This was a lovely start for a historical fantasy romance. Nanao is a member of the second lowest barrier clan of five, and strong in dark spiritual energy, which makes her an ideal wife for the clan’s future heir. But her cousin tricks her to break rules and she becomes tainted by an evil spirit. Her fiancé abandons her and marries the cousin instead, and Nanao is reviled and shunned by the entire clan.

Yako is the heir of the highest barrier clan that battles demons every night around the nation’s capital. He needs a wife with strong spiritual energy and isn’t bothered by the taint, which he knows is nonsense. His manor is filled with supporting demons anyway. So he marries Nanao and whisks her away.

Nanao has some trouble settling into her new life after being abused for so long. But she’s been trained as a wife and knows everything, especially how to make the all-important breakfast filled with spiritual energy. But it turns out, Yako needs a different kind of nourishment only she can provide.

I liked this story. It has elements from The Bride of the Barrier Master, and is likened to My Happy Marriage, though it doesn’t quite rise to its level in romance, but it’ll be interesting to see where this will go. There’ll certainly be some drama ahead as the former fiancé wants Nanao back.

Let me tell you about The Ayakashi Hunter—it’s one of those manga that starts with a punch and keeps you hooked. The story follows Nanao, a young woman with incredible spiritual power, who’s treated like an outcast after being “tainted” by a demon attack. Her fiancé abandons her, her family abuses her, and she’s forced to wear a monkey mask to hide her scar. It’s heartbreaking to see how much she endures, but her life takes a wild turn when Yako, a powerful and enigmatic demon hunter, shows up and declares she’s his bride.

At first, I wasn’t sure how to feel about Yako—he’s intense, a little intimidating, and his motives aren’t entirely clear. But as the story unfolds, you start to see how he’s giving Nanao a chance to reclaim her life. The dynamic between them is fascinating—she’s fragile but strong, and he’s ruthless but protective. It’s not your typical love-at-first-sight romance; it’s more about two broken people finding something in each other.

The art? Stunning. Every panel feels like a piece of art, especially the scenes in the imperial capital and Yako’s home. The world-building is rich, blending supernatural elements with a touch of gothic beauty. And while the pacing is fast (maybe a little too fast in places), it keeps you flipping pages to see what happens next.

What really got me, though, was Nanao’s journey. She’s been through so much, and watching her slowly find her footing in this new life is both satisfying and emotional. Plus, there’s a hint of revenge brewing, and I’m here for it.

If you’re into stories like My Happy Marriage or Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, you’ll love this. It’s got all the elements of a great supernatural romance—mystery, drama, and a heroine you can’t help but root for. The first volume sets up so much potential, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

Fair warning: you’ll finish this and immediately want the next volume. It’s that good

Much thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me a review copy!
#AyakashiHuntersTaintedBride #NetGalley

I really enjoyed this story. It was well told and the characters were well established. I appreciate stories where the characters grow over time and I can already see the signs of that in this work. I think the art was really well drawn, and a variety of styles were used based on the situation being drawn. I'm looking forward to book 2!

Received an arc from NetGalley for an honest review! I loved the manga art style in this volume! I’m quite familiar with Webtoon comics so instantly I was intrigued, especially since the genres also piqued my interest (historical, fantasy, romance). I’ve read “Hooky” “True Beauty” “unOrdinary” “High Class Homos” “Sweet Home” which were all wonderful, so it was no surprise that yet another Webtoon comic would be a 5-star read for me. I loved the character development and how Yako and Nanao really compliment each other! The world-building was very enticing, it definitely sets the scene for future volumes to explore more. The side characters/animals are all so sweet (outside of the Byakurenji clan). The Byakurenji clan were very much like the family from Cinderella, which only made me more happy when Nanao finally got out of that toxic environment. I can’t wait to read more volumes of this story, especially with the cliffhanger ending involving Reito who suddenly wants Nanao back just because she’s beautiful and powerful. He’s definitely going to be an antagonist in later volumes.

This was just an okay read for me :/ The art style is absolutely stunning, but some things sadly fell flat. For one, it felt super rushed — I wish we got more backstory to flesh out the characters rather than just a couple short flashbacks, because I didn’t feel fully connected to them. Similarly, the main plot happens right away, almost too quickly. I think this volume would’ve benefited from focusing more on developing Nanao’s character, backstory, and “dark spiritual powers” that we learn nothing about, before jumping into the marriage plot. Something just didn’t work for me, but I'd consider reading the next volume to see where the story goes

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This is a brilliant book. Fans of the following titles will absolutely fall in love with this series and I can't wait to read more:
Fiancée of the Wizard, The Savior's Book Café Story in Another World, My Happy marriage.

The Ayakashi Hunter's tainted bride was mostly similar to Fiance of the wizard, without spoiling the book, and follows a young girl who was "tainted" by being claimed by from what I could tell was a form of demon. Then we have our strong male lead who is the reserved type as we see in all three mentioned books. If you are a fan of tropes, love Japanese culture and are interested in books with fantasy, spiritual and magical elements, then this book is absolutely for you.

The world building wasn't particularly memorable- however the characters were. Which is part of the reason I've also compared it to the three series I have. Fundamentally they have the same plots but remixed, and that is something which makes me super biased for this book series, but also brings me joy as I didn't think I would be able to find anything similar to those stories, and I struggle rereading books.

If I was to include spoilers in the review however, whilst lots of the tropes are similar, the world stands on its own as does the characters. If I was fresh to this style of manga, this would be a brilliant book that I would be excited and would wish there were more like it.

What I will also say is- I will absolutely be buying this series for my own collection as a lot of my favourite books don't have physical copies, and I will highly recommend this for my friends. I am also humoured that in this book, the demon in question had the form of an orangutan of all things.

I also think there's a lot of relationship developments which were reminiscent of the My happy marriage series- which I absolutely loved.

This is a beautifully drawn Cinderella-esque story about a young abused woman getting spirited away to a marriage to a powerful lord. Due to a mishap in her childhood, Nanao became "tainted" by a demon, and then abused by her family. However, the lord, Yako, turns out to be "cursed" as well, needing Nanao's blood to maintain his health. Since this is the first volume, the story is still early, but its hook is great enough for me to keep reading.

I'm a fan of "Kakuriyo" by the same creator, so when I heard they made another series dedicated to ayakashi, I knew I had to check it out! It follows Nanao, a girl sabotaged and oppressed by her community, and how her life changes meeting and marrying Yako, the leader of another clan. If you like series like "My Happy Marriage", this one is definitely up your alley as well!

3.75 stars A good beginning for this manga. The art is nice and the story is intriguing so far, with room to grow. Looking forward in the plot advancing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC.

This is a pretty classic Cinderella story at its core. An abused woman is saved by a powerful man. This has been described as "Noragami meets My Happy Marriage," and that seems pretty accurate. I definitely get some strong "My Happy Marriage" vibes here.

Nanao, a young woman with high spiritual power, was set to marry Reito, the lord of the Byakurenji family, but a small mistake engineered by her cousin changed her life forever. Nanao was attacked by a vengeful yokai, leaving her cursed. Her fiance and family essentially abandon her because she is now tainted, but they "allow" her to remain on the family property as basically a slave while requiring her to wear a monkey mask and not speak. This poor girl endured so much abuse from her family that she has lost any amount of self esteem.

Enter Yako, the new head of the Benitsubaki clan. Her is a powerful demon hunter with a reputation for being quite fierce. One day while he is visiting the Byakurenji estate, he discovers Nanao, her beauty, and her powerful spiritual power and he declares her to be his wife. He whisks her away to his estate where she discovers that he's not as mean as the rumors make him out to be, but he does have quite the secret.

Overall I enjoyed this one. This volume throws a lot at the reader and it does feel a bit rushed at times, but it was still easy to follow. I don't find either main character to be super gripping at this point, but I do think we'll see a lot of character development for them in the future. I think I'll probably continue on with this series to see where it goes.

This was a good introduction to a series. The story is about a young woman with a great amount of spiritual powers finding a new place after being shunned by her clan. The beginning shows how she came to be “tainted” and then later cast aside. Time passes and a young hunter from another spiritual clan comes and is intrigued by her and upset with her treatment. He then states that the bride he has been searching for will be her. With most mangas each volume is a bit a teaser for the following and this is no different. I am very excited to continue this one as it has all of the factors needed for a good read, we will just have to see if the execution in the later volumes will rise to the task. 😎


Thank you to Kodansha Comics for the eARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion!

I received an E-Arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher, for this opportunity.

The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride follows Nanao, a woman with high spiritual power born into the Byakurenji clan, one of the five clans (onmyo) tasked with protecting the world from ayakashi (demonic spirits). Because of her high spiritual power, Nanao is betrothed to Reito, the heir to the Byakureni family, upsetting her cousin Akemi, who plots for her downfall. Attacked by a monkey ayakashi due to Akemi’s machinations, Nanao is scarred and deemed ‘defiled’ by the Byakurenji family, stripped of her rank, abandoned by her betrothed and forced to don the mask of the ayakashi who harmed her and work as a servant of the family she was once honoured by. The story starts years later, as Yako, the head of the Benitsubaki family, the highest of the Onmyo, arrives at the Byakurenji’s estate in search of a bride. Taking note of Nanao’s high spiritual power and harsh treatment by her ‘family', Yako takes Nanao as his bride, whisking her away to live with him in his city estate. This volume begins to follow Nanao and Yako’s married life, which no doubt will be the main thread of this series.

To start, this is a shoujo series, so the main focus is on the romance, and I would only recommend this series if you are interested in that aspect. However, despite the focus on romance, there are still a lot of elements that would appeal to others. Particularly, I liked the world-building in this series and felt like I came away with a good understanding of elements like the ayakashi, the jobs and tasks of the onmyo families and the role that spiritual power plays in the magic system. I still think there are ways that this can be improved on, but I think this volume provided an excellent introduction to the world while also balancing that with the romantic storyline as well.
I also really liked the care that the author treated both Nanao and Yako and their traumatic past experiences with, and I think that while some readers may be turned away bu the prospect of an arranged marriage forced upon Nanao, that the author makes it clear that Nanao enters the marriage of her own volition and also that while some of her behaviours are informed by her trauma that she still exercises agency in her relationship with Yako and that he encourages her independence and agency as well.

Additionally, I love the art style of this manga, it is really beautiful and I love the way that Nanao and Yako are drawn in specific, as well as I think the presentation of the different ayakashi in the art style was really unique and I am excited to see how the art continues to grow and develop with the story.

Overall, I enjoyed this opening volume, and I hope to be able to continue with this series and see it get more attention following its traditional publishing in English!

This was a good volume 1. Story set up and character introduction was done well with plenty of hooks to bring readers along for the ride. I feel that the basis os the story was unoriginal however as there seems to have been a lot of supernaturally powerful girl cinderella stories around, but this definitely has potential for growth but also for becoming somewhat ridiculous and I am hoping for the former.

Honestly this was an unexpectedly great read for me!

Nanao harbors a strong power within her, & has lived her whole life preparing to be a bride for her fiancé... until she becomes tainted by an Ayakashi. She is then shunned & ridiculed by her fiancé, family & clan. The engagement is called off & her ex-fiancé agrees to spare her life so Nanao can still work & serve the clan. However, she can only do so if she wears a monkey mask & never speaks to or touches anyone ever again.

Until Yako, a mysterious hero from another clan appears & takes interest in Nanao; seeing her true-self. He rescues her from her situation by requesting she in turn becomes his bride, & that she lives with him in the confines of his own clan. Nanao finally has someone in her life who desires to show her the love she truly deserves, & Yako finally found someone he needs in... his own way. 😏

Oh, THE ART WAS SO GORGEOUS, you can tell a lot of thought was put into the character designs of this manga. The world-building was believable & made sense without being too overly-informative or confusing. I never felt lost in the story or felt I had to reread in order to grasp better understanding of any aspect of the storyline. I really feel this manga may have the foundation of becoming really popular!

Also, our couple is very cute & I am sooooo rooting for them since I despised how Nanao's former clan was treating her. 💔

💘 Quick romance
👻 Supernatural / Paranormal
🦇 Vampires
👹 Ayakashi / Demons
🥺 Emotional
🎨 Beautiful art & characters
🏃 Fast-paced

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Kodansha & Mamenosuke Fujimaru for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The setup for this story is that a young woman, Nanao, was once attacked and is tainted by a demon, and thus shunned by her fiance and their entire clan. One day deep into her bullied and lonely life Yako, a demon hunter from another clan, visits and realizes what Nanao truly is and whisks her away, declaring her his wife.

The main issue I have with this first volume is that the pacing is incredibly fast. The entire setup is a roller coaster ride of a single chapter, and it doesn't leave any room for the story or characters to breathe. I was left with zero interest in what was going on in the end.

Also, the setup for this romance is highly uncomfortable. Nanao is very sheltered and traumatized and feels indebted to Yako, and Yako "saved" her for reasons that are spoilery to mention here. It's unbalanced, and while I'm sure Nanao will grow into her own against Yako, I have zero interest in following the story.

The best thing about this was the art, it was gorgeous. I wish more of the panels had better background work, but when there were full splash scenes of landscapes and backgrounds, they were beautifully done.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing a review copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an advanced e-book reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride by Mamenousuke Fujimaru was a surprise for me! I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more manga in this series. The manga reminds me a lot of the female main character trauma in My Happy Marriage which immediately had me hooked - I was surprised to find out the secret regarding the ayakashi and was a little shocked the female main character was so okay with it, but regardless the storyline is very well done!

Rating 4/5 ⭐️

I loved this! I love me some shojo manga! This does not disappoint.

The storyline and accompanying art are so perfect. Nanao has strong dark spiritual energy and is set to marry the head of a clan but she is tricked by her cousin and is then tainted by an ayakashi which then leaves her to be ostracized and no longer eligible to marry. Her cousin marries him instead.

Years later she is forced to wear a mask, is punished, and abused treating lower than dirt. One day the head of a different clan appears and decided she is to his wife!

I cannot wait to continue with this series!

If you like My Happy Marriage you will definitely enjoy this as they are very similar.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

e-ARC from NetGalley.

After being betrayed by her cousin and tainted by a demon, Nanao is forced to wear a monkey mask and treated worse than a servant. When the famed Ayakashi Hunter comes seeking a bride, though, he is immediately drawn to her despite the scars & ragged clothing.

This was fast and easy to read. The art was well done, and I liked the concept. Unfortunately, as an introduction, it lacked that *thing* that makes me want to continue a series.

When I had read that this historical fantasy manga was for fans of “My Happy Marriage” and “Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits,” I immediately knew I had to read it.

The artwork is gorgeous. The storyline was great. Similar to the two other manga I had mentioned above, I love how this story explores themes of overcoming trauma, finding self-worth through supportive relationships, challenging societal prejudice views, and acceptance of ayakashi. Although I enjoyed the development of the main characters, I did wish there was more complexity to side characters. As of now they are very clearly defined as protagonist vs. antagonist. I hope we explore these characters more as the series continues, especially the ayakashi.

Overall, this was a great start to a series. I can’t wait to continue it and see how the story and the characters develop.

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

The ayakashi stuff and the world building was cool, but I don't like either of the male main characters so I don't know if I would continue reading this manga series.