FAVORITE SHOUJOS READ IN 2025
Hey, hi, hello. I didn't play enough otomes to make a favorites lists for 2025 (I am hoping to play more in 2026!), but I did read like...180+ volumes of manga, most being shoujo/josei reads. I read some really great ones, and while some of these are still ongoing, I'm still talking about them because they're great and I loved them.
With that said, let's get started!
5. Ore to Mo Ichido, Hatsukoi by Hasegaki Narumi
LISTEN, objectively, I recognize the pacing of this was fast and that the ending wasn't the most satisfying, but there was just something about the vibes of this manga that really drew me in. I like a reverse harem where all the guys are given equal weight and it doesn't feel obvious who the lead is going to end up with (and the fact she didn't end up with who lowkey felt the most obvious was kind of a plus). The main plot about our girl trying to figure out who she was in love with before she suddenly lost her memories isn't revolutionary, but the characters were written with such a specific type of tenderness that I ended up enjoying it a lot.
4. Penguin Revolution by Tsukuba Sakura
This would have been an all-time favorite shoujo series in another timeline, where it had never been cancelled. I mourn for that timeline-
This is an idol/model story about a girl who can sense the talent people have, as that talent takes the shapes of wings on the person's back. Through a series of events, she becomes a manager to a boy trying to debut in the industry. And I loved every second of it (until the end, where it's immediately obvious it was cancelled and I am very much upset by it, can you tell?).
The examination of what talent is, how to nurture it, the different forms it takes, and how it's a mix of hard work and being in a healthy emotional state was just so good. I loved everything this had to say about art and passion. I don't even like idol stories or anything to do with famous people, but there was just so much here thematically I resonated with. This was also an older series, it came out around the mid-2000s, and so it was all wrapped up in a nostalgic bow.
3. Last Quarter by Ai Yazawa
If I may be so honest, I...don't like Nana lol. In fact, I'm not really the biggest fan of Ai Yazawa. But there was just something about this series in particular that worked for me.
So you follow a group of elementary school kids who are trying to help a girl who is a ghost (but also not a ghost), try to remember who she is and get information on her lost love to help her be free from the current state she's in.
I think the emotional draw that people talk about in Ai Yazawa's other works was finally present for me in this one. I know this is a more unpopular one of her series, but I actually really like kids solving mysteries a lot. It's always very fun, and it being broken up between the hazy memories of the ghost their trying to help creates a nice ebb and flow of brighter moments and somber ones. It also made the emotional moments more impactful, and there are some scenes that have stuck with me vividly, despite having read this in the beginning of the year.
2. Pizzicato no Nemuru Mori by Yukimura Alto
Do you want something so soft and cozy it feels like a warm hug? Because this is it. I loved this so much, I honestly thought it was going to be my favorite read for the year.
It follows Emilie who has sorta run away from home to her great-great-grandfather's old cottage in the countryside. While she's there, she meets the house spirits who live there, as well as boy who has also run away from home. Together, the two of them learn about the history of the cottage as well as more about each other.
This will pop up in my honorable mentions, but I love reading about musicians and learning to love music despite all the other complicated emotions around it. Emilie's journey with her piano playing it running parallel with her growth as a person is so lovely to witness. I also loved her friendship and hint of a romance with Shura. They have such a soft dynamic, and have such a gentle and understated support of each other that's really sweet. Since we got Collette Decides to Die in English by this mangaka, I'm hoping there is a chance we get an official license for this one as well because I would kill to own physical copies.
1.Angel Sanctuary by Kaori Yuki
This is an insane pick for number one, and I feel like I need to give a million content warnings for it because this series has it all, but it's so cool??
This is about a boy who is a reincarnation of angel. And that angel waged a war against heaven, which left her cursed to be reborn as a human for all eternity. Setsuna is that current reincarnation, although he doesn't know it yet.
If you know anything about this, you've probably heard of the incest, and it's like a major part of this. I'm a big fan of gothic fiction in general, so it didn't exactly bother me, but I know that's a major 'no' for people, so here's the warning. With that said, I love 90s animanga aesthetic and its obsession with technology as horror and gore. I love all the weird religious themes and criticisms going on. I love how visceral and detailed the art was (and also how stunning it was, too).
There's a lot going on in this story, and it did take a few rereads to fully digest what exactly was happening, but once I reread the first few volumes again, I was locked in. I know neither of these games are well known or popular but it reminded me of the JRPGs "Baroque" and "deSpiria." The angelic horror and the feeling of despair between all three of these are really similar. It's so well done, and also a wild ride. If you don't mind the content warnings in this and like weird things like I do, please give this a read if you haven't yet. I fully understand why it's a classic now.
Honorable Mentions
Green Yuri aka The Guy she was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All by Arai Sumiko
I don't know what to say about this that hasn't already been said. The bright green visuals are striking and really draws you in, and I can see why this got so popular based on the art alone. The story itself is a standard slice of life romance, but the leads are well written and really bring this manga to life. I just had a fun time reading it, and I'll probably continue having fun with it in the future.
La Corda d'Oro by Kure Yuki
This was a reread but I have to put it in here (and I've never talked about it on the blog, so it gets a pass). I just really love a girl falling in love with music and experiencing all the complicated feelings from wanting to do well by the art form you love and thinking you're not good enough. As someone who played the flute a lot when I was younger, then fell off, rereading this and watching Hino fall in love with the Violin really inspired me to get back into music myself. It's such a comforting, cozy series, and I adore it to this day.
Tenshi Dattara, Yokatta by Yuri Nakagawa
This was also a reread, and tbh I might have talked about this one before, but I'll do it again! This is honestly my favorite short shoujo manga series I've ever read. It's only three volumes, and follows a tangle of complicated friendships and romances. I love the characters in this, and seeing an emotionally abusive friendship depicted with so much weight behind it isn't the most common thing. I also love the ML and how much of a mess he is. The whole thing is just such a fascinating character study to me of these four teens and the unstable mental state they're all in. It manages to depict them so well considering how short the series is. I desperately wish this had an official release in English so I could own it and reread forever.
