Boku no Chikyuu wo Mamotte
Please Save My Earth

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When some people hear the phrase "shoujo manga", the first image that comes to their mind is high school romance with cookie-cutter characters and the same melodrama recycled over and over again. Frequently they say to me, "I don't like shoujo"—as if an entire demographic of manga magazines that have been publishing for decades are only capable of writing one type of story.

This stack exists to dispel the stereotypical image of shoujo manga.

Long before the current isekai boom directed towards the male demographic, shoujo magazines in the 1990s were serializing grand adventures where female leading characters were transported to other worlds and faced adversity. At approximately the same time (late 1980s), shoujo manga titles were at the forefront of the reincarnation boom, where main characters living in the modern day discovered they had memories from the past.

Epic tales and past lives aside, manga written for the female demographic tend to emphasize character development before plot. This means good series excel at making the characters' emotions transparent to the reader and their progression or growth feel natural. When the leading character is male instead of female, this can also be very refreshing.

This list is curated from manga I've read and will not include every available title. It will be updated over time. If there is a manga you think that should be added, please feel free to leave a comment on my profile and I'll check it out~

A selection of particularly interesting manga created for a female audience. Includes both modern and classic titles from a variety of different genres.

Need some shojo mystery don't worry this local edgelord gotcha like i got a pokemon from its now godforsakenly cancerous state lol.

This list will always be in alphabetical order.

If the ratings on my profile tell you nothing else it should tell you this; I am very a harsh critic. My average for animé and manga are both in the 5's and, considering how many titles I've completed, will likely always be there. If I rate something a 6 or higher I really do think it's worthwhile. So everything in this stack is something I would recommend at least trying.

All manga in this stack are manga that have ended and never received a TV or movie adaptation and that I have read and given a rating of 6 or above. This stack will be updated as I find new titles. Expect Yotsuba&! (8.5) to make this list when it ends as I highly doubt it will ever get animated (Azuma is refusing to allow it).

For my all-time highest rated manga (8.5+/10) go here; https://myanimelist.net/stacks/15361?view_style=seasonal

Here are all the shoujo manga I think one should read in order to cover all bases. I organized this list by general theme, with publishing series at the bottom.

We start off with serious drama and slice of life series, then period and fantasy action and war series, then science-fiction series, then magical girl series, then series for younger audiences, then romance comedies, then drama slice of life romances, then horror and supernatural manga, and lastly, important ongoing series.

I'm currently using this list too, despite me being the one who created it!

The art nouveau movement features an elegant aesthetic that I wish was in more media.

Here is a list of manga that seem to evoke some visual influences of the art movement, whether solely the covers, occasional appearances in the actual manga, or even if the author is known to be a fan. Probably not a definitive list.

Major thanks to https://occidental-influence-manga.tumblr.com/ btw holy crap

shoujos that I couldn't stop reading after I started (doesn't always mean that they are unproblematic because well we're talking about shoujo and josei here, there's always at least something minor that can bother you BUT I promise these aren't the worst ever)

These manga have sequels or otherwise tell stories spanning many years, eventually following descendants of the original protagonists.

Beautiful. No more words needed

manga with art I think is good

Manga that I consider to at least one great panel/page

Whether it be beautiful, sad, cruel or happy, these titles follow a character across multiple years of their life, observing them being slowly shaped into... something.

This "something" can be a cruel end, a fiery goal achieved, a promise fulfilled, or a love finally found - a metamorphosis of a lifetime.

I tried to add as many different flavors of a "metamorphosis" as I could - from disturbing, to sweet, to heartbreaking, to inspiring and many more.

Manga that were published under the Shojo Beat/Shojo imprint by Viz Media.

Space manga with heavy psychological themes.