What would you want to see in a shoujo manga?

[wastedink]

I've recently read a few shoujos!! And I've wanted to know what some people think is so annoying or repetitive when it comes to shoujos or what they would like to see in a shoujo manga.

For example I like it when the main characters are really "unique," like Hatori from Heroine Shikkaku or Nika from switch girl. Bonus point if they are like Risa from Lovely Complex or Haruna from Highschool Debut.

If Ya'll have any good shoujo manga recommendations send em my way!

 

[piichinu]

i hate the whole jealousy/miscommunication/lack of communication thing

 

[mogyay]

agree with u about lovely complex, i just like any typical trope flipped basically. i like when the girl has the upper hand in term of power dynamic, or if it's rich girl//boor boy. i hate age gap shoujo, i hate anything to do with teachers/pupils. i hate when they could have just solved a simple issue by talking instead of dragging it out for a million years, and most of all i hate it when the second lead is much better in every way that the lead but they don't get the happy ending

my fave shoujo is fruits basket which rly doesn't do anything new but i think it's charming lol

 

[.: Meri :.]

I also really hate seeing love triangles where it's just "wow I always feel so happy and safe when I'm with A, who is considerate and attentive and everything I'd want in a partner... but I'm in love with B, who's completely awful, but maybe did a marginally decent thing on exactly one occasion!!" It makes me want to scream that someone is not necessarily good for you even if you love them. Basically, I don't want the ending to leave me worried about the main character's future.
Something I'd really like to see in more m/f shoujo are reversed/subverted gender dynamics and tropes, i.e., the female lead gets the protective/rescuer role, or the male lead is the shorter one of the two, that sort of thing.
Some shoujo I've really enjoyed were My Love Story!! (though I felt the ending was a little rushed) and Kimi ni Todoke (which... I really need to finish reading, oops). Also Fruits Basket, but I read it as a tween I think? I need to give it a re-read one of these days.

 

[Plume]

As others have also expressed, I hate misunderstandings! They're such an unrewarding plot device.

I like when there is something driving the story other than romance. For example, in Gokinjo Monogatari, Mikako is studying to become a fashion designer and a lot of the episodes are structured around that. In Princess Tutu, there's an entire dark fairy tale theme and story-line.

I prefer main characters who are flawed, which can be rare in shoujo! To use Gokinjo Monogatari as another example, Mikako is selfish and sometimes immature.

Sometimes shoujo can flirt with romance but never quite GOES THERE, and that can be annoying too. It's so rewarding when the characters finally confess, so if that doesn't happen, it can be so unsatisfying!

edit: and I just noticed that you asked for recommendations, so here are my favorite shoujos!
Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances)
Princess Tutu
Gokinjo Monogatari
Kodomo no Omocha

The following are josei anime, which is for a slightly older but still female demographic, if that interests you!
Nana
Paradise Kiss
Chihayafuru
Oniisama e

 

[amemome]

I honestly stopped reading manga in favor of watching anime due to how much easier it was for me to access anime. I recall really liking Horimiya and Kuragehime (<- probably josei more than shoujo?) when I was avidly reading.

I really dislike the harassment-that-turns-into-romance trope and poor-girl-meets-rich-boy tropes. I feel like those tropes are super toxic.

 

[wastedink]

agree with u about lovely complex, i just like any typical trope flipped basically. i like when the girl has the upper hand in term of power dynamic, or if it's rich girl//boor boy. i hate age gap shoujo, i hate anything to do with teachers/pupils. i hate when they could have just solved a simple issue by talking instead of dragging it out for a million years, and most of all i hate it when the second lead is much better in every way that the lead but they don't get the happy ending

my fave shoujo is fruits basket which rly doesn't do anything new but i think it's charming lol

i agree with everything said, esp the trope switch. I liked ouran HS for that reason alone bc tamaki was more of the crybaby and etc rather than it being haruhi or sum. I started this shoujo recently called hirunaka no ryuusei and I liked the main character but its a student x teacher and i was like omg no. age gaps are just not it

and I LOOOVE FRUITS BASKET thats another MC who I think is so well written. Im one of the few that loved the old anime version rather than the new one out rn (mainly for the feel, but i finished the manga and it made me cryyy)

I also really hate seeing love triangles where it's just "wow I always feel so happy and safe when I'm with A, who is considerate and attentive and everything I'd want in a partner... but I'm in love with B, who's completely awful, but maybe did a marginally decent thing on exactly one occasion!!" It makes me want to scream that someone is not necessarily good for you even if you love them. Basically, I don't want the ending to leave me worried about the main character's future.
Something I'd really like to see in more m/f shoujo are reversed/subverted gender dynamics and tropes, i.e., the female lead gets the protective/rescuer role, or the male lead is the shorter one of the two, that sort of thing.
Some shoujo I've really enjoyed were My Love Story!! (though I felt the ending was a little rushed) and Kimi ni Todoke (which... I really need to finish reading, oops). Also Fruits Basket, but I read it as a tween I think? I need to give it a re-read one of these days.

me too!! i hate love triangles theres no literal point for them. and thats such a big thing in shoujo i want it out alrdy, like i was rereading heroine shikkaku and was rooting for the second lead bc the first treated her (and his gf) like trash every second.

lmfaoooo i second that some of these shoujos have me thinking wdf is going to happen to their relationship if the dude is constantly acting like a child 24/7. dont get me started on the ones that are overly possessive and stuff eugh.

i know what you mean when the roles are reversed its really cute. my love story was really cute, i remember watching it way back. same with kimi ni todoke is so sweet and the two main leads are so cute i have to stop reading sometimes because i get embarrassed lmfao.

As others have also expressed, I hate misunderstandings! They're such an unrewarding plot device.

I like when there is something driving the story other than romance. For example, in Gokinjo Monogatari, Mikako is studying to become a fashion designer and a lot of the episodes are structured around that. In Princess Tutu, there's an entire dark fairy tale theme and story-line.

I prefer main characters who are flawed, which can be rare in shoujo! To use Gokinjo Monogatari as another example, Mikako is selfish and sometimes immature.

Sometimes shoujo can flirt with romance but never quite GOES THERE, and that can be annoying too. It's so rewarding when the characters finally confess, so if that doesn't happen, it can be so unsatisfying!

edit: and I just noticed that you asked for recommendations, so here are my favorite shoujos!
Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances)
Princess Tutu
Gokinjo Monogatari
Kodomo no Omocha

The following are josei anime, which is for a slightly older but still female demographic, if that interests you!
Nana
Paradise Kiss
Chihayafuru
Oniisama e

omg you love ai yazawa's work too??? gokinjo monogatari is not talked about enough i loved mikako so much and the outfits really popped out in this one(its one of my all time favorite shoujos)paradise kiss got me so mad over the ending but its so realistic that i liked it too ughhh its a good manga and it introduced me to ai yazawa. i just started reading NANA!! I love junko so far )

i think our likings are the same because i love kare kano and kodomo !!! no one ever talks about kodomo!! i love love sana and the plot, i cant believe i watched all episodes of that anime way back. i also watched princess tutu when i was younger and i remember being so angry about the ending(i barely even remember it too because its been so long), but i want to read it to see if i think of it any different than i did wayyy before.

i don't think i've ever read/watched oniisama e so ill add that onto my list!!

I honestly stopped reading manga in favor of watching anime due to how much easier it was for me to access anime. I recall really liking Horimiya and Kuragehime (<- probably josei more than shoujo?) when I was avidly reading.

I really dislike the harassment-that-turns-into-romance trope and poor-girl-meets-rich-boy tropes. I feel like those tropes are super toxic.

kuragehime!!! kuranosuke was my absolute fav i loved everything about him. i never got to read the manga, i only watched it but my friend did and told me she wasnt too big on the ending.

i hate the harassment because in turn it makes the girl for some reason seem like the bad guy during it??? like for example.. i loved hana yori dango but damn was her love interest so toxic. it still has such a nostalgic part in my heart tho but i would hate being in her situation lmfao

 

[tomatospooks666]

for me, for a shoujo anime to catch my attention i'd have to be really willing to bend the ''rules'' of the genre, b/c i hate most shoujo stuff. ouran is the only one i can think of that i can stand, and only because it was willing to change things up and not just go with what everyone else was doing afaik.

main thing a shoujo needs for me to even stand it is an active, driven protaganist. someone that's willing to stand up for themselves and take an active role in the story. nothing infuriates me more than a main character who's content to stand by and let their love interest do everything for them.

but that's coming from someone that dislikes most shoujo anyhow.

 

[Corrie]

Echoing on the love triangle thing. It's just usually a waste of time? I guess they're okay if characters learn things about themselves during it but usually it's just like "oh I really love A!" and then drops B out of nowhere. I dunno, usually the relationship feels forced because if you really loved them, why did you struggle between two people? Nobody deserves being a second choice.

I also don't like Mary Sues but that could go for any genre. The person who's just super sweet and that's it is so boring to me. There's more to people than that.

 

[Meadows]

I personally like it when the girl is considered "fat" or "ugly", but still gets a major catch that she likes.

 

[Lady Timpani]

kuragehime!!! kuranosuke was my absolute fav i loved everything about him. i never got to read the manga, i only watched it but my friend did and told me she wasnt too big on the ending.

Kuranosuke is my favorite as well! I've only watched the first episode of the anime but I loved the manga. I can kind of see what your friend was talking about wrt the ending...

Spoiler: manga spoilers

but if it's what I'm thinking of, I do think Kuranosuke and Tsukimi wind up together at some point in time. Tsukimi just imo wasn't really at a point for romance yet. I've also read some of Tokyo Tarareba Girls and I feel like Akiko Higashimura is pretty big on romance not being the end-all be-all for her protags, but it's still something she likes to explore.

Anyway I've been thinking of rereading the manga lately, but I think I'd like to restart (and finally finish) Tokyo Tarareba Girls before I do so.

If you guys haven't watched Ore Monogatari yet I would seriously recommend it. The main character is the guy, but it's such a sweet and heartwarming (not to mention funny!) story. Bonus points for the characters getting into a relationship really early on.

 

[jadetine]

Although I've aged into enjoying the Josei genre more, shoujo is where it all started, and I will always have a soft spot for the classics that made it to anime like the magical girls (Sailor Moon / Cardcaptor Sakura), and the humorous (Ouran, Lovely Complex, etc.), the OG isekai mangas (Fushigi Yuugi, Escaflowne).

Some lesser known shoujos I enjoyed in the past:

• Mekakushi no Kuni - about a girl who could see the future and the MLs who also have vision of past / future
• Akatsuki no Yona - actually popular enough to start an anime; a princess with legendary blood is ousted by her fiance and is on the run with her loyal guard and gathers some sweet dragon dudes
• Kaichou wa Maid-sama - I have no excuses. I just like the dynamic between a normally competent girl and a rather OP omniscient guy who loses his cool for her.
• Girl Got Game - Gender bender romcom where the girl enrolls in a basketball school as her twin brother; a less painful / serious version of HanaKimi. I have always been into reading the gender bender genre, or fiction with gender fluid characters, and my first intro to it was via anime and manga.

Things I'm currently reading and looooooooove (mostly Otome Isekai genre):

• Who Made Me a Princess - great art, but a painfully long coma arc that I hope will pay off; we're at the climax and faceoff with the antagonist right now
• The Reason Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion - my top fave of all time - already finished, just have a few side stories left now
• The Great Wish - best FL, maximum competency, so smart, much love, wow
• The Lady and the Lion - unsurpassed in art... not sure how the romance will go, though

 

[Neb]

For me a good shoujo manga is a series that combines elegant art with emotional storytelling. “With The Light” by Keiko Tobe is one such series. It’s about a mother raising her autistic child from birth to adulthood. While much of the info is out of date, Tobe wrote with such empathy. Every panel is meticulously drawn. I can’t think of a single panel that looked bad. Sadly “With The Light” is very hard to find. Maybe one day it’ll get the anime adaptation it deserves.