Pic unrelated.
Okay, okay, that’s a blanket statement which won’t encapsulate every single shoujo ever made, but this is just my opinion on a genre that I’ve tried and just not found to my liking. Also note that I’m talking about shoujo shows based around romance, rather than mahou or… otherwise, I guess.
Let’s get one thing straight: I’m not a cold heartless bastard who hates any form of love and relishes the suffering of others. Nor am I an action whore who’s only into EXPLOSIONS and HIGH-SPEED ACTION. I just don’t see what’s so appealing about shoujo. And this is probably a gender thing as there are many exceptions to that unspoken rule.
I haven’t had much experience with shows from that genre; in fact, the only shows I could say I’ve watched would be Itazura na Kiss and Special A. (neither were the paragon of shoujo anime (I think) and neither did I finish). What I quickly realised was that I wasn’t watching the shows for the characters, only for the comedy. To be frank, I didn’t give a toss whether Kotoko ended up with Irie, I only supported her because Irie irritated the hell out of me. The same for Special A., only that was more the fault of Hikari being a dumbass and… well everyone in the show being a dumbass.
However, that’s only the case of those two shows. But from those two shows, one admittedly good manga (that I still feel no urge to continue reading) and a few blog posts I think I’ve garnered all the knowledge I need to state some of my problems with the genre.
I hate the art, at the very least for mangas.
It’s just too fanciful and too embellished. There’s no sense of subtlety or understatement and you can barely go 3 pages or half an episode without seeing some sort of elaborate background to demonstrate that THIS IS A CRUCIAL MOMENT or THIS CHARACTER HAS X FEELING. This happened often in Special A, whenever something significant happened in the show, they used this strange sketching style that just didn;t have any impact at all.
I hate the characters.
Everyone seems like a retard in these whos, be it from misunderstandings to not expressing feelings to each other. Granted, this isn’t a problem limited only to the genre, but it’s more significant when it’s based around 1 girl and two guys, or slight variations thereof. I don’t even have to say much about the character devlopment, as the All Girls Round Robin some months ago looked at the cliche of “The Other Guy” (further posts right at the top). Then there’s the fact it seems to always be about 1 girl going after some generic and/or stereotypical guy who always sucks in one form or another, be it being perceived as perfect only to *GASP* NOT BE, or being a complete asshat.
I hate the rigmarole.
This is something that’s just irritating with the entire romance genre, but particularly with shows like Itazura or Vampire Knight (oh yeah, forgot that’s shoujo too). It just gets to the point that I’m thinking “Why am I watching this when I could probably come back at episode 22 of 24 just in time for the moment when everything’s resolved?” At the very least with a harem (shoujo’s hated enemy WRRRRYYYY) you get some level of mystery as to who the main chracter will end up with (most harem show’s suck btw, just to make that clear).There’s no suspense either, just a linear plotline where the goal’s in sight; I need some sort of variation to keep me interested or I just get bored.
I can’t stand watching complete idocy or misinterpretations or plain bad luck befalling these characters only to have the relationship developments slow down to a crawl or, god forbid, go into complete reverse at certain times. Then there are times when the pacing’s just completely screwed up. Case and point: I dropped Itazura at around episode 12 or 13 and then a couple of weeks later I find out that *spoiler* Kotoko and Irie are getting married! How the hell did that happen within the space of a couple episodes? What was the point of having Irie being a douchebag for almost the entire time till that point anyway?
++++
If anyone could recommend me a show that at least bucked a couple of trends from the above then I’d be happy to try it out and see if I’ve just made a huge mistake in giving up on the genre. I like most genres except for shows in this vein. Though Itazura, Special A. and Vampire Knight just left a bad taste in my mouth that stopped me from checking out the (apparently) genre-busting show that is Skip Beat!
Grand Punk Railroad 
I pretty much share your opinions about this kind of shows, but I must say I’m enjoying Skip Beat quite a bit.
I think I know what you mean by shoujo manga art, it is kind of excessive (for me).
Try Bokura ga Ita…or Fruits Basket, if your /m/anliness desires challenge. I enjoyed both of them. Isn’t H&C technically shoujo? [don’t quote me on that]
>>“Why am I watching this when I could probably come back at episode 22 of 24 just in time for the moment when everything’s resolved?”
I swear I read that that’s the primary reason why Biankita (or someone…) likes shoujo, seriously, 25 episodes for conflict, and one big final one for resolution.
First “Wackiyuki,” now this awesomely inflammatory post title. Am I a trendsetter, or have I sadly “invented” things that already exist?
because of all the epic space battles in between! No for real, the journey is the fun, right? You could say that about almost any genre if you really wanted to, but if you let yourself get sucked into the dramatic desperation of the heroine it’s all good fun.
I also think I know what you mean about the art, though…
orz wrecked blockquotes
fruits basket!
Does Nodame Cantabile count as shoujo?
no, it’s a josei
Try Honey and Clover and KareKano (His and Her Circumstances). Excellent writing with believable emotions and real character development. Sadly, it’s not the norm.
Wouldn’t DNAngel be considered a bit of romance shoujo too? You might want to try that too if it is. La Corda if I remember is another one that’s good too. The thing is that some of the more well known shoujo mangas tend to be like that but there is actually a lot of series that does not follow the trend that you stated. Just keep reading around more and you will see that it’s just a few of them that are like that. Personally for me though I like it. At the same time, I like the opposite but not as dark as something like Berserk.
Oh, I am not really sure whether it’s a gender thing or not because I’m a guy and love shoujo and shounen at the same time although I tend to lean towards shoujo a bit more most of the time.
Well, I’m not a big fan of shoujo anime either and I share your points. Actually, I dropped Special A even before finishing episode 2.
However there are three exceptions for me: Kare Kano, Skip Beat and Lovely Complex.
As you might infer, these series won over me with their comedy and great sense of humour, nevertheless the drama-factor is also present and balanced… that’s a good shoujo for me. Comedy and drama. Yin and Yang.
So, if you want a recomendation, I’d say Lovely Complex is the best shoujo I’ve seen and I encourage you to watch it if you haven’t yet.
i always thought big elaborate descriptive backgrounds kick ass! oohhh, i see, she’s mad (with purple wavy bg). If they had these backgrounds IRL my high school life would have been easier.
As a shoujo fangirl I have some serious objections!!!!! Actually not really. You’re mostly spot on. Just one little thing.
I wish you wouldn’t ever consider Special A when talking about shoujo. Or rather, the Special A anime, the Special A manga is pretty typical shoujo, the anime is…I don’t know what it is. It’s like shoujo that’s trying to appeal more as a comedy, but failing since it’s not funny (and oh god the random sketchy crayon crap does not represent shoujo either!).
Most romance shoujo does suck though (hell, most shoujo sucks) since there’s just so much of it and not much variety. Romance on the side is awesome, but when they focus on romance it’s just way too obvious that there’s not enough substance. Especially since they’re so prone to dragging it out.
As for good ones, I can start by saying I don’t think good anime exist (except maybe Skip Beat now), but there are some good manga. Not any I’d think to recommend to you though.
But don’t tell anyone that I secretly dislike (most) romance shoujo too or it will be a gigantic stain on my fangirl reputation.
Protip: Special A is shit. I wouldn’t consider it as a great example of the genre.
And you also dropped Itazura na Kiss pretty much right before it started getting good.
You did nail a lot of the more annoying conventions of the genre, but it has produced a lot of very good anime which don’t play so heavily to the cliches you listed, a lot of which have been listed in the comments. There’s also titles like Honey and Clover and Nodame Cantabile, which are josei anime (ie, shoujo’s older, smarter and more mature sister). I don’t really agree that the harem genre is better than the shoujo romance genre, though, the tropes of the harem genre and more asinine and frustrating than anything in the shoujo romance genre, IMO. Or maybe that’s just how it feels like because there’s way more harem anime than shoujo romance anime.
Itazura na Kiss rocks. Nana (manga) is way awesome. Kare Kano is brilliant. Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge will turn you gay, well, Nana too. But then again LOGH will too.
I agree with a bunch of people here: KARE KANO!
Kaleido Star, Akuma de Souro, Hana Kimi (Hanazakari no Kiimi tachie), Mekakushi no Kuni, Ai Hime, Koko Debut (Highschool Debut), Bitter Virgin (decent enough and technically its seinen), Midnight Secretary (josei not shoujo),
…and that’s coming from a manly guy like me!
lol… if special a, vampire knight, and itazura na kiss were a standard for you, then please i beg you to reconsider. special a and vampire knight were painful. and itazura na kiss is the keikaku doori of shoujo.
you should at least watch honey & clover and fruits basket – both shows have are not into the whole love thing. they’re more slice-of-life and friendship type. or maybe macross frontier or any other macross show- at least if you get pissy over the love story, you still have the space battles to compensate ^^
@Skh
Genre busting ftw, I guess.
@lelangir
Alas, I am not /m/anly at all. Only the likes of otou-san and ghostlightning are true /m/en.
I’ve always thuoght H&C was shoujo and Riex said it was so that’s good enough for me.
@otou-san
I’ll keep stealing from you forever 😛
I don’t think you could say that for any genre, there are many shows where I’ve had no idea where the plot’s going and there’s no definitive endpoint to be seen. Doesn’t change the fact the shows were of great quality, though.
@shuffee
We shall see.
@Kiri
I have no idea. Perhaps it’s musical shoujo? *shrug*
@Mike
These two shows seem to have a good following so I’ll check them out. If only every show from every genre was awesome.
@Silver
See, that’s the thing, I already disappointed with the genre from my few experiences with it so I don’t want to have to sort through all the dreck to get to something good. That’s why I asked for recommendations (which you gave, and thank you).
@amalek
Someone after my own heart. It’s always about being able to balance the aspects of a show, not too much drama, not too much comedy but just enough of both to instil passionate reactions from the viewer. Thanks for the recommendations.
@animekritik
Why stop with background art? Why not even have background music :P?
@FuyuMaiden
Shhh the other fangirls might hear you :P!
Always looking for something which bucks the trend or adjusts the formula. Perhaps I should’ve listened to all the rave reviews and given Skip Beat a chance. Shall place on my to watch list.
@Sorrow-kun
I always side with the harem because of the overflowing moe~
But there’s got to be something wrong when I have to sit through up to 12 episodes of a series for it to start getting good. Give me something that’s consistent or gets good early on over a late bloomer any day.
@ghostlightning
Hell, half the anime I watch are on the verge of turning me gay.
@picchar
Okay, okay, KareKano it is then 😉
@gh3ttoduCanada
Woah, that’s a lot, thanks.
@biankita
I actually didn’t give a shit about the love triangle in Macross Frontier. Most of the characters irritated me. Except for Mikhail (;_;) and Klan.
If you hate shoujo then you probably hate the Twilight books. They are specially designed for their core audience. Twilight was bad in terms of the language, pacing and plot devices but the core audience does not mind it. It maybe even more correct to say that they expect it to be like that.So it sells.
You have valid points but I like the brand of slapstick humor that often exist on shoujo.One good shoujo Anime with shoujou brand comedy for me is Ouran. It is barebones shoujou because the anime does not go far into the story the manga gives. However the good thing with Ouran is its awareness of the fourthwall and its attempts to remind the viewers that they are just a show afterall.
IMHO, Kare Kano anime has too much resemblance to Eva with all the recap episodes and the introspective ones. I wonder about the manga though. But it is indeed a good love story. The tokidoki moments are controlled to attempt to show the real emotional climate between two teens falling in love.
And yeah Honey and Clover for the win! But I think that is bordering on Josei though. Nodame though is showing signs of being a shoujo albeit the older characters.
@maakusutipen
I completely forgot about Josei. Perhaps the lack of maturity is the problem I have with the genre. I must be more inclined to josei, I guess.
Oh gods, you won’t BELIEVE how many girls are obsessed with twilight, I find it to be a bore though.
My advice is to avoid all shoujo anime (I have yet to watch one I liked) and just read manga. Start on series like Andante, Kodomo no omocha, fruits basket, and sailormoon.
The trick is to start on series that either is recommended by everyone, or doesn’t contain any pretty boys. If the series isn’t continuing based on the personality and looks of the male characters, then you KNOW the plot has some substance (many VNs also fall into this trap, they spend so much time making the girls as desirable as possible and don’t work on the plot as much).
[…] First critique of a genre I know almost nothing about. […]
Haha, yes, thank you!
Well, If you are a guy.. (Sorry I don’t read through your blog..) it’s normal if you don’t like shoujo! Just like I am a girl and I don’t like Romance Shonen (I like action like Bleach and Naruto). For me Romance Shonen is weird and unreasonable especially the ecchi ones (a really ordinary guy that surrounded by tons of girls that like to show nudity). But hey, I also like Shoujo manga about a really ordinary girl that surrounded by Handsome Guys!! And usually the guys are smart and super rich also hahahha! That’s just a fantasy from each gender 🙂 Just like Transformer fulfill guy’s fantasy about robot and a very very beautiful and sexy girl that not high maintenance but really loyal to you. And Shopaholic fulfill girl’s fantasy about beautiful dresses, really handsome and rich guy (but also humble, only interested with a main character even though there is more beautiful girl attracted to him) and accept our shopping habit! ^^
I hated shoujo too. I finished and am following Vampire Knight, and Shugo chara. But honestly, i dislike both.
I agree with all the points you listed up there.
I`ve seen Fruits basket, Shugo chara, vampire knight, special A, ouran, and much more that i may have forgotten.
The one that i couldnt even watch more than 5 episodes was Special A. Obviously, Hikari will never beat Takishima, or is if it does, it`ll be some warped trick or whatever.
Obviouisly, its utterly stupid that only 7 elite students get to have 5 hour breaks, and cookies, in a huge greenhouse larger than classrooms combined.
The comedy is horrible. The obvious guy who eats too much, the girl who just looks stupid and is “saving her voice” and theh other dumbasses aswell. Its not funny. No. I find spongebob squarepants more funny than this shit.
The one shoujo, that i highly recommend, would be Skipbeat. I`ve seen over 70 manga/anime, and Skipbeat is my absoloute favourite shoujo anime.
I agree with you, and special a is a great
example of why shoujo sucks. That anime is a
piece of garbage (in my opinion). I have really
high standards for the art in shoujo manga. And a beautiful setting won’t get you to please me.
Plot and character development is extremely important for me too. And I hate it when the main character girls are dense, dumbasses.
Most of the time I try to ignore that, even though it’s really irritating. If you want to read a manga
with an ACTUAL plot twist. I suggest you start reading manga by ikeyamada go. But I would
consider “uwasa no midori kun!!” even though it’s a little explicit and the main character is
kinda dense, it has a great storyline and I really do recommend it.
No, it’s not. xD It’s a horrible example and in no way defines the shoujo genre. There are heroines out there worth your time, trust me. Go watch Akatsuki no Yona, Hana Yori Dango, or Ouran High School Host Club. 🙂
the whole shoujou genre is gay, sometimes literally, since they like yaoi, and whatnot. I dislike all homosexual manga and anime, so i stay away from them, but in general watching shoujou anime is like eating overly sweetened candy, too much sugar makes u sick, in a bad way. At least in shounen romance there isn’t too much sugar. What i do dislike, is how in a lot of shounen anime, there is too much ecchi and when there is ecchi they always have girl on girl romance action, which i prefer NOT to watch. OMFG a guy who doesnt like lesbo action, ya i hate, I don’t mind homosexuals, but to tell u the truth I don’t want to watch them either, mahou sensei, i stopped watching, because 1, it was too ecchi, in a diff way, the main character was 10 years old. sick. 2 the girl on girl romance = turn off, 3 i was expecting a magic show, and instead got garbage. I only watched it for 1 reason, I saw legend of the legendary heroes and got turned on to magic anime. But I prefer anime that doesn’t dabble into homosexual romances, because I would rather not see that shit, just like homos don’t want to see heterosexual romances I suppose. I know from experience(was in the military and I had many gay friends, all male ship, everyone had gay friends). BTW, do females actually like seeing guy on guy action? wtf is with that?
In short: I’m a sexist, homophobic, manly man!
fuck off. just coz sb doen’t enjoy homoerotic stuff doesn’t mean they are homophobic. shoujo is a genre- a space for guy with girl love stories. if you want homo stuff, put it somewhere else. stop hogging the shoujo genre.
thank you, finally. someone said it. what timing..i just made a thread on my- anime- planet on this subject. i am a girl and i don’t like gay undertones/ homoerotic fanservice in shoujo anime. and i can relate to you. people assume that just because viewers are girls, they would love guys with guys stuff. dafuq? i hate that mis-conception. i am pro gay, but i watch shoujo romance to watch a love story between a guy and a girl. why shove homoerotic and homo romantic stuff down my throat. i was wondering if there are guys who don’t like homo girls stuff and here you are. thank you.
typo: my anime list not my anime planet.
Have all of you forgotten that anime is fiction and therefore should not have any ties to reality whatsoever. i think alot of you have forgotten why we watch anime for escapism not to get some overall view of how the world works if we want that we can switch on the news. I like the shojo genre because i understand that it’s not real or is trying to be real. Just like how shounen appeals to boys well shojo provides a girl’s wishfullment in a realationship just like the disney princesses do. For a girl who has seen lots of it yet still enjoys it. (although I don’t like the sometimes abusive relationships some authors protray). Also I like the heroines because they seem like people you could get along with in real life.
Try PEACH GIRL. Probably not one of the best BUT art and characters are much more “clever” and better than other shoujo characters.
Also try LIFE. It’s my favorite shoujo manga about hard core bullying etc.
Also try DEEP LOVE. No matter how “gay” the title sounds, I love this manga and it made me cry a river many many times!
I forgot Hana yori dango.
I never had much interest in Shoujo genre except for Mahou Shoujo .
Special A really left a nasty taste on my mouth, It has a lot of flaws.
I do enjoy S.A but I hate it at the same time.
Idiotic Characters.
Over- unrealistic plot.
I think everyone can tell the Biggest Flaw Is ”Money can bring us Happiness.”
Abusing the usage of Money – Buying a forest and stuff to please people . Just by that , It’s insulting Love.
No wonder , Girls have been so materialistic.
Having High-Tea during Lesson time.
Exceeding ”Reality” wherefore getting an extra mark , going beyond full marks for mistakenly marked wrong. That was the STUPIDEST thing , I have ever heard before.
i agree with you. i hated itazura na kiss, too. and i hated irie. he never showed any emotion or feelings for these many episodes and then suddenly, it is revealed he has been in love with her. dafuq. and he was a complete jerk before and after marriage. and kotoko could be really dis-likable too. i really didn’t like that anime.
and about skip beat, it starts to suck, alright. i dropped it at ep 11.
Am I the only one who wants shoujo romance anime to be without gay undertones and homoerotic fan-service
first of all, i am pro gay.
i have nothing against gay people or the LGBTQ.
but i don’t like that there are gay undertones/ homoerotic fan service in every single damn shoujo anime.
it is shoujo for god’s sake, not shonen- ai/ yaoi.
and the problem is the way it is presented that is so twisted, manipulative.
i mostly watch shoujo romance comedy anime.
now, if i watch a shoujo anime, and the guy has feelings for the girl, but at the same time, he has romantic/ sexual tension with another guy in the anime, what am i supposed to make of that?
that weakens the love story.
and it’s manipulative and twisted. and kinda sick.
it is as if the makers/ writers don’t know how to tell a story.
if the guy is gay or bi, just say it honestly.
tell the viewers and the female gf/lover honestly, who he is and what kind of “friendship” or ‘relationship’ he has with other characters.
don’t lie.
and if he is straight, what is with the (open- secret sort of) gay undertones?
???
it is as if platonic friendships/ relationships don’t exist.
it is as if straight people don’t exist.
???
straight people exist, okay.
and platonic friendships/ relationships exist.
is it so hard to tell a love story between a girl and a boy without turning it into a platform of visibility for homosexuality?
why shove homo-eroticism in a straight love story/ platonic friendship between straight people?
are there no good shoujo romance anime without all that stuff?
all of shoujo manga and anime is painfull for me!