Favorite Shojo Manga!
Today on the blog, I’m delving into the wonderful world of Shojo Manga!
For those who are unfamiliar with the term. “Shojo Manga” is usually aimed at a teenage female target-demographic readership. The word “shojo” literally translates to “young woman” and covers many subjects in a variety of narrative styles, from historical drama to science fiction, often with a focus on romantic relationships or emotions.
I’ve read so many over the years, but here are some picks of stories that I’ve read and continue to stick with me. Enjoy! 🙂
Synopsis: Robot maker, Kronos Heaven, finally develops “Night Tenjo”, the perfect male humanoid programmed to be devoted and completely loyal to his lover. The company chooses temp worker Riiko Izawa to take part in a 5-day free trial. At first, Riiko only sees Night as a household appliance. But when she finds out how deep Night’s devotion to herself is, Riiko finds herself falling in love with him.
This is probably one of the top manga that is quite popular among manga readers and for a good reasons. Absolute Boyfriend takes the concept of robots and turns it into a sexy AI. The main character is unlucky in love, but with Night she strikes gold. It’s starts out funny at first as Night can’t get the gist of “being human”, but as he and Riiko grow closer to one another their relationship becomes quite endearing. Such a cute story.
Synopsis: It’s a gorgeous, spacious mansion, and four handsome, fifteen-year-old friends are allowed to live in it for free! There’s only one condition-that within three years the guys must transform the owner’s wallflower niece into a lady befitting the palace in which they all live! How hard can it be? Enter Sunako Nakahara, the agoraphobic, horror-movie-loving, pockmark-faced, frizzy-haired, fashion-illiterate recluse who tends to break into explosive nosebleeds whenever she sees anyone attractive. This project is going to take more than our four heroes ever expected: it needs a miracle!
Though this manga sounds superficial, it’s actually a positive story about beauty being skin deep. Sunako is a quirky and weird girl who has strange hobbies. At first she starts off in the story as super standoffish, but we learn that underneath all those layers that she’s a very kind-hearted person. It was so entertaining to read Sunako’s interactions with the boys and how they all become good friends. The romance is slow-moving, but I felt it works well with the story.
Synopsis: Usagi is the granddaughter of the leader of a prestigious ninja village, but she’s such a klutz that she’s never made it out of the kiddie class. Frustrated with Usagi’s lack of progress, her grandfather sends her to marry Lord Hanzo and have lots of ninja babies. But the lord has no interest in her or her childbearing potential!
Being a fan of historical stories is what first caught my eye about Tail of The Moon. The main character is klutzy and is not a very skilled ninja, but over time she comes into her own. As first she is solely fueled by her mission to marry Hanzo then later on she wants to become stronger for herself. It’s got a fun cast of characters and it’s action-packed!
Synopsis: It is the story of Kyoko Mogami a 16-year-old girl who discovers that her childhood friend and romantic goal, Sho Fuwa, only keeps her around to act as a maid and to earn his living expenses, while he works his way to become the top pop idol in Japan. Furious and heartbroken, she vows revenge by beating him in show business.
This is still an ongoing read for me and so far this manga has yet to disappoint me. It’s best described as revenge love story as Kyoko wants to beat her ex in show business, but we get to see her grow in her own as a actress. Kyoko is smart, resourceful, talented, and hilarious. There are so many goofy moments in this manga that have me laughing out loud. I also like the slow progression of romance in this series.
Synopsis: Haruhi sticks out like a sore thumb as a poor, smart girl who got into the hoity-toity Ouran High School on talent alone. When she mistakenly wanders into the meeting room of the host club and breaks a valuable vase, she’s recruited to join the club. Realistic and sarcastic, Haruhi isn’t used to being around crazy people, but she’s got no choice if she ever wants to pay earn what she owes. Too bad the club is made for girls to come and be entertained by gorgeous guys — and Haruhi’s been mistaken for a boy!
Ouran is a classic for any manga fan and a great beginner series for anyone who wants to start reading manga. Even though it’s a romantic comedy it’s mainly a story of a girl who gets put into a compromising situation. It’s quite hilarious to see how Haruhi and the students/host club clash as they have different mindsets of just about everything. Ouran is the most extra school manga I have ever read, but that’s why I love it. The romance is sweet and I love the bonds of friendship the host club shares with one another.
Synopsis: All high school freshman Airi Hoshina ever wanted was to someday live in a cozy home with a loving husband, and find joy in the little things in life. As a result, she makes it her daily mission to get to school on time because school legend has it that the longer one’s non-tardy streak is, the better boyfriend one will find. But just when her daily routine is working like clockwork, an occurrence of fairytale proportions threatens to disrupt her grand plan.
Fairy tales, alternate universes, and magic are just a few of the things that make this manga so delightful! It’s a short story (four volumes total), but well worth reading. Masturi’s delicate and beautiful imagery combined with the fantasy elements make the story feel enchanting. It’s on the cute and sweet side of romance, but I liked that they added in action scenes and some drama to give it that extra flair of suspense.
Synopsis: Sana Kurata is a cheerful, popular and energetic 11-year-old child actress who enrolls in a regular school only to find out there is chaos in the classroom, led mainly by an aloof boy named Akito Hayama. At first, the two come in conflict with each other because of their opposing ideals, but as they get to know each other, they start helping each other out in Akito’s family life and Sana’s career, as well as helping their classmates and peers.
I honestly wish knew more people knew about this amazing manga/anime! It’s severely underrated and it’s one of the first manga I ever read. I feel that it’s not only the solid story, but the wide cast of characters that makes this manga so entertaining and stand out from the rest. It’s a story about growing up, finding yourself, and finding love. Also I love the comedic aspect of this story. Sana’s crazy antics had me constantly laughing.
Synopsis: This story depicts the romance between “perfect” student Yukino Miyazawa and her academic rival Soichiro Arima, and the relationships of several of their friends.
Kare Kano is a good mix of slice-of-life, school, and romance. I liked its simplistic nature and it’s easygoing vibe. It’s a character-based story that focuses on a group of friends and their lives with Yukino and Sochiro being the main driving force of the narrative. I appreciated that it switches povs and focuses on a number of people without getting too complicated. For me personally, the artwork is just “okay”, but the story is what really shines. You get to see the characters grow from students and into adults while they figure out how to navigate through life, family, and friends.
Synopsis: After the accident in which she lost her mother, 16-year-old Tooru moves in with her grandfather, but due to his home being renovated, is unable to continue living with him. Yuki Souma, the “prince” of her school, and his cousin Shigure Souma, a famous author, stumble across Tooru’s situation and invite her to stay with them until her grandfather’s home renovations are complete.Upon arriving at the Souma house, Tooru discovers their secret: if a Souma is hugged by someone of the opposite gender, they temporarily transform into one of the animals of the zodiac! However, this strange phenomenon is no laughing matter; rather, it is a terrible curse that holds a dark history.
Like the synopsis itself says, Fruits Basket starts out at this light, happy-go-lucky manga and then eventually the story gets darker as secrets are revealed. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this manga, but I’m glad I stuck with it. The artwork is gorgeous, the zodiac concept is unique, and I loved the complex characters. It was interesting to see how lives get entangled and the romance is a bit complicated at times too. This manga was one of the first I read which had great depth.
Synopsis: Two years ago, Mitsuki Kouyama’s friend, Eichi Sakurai, moved to America before she could confess her feelings to him. Though she cannot contact him, they made a promise to fulfill their respective dreams: Mitsuki wants to become a professional singer, and Eichi an astronomer. There’s just one catch: Mitsuki suffers from throat cancer, which makes her voice quiet and singing strenuous. One day, two shinigami—Meroko Yui and Takuto Kira—appear to tell her that she only has one year left to live. This sudden revelation spurs Mitsuki into action, and she decides that with Meroko and Takuto’s help, she will become a professional singer in the time she has left.
Tanemura is one of my favorite mangaka’s of all time. She writes a lots of fantasy, plus her artwork is the epitome of Shojo manga. Full Moon is equally a drama and a romance. On top of that it’s also a story about fulfilling your dreams and living life to the fullest. With the help of shinigami, Mitsuki is one step closer to her dreams and this journey helps her to gain confidence in herself and in her singing. Though the story gets a bit heavy at times, Meroko and Takuto, give the story some comic relief and entertainment.
That concludes my favorite shojo manga list! What are your favorites or recommendations?
I was looking for shojo recommendations, thank you ! 🙂 I’ve seen the anime of Host Club and started Fruits Basket (but when I knew how it ends I was so upset that I stopped reading it :P)
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy the recs. They also created a live action (10 episode) drama in Japan for Ouran and it’s worth watching as well. I completely understand about Fruits Basket. I was disappointed with the anime though.
I’ll try to watch it then! 🙂
I haven’t read any of these except for Fruits Basket and I didn’t finish the story (I think I read three – maybe not enough to really get into the groove?). Earlier this year I read Moto Hagio’s A Drunken Dream, but they were just short stories. I feel like I should probably just immerse myself for awhile rather than dabble…but, then, so many books….
I haven’t heard of Moto Hagio’s A Drunken Dream, so I’ll have to look that up. My best suggestion is to start off with a short manga series that’s 10 books or less. I find I’m less overwhelmed then.
There are a couple of library branches locally that have fantastic sections (housed with the “teen” books, or near them) and I always look at those shelves because I just love the idea of long series, but they are always always always missing the first couple of books (or, sometimes, like the first 8 – maybe that’s true with the really long series – a lot of them do seem to be really long, like into the 40s or 60s). But, then, sometimes I also see, on the hold shelves at the library, actual stacks of books to be picked up (horizontally, whereas all the other holds are shelved normally). So maybe some people borrow them “in chunks”? Do you buy or borrow yours? Do you ever read out of order?
I always read manga volumes in order, if I didn’t the story would be all out of sorts (reading-wise). I usually borrow 2 to 3 books of a series at a time since I read multiple series. I borrow a lot of my manga now since it’s so pricey, but I do have a whole bookshelf dedicated to manga/graphic novels from when I used to buy manga non-stop. Try borrowing one or two books of a series to try it out first. I also get intimidated by long series, I tend to stay away from reading epic saga stories like Naruto. I usually watch the anime instead, lol. I hope this helps, let me know if I can rec anything, I plan to do more of these lists in the future. 🙂
Well, okay. You offered! *laughs* So, questions. There are some here that I can’t find locally at the library, or that are only available much later in the series. (And I’m not sure I want to return to Fruits Basket, especially as I saw the comment about the end of that series above!)
It looks like I can get Skip Beat and all of it (except maybe one or two volumes in the middle). So I’ll try that one, probably in the summer (yes, I plan that far ahead *laughs*).
The other one that is mostly available is Kare Kano but here’s where my question comes in. The library seems to have the whole series starting with #6 up to the present-day. But it also has things numbered #1 through #5 but they are DVDs about 150 minutes long each. Do you think I would be fine to just start by reading with book #6, or does each of these discs actually correspond to the first five books in the series (or is that just a coincidence and the discs cover the whole storyline – I don’t want to watch first)?
It’s my pleasure to help! I just sent a lengthy email so I hope this answers your questions. 🙂