Starting our list today is Aoi Uroko to Suna no Machi (Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand), a moving drama about whimsical mystery and growing up.

After her parents’ divorce, Tokiko and her father move from the city to a sleepy seaside town right as she begins sixth grade. In this strange coastal town, the townspeople hold a yearly festival to honor merpeople—and soon, Tokiko is recalling a distant memory of drowning at sea and being saved by a merman. Are there really mermaids in the sea, or is this just a fantasy…?

A beautiful story about the border between childhood fantasy and coming-of-age, Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand is a duology with its first volume arriving in February 2023.

Ibitte Konai Gibo to Gishi (My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked) is a Cinderella-inspired story that breaks tradition and upends all the tropes!

Miya is the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy family, and when her mother dies, she’s forced to move in with her father and her stepmother. She’s convinced she’s about to endure a life of servitude and misery at the hands of her wicked stepsisters—wait, her new family is actually really sweet?!

A hilarious and heartwarming comedy about looking past appearances and finding the joy of family, My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked is due for release in May 2023.

A poignant standalone volume about aromantic asexuality and the societal pressure of romance, Kimi no Sekai ni Koi Wanai (Is Love the Answer?) explores the concept of asexuality through the lens of youth.

Amidst all her friends talking about crushes and boyfriends, high schooler Chika feels like an alien. She’s never felt anything romantic and doesn’t have any desire for physical intimacy. When Chika enters college, she realizes there’s a word that describes her—asexual. After years of grappling with the concept of love and attraction, can Chika find peace with her own definition of normal?

This thoughtful exploration of sexual identity is complete in a single volume and is headed to your local bookstore in January 2023.

To satisfy your fantasy needs, we have the manga adaptation of the web novel, Ryuuou Heika no Gekirin-sama ~Hon Suki Nezumi Himedesuga, Naze ka Ryuuou no Saiai ni Narimashita~ (The Dragon King’s Imperial Wrath: Falling in Love with the Bookish Princess of the Rat Clan).

The weakest of all thirteen animal clans, the Rat Clan, has been summoned to the palace of the fearsome and powerful Dragon Clan. The Dragon King seeks a new bride, but the bookish Princess Ruiying doesn’t appear to be in the running—she’s sent to the Dragon Clan’s library and almost forgotten. But seven days after her arrival, her future changes when a handsome man from the Dragon Clan finds her and professes his love!

Can the princess of the infamously low Rat Clan find true love?

The Dragon King’s Imperial Wrath: Falling in Love with the Bookish Princess of the Rat Clan is complete in 3 volumes in Japanese, and the first English volume will be arriving in May 2023!

A charming, full-color story about a doting man with a very different work persona! Our top pick for josei manga in 2023 is Shokuba to Jitaku de Gap no Aru Papa (Gap Papa: Daddy At Work and at Home).

A frosty-looking salaryman whose colleagues think he’s handsome and distant…and have no idea that he’s a doting father and husband at home! From cool and icy at work to showering his wife with kisses and playing silly games with his daughter, this “gap” papa has a beautiful, wholesome family life that’ll put a smile on your face!

Arriving in glorious full color, this heartwarming story about married life and a doting father will be coming to all good bookstores near you in February 2023.