I wanted to share a small write-up recommending one of my favorite Shojo magazines called “Mystery Bonita (ミステリーボニータ)” featuring images of some of the cool manga and magazine covers that have come out of it!

Mystery Bonita is published once a month on the 6th by Akita Shoten (who also publish other Shojo/Josei magazines like Princess, Elegance Eve, For Mrs, and more including the now-defunct Suspiria). From its inception, Mystery Bonita was planned to include more mystery and horror works to align with a darker tone, and to this day still leans into a more mysterious or dark setting across a variety of genres like mystery, horror, fantasy, supernatural, action, historical, and both romance and non-romance works.

I have found that the stories coming out of Mystery Bonita are some of the most innovative and exciting Shojo/Josei manga that really delve into a diverse range of genres. Here is a cool interview with a female editor who has worked on several series at Princess and Mystery Bonita magazines: https://natalie.mu/comic/column/585251 

If you find yourself wanting to explore the darker and more action-packed side of shojo, Mystery Bonita is a must-see magazine for you! However, we have gotten so few series from Mystery Bonita officially published in English (some from now-defunct publishers), that I thought I’d list them out:

Children of the Whales

Kieli

The house in Fata Morgana

A witch’s life in Mongol (originally published online, now simultaneously publishing in Mystery Bonita and its online platform)

Hanayasha Reloaded

Tenryu: the dragon cycle

Musashi #9

Genju no Seiza

(The sequels to Mirage of Blaze and Bride of Deimos are also published in Mystery Bonita, and although we haven’t gotten these sequels officially in English their originals have either anime or manga available in English)

That concludes my little write up about Mystery Bonita😊 I hope everyone checks out the series we have gotten officially in English from the magazine and also that everyone looks into other series from the magazine and submits them on the different publishers’ reader surveys! The first 4 slideshow images are magazine covers while the rest of the images are various series from the magazine.

Here is the anime planet series list page for Mystery Bonita: https://www.anime-planet.com/manga/magazines/mystery-bonita

Here is the Wikipedia page for the magazine: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Bonita

Here is the MAL page for mystery Bonita: https://myanimelist.net/manga/magazine/167/Mystery_Bonita

A love letter to the Mystery Bonita Shojo manga Magazine