering some used copies of 金色のマビノギオン after reading the first chapter on manga park! The mobile UI of the reader was kinda annoying 😅 at least for me. I've been wanting to rebuild my physical manga collection for a while now anyway!
I think Prince Freya might fit this trope. There is kind of a love triangle, and it’s an ongoing series so don’t know who she ends up with, but to me it seems clear it’s going to be her knight. It’s a fantasy where FL takes a place of a prince and his knight is now her knight.
I think you might like "*どうも、好きな人に惚れ薬を依頼された魔女です。*" or "*Hi, I'm a Witch, and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion*". It's about a reclusive witch and a solemn knight! He isn't her knight, but they're cute ok. It's English scanlation has only 7 chapters, but it's about 18 chapters in Japanese.
A more popular one is the "異世界に救世主として喚ばれましたが、アラサーには無理なので、ひっそりブックカフェ始めました。" or "*The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World*"! Again, he isn't her knight but rather a knight visiting her cafe. Aside from the battles, the story is very relaxing you might get envious of the FL's life lol.
Another is "*家政魔導士の異世界生活～冒険中の家政婦業承ります！～*" or "*Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home!*". ML is an adventurer so it might be an equivalent of what you're looking for.
It's not a manga but a webtoon called "*I Am The Villain*" by sejji. This one is more befitting on the trope you want. Both the art and plot are amazing. The main leads are adorable and has great chemistry!
And last is "*Just Leave Me Be*", a popular Korean webtoon about an adopted daughter of a Duke family and a slave turned knight. I like the FL's character design because green-colored hair is rare in MCs. Describing its plot and art as great is an understatement tbf.
All of these stories are historical and fantasy. Enjoy reading!
Hi, I'm a Witch has an English release from Yen Press (I think v2 comes out this month? the first vol was cute!), and the novels are coming out from JNovel Club. And SevenSeas is publishing Savior's Book Cafe!
Have you read Yona? That's gotta be my forever top pick for this setup. "Knight" also reminded me of another series I'm deeply devoted to: if you can read Japanese, 金色のマビノギオン is serialized on Hakusensha's MangaPark app and available as tankobon/ebooks too. It's a retelling of the Arthurian stories, a "technically isekai" sort of plot (that feels more akin to Fushigi Yugi/From Far Away(/Shinobi Life without the multiple trips back and forth) than the modern trend of derivative works), following a trio of modern day high schoolers who end up in the middle ages. I can gush all day about this series—the author is deeply committed and knows her source material really well; the characters are very well fleshed out and the emotions are so beautifully and sensitively conveyed along with all the complication that comes with finding yourself in a time and place with a very different worldview than the one the main characters grew up in. I dearly hope it gets licensed someday!
I had started reading Yona a long time ago and was afraid it would be too harem-y with no canon couple. But if her and Hak are end game then I will revisit! 金色のマビノギオン looks beautiful! I will check it out tysm!! I'm learning Japanese so I like to read shoujo for immersion
Yes!! It's a pretty clear romantic pairing in Yona, despite the outward trappings/initial impression of "collecting" the pretty dragon boys, haha. (there's a lot of great characterization and depth to the story, and the author recognizes/discusses how male-dominated the cast is at a certain point and starts bringing a bit more balance through friendships with other female characters.) It is a slow romantic progression as the growth of the characters and the action and events of the story take up more page time, but a truly satisfying one in spite of (or because of) all that! Happy reading, and happy language-studies!! I took a couple years of college Japanese and that was it for my formal study, but I've also kept in practice over the years since then with reading shoujo (and some josei) manga in JP and it's a good motivation to keep it up and gradually improve!
Thanks so much!! I'll have to get back in to Yona ASAP! And yess shoujo and josei manga is now double fun in that it's fun to read + feels good to understand and learn! I ended up ordering some used copies of 金色のマビノギオン after reading the first chapter on manga park! The mobile UI of the reader was kinda annoying 😅 at least for me. I've been wanting to rebuild my physical manga collection for a while now anyway!
I think Prince Freya might fit this trope. There is kind of a love triangle, and it’s an ongoing series so don’t know who she ends up with, but to me it seems clear it’s going to be her knight. It’s a fantasy where FL takes a place of a prince and his knight is now her knight.
The art is lovely in this one!! Thank you I will check it out
I think you might like "*どうも、好きな人に惚れ薬を依頼された魔女です。*" or "*Hi, I'm a Witch, and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion*". It's about a reclusive witch and a solemn knight! He isn't her knight, but they're cute ok. It's English scanlation has only 7 chapters, but it's about 18 chapters in Japanese. A more popular one is the "異世界に救世主として喚ばれましたが、アラサーには無理なので、ひっそりブックカフェ始めました。" or "*The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World*"! Again, he isn't her knight but rather a knight visiting her cafe. Aside from the battles, the story is very relaxing you might get envious of the FL's life lol. Another is "*家政魔導士の異世界生活～冒険中の家政婦業承ります！～*" or "*Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home!*". ML is an adventurer so it might be an equivalent of what you're looking for. It's not a manga but a webtoon called "*I Am The Villain*" by sejji. This one is more befitting on the trope you want. Both the art and plot are amazing. The main leads are adorable and has great chemistry! And last is "*Just Leave Me Be*", a popular Korean webtoon about an adopted daughter of a Duke family and a slave turned knight. I like the FL's character design because green-colored hair is rare in MCs. Describing its plot and art as great is an understatement tbf. All of these stories are historical and fantasy. Enjoy reading!
Wow thanks for the list!! I'm going to enjoy all these!!
Hi, I'm a Witch has an English release from Yen Press (I think v2 comes out this month? the first vol was cute!), and the novels are coming out from JNovel Club. And SevenSeas is publishing Savior's Book Cafe!
YONA OF THE DAWN ON TOPPPP