Title: Midnight Secretary For readers ages 18+
Mangaka: Ohmi Tomu
Categories: Josei, mature, romance, drama, supernatural, vampire
Chapters: 35 Completed
Synopsis: Kaya is the best secretary of their company and Kyouhei is the arrogant, unsociable, very strict director of legendary rumors that doesn't want her. Impressing him is something she can handle, but when she stumbles onto his secret that he's a vampire, even she, the perfect secretary, will struggle with the consequences, both professionally and unsuspectingly, in her heart. In this world, vampires are an integrated secretive and selective part of society. Some things written about them are true and some are false, as Kaya will soon find out. A proud being, Director Kyouhei is an ideal vampire, possessive, intelligent, using humans as he sees fit but still keeping them beneath him. His 'unsexy' yet still perfect secretary Kaya is no different. Once he decides this human woman is his, he is unwilling to let her go. She is necessary to him but that is very different than love, or so he believes. Kaya is a secretary first, woman, second, and Kyouhei is her competitive, clever business leader and a vampire. The perfect pair, their interactions will mess with everything about their expectations, dreams, and personalities, as they slowly breach the distance between them in every way.
My opinion: This manga is ingenious, unique, and vampires are done in such a way I have never seen done before. They do not kill, but there is plenty about them that still echoes with the word vampire. The romance between Kaya and Kyouhei is one of my absolute favorite romances and it is quite different. To approach each other, the characters must learn to believe in themselves, trust their hearts, and compromise without losing the special spark that makes them different. The romance and their business relationship are often intwined. Although Kyouhei thinks humans are lower than him, he's still a very cool character and worth respect and admiration, not to mention very sexy. Kaya approaches life in a different way than most female protagonists, but there is still something about her that's vulnerable, very human and feminine. She's still someone you can emphasize with and she is by no means an airhead. I don't think her naivety is something to be criticized, and in that way, she's a woman after my own heart.
For the 18+ listeners: Because this is a mature manga, it would be remiss to ignore that part. Readers won't be disappointed. The sensual moments in this Midnight Secretary are realistic and have a sense of poetry to them.
Finally, Ohmi Tomu is a master at taking the supernatural and shaping it into something new and fresh. Her werewolf romance is just as stunning a tale. I highly recommend both of them. Midnight Secretary is one of my top twenty mangas ever and Ohmi Tomu is in the top five mangakas. If you're of age, go read~
A special thanks to Tsu because I wrote a blurb about this on her page then decided to make a full report. xD
UPDATE IN AUGUST: This manga is now licensed and will be released in the USA VERY SOON!
You heard me. Look to amazon for the proof. They already have the dates picked out for the first four volumes~ Here's the article.
