What are Shoujo and Josei manga?

Those unfamiliar with manga should know that the Japanese divide it into various categories. Some target a female audience, while others target a male audience. Today, we’ll focus on two genres popular with the Female audience; those familiar with manga already know the categories we’ll talk about—Shoujo and Josei.

What is Shoujo?

Simply put, Shoujo is a Japanese term meaning “girl,” and Shoujo manga target primarily teenage girls.

Sub-genres exist like Magical Girl, in which stories centre around a group of underage girls – usually working as a team – fighting together against villains to protect Earth. The two most popular manga in that subcategory are undeniably Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. Besides Magical Girl, Shoujo offers other interesting sub-genres like fantasy, including gems such as Fruits Basket or Fushigi Yugi; gothic-like manga thanks to great artists like Kaori Yuki with Earl Cain or Ludwig Revolution or Yoko Matsushita’s Descendants of Darkness – Yami no Matsuei in the original version.

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As you noticed, Shoujo is as vast as its Shounen counterpart, contrary to the general public belief. People tend to think Shoujo is limited to love stories highlighting/featuring a bland protagonist to whom the reader finds it difficult to relate despite her successfully attracting all male characters. However, the manga artist insists she’s a random girl.

Yuu Watase’s manga are a good start if you’re interested in romantic stories but wish they wouldn’t overshadow the plot. Watase-sensei released mesmerising manga like Absolute Boyfriend or Fushigi Yugi.

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For those interested in fantasy, you can try the manga listed below, which comes from two manga artists who explored the gothic aesthetic to which they added a Shounen-Ai touch.

CLAMP

• Tokyo Babylon
• X/1999
• XXX Holic
• Lawful Drug

Kaori Yuki

• Angel Sanctuary
• Earl Cain
• Cruel Fairytales
• Fairytale

What is Josei?

Josei refers to manga marketed to an audience of adult women. Although the content is more mature than Sjoujo manga, it doesn’t stop the non-targeted audience from being interested. Among the many Josei manga released to this day, I would never recommend the excellent manga from Ai Yazawa—Nana enough. The manga tells the story of two characters called Nana by, the same name but with two different personalities. Ai Yazawa offers Nana a delightful experience that mixes a love for art and iconic characters with stirring relationships and a main story that keeps the reader on tenterhooks.

In addition to Nana, I highly recommend Karneval. The manga follows Nai, a lost boy searching for Karoku when his path leads him to Gareki. Set in an appealing, fantastic universe where carnival plays all day, Karneval is a manga worth trying. And you won’t be disappointed for those passionate about fantastic adult work full of emotions.

Other Josei manga to read.

• Princess Jellyfish
• Chihayafuru
• 07-Ghost
• Paradise Kiss

Like everyone else in the fictional city of Mylerna, Yuu Hartglove is an amnesiac and pro rider who harbours a secret.

Creating a manga that targets a female audience doesn’t necessarily need to overly focus on the love story and pay less attention to the character’s background and the setting where the action takes place. Your manga can surpass such stereotypes, and a closer look at the Shoujo and Josei series mentioned above will open your eyes. But don’t get me wrong. Most women interested in this type of manga enjoy it because of the romance, whether it’s the primary focus. Therefore, I suggest continuing to make a love story; it will be up to you to know how important it should be.

Are you on teams Shoujo or Josei? Please share manga or anime recommendations in the comment section below.