As low-birth rates loomed, Japan launched a program that granted government-issued girlfriends to prospective applicants. If approved, you’d have the honor of maintaining a glorified mooch! Among mooches and freeloaders, Keiko Asagiri stands above the rest. She's snarky, sassy, and her new boy...

"Have you ever been called a marionette, just to deny it, and then felt the tug of strings on your arm?" Subjugated into perpetual oblivion, a high school student recounts what led up towards a life-altering decision. The point of no return had arrived.

From birth, citizens in Japan are implanted with the Dominion chip—a miniaturized computer that uses augmented-reality to assist in daily life. Eighteen-year old Daichi Ayanami, a conspiracy theorist, distrusts the tech but has learned to live alongside it thanks to his wholesome friends. One...