hi regarding your recent manga post, do you have any recs of good starting points, all time classics or absolute must-reads for shoujo/josei works?
HOO boi anon theres a lot i have a small list of my childhood shoujo favs which feature classics that are targeted for younger audiences like lovely complex,kodocha,beauty pop ect.. here (2 of these are kinda trashy tho dgfd) BUT for more there's :
Nana and paradise kiss indigo blue,free soul and love my life by Ebine Yamaji ( iv'e forgotten a lot of it but her work is good from what i remember) kids on the slope(sakamichi no apollon) Extreme dream by naomi lemon princess tutu (anime) Kare Kano (anime) utena (anime) (check the trigger list) No.6 (anime) Michiko to hatchin kanata kara( from far away) Children of the whales (currently reading) Crimson Hero Tomie Mars (critically acclaimed classic for a reason) fruits basket Tokyo Tarareba Girls yona of the dawn Hell girl (anime) shi to kanojo to boku not too sure if i want to recommend red river but its a classic for a reason i guess (tw for assault) Olimpos ( not the best but I thought it was interesting as a kid and the art is gorgeous ) the twelve kingdoms Kimi ni Todoke ( its a long series tho the anime probably better) Koi Dano ai dano papa told me vampire princess miyu Drowning love (this should be categorized under psychological cause the way the author writes these characters its like a thriller the second half of the series is kinda of mess tho, tw for attempted assault) Chihayafuru ( havent read it yet but ive heard great things) fushigi yugi (havent read it yet but ive heard great things) Claudine by riyoko ikeda banana fish is a classic also but im not sure if i wanna recomend (tw for csa,selfharm and abuse) Helter skelter,PINK and river's edge by kyoko okazaki (tw for themes of assault, objectification and topics of prostitution) Ooku ( depictions of sexual violence tw) maybe clover by clamp but i havent finished it yet Natsume Yuujinchou Mononoke Soushi Dokuhime ( i have not read this in a while tho so like idk if its still good but i remember crying my eyes out) Ore Monogatari!! Aria by kozue Amano ( i only count it cause the demographic is muddled) The Vision of Escaflowne (anime) Skip beat (dropped it but its a classic for some ppl) hibari no asa (discussions of grooming and oversexualization of a teen) Silent blue by andou ikori Requiem of the Rose King (never finished it but dont watch the anime💀 tw for incestous themes,age gaps(because history),body dysmorphia and assault ) Basara and 7 seeds A witch's life in mongol pet shop of horrors Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand Keiko Suenobu's Life ( tw for topics of bullying and self harm) the art isnt the greatest but its a classic Rose of versailles (i havent read this in a long time but its a classic) princess jellyfish a lot of ppl put the film Perfect Blue as josei but idk about that most of moyocco anno's bibliography even if sakuran falls under seinen
most of Hagio moto's work including iguana girl, a cruel god reigns (trigger warning for rape,abuse,assault and topics of incest and suicide approach with caution) it has the best use of panelling to portray psychosis that ive ever seen but it’s a very very heavy story so just a warning, a lot of her scifi stuff is great and The Poe Clan
tbh a lot of year 24 group's works are still impactful to this day , i wouldnt force you to read it but a lot of ppl would say its extreme recommended reading,80s shoujo horror is also influential like dark sea,moon shadow and purple eyes in the dark
there's the whole magical girl genre which included princess tutu and utena but there's also stuff like Saint Tail and magic knight rayearth ect BUT i guess for the ultimate predictable classic its sailor moon
for new ish shojosei : there's run away with me girl and my girlfriend's child, My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and my broken mariko(tw for topics of abuse and incest) , Umi ga Hashiru Endroll, queen's quality(QQ Sweeper havent read it but its recommended to me all the time) and Yama Wayama's works including Onna no Sono no Hoshi(its so funny)
i read immortal rain a long time ago and its very good but there's an ambigious age gap all around so just a warning
im pretty sure im missing a lot but for whats on top of my head these are all great, theres probably other lists better than this but a thing that a lot of classic shoujo lists/recs have is like.....unabashed pseudo incest and age gaps in a romanticized lense which i dont really enjoy so like it depends on the limit you can take and curate your experience!!! it's kinda why i'd recommend ouran high school host club (anime) only if your only aware of those tropes even if it hasnt aged well in some aspects otherwise im trying to be #different hsdfhs
unfortunately a lot of josei/shoujo magazine titles have just not been translated and fallen out of print and are never adapted as anime so its kinda lost media at this point which is a huge frustration but 🤷🏽♀️
have fun reading/watching!!!
i'll continue to uptade this list as i discover new stories :)
