A huge thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this manga!

This story is truly unique and intriguing. From the very first pages, I was completely captivated by its fascinating world, filled with mystery, supernatural elements, and an atmosphere that keeps you hooked. The characters are compelling, and I was especially drawn to Yako—there’s something about him that makes him absolutely captivating. His presence and dynamic within the story make me even more eager to see how everything unfolds. Definitely a must-read, and I can’t wait to continue this series!

I read a lot of manga in middle school and never lost my enjoyment of them. They're quick stories and are usually accompanied by stunning artwork. The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride was a whirlwind. It had a crazy story and a wackadoodle premise. Our heroine was duped by a malicious spirit, or ayakashi, and ended up smelling like a primate for her troubles. I'm not kidding. The entire village shunned her and made her wear an orangutan mask. Turns out her former fiance didn't make her wear the monkey mask simply because of her tainted demon odor, but rather because she was so beautiful that he didn't want other suitors snapping her up. Lo and behold, an ayakashi hunter finds her bathing in the river and is beguiled by her scent. Our heroine's encounter with the orangutan left her with a dark spirit and our hunter perfectly matches her with his light energy. The whole premise was rather silly, but I liked the ayakashi elements and the absurdity of the monkey mask. This was a light, easy read and had me shaking my head at the crazy scenarios. I'm not sure if I'll continue with the series, but it was a barrel of laughs.

This is pure wish-fulfillment fantasy where everyone is SO MEAN to the poor virtuous heroine until a handsome hero shows up and immediately sees her innate value and rescues her… but it’s well done and the art is lovely!

While not wholly original, I really liked how this series starts. The powerful MMC finds and rescues the abused FMC, and he'll no doubt help her to grow stronger on her own. This gives "Happy Marriage" vibes for sure, but is already clearly its own story. I love the inclusion of the demons who help protect the city by serving the MMC too. Volume 1 did a good job setting up this world and I look forward to more to come.

I definitely want to read the next one of this series. The setup was good with hints of comedy ad well as more serious topics. The female lead is rather meek, but it seems she'll come into her own. Overall, not bad

I really loved this manga! The story hooked me right away, the artwork is simply beautiful, and it was a great opportunity to learn more about Ayakashi. If you enjoyed My Happy Marriage, you should definitely check this manga out.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Mamenosuke Fujimaru for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this title!

I wasn't sure what to expect when starting this manga, but within the first few pages I found myself already wanting a volume two! The art style is really gorgeous and the story is intriguing. I have so many questions that I can't wait to have answered.

While the characters are interesting enough on their own (even if they are the typical character archetype for these types of stories), the glimpses shown of the world itself have left me curious to know more about the ayakashi and the clans rolls beyond what we've seen so far.

I will definitely be continuing this series to see where everything goes.

"The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride, Volume 1" by Mamenosuke Fujimaru has my favorite the type of storyline in a romance manga. The rejected heroine whose gifts are instinctively recognized by a person who is above her tormentors. Sure it is cliche, but when it comes to stories, it is my catnip.

Nanao was once the fiancee to the master of her clan but she is marked by an orangutan ayakashi. Her betrothal is canceled and the community rejects her cruelly. Her cousin takes her place as the wife to the master. It is all very Jane Bronte-esque with a splash of manga vampire, which is fantastic.

To their village comes the head of the top clan of their land and he is looking for a bride. He makes his presence known in a very dramatic way that reveals how awful Nanao's fiancee and her cousin truly are and he declares that Nanao will be his new bride. He doesn't pay any mind to the whole 'she is tainted and reeks of monkey' stuff. She has real spiritual energy and that's what he's after.

The artwork is clean and easy to follow. Lettering is also very well done. It is just a nice mix of sweet and saucy. I look forward to finding more of this seris.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Mamenosuke Fujimaru for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this title!

What do you have left to live for when everything you've been promised has been ripped away? Nanao, formerly beloved of her family and betrothed to the future head of the Byakurenji family, lives masked, loathed, and unloved after she is attacked by a vengeful yokai spirit - an ayakashi. She watches from a distance as her cousin Akemi lives what should have been her life, married to Lord Reito, mother to his heir, and high-ranking wife of a powerful clan. When a rakish young lord from a different family pays a visit to the clan house, an accident reveals her face and spiritual power to him, and she is whisked away to be his bride - and the adventure is just beginning.

If you at all liked "My Happy Marriage", have I got good new for you! "The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride" has all the same vibes of that series, with more of a flair for the dramatic, a waaaay more devilish MMC, and a world where yokai can either be bad or helpful. I think the series has the potential for the MMC to be much more morally grey than he's currently letting on, and there's no way Nanao is out of the woods yet, facing plotting from both her new life and her old. I will absolutely be waiting for the next installment in this series and can't wait to see her come into her own power!

Just what I was looking for in a shojo right now. Excellent for those who like My Happy Marriage or wanted something different from the Bride of the Barrier Master. T/W for domestic abuse and obsessive behavior.

I like the historical mystery theme and the art style was also beautiful - although it didn't add up to the story in some places. For example everytime Nanao "fainted" it rather looked like she got attacked and lethally wounded or sometimes they looked really surprised without any reason and no further explanation afterwards.
I also didn't understand the purpose of the novel snippets at the back. It would have been ok for the diary entries but it was separate. Things that could have very well also been drawn so I don't know what I'm supposed to do with them.

Interesting story - I am curious to see where it goes, and the reasons for the mysteries & powers. Ill be continuing to read this series. Art is nice! I do wish it would have been in color, as the last scene - i would love to see that tree for myself!
it jumped in between & repeated itself, i wonder if that is the style or an editing miss.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

I loved the story and the illustration of this book. I enjoyed the interactions between the main characters, Nanao and Yako. I am excited to know more about Nanao's spirt Seal and to the the interactions between Nanao and Yako.

Looking forward to read the next volume.

Overall this felt like throwing a handful of shojo tropes at a wall and seeing what stuck. But I do in general thought that the tropes together made a good story. However, I do feel like the manga jumped around a bit too quickly, making it a bit difficult to understand the time like, and I would have liked to see it go into a bit more detail on the world before story and lore plot twists show up, like vampirism in a story about spirts. I also found the diary entries that reads like a light novel a bit jarring. But overall, I enjoyed the random vampirism.

The first chapter of this manga had me in tears. Everyone, including the person she loved hated her and treated her like she was worthless for something she was tricked into doing. I never thought I would wish for a knight in shining armor to come faster before reading what Nanao went through. The knight in question doesn't seem to be without his own quirks and flaws, but I think he genuinely hates how she was treated and wants to make things better for her. I will definitely be wanting to read the next volume.

The art style for this series is excellent. I love the amount of detail and the main male character is so handsome! The story is engaging enough that I am looking forward to reading more volumes in this series. I am familiar with the author's other work, Kakuriyo, and I see a lot of similarities between the two stories. However, they are different enough to make both worth reading. I believe it is accurate to liken this series to "My Happy Marriage". The elements of a handsome man rescuing a girl from her abusive family were there, but, again, the series is different enough to make it worth reading.

I read alot of Romantasy novels, so reading the synopsis of this, I was assuming it would be a slam-dunk. However 'The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride' didn't quite work for me. The story was quite disjointed in places (I know this can be common in building suspense in Manga), and the story it did tell wasn't great. Nanao is tricked by her cousin into becoming cursed, meaning her betrothed is no longer interested in Nanao. She then lives her life as a servant/outcast for his family, with no future in sight. However, she is whisked away and 'rescued' by the head of a rival house, to be his wife. We discover he picked her so he could feed on her blood, as an outast he assumed she would be happy for any attention. His assumption is correct and she is happy to carry out her 'wife duties' - providing blood, and making him breakfast.

The artwork was great though.

firstly, thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC!!
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in "the ayakashi hunter's tainted bride," nanao possesses a strong dark spiritual energy, but one small mistake leads to her being marked by a vengeful yokai, resulting in her becoming “tainted.” years later, she faces abuse from her cousin, ex-fiancé, and everyone in her clan. however, one day, while performing her cleansing ritual, she encounters a stranger with crimson eyes. though their interaction is brief, it sparks a change in nanao's life.

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if you like "my happy marriage," i think you would also really like "the ayakashi hunter's tainted bride." while the premise is somewhat reminiscent of "my happy marriage" and has some ''cinderella'' elements as well, ''the ayakashi hunter's tainted bride'' still has its own interesting unique elements that set itself apart from other reads and stands on its own. i felt myself very sucked into the story and beautiful artwork. the fmc nanao, struggles with trauma, insecurities, and low self-esteem, while the handsome male protagonist is someone she can't believe wants to marry her. i really like stories where characters fall in love over time, as happens in this one, and i look forward to seeing nanao gain more confidence. volume 1 is basically nanao's backstory and her love story is yet to begin, so i really look forward to reading the other volumes and see how everything will continue. the characters and story is a bit predictable at times and i found it hard not to compare this too often to ''my happy marriage'' (it just felt so similar to me, but that might just be me :') ), but i didn't really mind it that much. i found the protagonists to be quite cute together and their chemistry as well. the pacing was great as well. i had to go outside, but when i got back home, i immediately sat down to finish this one. i hope we get to know more about the mmc as well, because i feel like we don't know that much about him yet, which makes sense tho with this volume being about nanao's backstory.

overall, this was a enjoyable first volume, and i can't wait to read the rest!

i think you'd really like this one, if you like ''my happy marriage'' and if you like the idea of a manga set in historical japan with japanese folklore, supernatural elements and a romance between cursed girl x demon hunter husband after marriage woven into the story with pages full of beautiful artwork.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!!

i loved the alice in the country of hearts/etc. series when i was in middle school, so to see mamenosuke’s name on a new series was like a blast to the past.

i’m interested to see where this new shojo series with demons go!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this manga, and wow, I'm so glad I took a chance on it. Not only is the art beautiful but the story is compelling and heartbreaking, but also hopeful and lovely. I also love the creator's previous series, Kakurio: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits and Alice in the Country of... so that definitely played a part in my excitement for this series.
Poor Nanao has been treated horribly by her betrothed and her entire family ever since her cousin tricked her into going beyond the boundary where the ayakashi reside. The mistreatment was awful and hard to read, but once Yako entered the story, I started to have hope that her life would soon be changing for the better. The interesting part about this is that her ex-fiance seems to have some...jealousy? regarding her rehoming with Yako, and while I sort of anticipated the way he was going to react, I still wanted to smugly throw it in his face that he was a total jerk and never deserved her, lol.
Anyway, this is just the beginning of the story and I can't wait to read the next volume!