I wanted to like this story so much more, but it sadly falls into the "This is an okay story" category for me. The female lead Nanao, is a woman who has a large amount of dark spiritual energy, but after an incident, becomes tainted by a yokai and is shunned by the rest of her family. After a fateful run-in with Yako, she is whisked away to be his bride. Unfortunately, this story has so many tropes shoved into it, that I struggled to take it seriously. The start was honestly interesting, I was curious about Nanao's "immersive dark spiritual powers" but it feels like it's barely touched on, except for some brief mentions. The art was very pretty. I don't know what it is, but something about this just didn't hit for me, which sucks cause I thought I'd love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

UGH I NEED MORE.
Not only was the story entertaining, but the illustrations were absolutely beautiful. There was trauma, humor, romance. Ugh. I want volume 2 immediately. THE TWIST AT THE END??? Now I'm supposed to wait?
I'd give this a million stars if I could.

Received an arc from net galley in exchange for a honest review.
I enjoyed this story! I think that this has a beautiful art, and I liked the protagonists! They have such a good chemistry. This is a sweet, funny and very fast paced story. I´d recommend it to fans of romance. The love story just began and I hoped that in other volumes gets more intense.

2025 is providing banger after banger when it comes to reading, even when it comes tk ebooks it seems. The Ayakushi Hunter's Tainted Bride might also be a nice edition for valentine's.

TAHTB does start by laying a solid base that did make my blood pressure rise (honestly fuck everyone that hurts Nanao), but also explains her actions easily without having to do a major info dump.

Yako is (surprisingly) a gentleman and I adore him already. He does have The Backstory and he definitely isn't the most perfect husband one could have, but he seems honest and makes promises he can keep.

I am however not looking forward to Reito trying to "save" Nanao. Leave her alone.

Perfect if you like: the mistreated to get the upper hand / hurt & comfort / bond over safety to be the base of future love
Skip if you: prefer the hurt to be drawn out / want instant love / were looking for spice

Definitely looking forward to vol 2!

"The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride" is a historical fantasy romance and is set in the Meiji era.

Nanao was supposed to have it all: the high spiritual spirit of hers would bless the place, the love and affection of her soon-to-be betrothed, Reito, who is the future head of the Byakurenji family. But all is lost in just a matter of seconds due to a small mistake.

Nanao is attacked by the yokai spirit—an ayakashi—and is marked as tainted with the demon spirit. Forced to wear a monkey mask, her life as she knew it was over.

Years and years of enduring abuse and being shunned by everyone, she never anticipated catching the eye of another powerful scion of the Benitsubaki clan. Instantly she was swept off her feet by Lord Yako, who has a reputation for being a cruel and ruthless ayakashi hunter.

Could Nanao be trading one nightmare for another? But Lord Yako is not like others; besides, he saved her.

I loved this manga. The storyline was perfect, and the illustrations are beautiful and breathtaking. I devoured this book in just a single sitting as it captivated me right from the start. The worldbuilding is fantastic, and the conclusion of the manga has me waiting for the next volume with bated breath. I loved the scene where Lord Yako sweeps in and declares Nanao to be his wife and the ones when they arrive at the imperial capital. Lord Yako's house was a total surprise. Besides the protagonists, I liked the characters that were introduced from Lord Yako's side, especially Goki. The surprise revelation was absolutely amazing.

This is a must-read. I'd highly, highly recommend it.

As a lover of Fujimaru's other works, I knew this one would be up my alley. A girl dejected from her fated match, instead chosen by the most powerful. The story reads similar to Bride of the Barrier Master, which I also enjoy. This seems to potentially be the new trope coming out and I am 100% here for some cute fantasy romance manga!

Received an arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was originally going to read this in parts but the story sucked me right in and I finished it in one go.
While the premise is something that's been done before -at it's core this is a Cinderella story- it has enough elements to make it an interesting and unique piece. The art style is gorgeous, the pacing is great and the protagonists are so cute together I immediately started rooting for them.
The antagonists are a bit predictable but they're the type you love to hate and watching them get what they deserve was absolutely satisfying.

All in all this was a great first volume and I can't wait to read the rest.

Received an arc from netgalley in exchange for a honest review. If you love my happy marriage then you will love ayakashi hunter's tainted bride. I was immediately sucked into the story.The fmc is full of trauma and has low self esteem so she couldn't believe someone would marry her. I'm all for people who just got married but fell in love later stories. Volume 1 set up The fmc backstory. The love story just started so hopefully the story is fleshed out more and we know more of the husband's backstory. The fmc is similar to my happy marriage due to her trauma yet has strong spiritual powers. I'm interested to see it play out.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics, Mamenosuke Fujimaru, and NetGalley for this ARC!

It was a fun and very quick read. The plot was predictable and typical of a shoujo manga. The plot was solid three stars but I added an extra star for the beautiful art. The tropes and plot line of this book reminded me of "My Happy Marriage" by Akumi Agitogi with a naive FMC and powerful MMC with the addition of the MMC being misunderstood. This is only the first volume, so there could possibly be more character development for the FMC in the future (at least I hope so). I think there's definitely potential for this story to deviate from the predictability of a typical shoujo manga.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Ayakashi Hunter’s Tainted Bride. This is an incredibly interesting beginning (volume 1) to a manga series and I already can’t wait for the next volume to drop. I’m loving the main characters Nanao and Master Yako- and especially enjoying the fun twist we find out about Yako in the second half! Extremely interesting and enjoyable. 4 stars

I see potential, but I found the demons and the world building to be little to none. What we know is basically what we are told or shown. We don't know much about the clans and their purpose; we do know about the head demo hunter (her husband). I'm curious if he is romantically attracted to her or not - since he turned down any sexual intercourse.

The female lead is very 'woe is me', seems more like a 'yes, I'll be your submissive' than an actual person. How old is she anyway?

I’m a sucker for stories of broken, beaten down characters overcoming their unhappy lot and finding a new life where they can be happy — bonus points if the people who hurt them get some comeuppance. That said, this graphic novel is right up my alley. You have a poor girl, Nanao, who through no fault of her own has been cursed … more by her family than the monster that cursed her. She’s locked in a woodshed at night, forced to make breakfast for the man she loved, the man who turned his back on her because she is now ‘tainted,’ and to not be allowed to speak to anyone.

When a handsome, powerful lord of an ancient, respected family comes looking for a bride, of course it’s Nanao. And of course his home is full of secrets and mysteries, and of course the servants there are unusual. This is a charming first entry into a series that I fully intend to keep up with, waiting to see what happens as Nanao’s old fiance and family try to interfere in her new life, and to see what’s up with the rest of her new husband’s house.

Thank you so very much to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC

This is perfect for anyone who likes ‘my happy marriage.’ It has a more fantasy based premise, and is a bit faster moving in terms of plot.
Nanao is a sweetheart, dealt a fairly awful hand. Her luck changes when Yako happens upon her and takes her out of the care of her abusive family. There is an echo of vampirism in this too, which I appreciate. A solid start to the series.

This was sweet. The art style is gorgeous and the emotion is easily captured with each panel. I’m already hooked with just this first volume and can’t wait to see what’s next. Justice for Nanao is all I’m saying, that girl deserves a happy marriage and an environment that is not as cruel as the one she was in.

Okay, I actually read this pretty quickly! That is a good thing to me. "The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride" definitely reminds me of "My Happy Marriage" but with a feel of a theme that you see frequently in webtoons. Her family pretty much sucks and the guy she used to love is yuck. I am interested to see how things will bloom between our new bride and husband to be. Also, I want the old love interest to go away! lol

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the Arc!

Kakuriyo is one of my favorite manga, so I was very happy to get the chance to read another series by Midori Yuma. And it did not disappoint.

Beautiful artwork, a swoony MMC, and an FMC who will hopefully grow into her own power. Plus, some cute Kappa for levity (the translation of their babyish lisps are sometimes a touch hard to decipher)

Can't wait to read more.

Definitely recommended.

Uh ... absolutely not for me. Perhaps I'm reading into it but it seems vaguely racist? Fianceé to the next head of a clan gets assaulted by a monkey spirit and now she's ostracized because she's tainted? "You reek of monkey" Weird premise, and what feels like thinly veiled racism. I have no desire to continue reading this.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC.

The art work for this manga is beautiful true art. The story is just starting obviously but I really enjoyed it and am intrigued to see where it goes. What stops it from being 5 stars is the story is slightly disjointed and confusing. Hopefully this is something that gets resolved as the story continues. It is almost like the beginning of the story assumes you already know things that happen later in the story so it doesn’t need to be explained.

The comparison to My Happy Marriage was a good one. This manga has lovely art and a compelling story. For someone as abused and neglected as Nanao, it would be hard to trust anyone right away. I love the care and consideration Yako is showing for her. I imagine this will be a very good love story as this manga continues and I’m very excited to read the next volume!

For a first volume this manga doesn't present anything out of the ordinary for this kind of story. We have a paper heroine who has no personality traits, likely because she's been abused for years. Then we have a hero who is taken in by her looks and who turns out to be a bad guy who isn't bad. While he's a bit of a jerk, making her marry him, he did save her from a somehow even worse man. But, really, these characters don't show any redeeming qualities within this volume.
The art style is beautiful, as expected from the artist.
The only thing I really enjoyed about the story was the ayakashi characters. Specifically Goki. They were all very fun and vibrant; a quality the main characters could use more of.
I might read the next volume to see if the characters improve. Or I might read it just to see more of the ayakashi.

Thank you to Kodansha and Netgalley for the ARC.