Shōjo and josei manga to start with
11The Signal · 119Twelve shōjo and josei series to start with, from classics to modern favourites, and what each one shows about the form.
11Eleven — vision. That is the reduction of this question, and the shelf it is read from.
Why start here
Shōjo manga is published for girls and josei for adult women, but both are read far more widely, and they contain some of the most inventive work in the medium. These twelve series, all covered in this reference, are good first steps.
The classics
The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda is a historical epic of the French Revolution and a landmark of 1970s shōjo. Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi combines magical-girl action and friendship. Cardcaptor Sakura by CLAMP is a gentle, beautifully drawn fantasy.
Romance and friendship
Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya is about a girl who finds a home with a cursed family, and about healing from grief. Kimi ni Todoke by Karuho Shiina is a slow, kind romance about a shy girl finding friends. Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori is a comedy that pokes fun at shōjo conventions.
Growing up
Honey and Clover by Chica Umino follows art students facing love and the future. Chihayafuru by Yuki Suetsugu is a sports manga about a traditional card game, full of rivalry and ambition.
Adult lives
Nana by Ai Yazawa follows two young women in Tokyo and the music business. Nodame Cantabile by Tomoko Ninomiya is a comedy about classical musicians. Usagi Drop by Yumi Unita is about a single man raising a child. Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa is about a student drawn into fashion design.
How to choose
If you like action, start with Sailor Moon; if you like romance, Kimi ni Todoke; if you want something for adults, Nana or Usagi Drop. Each shows a different side of what shōjo and josei can do.
Where this explainer is shelved
Every letter here carries a digit; together they make 119, which folds down to 11. The weight sits in “with”, which carries 24 on its own and reduces to 6.
What the 11 brings is vision. The reference files it as a signal received early. Whatever else this explainer is doing, it is doing it with the 11's heightened, high-voltage intuition about what comes next.
The vowels alone reduce to 6, the consonants to 5. Responsibility underneath, change on the surface. The gap between them is where the subject is most interesting.
The 11 asks you to remember that nobody noticed this at the time. The 11 is unstable and knows it. Being early and being wrong are indistinguishable until later. The other explainers that reduce to 11 are collected on The Signal.
Common questions
- What is the difference between shōjo and josei?
- Shōjo manga is published for girls and young teenagers, and josei for adult women. Josei tends to deal with work, relationships and adult life more directly.
- Can boys and men read shōjo manga?
- Yes. The labels describe the magazine's target audience, not who is allowed to read it, and many shōjo and josei series have large male readerships.
- What is a good first shōjo manga?
- Fruits Basket and Kimi ni Todoke are gentle and widely loved, while Sailor Moon is a classic of action and friendship.
- What is a good first josei manga?
- Nana, Nodame Cantabile and Usagi Drop are popular starting points, each very different in tone.