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Shoujo manga magazines typically feature stories with female leads: the character whose perspective and inner thoughts primarily narrate the story to the audience.

The manga collected in this stack are original works serialized in these same shoujo magazines, but instead feature a male leading character. Story plots can fall into any genre and vary widely, including Romance, Adventure, Horror, or Comedy.

Please note Boys Love (BL) stories and male casts with heavy BL subtext are excluded from this stack. Manga serialized in josei magazines are also excluded as there are specific publications which have a higher tendency to feature only male characters.

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~

All of these are Shoujo, there isn’t a single shounen piece in here. These can vary from fantasy Shoujo to action Shoujo. They are not all romantic in nature. None of these are one-shots either, though some are more short than others. Please enjoy these and I hope you find some interesting things in here. I’ve read all of these and loved them so I’d be honored if you’d do the same.

These are all shoujo manga (manga targeted towards girls and young women) featuring male protagonists/main characters
[The following list includes series of VARIOUS genres]

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[Not on MAL]

-She’s My Knight
-Hunting Summer
-Ai wo Kataru nara Hisoyaka ni

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)

shoujo and josei titles that may appeal more to shounen/seinen readers looking to get into the demographic but want to avoid the stereotypical shoujo romances told from the female POV

Waalex11's Recommendations of the ROMANCE/DRAMA genre.

... My personal list of critically great manga, exclusively of romance and drama that are worth reading.

Waalex11's Recommendations of Underrated Manga.

... My personal list of critically great underrated completed manga that are worth reading.

Part 1:
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/35258

if you like manga/manhwa that affects the audience's emotions such as sadness, annoyance, hatred, heart-wrenching tragic, you can read this
Don't forget your tissue :)

Notes: I have definitely watched/read the anime/manga that I give a rating
I will not give a rating below 5, Rating 5 for me = 1, >8 = recommended
if it's not good for me, the status "Dropped" and no rating

manhwa about main character who reverse time or reincarnation to novel/game/ other character (PART 3)

Notes: I have definitely watched/read the anime/manga that I give a rating
I will not give a rating below 5, Rating 5 for me = 1, >8 = recommended
if it's not good for me, the status "Dropped" and no rating

A shoujo manga means a comic published in a magazine targeted towards the young female demographic (under 18) in Japan.

Josei manga with a Male Protagonist: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/42856

Unusual/intriguing premise, complex worldbuilding, well-written characters, big cast, supporting characters play important roles, multiple arcs, psychological themes. Long-running series (longer than 5 volumes).

The main plot has to be something other than just romance. It can be romance-focused if it equally focuses on another genre such as supernatural, action, adventure, psychological etc.

Highschool setting or slice of life themes are excluded unless the story has more interesting/unusual themes other than the two.