It’s pretty widely known that many couple dynamics commonly found in shojo manga would be extremely problematic in real life. Whether it’s step-siblings who fall in love, or guys who blackmail girls into being their girlfriend/slave, shojo manga fans are used to having to stretch or suspend their personal boundaries regarding what is acceptable in relationships. But where does the line get crossed? The 10-year age gap between Takane & Hana may bother some readers, but plenty of fans have fallen for the couple’s antics. The answer to that question is up to the individual reader. While some ..read more

In a throwback to an early tongue-in-cheek blog entry listing some of the best romantic tips shojo manga has to offer, I thought I’d write a similar post on the nuggets of wisdom found in shojo series on friendship. Making friends is hard, and with the wide variety of female friendships in shojo manga — from childhood best friends to frenemies — there’s tons of great advice to help you snag a lifelong gal pal! After Suzume finds out that Yuyuka purposely told her to meet at the wrong location for a class outing, the two become close friends. Torment them: One of the things that never ceases to ..read more

[Note: there are many spoilers for the series ahead] Whenever I read romance manga, I always wonder if there are any scenarios where the main couple could have possibly not ended up together. Often in shojo manga, timing is everything when it comes to the main couple confessing their feelings or actually being ready for a relationship. In Daytime Shooting Star, one moment that could have easily prevented Mamura and Suzume from working out or entering a relationship in the first place immediately comes to mind: when Shishio, Suzume’s high school teacher and first love, tells her he never loved ..read more

Most main female characters in shojo manga have little-to-no experience with romance. They’ve never had a boyfriend, have never been kissed, and often have never even had a crush before they fall for the story’s main male lead. Then there’s Love Me, Love Me Not‘s Akari. When reading Love Me, Love Me Not, which follows the love square among fast-friends Akari and Yuna — the heroines of this manga — and Kazu and Rio, Akari’s character stood out to me immediately. I found her to be refreshing: she’s not shy about talking to guys or dating, and points out Yuna’s naiveté that one day she’ll meet t ..read more

So it’s been awhile. Actually, it’s been more than nine years. I had to stop blogging because of some difficulties in my living situation, which took a long time to sort out. By the time I felt stable enough to start blogging again, I no longer had the energy to do so. But throughout the years, I’ve continued reading shojo manga, falling in love with series such as Love Me, Love Me Not, Daytime Shooting Star, and A Sign of Affection. Lately, I’ve been more active on the shoujo subreddit on Reddit, and I’ve also recently come across YouTubers creating content about their favorite shojo anime an ..read more

Sorry I haven’t been posting recently, guys! I have to take a bit of a break from blogging for now, but I hope to get back to posting sooner rather than later. I can’t give an exact time frame, but in the meanwhile I’ll be reading some new shojo manga, of course. Strobe Edge, which I’ve just started reading. I have to say, it’s addictive ..read more

There are many spoilers in this review, so please read with caution! One of my favorite types of shojo series tell stories about girls who get sucked into other worlds. From Fushigi Yugi to Red River, these stories combine action, drama, fantasy, and romance into multilayered epics that are hard to forget. One of the more popular series of this type is decidely less known here in the U.S: Kanata Kara, also known as From Far Away. Noriko Tachiki is a 14-year-old girl who is transported to another world after a terrorist bombing. She immediately is discovered by Iza ..read more

In the world of shojo manga, Christmas can only mean one thing: romance! Whether a couple goes on a special Christmas Eve date, or the heroine gets a glimpse of her crush at a Christmas party, high emotions are a given during the holiday season. Let’s see how Christmas is celebrated… Kimi ni Todoke style! Our introverted heroine Sawako is invited to a Christmas party with her friends Yano and Chizu, as well as her crush Kazehaya. Yet just as Sawako tries to tell her parents about the party, they become emotional because Sawako was supposed to be born on Chris ..read more

When I wrote my last list of great shojo manga authors who have only had one work brought to North America, I knew the list was incomplete. So many of my favorite authors have been largely ignored here that I trimmed my list, and thus I’ve decided to take a look at a few other artists whose catalogues remain mostly in Japan. Yoko Kamio I didn’t think it was possible for me to love any series more than Kodocha or Nana until I read Boys Over Flowers. Kamio knows better than anyone how to create melodrama that’s not annoying to read, and most importantly, how to writ ..read more