Forum - View topic[Can men enjoy Shoujo?]
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Spawned
Posts: 1 |
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First of all, hi I'm knew here. I'll introduce myself properly in the correct thread. Second of this thread does have a point to it. That point being is Shōjo enjoyable to males. There have been a couple of them that have caught my eyes (Angel Sanctuary, Alice 19th) but is it one of those things that just has to many girly undertones, or can a male enjoy it? Anyway please discuss.
[Topic adjusted, please use clear and concise topics -t] |
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unhealthyman
 Posts: 306 |
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Well, it depends entirely on what you like. It is certainly possible (and not uncommon,) for guys to like shojo - in the same way that it is also common for girls to like shonen. For example, have you ever seen a rom com film that is generally aimed at girls and enjoyed it?
If you are after lots of fighting and you are not a fan of romance or relationship stories then shojo will generally not appeal. Also if you just love fanservice and panty shots you probably will be let down by shojo. Some people seem to be worried about the 'Ugh, you're looking at girly stuff,' reaction, then I guess that could stop you, but I wouldn't worry about stuff like that. I guess the only way for you to tell if its possible for you to enjoy shojo is to read/watch some and see if you like it. |
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yardsale09
Posts: 28 |
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completely possible. Infact, except for like three series I'm reading are all shojo. The main appeal to shojo to me is that fact that its so character driven and relationship oriented. Theres even good shojo titles that have fighting and things in them like X.
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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It is very possible. Some shoujo titles, like Angel Sanctuary, Alice 19th, and Ceres, are very violent (Angel Sanctuary and Ceres make most shonen titles seem tame in their violence levels) and have a great plot with the romance playing second fiddle.
There is nothing wrong with guys likely the more "girly" or "kiddy" stuff either. Fruits Basket is on the girly side but has plenty of male fans. Nana is another great one for both genders. |
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Gauss
 Posts: 519 Location: Finland |
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Of course men can enjoy shoujo. Most guys won't touch anything that has a whiff of the girly, but there are many who understand that if you like it, you like it, and to heck with boundaries. Generally speaking the older the reader, the more likely they are to check out non-shounen titles.
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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The answer is yes. Shoujo offers a more dramatic approach to manga, since most shonen manga targeted at males are action related or comedy type stuff.
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Daemonblue
 Posts: 701 |
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The guys that won't touch shoujo because it's "girly" and not because they just aren't fond of the genre are those that feel insecure about themselves. I'll admit, I'm a 17 year old guy and I love shoujo, I also like some shounen (I AM a guy at that age after all, and I need food for thought
 ) so I'm very comfortable with myself. Once you get to the bare bones, shoujo is shounen with less violence (generally) and panty shots, and more storyline, so there's absolutely nothing wrong with guys liking shoujo. Heck, one of the series that got me into anime was Fruits Basket, the other (which got me into it heavily) was Air.
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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I love many shoujo titles, particularly those of the glorious days of Ribon, when it had not yet started competing younger readers (grade schoolers) with Ciao. It was the time when Ribon featured Ai Yazawa, Wataru Yoshizumi, Mihona Fujii, and last but not least, Miho Obana. They formed the mainstay of Ribon, supported by Megumi Mizusawa, Yue Takasuka, and Aoi Hiiragi. I've read all their manga I could find; few shounen manga-ka have received such treatment. Sadly, nowadays only Wataru Yoshizumi stayed; Mihona Fujii moved to Magaret and both Ai Yazawa and Miho Obana moved to Cookie.
Pick any title serialized in ShoComi and there are more sex scenes than the number of lame panty shots of all Shonen Jump titles combined. 
Air is nowhere a shoujo title. |
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hagakure|returns
Posts: 407 |
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Seinen is the reason I read manga, not shoujo or shonen. Both shoujo and shonen have their limits on what they presents to the audience, plus a lot of the theme are similar.
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pathetic1
 Posts: 25 Location: PA |
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Ribon has been going downhill for ages, I'm afraid. Most of my favorite Ribon series were from the 80s (Hoshi no Hitomi no Silhouette, the first part of Tokimeki Tonight), but it wasn't until I think Kodocha ended that I think the magazine in general got a lot less...interesting.  The target age seems to keep getting younger and younger.
Yoshizumi "graduated" to Chorus earlier this year. She was the last Ribon managka I actually liked. Hiiragi is my favorite mangaka overall, I wish she did more these days. She pops up in Margaret from time to time.
Ok, back on topic!!1 Not all shoujo manga is hearts and flowers and frilly lacy girly stuff; I would say that though shoujo may be marketed to girls, a lot of it does have mass appeal. Here is Greenwood, Kaze Hikaru, and some other series comes to mind as stories written for girls but not being explicitly "girly" looking or feeling. When you're looking for a new title, I'd recommend buying the type of story you actually want to read and paying less attention to the label the publisher slapped on it. Of course, there's also manga written for guys that girls can enjoy too. I like a handful of shonen/seinen series, plus I know tons of girls who are obsessed with the more current Shonen Jump stuff. |
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Daemonblue
Posts: 701 |
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Well, I see where you're coming from when you say no where near since it IS based off of an H-game and whatnot, but I think you're off a bit (and so does the encyclopedia on this website...). That being said, maybe I should have said generally for everything I mentioned instead of just violence, but that can kind of be expected since most shounen shows focus more on action than panty shots cause they're, well, intended for young boys (what the word shounen implies) and not really older teens or most girls.
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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(Sigh) That's really a bad news (so Datte Suki Nandamon was her last title serialized in Ribon). There goes the last pillar holding Ribon for almost two decades. Now that Ribon only has two "veggies" -- Nana Haruta and Arina Tanemura -- remained. As I said before, it was because of competition between Ribon and Shogakukan's Ciao, and the higher ups at Shueisha decided to lower the target age of Ribon while leaving older readers to Margaret, Chorus, and Cookie. Slightly OT: Take a look at the "farewell" titles by Ai Yazawa and Miho Obana: Last Quarter and Partner, respectively. Those are the best titles from respective manga-ka I've ever seen. Neither is suitable for young girls, and I daresay Partner is the heaviest and darkest shoujo manga ever created. Good to know that Honey Bitter has been licensed in Taiwan by SPP.
Took care of it. |
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Kouji
 Posts: 978 |
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There's nothing wrong with guys liking shoujo manga. I'm a guy and the series that got me into anime and manga was actually a shoujo series, Sailor Moon. I've recently started reading the Fruits Basket manga and I abosuletly adore Fushigi Yuugi. I'm also a really big fan of Clamp and I find I actually enjoy their shoujo manga more than Clamp's shounen stuff. In any case, I think manga should be judge by the quality of the individual titles themselves rather than their genre. Guys reading shoujo manga doesn't make them girly and girls reading shounen manga doesn't make them butch. Guys who make fun of other guys just for reading shoujo manga are probably gay themselves and they're just in denial about it, so they take their anxieties out on other more open-minded fans and those jackasses should just be ignored and aren't worth your time dealing with anyway.
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IvoryBirch
 Posts: 137 Location: a distant northern land |
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Gotta love shoujo smut! Shoujo is certainly not exempt from fanservice - it's just aimed at girls instead of boys. Most of the smuttier shoujo titles don't seem to be licensed here, though, with the only exception I can think of being Sensual Phrase (and Haou Airen, which was supposedly licensed by Viz, but hasn't yet made its debut). So, steer away from Mayu Shinjo and you should be fine.
To the original poster - it seems that you like titles that strays a bit from the "typical" shoujo (i.e., titles like Absolute Boyfriend, another Yuu Watase title which is unfortunately nowhere near as good as Alice 19th). I agree with the recommendation of Ai Yazawa, as her manga tends to be less "girly" and more universal. I know several guys who love Paradise Kiss. Also, I think Kodocha appeals to both sexes as well (however, the series is currently out of print in English, so you might have to buy it used). |
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Malintex Terek
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The answer is yes, but only if the titles in question are shoujo romances. Anyone who could enjoy a silly soap/melodrama like Fruits Basket voluntarily relinquishes the designation of "man".
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