Prepare your heart for these Valentine’s Day 2025 Manga Minis! We’ve got three new manga debuts coming at you from VIZ Media, Square Enix Manga, and Udon Entertainment! Whether you want historical fiction, slice-of-life action, or just something wacky, we’ve got it all for you! If you don’t have a date tonight, check out these titles! (Or even if you do, maybe your date wants to go to a bookstore and buy one of these!)
Firefly Wedding Volume 1 (VIZ Media)
Since I’ve been adoring The Apothecary Diaries recently, I’ve been trying out new historical fiction series. Checking out Firefly Wedding, I can definitely see the appeal with more historical settings, and this one has an interesting premise.
Taking place in the Meiji era, Firefly Wedding follows Satoko, a nobleman’s daughter who wants to find a mate. While she is beautiful, she also has a medical condition that makes her frail; she doesn’t have long to live. While exploring the town, she gets kidnapped and is slated to be executed by the talented assassin Shinpei. However, in a last-ditch effort, Satoko declares that she wants to marry Shinpei.
Cautiously accepting her proposal, Shinpei decides to escape with Satoko and flee her captors. Now in a new place with no one to rely on except the person trying to kill her, Satoko resolves to get stronger and use her talents to navigate this strange new world with her flaying fiancé.
I appreciate the setup between the two characters. Even though the first few chapters deal with uncomfortable subject matter, there’s a genuine romance brewing. The action scenes are sparse but done well (usually these scenes are handled differently in shojo manga). It’s a bit of a rocky journey for the duo, but I can see their chemistry starting to change in future volumes.
For those looking for a historical romance, you’ll have a good time with this one.
Rating: 3 out of 5 UwUs
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak Volume 2 (VIZ Media)
Jumping in from the previous volume, Josuke and Hol Horse have their hands full dealing with Petsounds. This bird has a Stand that forces those affected to relive someone’s memories. While fending off the foe, the duo also must deal with an assailant who picks off victims with a crossbow.
In the meantime, Ryoko Kakyoin still follows Boingo’s Stand as it directs her to find closure in her cousin’s death. We also get flashbacks from Stardust Crusaders as Hol Horse and Boingo continue to process their oppression from the deceased DIO. (Or maybe he’s not quite dead?) We also find out the identity of who’s behind these random attacks as we near the end of this spinoff manga.
This volume feels a little slower than the last one. Other than a couple of action scenes in the beginning and end of the volume, it’s not as packed as the first one. I do enjoy the expanded exposition with the Stardust Crusaders characters, but we don’t get much of Josuke’s side of the story. In a sense, he feels like a side character at this point in the story, with everyone else gaining more important character development.
It’s still a competent spinoff, and I can’t wait to see the finale soon, but it’s a little less exciting than my previous impressions.
Rating: 3 out of 5 UwUs
The Otaku Love Connection Volume 1 (Square Enix Manga)
Shipping wars are never new, and as a constant third wheel, I understand the importance of cherishing relationships vicariously. I can’t believe I could relate to The Otaku Love Connection more than I already had, but here we are.
Wataru Otonari is an otaku with a strange addiction to the relationship between his classmates Chihiro Kawai and Yuzuru Kakoi. He just loves the two of them together, almost unhealthily so. However, in the mix is fellow stan Mashiro Tomaki, who also ships the two together (though in a different top/bottom order. It’s strange but stay with me here.) She also has a crush on Wataru, but nothing will stand in the way of their OTP (one true pair).
It’s such a goofy premise that I couldn’t help but smile and cringe simultaneously. It’s a weird type of rom-com experience, with a love triangle that doesn’t seem to exist. However, the beginning dynamics feel a bit uneasy to navigate, as the obsession seems one-sided between the obsessed duo and the actual couple. It can get uncomfortable with how harmful Wataru’s obsession gets (to the point where he doesn’t even understand platonic friendship).
However, once the secret gets out (well, it’s not really a secret, but Chihiro and Yuzuru don’t know it), the story gets genuinely heartwarming. It even gets to a point where Wataru becomes an unwitting rival to Chihiro due to a misunderstanding of how the shipping culture works. It’s a fun little twist that makes the tale more palatable.
With hints of new characters just as dedicated to Kawai/Kakoi (or Kakoi/Kawai depending on who you stan!), I can see this develop into a fun little yarn. If you’re into oddball rom-coms, this would be a great start!
Rating: 3 out of 5 UwUs
Mr. Mega Man Volume 1 (Udon Entertainment)
I still lament the loss of the Archie Sonic and Mega Man comic runs. The latter is especially egregious, since it wrapped up a great adaptation of the mainline games in a three-issue epilogue that left me longing for another shot at the Mega Man comic universe. Thankfully, Mr. Mega Man is here to fill that void and does it perfectly.
In a world where Dr. Wily goes to jail, Mega Man and the Robot Masters have resigned to live peaceful lives away from the action. Going by his real name now, Rock becomes a dentist with his receptionist sister Roll while helping Dr. Light. Throughout the volume, Rock and Roll visit different robots from the previous games to see how they’re settling in.
While some of the “where are they now” sections seem logical (Cut Man becomes a barber, Guts Man works in construction), others are just plain weird (Wood Man becomes a local god, Pharoah Man works as a chef alongside Flame Man). It goes to show just how well or maladjusted robots can be once their primary purpose goes up in smoke. Even some characters (like the Mega Man Killer Enker) have an existential crisis when considering a world without the peacemaker Mega Man. However, the peaceful starts to unravel with the threat of a new uprising coming. Will Mega Man forgo his vow of pacifism to save the day?
This series explores the humanity of the series’ characters in a way we haven’t seen them before and creates a well thought out slice-of-life series. Here, the human/robot class divide is apparent, some view robots as subhuman and untrustworthy. After all, a ton of them malfunctioned due to Wily’s ways and it’s justified that some may view robots with hostility. Mixed with excellent art that combines the cartoony proportions of the Robot Masters with the realistic humans (and Rock and Roll), this all hammers in the fact that this is a sequel series to all we know and love. And honestly? I love this.
Mr. Mega Man is a love letter to the franchise, and every fan should read this right now!
Rating: 5 out of 5 UwUs
And that’s our Valentine’s Day 2025 Manga Minis! Stay tuned for more manga news and reviews here on Miso!
