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shojo!

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1metatext
Editado: Jun 13, 2007, 10:20 pm

I want to know more about shojo manga, and I'm sure lots of you are experts, so I came up with some questions. Please participate if you know anything at all about shojo, past or present!

What are your favorite shojo manga? Or redisu, or josei--anything understood to be for a primarily female audience.

What shojo manga...

--has the most complex, 3-dimensional, believable characters?

--is the best tearjerker?

--has the best ending (no spoilers!)

--has the best romance?

--is the best guilty pleasure?

--has the most realistic depiction of sex/sexuality?

--is your favorite that isn't yet translated?

--is your favorite among mainstream titles?

--is a little-known gem?

--is overrated?

--is your favorite in a fantasy setting or with a fantastic premise (e.g. Loveless)?

And:

Who is your favorite shojo/redisu/josei mangaka?

What's your favorite shonen/seinen manga dealing with traditionally shojo themes (love, relationships, drama, kissing)?

P.S. Basically the only shoujo manga I've read is Miki Aihara's Hot Gimmick, which I totally adored, and some Erica Sakurazawa (really fond of Between the Sheets and The Aromatic Bitters, not so fond of Angel and The Rules of Love. Oh, and a little Kiriko Nananan, who is fantastic in her own right, but barely known in the states.

2mangaroo
Jun 14, 2007, 3:00 pm

Except for question 7, should all the answers be English-translated titles? Are Korean manhwa also acceptable, or should they be Japanese manga only?

3mangaroo
Jun 14, 2007, 3:01 pm

Except for question 7, should all the answers be English-translated titles? Are Korean manhwa also acceptable, or should they be Japanese manga only?

4metatext
Editado: Jun 14, 2007, 7:43 pm

Thanks for looking! Wow! I see you have over 500 books tagged "shoujo". I hope you can help me out.

I can't read Japanese unfortunately, so English-translated or soon-to-be-translated only (except for #7, naturally).

Manhwa, too. I haven't read any, but I know there are some good ones. (I heard DVD is good, but I don't know if that's shoujo.)

5mvrdrk
Editado: Jun 16, 2007, 5:15 pm

Answering this in little bits at a time:

What shojo manga...

--is a little-known gem?
Shout Out Loud!

What's your favorite shonen/seinen manga dealing with traditionally shojo themes (love, relationships, drama, kissing)?

Why is it that everyone thinks that girls are not capable of liking non-romance stories? Hmm, I'll offer up Blood Alone Volume 1 Masayuki Takano

6metatext
Jun 16, 2007, 5:52 am

mvrdrk

These are great suggestions, and I hadn't heard of either one! I'd appreciate any more recommendations you can give, too.

I would definitely not be in the camp of "thinking that girls aren't capable of liking non-romance stories". My girlfriend loved Uzumaki and a Japanese (female) friend of mine loves One Piece as much as Nodame Cantabile.

7lampbane
Jun 16, 2007, 11:57 am

I read a lot of CLAMP, so I guess I have to admit to at least liking shoujo, though a quick glance at my bookshelves indicates that most of the CLAMP titles I have aren't strictly in the shoujo vein. I do enjoy Cardcaptor Sakura greatly, though.

8mvrdrk
Jun 16, 2007, 4:52 pm

Be careful, Shout Out Loud! features gay relationships.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you are thinking that. It was more of a general complaint. I look at Shoujo Beat and the stories are all babies and romance. Especially romance. Sigh. I hear the babies are going away, to be replaced by more romance.

9mvrdrk
Jun 16, 2007, 5:07 pm

--has the best romance?
Hard to say. Possibly Junjo Romantica but it's too early to tell yet, possibly Wish, Vol. 1 which is short and finished. I'd personally vote for Death Note up thru vol. 7, but that's outside the conditions set.

10mvrdrk
Jun 16, 2007, 5:10 pm

--is the best guilty pleasure?
Beauty Pop where all the characters look like they are in grade school or Penguin Revolution which is just silly, it's all about girls drooling.

11metatext
Jun 16, 2007, 6:00 pm

I look at Shoujo Beat and the stories are all babies and romance. Especially romance. Sigh. I hear the babies are going away, to be replaced by more romance.

You made me bust out laughing, reading that.

I don't mind gay relationships, although I wouldn't be a fan of gay hentai...

Penguin Revolution is a hilarious title for a manga. Or anything, for that matter.

You think Death Note has good romance? Or, err, what exactly are you saying about it? Admittedly, the intellectual sparring between L and Raito is more intense than almost any conventional "romance".

Beauty Pop sounds like a hilarious premise.

Maybe I should have split the "best romance" question into shounen-ai and hetero romance?

Also, what shoujo manga do you all think has the best artwork?

12mvrdrk
Editado: Jun 16, 2007, 11:16 pm

You think Death Note has good romance? Or, err, what exactly are you saying about it? Admittedly, the intellectual sparring between L and Raito is more intense than almost any conventional "romance".

LOL! I was pulling your leg. On the other hand, research has shown that falling in love has similar brain characteristics to obession and addiction.

My problem with recommending hetero romance is my 'reality' meter kicks in. A number of people really like Mars and I really can't read it. I keep thinking 'and they are going to be poor for their rest of their lives, which is going to suck, and the stress of finances is going to make them argue like cats and dogs, and the babies are going to scream and puke all over their work clothes in the morning, and ...' which just really spoils the whole romance thing.

The Vampire Knight type romance makes me cringe ... mmm, being in love makes you stupid. Yeah, that's the ticket. Fun to read but ultimately too unbelievable to suck me in enough.

I don't mind gay relationships, although I wouldn't be a fan of gay hentai...

Then Junjo Romantica may be too much for you but Shout Out Loud should be okay. Hmm, in the best enemies vein, I'd say Count Cain, but the enemies don't have enough screen time together.

For best artwork, it depends on what you're preferences in art are. I like CLAMPs fashion designs, but the hiplessness of the characters makes me cringe. Higuri Yuu is far better in my opinion. For realism, Ima Ichiko's Hyakki Yakoushou which isn't available in English really appeals to me.

13simside
Editado: Jun 18, 2007, 10:19 pm

I'm glad you asked so many specific questions, it's hard to know what someone will like if they just say "recommend me a shoujo manga!" With all the questions... well, now you get several ^_^;

--has the most complex, 3-dimensional, believable characters?
-------------------This one's tricky, because as I think of all my favorite series, the characters are either wimpy, stereotypes, or EXACTLY THE SAME. For this one, W Juliet (01) probably wins, as it doesn't fall into the "on-again, off-again, thousands of suitors, will the main couple get together in the end" trap that a lot of the others get into, and the characters are much better off for it. Also, anything by Fumi Yoshinaga has the absolute best characters ever, but you'll wanna watch, because a couple of her series are kind of hardcore yaoi. Actually, stick to Antique Bakery 1 and Flower of Life 1.

--is the best tearjerker?
--------------------I cry every time I read the ending to Paradise Kiss (05), and I've read it about seven times. It's a bit too abrupt to make for a good ending, though.

--has the best ending (no spoilers!)
--------------------This one's hard, because a lot of the longer series are still running, and the ones that have ended that I've read usually kind of cop out without resolving things or going out with a bang. Cardcaptor Sakura (12) has one of the best endings I've read, though.

--has the best romance?
-------------------- Tomoko Taniguchi does really good old-school girly romance. Aquarium and Call Me Princess are my two favorite one-shots by her. Also, it took me awhile to get into, but Immortal Rain 1 is also insanely georgeous and well-written.

--is the best guilty pleasure?
--------------------Guru Guru Pon-chan 1!!! It's got the stupidest plot ever, but it's SO CUTE, it has a really wonderful romance between the main pair, kinda funny stories sometimes, and seems like it's gearing up for a really spectacular ending (it's got one volume left, but who knows, it'll probably find a way out of the corner it seems to have worked itself into).

--has the most realistic depiction of sex/sexuality?
-------------------- Happy Mania 1 has SEX SEX SEX and is actually a josei title, or shoujo for older girls. It's definitely not for everyone, and one of the legitimate gripes is about the artwork, but I loved seeing how many different guys the heroine ran across while she tried to find the perfect man. I liked the male-oriented Flowers and Bees 1 a bit more than this one, but I thought both were pretty good.

--is your favorite that isn't yet translated?
------------------- Haven't read these obviously, but I would love to read Banana Bread Pudding, Yamada Taro Monogatari, Heart of Thomas, Neighborhood Story, Rose of Versailles, and some more full-bore romance titles from the 70's.

--is your favorite among mainstream titles?
------------------- Peach Girl (01) is probably my favorite mainstream title aside from Hot Gimmick (01). It goes on for slightly too long, but is totally addictive for about ten volumes.

--is a little-known gem?
------------------ From Eroica With Love 1 is something I recommend to everyone who will listen. It's meant for older girls, and is quite different than most shoujo series we see here (more about art thievery and international espionage, not set in a high school). It involves a really flirty male/male romance, but absolutely nothing hardcore, and it is literally one of the funniest series I've ever read. It is not nearly as popular as it deserves to be. Read past the first volume, which starts off as a completely different series before all the boring characters disappear. Similarly, Swan is quite underappreciated. It's about ballet, but you don't have to know a thing about it to FEEL like those characters feel :p (it's insanely overdramatic, but it's better that way). I'll throw DVD in for good measure too, because it's amazing as well.

--is overrated?
------------------ Loveless (01) -_-; I also don't really like Fruits Basket 1 that much.

--is your favorite in a fantasy setting or with a fantastic premise (e.g. Loveless)?
------------------ Land of Silver Rain has a really great beginning, and is one of the best shoujo fantasy for approximately one volume, then it spends the rest of the series in the human world. It may pull itself up in the end, but it's been disappointing past volume 1. Les Bijoux is also a fairly good fantasy series, but ends abruptly so a bunch of stuff gets crammed in at the end. The World Exists for Me is also good, but doesn't go on past the second volume. And, uh... wow. I've read a ton of fantasy series, but not too many of them are worth recommending, I guess.

14metatext
Jun 21, 2007, 1:38 am

Wow! That was an excellent post, simside! Thanks so much for all the advice. I will definitely check out From Eroica With Love and some of the others, too. I'm already a great admirer of Fumi Yoshinaga, having only read volume 1 of Antique Bakery--even my girlfriend, who I can only rarely convince to pick up manga--likes it.

15HollyMS
Editado: Jun 21, 2007, 7:01 pm

I'm a huge shoujo fan! It's mostly the only manga I read. I have about 350 manga labled 'shoujo' on Librarything, and I've read a lot more than just what I own. I do not really read yaoi or anything though. Most of the manga I have focuses on female characters.

What are your favorite shojo manga? Or redisu, or josei--anything understood to be for a primarily female audience.
I love Peach Girl, Full Moon wo Sagashite, MARS, NANA, 僕等がいた (Bokura ga Ita), & Sugar Sugar Rune.

What shojo manga...

--has the most complex, 3-dimensional, believable characters?
Hm...I think this kind of question is hard to answer because in most manga (not just shoujo! I swear!) characters are very archetypal or stereotypical. Like, you can probably make about 20-30 categories of manga "types" and manage to put every single manga character whoever existed into one of those without much trouble. I'm going to say that MARS has pretty complex & believable characters. The characters will be recognizable to any modern shoujo reader, but since the series was written a decade ago, it's influenced a lot of shoujo since then, I think.

--is the best tearjerker?
僕等がいた makes me cry T_T

--has the best ending (no spoilers!)
Hm...I don't really know. It seems like a bunch of series aren't planned out from the beginning, you know? For good endings, I guess I'd recommend manga from my favorite anthology, Ribon. It seems like instead of waiting and seeing what's popular, the mangaka plan out their series from beginning to end and none of the series are overly long. So anything like Marmalade Boy, Full Moon wo Sagashite, Kodocha, Mint na Bokura etc. has a nice, conclusive ending.

--has the best romance?
This is a hard question too! Because most shoujo is about romance xD I'm going to say that anything WITHOUT love triangles is best. I don't really see how you can be 'in love' with two different guys or whatever, so I like series where the romance between 1 girl & 1 guy is the focus. I'm going to say Kare First Love has a good romance. There's just the main couple, and the entire series is about their romance.

I wrote more, but Librarything won't let me post it...sorry :(

16HollyMS
Editado: Jun 21, 2007, 6:58 pm

Esta mensagem foi removida pelo seu autor.

17HollyMS
Editado: Jun 21, 2007, 6:59 pm

Esta mensagem foi removida pelo seu autor.

18onetrooluff
Jan 29, 2008, 11:22 pm

What shojo manga...

--has the most complex, 3-dimensional, believable characters? Nodame Cantabile might go here. Nodame is totally nuts -_- but Chiaki has a lot of fairly realistic issues (in my opinion).

--is the best tearjerker?
Fruits Basket! I've cried at that multiple times.

--has the best romance? ...maybe Love*Com/Lovely Complex. I'm LOVING that one. And it's hilarious too.

--is the best guilty pleasure? Hot Gimmick XD But you probably already know that... It's such smut but it's so addicting! I read the first 7 volumes in one sitting.

--has the most realistic depiction of sex/sexuality? I guess I'd say Hot Gimmick but I don't really read a lot of manga with sexual content.

--is your favorite among mainstream titles? Hmm, probably Fruits Basket again.

--is your favorite in a fantasy setting or with a fantastic premise (e.g. Loveless)? Um.. Sailormoon. (Yes it's a magical girl series but there's lots of romance and humor.)

What's your favorite shonen/seinen manga dealing with traditionally shojo themes (love, relationships, drama, kissing)? Emma!!!

19DaynaRT
Jan 30, 2008, 9:03 am

I haven't seen Hana Yori Dango by Yoko Kamio mentioned yet. Definitely my favorite shoujo of all time.

20xRileyx
Mar 2, 2008, 7:38 pm

What shojo manga...

--has the most complex, 3-dimensional, believable characters?
Hmm... I'd say Fruits Basket, though I'm sure a lot won't agree with me. A lot of them are completely orginal characters, but the way the mangka explained each character's history and such made for some very complex and believable personalities.

--is the best tearjerker?
The Demon Ororon. Mostly the ending...

--has the best ending (no spoilers!)
Fruits Basket again. It wasn't what I would have necessarily wanted if I could choose, but I was still very happy about what happened.

--has the best romance?
Ergh... I can't decide!

--is your favorite that isn't yet translated?
Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai. I'm absolutely in love with all the characters in that series. It's the sweetest story.

--is your favorite among mainstream titles?
Fruits Basket once more!

--is a little-known gem?
Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai. Again, I strongly recommend that manga if you can ever find it.

--is overrated?
Vampire Knight. I usually love anything to do with vampires, but the story line got me confused in parts, and I got kind of annoyed with the main character sometimes...

--is your favorite in a fantasy setting or with a fantastic premise (e.g. Loveless)?
Fruits Basket again... I'm absolutely in love with that manga.

21Jenson_AKA_DL
Editado: Mar 4, 2008, 7:59 pm

The first time I read this question I had only read a few manga titles. I'm still only familiar with a relatively small amount of titles compared to what's out there but I'm going to give this a shot:

What are your favorite shojo manga? Or redisu, or josei--anything understood to be for a primarily female audience.

Avoiding fantasy titles, I would have to say Ouran High School Host Club

What shojo manga...

--has the most complex, 3-dimensional, believable characters?

The characters in Her Majesty's Dog are primarily responsible for my interest in manga. I fell in love with them and it is still my favorite series overall.

--is the best tearjerker?

I cried reading Wish and also while reading Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Vol. 13.

--has the best ending (no spoilers!)

After thinking about this, I had to come back and change my previous answer to Cardcaptor Sakura Master of the Clow. Don't know why I didn't think of that before.

--has the best romance?

Hmmm, this is a tough one too. Actually, I really enjoyed the romances in Cardcaptor Sakura, even though the characters never really moved beyond the hugging stage.

--is the best guilty pleasure?

Sensual Phrase I assume that although it is for older teens and up it can still qualify as Shojo?

--has the most realistic depiction of sex/sexuality?

Once again Sensual Phrase.

--is your favorite that isn't yet translated?

Since I can't read Japanese I couldn't really say.

--is your favorite among mainstream titles?

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle and Her Majesty's Dog

--is a little-known gem?

I'd say After School Nightmare and Yurara. I love both of those series and they don't seem too well known.

--is overrated?

Haven't really read anything I felt was overrated yet.

--is your favorite in a fantasy setting or with a fantastic premise (e.g. Loveless)?

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, xxxholic and Her Majesty's Dog
And:

Who is your favorite shojo/redisu/josei mangaka?

I guess I'd have to say Clamp because I've really enjoyed everything I've read by them and they are the author I've read the most of.