So, my birthday was on November 19th, and to celebrate, here are 19 of my most beloved Shoujo Recs.
19) Hana Yori Dango
My favorite hot mess soup. Back in the early ’00s, I remember binging the whole series in about two weeks. Hana Yori Dango ran from 1992-2004. It tells the story of Tsukushi Makino, a girl who gets a scholarship to an elite high school despite being from humble beginnings. She incurs the wrath of the leader of the F4, or Flower Four Tsukasa, the creme de la creme of the elite. Through many, and I do mean many, trials and tribulations, the two fall in love. Tsukasa spends much of the early series being a jerk, but if one were to analyze his development from start to finish, he grows the most.
If new would-be readers can’t get over the dated art, consider watching Meteor Garden 2018, the most recent drama adaptation of the series.
18) I.O.N.
This is a short one-volume series from one of my favorite mangaka Arina Tanemura about a girl named Ion who discovers she has psychic abilities. She falls for the boy leading the psychic abilities club.
17) Millennium Snow
From the beloved Mangaka of Ouran High School Host Club comes the love Story of the sickly human
Chiyuki and Toya, the vampire who just might save her life. Satsuki is a Tamaki look-a-like. Due to the popularity of Ouran, this series went on hiatus for over a decade before finally being completed in 2013.
16) Charming Junkie, AKA Nosatsu Junkie
A Cute throwback gender-bender. Typically Shoujo gender-benders feature a female pretending to be a male, but this one stars Umi, a young man, being a female supermodel; he meets Naka, a classmate who dreams of being a supermodel but has a tendency to make scary faces on camera. When she discovers his secret, he helps get her a modeling gig in exchange for her silence.
15) Penguin Revolution
Another cute gender-bender starring Yukari, a girl who can see people’s talent and potential in the form of wings when she looks at them. With the help of her classmate Ryouko, A.K.A Ryou, she becomes his manager at the talent agency known as Peacock.
14) Pixie Pop
Cuteness ensues when a girl, Mayu, meets a magical beverage fairy after accidentally drinking the rainbow drink that grants her powers related to whatever beverage she drinks. Mayu wonders if her newfound powers can help her snag the boy of her dreams. The mangaka Ema Toyama is known for other works, such as Missions Of Love and Vampire Dormitory.
13) I am Here!
Another Adorable short series by Ema Toyama. (Two volumes) Hikage is a shy girl who runs a blog and feels that her only friends are the two visitors to her blog. What happens when Hikage discovers that the most popular boy in school is one of the visitors from her blog? Will she finally have the courage to say, “World, I am here!”
12) Beauty Pop
A cute and, at times, uproariously funny series about a girl named Kiri, who is the daughter of a highly talented hairdresser dad and makeup artist mom. Kiri is gifted as a hairdresser in her own right, and decides to demonstrate her skills against the Scissors Project, a group of talented artists/classmates who declared her friend too “ugly” for a makeover. Beauty contests, “magic,” and love collide in this romantic comedy.
11) Aishiteruze Baby!
A true throwback series for me. I remember binge-reading it from the local library. Aishiteruze Baby is about a high school playboy named Kippei, who gets a dose of reality when his mother tasks him with caring for his five-year-old cousin Yuzu, who her mother has abandoned. Throughout the series, Kippei grows up a lot and truly cares for little Yuzu. The ending brings me happy tears even after all this time. I wish it weren’t so hard to find physical copies of.
10) The Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross
A series by one of my favorite mangaka Arina Tanemura, This is the series that she herself describes as being her favorite series to date. It stars a girl named Haine, a 15-Year-old former delinquent whose father had her adopted in exchange for a 50 Million Yen loan. She changes her life around when Shizumasa, the author of her favorite children’s book, saves her from herself one day. She enrolls in his school, Imperial Academy hoping he will fall in love. There are a lot of twists and turns in this one. It is a shame that, unlike two of her other works, it has not gotten an anime adaption.
9) Kitchen Princess
Written by Miyuki Kobayashi and illustrated by mangaka Natsumi Ando of There’s Something Wrong With Us comes Kitchen Princess, another high school binge read and my favorite food-centric manga. Najika is an orphan in search of her “flan prince.” The boy who rescued her from drowning shortly after she lost her parents and treated her to a delicious dessert. Her only clue to his identity is the silver spoon with Seika Academy engraved on it. This leads the young chef to enroll there in search of him.
8) Shugo Chara
Oh, the mid to late 00s, the magical girl genre was making a comeback at the time. Serialized in the same magazine as other beloved magical girl series such as Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon comes Shugo Chara! A story about a young girl named Amu Hinamori, who, although she looks calm and cool on the outside, like most ten-year-olds, has no idea who/what she wants to be. As a result, her Guardian Characters are born from her heart’s egg, representing the potential of all she hopes to be. I love Amu’s Guardians Ran, the sporty girl. Miki, the artsy one, and Su, who loves baking. My favorite of her main three transformations is Amulet Heart which she transforms with Ran to achieve.
7) Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, AKA Phantom Thief Jeanne
I know, I know, another Arina Tanemura series? Yes, I am a fangirl. I love all her work. (Except Fridays With A Cat. It is an abomination that shall never hereafter be mentioned. There’s a reason why that one has never been translated.) Maron is the reincarnation of Joan Of Arc. Maron, along with her half-angel sidekick Fin Fish, becomes Kaitou Jeanne because she must seal the demons inside paintings to stop them from devouring human hearts. All is not as it seems as rival thief Sinbad appears on the scene. The premise is similar to Saint Tail, but this series has quite a bit more depth and mythos behind it.
6) Hana Kimi
I recommend the Japanese version starring Horikita Maki and Oguri Shun for those wondering which live-action adaptation they should watch. The Korean version Of The Beautiful You, Isn’t wrong either.
5) Vampire Knight
I will preface this entry by saying that I will love Zero all the days of my mortal life. This is one of the more extended series (19 volumes, not including Vampire Knight Memories), with many fans declaring sides. Vampire Knight tells the story of Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu, guardians of Cross Academy. Yuki’s first memory is of being saved from a vampire as a child by Kaname Kuran, a pureblood vampire. At school, it is up to Yuki and Zero to keep the true nature of the Night Class a secret from the Day Class. The Night Class are all vampires! What does it mean for Yuki when she discovers that Zero is becoming the thing he hates most, a vampire?
4) Ouran High School Host Club
This is the series at the top of my wishlist to get a manga-accurate anime remake because It happened for Furuba, so why not Ouran? Haruhi is a poor scholarship student at a super-elite school who dreams of being a lawyer. One day, a broken vase changes the course of her life. When she breaks the priceless vase, she must become a member of the school’s “Host Club” to pay off the debt. Much hijinks, hilarity, love, and found family are at the heart of this series. I love Tamaki, and I love that Mamoru Miyano voiced him in the anime. That man voiced just about all the 2000s anime pretty boys. (Tamaki, Zero, Sho from Skip Beat! you name it.)
3) Full Moon O Sagashite
I know I have a lot of Arina Tanemura on my list, but this series is nearest and dearest to me from her. Mitsuki Koyama is a 12-year-old girl who is orphaned and now living with her grandmother. Her dream is to be a famous singer, like her dad. Two things stand in her way, her disapproving grandmother and the fact that she has throat cancer. Along comes Negi Ramen, a team of well-meaning Shinigami, consisting of Meroko and Takuto, who are determined to help Mitsuki’s dream come true. With their help, Mitsuki becomes a 16-year-old singing sensation, Full Moon.
2) Fruits Basket
I did not know at the tender age of 13 that Fruits Basket would become one of the most beloved manga series in my life, but it sure did. I remember eagerly awaiting (sometimes more than six months) each Tokyopop release. To see what would happen to the optimistic orphan Tohru and her dysfunctional, Zodiac animal cursed, found family. The art got better throughout the original series because it was later revealed that the mangaka had been unwell during the early volumes of the series. I definitely recommend the new editions from Yen Press for Fans/collectors All my favorite Souma boys are in the above picture. I loved the anime remake, although season three was more than a little rushed.
1) Sailor Moon
Despite any flaws and the fact that the original 90’s anime adaption had way too many fillers the manga nearest and dearest to me, to the point where being a fan is practically a personality trait is Sailor Moon. Usagi may start the series as a lazy, junk food-loving, crybaby, but along the way she is always shown to have the biggest heart. She is a kind and often self-sacrificing friend, who is a hopeless romantic and stares down and defies her destiny time and time again. At 7 years old Usagi A.K.A. Sailor Moon taught me that you don’t have to be perfect to be your own hero or heroine. All you have to do is try your best and everyone has the strength within them to achieve whatever they choose to do.
