AnimeSuki Forums

Socke · 2010-01-23, 06:29

I know I shouldn't ask such question but I really hate to see all shoujo manga and anime I saw treat women harshly, or like dirt if I can say that here. I mean I even saw when the leading girl get raped by the guy she loves and she forgive him, WTF? Even for Japanese people, it just way too unrealistic. Just because the guy is a handsome devil and he can do anything he wants. I've seen lots of women berates some male-oriented shows for portraying women as sex objects and the female-oriented are no better anyway but fans of the shoujo makes you to think in that way.

This is more like a questionnaire than a recommendation but at least I still can get some useful infos about it.

SeijiSensei · 2010-01-23, 07:15

Saiunkoku Monogatari is about as far removed from that premise as you could imagine. The heroine is a feisty young woman who seeks to become her country's first female Imperial official. She has no time for romance, though she becomes the object of affection of a variety of eligible men.

Since this is based on a light novel, I'm not sure whether it's officially "shoujo" or "josei," but regardless it's an excellent series with a feminist bent.

Sackett · 2010-01-23, 09:40

Kimi ni Todoke

Guardian Enzo · 2010-01-23, 12:28

Sand Chronicles. Life is harsh for the heroine sometimes, but the guys are certainly not wantonly cruel in the ways you describe.

Bonta Kun · 2010-01-23, 12:47

Highschool Debut/Koukou Debut - best shoujo manga there is, period!

You're My Girlfriend - it's a short manga at 4 ch long but an extremely great read.

thats all that comes to mind

Theowne · 2010-01-23, 14:37

Kareshi Kanojo no Jijyou

I'm sure there's more...I just can't think of any at the moment. Unless you will step over to the josei side, and try out Honey and Clover.

Irenicus · 2010-01-24, 03:52

Warning: TL;DR

There are actually a lot of shoujo manga out there that respect their heroines. You just have to be a very ruthless reader and just throw out those more "troubling" ones and don't look back. Your time is better served reading better manga, watching better anime, and enjoy better things in life. And by better manga I mean...

I'd recommend the shoujo fantasy manga Akagami no Shirayukihime as a wonderful example of a strong, extremely likable female character. The romance in this manga by far surpasses all other shoujo fantasy romances out there. Most of them make their "princesses" out to be total charmless idiots -- the usual weak idiotic shoujo heroine who desperately needs her prince -- not so this one. It helps that the prince is also extremely likable. More people seriously needs to read this.

As a curious case of reversal, the manga Cat Street is, IMO, far more respectful of the humanity of its characters than the author's previous, (in)famously popular work, Hana Yori Dango, which I hated with an extreme intensity precisely because of the phenomenon you mentioned. No pretty boys with rapist/criminal tendencies here, unlike that curly-haired sonofabitch in the other manga *cough*.

And then there are distinctive authors whose works rarely tread that troubling boundary. Suzuki Julietta is a favorite of mine, and I particularly love Karakuri Odetto, a magnificent, sensitively human slice of life about a robot girl and her experiences with humanity. If you've read something like Twin Spica before -- even though that one's for a different demographic -- you'll understand how powerful that kind of human touch is. It's the kind of sweet that make you appreciate the world just a bit more than you usually would. A precious, precious touch.

I could recommend much, much more; cases in point:

- How about M to N no Shouzou? Tachibana Higuchi's pre-Gakuen Alice work shares with its successor her unique humorous touch...although the heroine of this one *enjoys* the "abuse"

- Kaichou wa Maid-sama, maybe? It's pretty popular here on Asuki, and I myself find it quite eminently likable. The hero has this tendency to keep to himself a lot, but he never, ever hurts his precious President, who herself is a strong, likable heroine, albeit a bit naive in love.

- Then there are fun guilty pleasure series like Barajou no Kiss, of which I rate 11/10 because it's a HAREM FULL OF CODE GEASS GUYS. Seriously kids, one of them even look totally like Suzaku. And although a few of the pretty boys are indisputably sinister, they're the villainous sinister types, not the disturbingly realistic abusive boyfriend types.

- There's also a sub-genre of shoujo manga which focuses more on familial themes. The most famous of these is Aishiteruze Baby, a sweet chronicle of a playboy learning responsibility by taking care of his *kyaah cute* 6 years old cousin. However, since that one focuses more on the boy, a more common example would be something like Love so Life, where the heroine is accorded all respect she deserves from the story and the main love interest would never hurt her, physically, mentally, or otherwise.

- Occasionally -- a very rare "occasionally," mind -- the tables are turned and you get something that opens with a bang like She is Mine by Mimori Ao. With exactly one chapter scanlated, it's entirely possible that the super-quirky heroine might actually have been wounded as such in the past and may be threatened so in the future, but there's no way that "wound" could possibly come from the pair of purepureboys we have for main characters.

I could go on and on, but the point is made I think. There are certainly a lot of shoujo manga that drives me up the wall with the horrific undertones of abuse and acceptance (Hot Gimmick, anything by Aoki Kotomi, etc., etc.), but there are also a lot of shoujo manga that don't. The key things are to keep an open mind, to also be a ruthless reader when you need to be, and read the synopses. If there are things like "super handsome popular guy!" "he's a little mean!" and "she falls in love at once!" Stop, put it back on the shelf or hit the back button, and check out better things.

jedinat · 2010-01-24, 04:27

You're reading the crappy, smutty and/or melodramatic shoujo that certain mindless fangirls rave about for reasons that are quite beyond me...
I like the innocent stuff; here are a couple of my favorites:
Dear Mine
Kanata Kara
Miriam

0utf0xZer0 · 2010-01-24, 04:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irenicus

- Then there are fun guilty pleasure series like Barajou no Kiss, of which I rate 11/10 because it's a HAREM FULL OF CODE GEASS GUYS. Seriously kids, one of them even look totally like Suzaku. And although a few of the pretty boys are indisputably sinister, they're the villainous sinister types, not the disturbingly realistic abusive boyfriend types.

Okay, for some reason this is piquing my interest. Maybe I'm just experiencing fabulous withdrawl after having watched 13 episodes of Utena in one sitting with a girl I like.x.x

Seitsuki · 2010-01-24, 04:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

Okay, for some reason this is piquing my interest. Maybe I'm just experiencing fabulous withdrawl after having watched 13 episodes of Utena in one sitting with a girl I like.x.x

Ahh, so now you're feeling the urge to watch a couple of hours of the guys you like?.. *does some complicated eyebrow move* *eyebrow snaps*
it's like that VN with characters obviously ripped off from Haruhi (same artist too~), except in reverse!

kanon78 · 2010-02-04, 11:45

Dengeki Daisy
http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=13582

CeDeR · 2010-02-04, 13:15

im curious, whats the name of that shoujo you mention where the lead gets raped by his boyfriend?

GreatTeacherKen · 2010-02-04, 19:41

I'll second Kimi Ni Todoke. Although the female lead starts off as an outcast because of her ghostly appearance, she gradually begins to make genuine friends by simply being herself and her kindness. And she falls in love with the most popular guy in school who is genuinely nice, reciprocates her feelings, and is the first person who sees her for who she really is, though she's too socially awkward to realize this at first.

Kazu-kun · 2010-02-05, 18:00

If you don't mind Josei (which in the end is just shoujo for older girls) then you must read Nodame Cantabile. Nodame herself is IMO one of the greatest characters in manga-anime history.

Seitsuki · 2010-02-05, 18:54

Heavily academic tho. Some might find all the music set-ups pretty boring

bhl88 · 2010-02-07, 08:43

Try this one: Coming out in March 3 though... XD plus you still need to wait for fan scanalators

2010-01-23, 06:29	Link #1
Socke Banned Join Date: Jan 2010	Is there any shoujo anime/manga that don't treat women like dirt? I know I shouldn't ask such question but I really hate to see all shoujo manga and anime I saw treat women harshly, or like dirt if I can say that here. I mean I even saw when the leading girl get raped by the guy she loves and she forgive him, WTF? Even for Japanese people, it just way too unrealistic. Just because the guy is a handsome devil and he can do anything he wants. I've seen lots of women berates some male-oriented shows for portraying women as sex objects and the female-oriented are no better anyway but fans of the shoujo makes you to think in that way. This is more like a questionnaire than a recommendation but at least I still can get some useful infos about it.

2010-01-23, 07:15	Link #2
SeijiSensei AS Oji-kun Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 74	Saiunkoku Monogatari is about as far removed from that premise as you could imagine. The heroine is a feisty young woman who seeks to become her country's first female Imperial official. She has no time for romance, though she becomes the object of affection of a variety of eligible men. Since this is based on a light novel, I'm not sure whether it's officially "shoujo" or "josei," but regardless it's an excellent series with a feminist bent. __________________ Taking Anime Seriously - Politics by the Numbers - Sports by the Numbers - MAL List - Avatars - Images

2010-01-23, 09:40	Link #3
Sackett Cross Game - I need more Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: I've moved around the American West. I've lived in Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Oklahoma Age: 44	Kimi ni Todoke __________________ Cross Game - A Story of Love, Life, Death - and Baseball. What more could you want?

2010-01-23, 12:47	Link #5
Bonta Kun Know who you are Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Resides within the depths of Ned infested Glasgow	Highschool Debut/Koukou Debut - best shoujo manga there is, period! You're My Girlfriend - it's a short manga at 4 ch long but an extremely great read. thats all that comes to mind __________________

2010-01-23, 14:37	Link #6
Theowne 耳をすませば Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Toronto, Canada Age: 34	Kareshi Kanojo no Jijyou I'm sure there's more...I just can't think of any at the moment. Unless you will step over to the josei side, and try out Honey and Clover. __________________ My Site - Reviews collection, Sheet music, and etc. Anime reviews/blog, piano arrangements, Studio Ghibli..

2010-01-24, 03:52	Link #7
Irenicus Le fou, c'est moi Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA Age: 34	Warning: TL;DR There are actually a lot of shoujo manga out there that respect their heroines. You just have to be a very ruthless reader and just throw out those more "troubling" ones and don't look back. Your time is better served reading better manga, watching better anime, and enjoy better things in life. And by better manga I mean... I'd recommend the shoujo fantasy manga Akagami no Shirayukihime as a wonderful example of a strong, extremely likable female character. The romance in this manga by far surpasses all other shoujo fantasy romances out there. Most of them make their "princesses" out to be total charmless idiots -- the usual weak idiotic shoujo heroine who desperately needs her prince -- not so this one. It helps that the prince is also extremely likable. More people seriously needs to read this. As a curious case of reversal, the manga Cat Street is, IMO, far more respectful of the humanity of its characters than the author's previous, (in)famously popular work, Hana Yori Dango, which I hated with an extreme intensity precisely because of the phenomenon you mentioned. No pretty boys with rapist/criminal tendencies here, unlike that curly-haired sonofabitch in the other manga cough. And then there are distinctive authors whose works rarely tread that troubling boundary. Suzuki Julietta is a favorite of mine, and I particularly love Karakuri Odetto, a magnificent, sensitively human slice of life about a robot girl and her experiences with humanity. If you've read something like Twin Spica before -- even though that one's for a different demographic -- you'll understand how powerful that kind of human touch is. It's the kind of sweet that make you appreciate the world just a bit more than you usually would. A precious, precious touch. I could recommend much, much more; cases in point: - How about M to N no Shouzou? Tachibana Higuchi's pre-Gakuen Alice work shares with its successor her unique humorous touch...although the heroine of this one enjoys the "abuse" - Kaichou wa Maid-sama, maybe? It's pretty popular here on Asuki, and I myself find it quite eminently likable. The hero has this tendency to keep to himself a lot, but he never, ever hurts his precious President, who herself is a strong, likable heroine, albeit a bit naive in love. - Then there are fun guilty pleasure series like Barajou no Kiss, of which I rate 11/10 because it's a HAREM FULL OF CODE GEASS GUYS. Seriously kids, one of them even look totally like Suzaku. And although a few of the pretty boys are indisputably sinister, they're the villainous sinister types, not the disturbingly realistic abusive boyfriend types. - There's also a sub-genre of shoujo manga which focuses more on familial themes. The most famous of these is Aishiteruze Baby, a sweet chronicle of a playboy learning responsibility by taking care of his kyaah cute 6 years old cousin. However, since that one focuses more on the boy, a more common example would be something like Love so Life, where the heroine is accorded all respect she deserves from the story and the main love interest would never hurt her, physically, mentally, or otherwise. - Occasionally -- a very rare "occasionally," mind -- the tables are turned and you get something that opens with a bang like She is Mine by Mimori Ao. With exactly one chapter scanlated, it's entirely possible that the super-quirky heroine might actually have been wounded as such in the past and may be threatened so in the future, but there's no way that "wound" could possibly come from the pair of purepureboys we have for main characters. I could go on and on, but the point is made I think. There are certainly a lot of shoujo manga that drives me up the wall with the horrific undertones of abuse and acceptance (Hot Gimmick, anything by Aoki Kotomi, etc., etc.), but there are also a lot of shoujo manga that don't. The key things are to keep an open mind, to also be a ruthless reader when you need to be, and read the synopses. If there are things like "super handsome popular guy!" "he's a little mean!" and "she falls in love at once!" Stop, put it back on the shelf or hit the back button, and check out better things. Last edited by Irenicus; 2010-01-24 at 04:03.

2010-01-24, 04:27	Link #8
jedinat Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Age: 38	You're reading the crappy, smutty and/or melodramatic shoujo that certain mindless fangirls rave about for reasons that are quite beyond me... I like the innocent stuff; here are a couple of my favorites: Dear Mine Kanata Kara Miriam

2010-02-04, 11:45	Link #11
kanon78 Confederate Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: the Netherlands	Dengeki Daisy http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=13582 __________________

2010-02-04, 13:15	Link #12
CeDeR Inactive Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Usa	im curious, whats the name of that shoujo you mention where the lead gets raped by his boyfriend?

2010-02-04, 19:41	Link #13
GreatTeacherKen Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: California	I'll second Kimi Ni Todoke. Although the female lead starts off as an outcast because of her ghostly appearance, she gradually begins to make genuine friends by simply being herself and her kindness. And she falls in love with the most popular guy in school who is genuinely nice, reciprocates her feelings, and is the first person who sees her for who she really is, though she's too socially awkward to realize this at first.

2010-02-05, 18:00	Link #14
Kazu-kun Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006	If you don't mind Josei (which in the end is just shoujo for older girls) then you must read Nodame Cantabile. Nodame herself is IMO one of the greatest characters in manga-anime history. __________________

2010-02-05, 18:54	Link #15
Seitsuki Onee! Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Auckland, NZ	Heavily academic tho. Some might find all the music set-ups pretty boring __________________ thanks to Patchy ♥

2010-02-07, 08:43	Link #16
bhl88 Otaku Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Unseen Horizon	Try this one: Coming out in March 3 though... XD plus you still need to wait for fan scanalators __________________ OS-tan Collections (temporary): https://discord.gg/Hv2rBs3