Since publishing this video BOTH Honey Lemon Soda and Mystery to Iunakare have been announced for English release! Honey Lemon Soda will be published by Yen Press and Mystery by Seven Seas! Even though they have both been licensed, I think my point about them still stands. Mystery to Iunakare has been running since 2017, and it has been selling well ever since. Honey Lemon Soda has been out since 2015 and has been a top selling Manga for years.
Shoujo manga has such a rich history and a certain style of storytelling that really appeals to me. Plus, there is less chance of uncomfortable fanservice that objectifies women or gross male characters. I can't fathom wanting to erase all that uniqueness and clump it in with shounen or wanting to get rid of shoujo manga magazines (which have such pretty names! Personally I'd rather read something from "Hana to Yume" or "Nakayoshi" than "Shounen Jump" just because of my personal aesthetics). Let shoujo fans, no matter what their gender is, enjoy the content they love so much.
Ahhh this is so important, it's so refreshing to hear it being talked about. And completely agree about that last point - when I go into shoujo, I can trust almost all of the time I won't have to deal with uncomfortable stuff that is clearly male-gazey. Meanwhile yes, you can avoid a lot of that if you just avoid the ecchi genre, it's also very common to find that kind of thing even just in small amounts in shounen. It's why when people say most anime have that kind of fanservice, it always felt a bit off to me because if you go to most shoujo series of all kinds of genres you can avoid that kind of thing completely. There is content out there like that, but they're so often constantly being overlooked and dismissed because "it's a shoujo".
There is clearly a big difference between fanservice for men and fan service for women! We just want people to recognize that there are manga out there that don't follow the same formula as shonen and seinen!
Great video! I agreed with a lot of your points 😊 We do have our own marketing demographics, even if they don't always super stand out, like you said! I will say at 5:45 that Orange is listed as originally being published in Bessatsu Margaret (2012, Shueisha) then switched to Manga Action (2013-2014, Futabasha) as a seinen. I'd be okay with people calling it either a shoujo or seinen. Same for Kageki Shojo!! The first/prequel part ran in a seinen magazine that I think went defunct, so the main series now runs in a shoujo manga. I tend to say "hey, the original volume started as a seinen, but the main series is a shoujo," but at the end of the day, I don't mind as much what people call something, as long as they're not using it to put down shoujo. Like "ah, well, this series is super good, and technically ran in a seinen magazine at some point, so I'm just gonna call it a seinen and act like it's never been crafted/marketed towards women. I don't read manga for WOMEN." That's when I get aggravated. So, it's more about sexist comments and putting down/generalizing manga targeted toward women as a whole that bother me more than the actual categorization of manga. Like you said about how Queen's Quality is swept under the rug just because it's targeted toward women 🥲 "Shoujosei manga is where women & girls go to see themselves, because they're not seeing it in shonen manga." 100% YES!! That's why I've always read more shoujosei than shonen, and why shonen just doesn't usually appeal to me as much. I have my favorite shonen, and I have a lot more seinen I like in comparison even though I'm not an "adult man," but a good shoujosei manga just hits different... When I was in middle and high school, I shifted from reading novels to reading mostly shoujo manga because nothing coming out was appealing to me in comparison. I feel like there's a lot more diverse YA that would interest me now, but at the time I either couldn't find them, or they just weren't there yet. My first exposure to anime & manga was the magical girl genre, and there wasn't really anything else I'd ever consumed like it back then. I've continued to love and connect to these stories about friendship, love, and emotional/mental strength being just as important as physical strength, if not more. And so many different, well-written female characters, like you said 😄 Thank you for sharing your opinion!! I loved watching this. Unrelated side note, but your hair is awesome
I grew up reading and watching almost exclusively Shonen anime and manga and there are a lot of Shonens and Seinen series I really like but Shojo and Josei just appeal to me so much more. It's great to read things that you can really identify with!
This is such a powerful video and am here for it! Thank you for talking about this, I love hearing your opinion. Am getting back into manga after a 25 year absence and the landscape now is just amazing but still have a lot to learn because so much has changed.
The availability of manga has drastically increased over the years but I generally think that the types of series we are getting are still largely the same. It’s still an abundance of Shonen titles with little variety in the Shojo department (possibly less than before). But reading manga today is defiantly way different than it was 2 decades ago! I’m glad I was able to show you something new~
This was such a good and informative video! I admit that I've been really discouraged about the debate and heated arguments I've been seeing about the need for more shojo manga. It feels that those not saying we need more shojo are coming under fire but also those who are saying we do need more shojo manga are also coming under fire. I feel this video makes a lot more sense about why people are being extremely vocal about the manga demographics and reminded me that while I definitely don't want to be nasty, I should use my voice to speak up about wanting more shojo manga because of all the points you mentioned in why shojo manga is wonderful. Fantastic video and appreciate you sharing your thoughts in such a kind and passionate way!
Thank you! I think a lot of people who are really vocal about wanting more shojo are just frustrated at this point. There is clearly a demand for it and there would be an even bigger audience if people knew what was out there! Its hard to know all these great series are going unnoticed.
It is really ridiculous but I agree, just read whatever you want. I tend to lean more towards seinen titles because some shojo and shonen can feel juvenile at times(not always, don’t crucify me people) . With that said, I’ve read titles that I didn’t even know were in the shojo and shonen demo, so it doesn’t really matter. I read all and any of it ! Very well said !
I've definitely read things that feel juvenile, but I feel like those things are supposed to be. As a grown adult I'm not going to identify with everything!
I'd argue labels don't matter if someone is actually reading based on preferred genres rather than demographic. Then you would end up reading shonen, shojo, josei, and seinen without even trying. However, if someone is looking to be more intentional with what they read, demographic labels can be very helpful.
9:36-11:00 THIS RIGHT HERE is why demographics matter. On a fan level, sure like whatever it is you like, comrade, but on a marketing/publishing level, that shit matters. Shoujo/josei licenses lag far behind that of shounen/seinen licenses, and I'm tired of no one taking that into account when discussing this topic...until now. :) This is why I've been excited for Seven Seas' licenses for the last two years, especially with the new Steamship imprint, and as quietly as it's been kept, Kodansha has released a lot of diverse shoujo/josei manga...it's just all digital. Digital manga is where shoujo/josei has been living now. See it on MangaPlaza, Comikey, Coolmic, etc. Some of the most interesting series have gone to subscription services like Makeup with Mud, Plus-Sized Adventures in Love, etc. I've been tallying how much these services have that I want to read, and how much I'll have to spend to read them legally...and the total figure is not pretty. The boys are so lucky with MangaPlus and the ShonenJump app. They are spoiled. 12:11-13:36, also yeah 100%. Stories by women made for women are important. Good video!
The amount of money I have dropped on Digital Manga alone is crazy. I try to wait for stuff to go on sale but I also want to read it right away. I wish there was something like the Shonen Jump app for Shojo/Josei. That price is too good for all that manga!!
Since publishing this video BOTH Honey Lemon Soda and Mystery to Iunakare have been announced for English release! Honey Lemon Soda will be published by Yen Press and Mystery by Seven Seas!
Even though they have both been licensed, I think my point about them still stands.
Mystery to Iunakare has been running since 2017, and it has been selling well ever since. Honey Lemon Soda has been out since 2015 and has been a top selling Manga for years.
YES GIRL!!! PREACH!!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼 We want more, we NEED more shojo and josei!!! Great informative video!
Thanks!!
Shoujo manga has such a rich history and a certain style of storytelling that really appeals to me. Plus, there is less chance of uncomfortable fanservice that objectifies women or gross male characters.
I can't fathom wanting to erase all that uniqueness and clump it in with shounen or wanting to get rid of shoujo manga magazines (which have such pretty names! Personally I'd rather read something from "Hana to Yume" or "Nakayoshi" than "Shounen Jump" just because of my personal aesthetics).
Let shoujo fans, no matter what their gender is, enjoy the content they love so much.
Ahhh this is so important, it's so refreshing to hear it being talked about. And completely agree about that last point - when I go into shoujo, I can trust almost all of the time I won't have to deal with uncomfortable stuff that is clearly male-gazey. Meanwhile yes, you can avoid a lot of that if you just avoid the ecchi genre, it's also very common to find that kind of thing even just in small amounts in shounen. It's why when people say most anime have that kind of fanservice, it always felt a bit off to me because if you go to most shoujo series of all kinds of genres you can avoid that kind of thing completely. There is content out there like that, but they're so often constantly being overlooked and dismissed because "it's a shoujo".
There is clearly a big difference between fanservice for men and fan service for women! We just want people to recognize that there are manga out there that don't follow the same formula as shonen and seinen!
Great video! I agreed with a lot of your points 😊 We do have our own marketing demographics, even if they don't always super stand out, like you said!
I will say at 5:45 that Orange is listed as originally being published in Bessatsu Margaret (2012, Shueisha) then switched to Manga Action (2013-2014, Futabasha) as a seinen. I'd be okay with people calling it either a shoujo or seinen.
Same for Kageki Shojo!! The first/prequel part ran in a seinen magazine that I think went defunct, so the main series now runs in a shoujo manga. I tend to say "hey, the original volume started as a seinen, but the main series is a shoujo," but at the end of the day, I don't mind as much what people call something, as long as they're not using it to put down shoujo. Like "ah, well, this series is super good, and technically ran in a seinen magazine at some point, so I'm just gonna call it a seinen and act like it's never been crafted/marketed towards women. I don't read manga for WOMEN." That's when I get aggravated. So, it's more about sexist comments and putting down/generalizing manga targeted toward women as a whole that bother me more than the actual categorization of manga. Like you said about how Queen's Quality is swept under the rug just because it's targeted toward women 🥲
"Shoujosei manga is where women & girls go to see themselves, because they're not seeing it in shonen manga." 100% YES!! That's why I've always read more shoujosei than shonen, and why shonen just doesn't usually appeal to me as much. I have my favorite shonen, and I have a lot more seinen I like in comparison even though I'm not an "adult man," but a good shoujosei manga just hits different... When I was in middle and high school, I shifted from reading novels to reading mostly shoujo manga because nothing coming out was appealing to me in comparison. I feel like there's a lot more diverse YA that would interest me now, but at the time I either couldn't find them, or they just weren't there yet. My first exposure to anime & manga was the magical girl genre, and there wasn't really anything else I'd ever consumed like it back then. I've continued to love and connect to these stories about friendship, love, and emotional/mental strength being just as important as physical strength, if not more. And so many different, well-written female characters, like you said 😄
Thank you for sharing your opinion!! I loved watching this.
Unrelated side note, but your hair is awesome
I grew up reading and watching almost exclusively Shonen anime and manga and there are a lot of Shonens and Seinen series I really like but Shojo and Josei just appeal to me so much more. It's great to read things that you can really identify with!
Great video, Christy!!!!
Thank you so much~~
This is such a powerful video and am here for it! Thank you for talking about this, I love hearing your opinion. Am getting back into manga after a 25 year absence and the landscape now is just amazing but still have a lot to learn because so much has changed.
The availability of manga has drastically increased over the years but I generally think that the types of series we are getting are still largely the same. It’s still an abundance of Shonen titles with little variety in the Shojo department (possibly less than before). But reading manga today is defiantly way different than it was 2 decades ago! I’m glad I was able to show you something new~
This was such a good and informative video! I admit that I've been really discouraged about the debate and heated arguments I've been seeing about the need for more shojo manga. It feels that those not saying we need more shojo are coming under fire but also those who are saying we do need more shojo manga are also coming under fire. I feel this video makes a lot more sense about why people are being extremely vocal about the manga demographics and reminded me that while I definitely don't want to be nasty, I should use my voice to speak up about wanting more shojo manga because of all the points you mentioned in why shojo manga is wonderful. Fantastic video and appreciate you sharing your thoughts in such a kind and passionate way!
Thank you!
I think a lot of people who are really vocal about wanting more shojo are just frustrated at this point. There is clearly a demand for it and there would be an even bigger audience if people knew what was out there! Its hard to know all these great series are going unnoticed.
It is really ridiculous but I agree, just read whatever you want. I tend to lean more towards seinen titles because some shojo and shonen can feel juvenile at times(not always, don’t crucify me people) . With that said, I’ve read titles that I didn’t even know were in the shojo and shonen demo, so it doesn’t really matter. I read all and any of it ! Very well said !
I've definitely read things that feel juvenile, but I feel like those things are supposed to be. As a grown adult I'm not going to identify with everything!
I'd argue labels don't matter if someone is actually reading based on preferred genres rather than demographic. Then you would end up reading shonen, shojo, josei, and seinen without even trying. However, if someone is looking to be more intentional with what they read, demographic labels can be very helpful.
love this video!
I read mostly shojo and adore it so much! I’ve been desperate for more to be licensed in English :’)
are we all lol!
9:36-11:00
THIS RIGHT HERE is why demographics matter.
On a fan level, sure like whatever it is you like, comrade, but on a marketing/publishing level, that shit matters. Shoujo/josei licenses lag far behind that of shounen/seinen licenses, and I'm tired of no one taking that into account when discussing this topic...until now. :)
This is why I've been excited for Seven Seas' licenses for the last two years, especially with the new Steamship imprint, and as quietly as it's been kept, Kodansha has released a lot of diverse shoujo/josei manga...it's just all digital. Digital manga is where shoujo/josei has been living now. See it on MangaPlaza, Comikey, Coolmic, etc. Some of the most interesting series have gone to subscription services like Makeup with Mud, Plus-Sized Adventures in Love, etc. I've been tallying how much these services have that I want to read, and how much I'll have to spend to read them legally...and the total figure is not pretty. The boys are so lucky with MangaPlus and the ShonenJump app. They are spoiled.
12:11-13:36, also yeah 100%.
Stories by women made for women are important.
Good video!
The amount of money I have dropped on Digital Manga alone is crazy. I try to wait for stuff to go on sale but I also want to read it right away. I wish there was something like the Shonen Jump app for Shojo/Josei. That price is too good for all that manga!!
I always read manga books like I can read all the demographic manga.
Detective Conan vs Beastars
💖💜💖💜