#this list includes both josei and shoujo because in my lists i just put them together

[arataka-reigen]

hello!! i saw the tags on your pinned post abt how shoujo wasn't just romance and it got me curious bc i've read some nice shoujo but really dislike romance-heavy plots. are there any shoujos you like that don't have much or any romance in them? ty and i hope you have a good day! 💛

Oh, there are lots of mangas that are classified as shoujo and don't have romance!!

I am just now beginning my journey through shoujo as well, so I don't have a lot of recommendations for stuff I actually read, but the ones I did read or watch so far are:

Natsume Yuujinchou and basically anything else by its author, Yuki Midorikawa. Sometimes, her works do include romance, but the focus is almost always in the interpersonal relationships and the difficulties her characters go through in life. NatsuYuu is about an orphan boy who can see yokai, and for that reason he acts in "weird" ways and his foster families dislike him, so he keeps going from family to family. The story is about how he finds a good family who accepts and loves him, makes friends, and learns to make friends even with yokais.

There are currently 6 anime seasons out, and a 7th season is on its way, so you can either read the manga or watch the anime.

Akatsuki no Yona - i mean, this one does include romance, but i'll still put it on the list because as far as the anime went the focus is heavy on Yona's actual journey to gather the dragons of legend to be able to recover the kingdom that was stolen from her. It shows how Yona goes from a sheltered spoiled girl to a person befitting the title of dragon king.

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom - this one is the og villainess isekai and it truly deserves the hype. It is about a girl who wakes up in the child body of the villainess of her favorite otome game. She remembers that the villainess' fate in the game was always either death or exile, so she tries her hardest to change her fate. This one is classified as a reverse harem, but the main character is pretty oblivious and worries more about farming and eating sweets and generally being the best girl ever than actually worrying about romance. Aro ace queen tbh. And her harem is just happy to be with her and be dragged along for her stupid adventures. Plus, the female members of her harem are taken seriously as well, Mary is a raging lesbian and it is not subtext. I mean, it is a shoujo, so of course the female characters would be important lol.

Usagi Drop - listen to me. You will absolutely not look for anything related to this manga. If you like the premise you can watch the anime. But, please, do not look for the manga. You will only be extremely disappointed by it. That being said, I recommend the anime. It is about a man who returns home for his grandfather's funeral and then finds out his grandfather had an illegitimate daughter who has now become an orphan. He ends up having to take care of her because the rest of the family considers her a shame to the family.

Now, for the stuff I havent seen yet, I'll just write some that are on my "plan to read" list and put their genres next to their names so you can check it out if you think the genre's sound interesting:

7 Seeds (drama, horror, psychological, sci fi, survival)

Requiem of the Rose King (drama, historical, supernatural, gender identity)

Basara (drama, fantasy, adventure) (i think this one has romance, but from what i've heard, the main character's story is a lot deeper as she takes her brother's identity in order to fight against the king who killed her brother, it is pretty famous and considered a classic)

Ghost Hunt (horror, mystery, psychological, supernatural)

Helter Skelter (horror, psychological)

My Stepmother and Stepsisters aren't Wicked (comedy, historical, slice of life)

Ikoku Nikki (drama) (this one is the one i'm currently most interested on, i hear it's about a distant woman who's never had a good relationship with her sister and now has to take care of her teenage niece because her sister died)

Itsuwari no Freya (crossdressing, historical)

Limit (drama, psychological, school) (this one sounds incredible tbh, on a field trip their bus gets into an accident and only 5 girls remain, having to learn to survive and trying to assert themselves over one another because they hate each other.)

Machida-kun no sekai (school)

Mitarai-ke, Enjou suru (drama) (the main character wants to infiltrate the household of the family who blamed her mother for a fire, in order to prove her mother's innocence)

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You (comedy)

Uramichi Oniisan (comedy, showbiz, workplace)

Usotoki Rhetoric (mystery, historical)

Don't Call It Mystery (mystery)

If anyone has more things to recommend I would also love to hear about it!!

[filliteapot]

I was tagged by @kurokiorya and @artpills-blog to name 1) 5 favourite male characters from otome games 2) favourite characters from animanga in general. Okay, let���s do it~ (I got carried away so I put it under the cut)

1. I kinda played 2,5 otomes in my life, so my choice is mostly limited by Hakuouki :D

Hijikata - I bet you are very surprised, because I’m so quiet about my love and don’t even draw him regularly. I fell in love 5 years ago while watching the anime, and it didn’t change when I finally played the game. Seriously speaking, his route is the only one that I’ve played so far (and i have difficulties to move on and play other routes haha). The next in the top are Okita-Heisuke-Saito. (And I also love Otori, i bet if he had a route, it would be a Western Culture class and it seems i need it in my life) But tbh my second favourite character here is Chizuru

Ah. I forgot about silly phone novels. Do they count?

Asra from The Arcana. Me and my neechan used to call him ‘trashmaster‘ and were both unkind to him, but as the strory was updated, we came to appreciate him more. I’m still in doubts because of the plot and the setting, but recently it has become less confusing or we just got used to this game. And Asra is a gift if you want to draw a magician with a lot of magical tools/in the woods/with herbs/etc. But the main reason is that he has the cutest snake-familiar named Faust, so i feel you, @artpills-blog, she is a legitimate reason :D

2. Somehow it turned out to be diffcult to name my fav characters…

Honda Tohru from Fruits Basket. Furuba is my favourite story ever, and Tohru is very dear to my heart. Kind, caring, strong and often misunderstood by people. As the story progressed, she went on amazing me by her strenght and persistence. I don’t really get people who claim her too ‘kind’ or ‘ideal’: she had things that tied her to her past and were a heavy burden on her soul as everyone else in the story and had flaws, but… as one Furuba character said, ‘this girl’s happiness is everyone’s happiness’. Mine too. #protecttohruhondaatallcoastssquad

Liselotte from Liselotte to majo no mori. Gosh, I want more people to know about this story and this heroine. She is very unexperienced and ignorant, but always tries to become better, doesn’t hesitate to stand for people she cares about. Strong enough not to feel a victim after harsh things she had to endure and not to judge people who are different from others. Extremely vulnerable when it comes to some other questions. The best part is that her development is absolutely beleivable and for me she’s the best example of shoujo fantasy heroine who is in exile/in/somehow involved in a political mess.

Sumitomo Shima from Principal. I love Ikuemi Ryo’s josei mangas and her heroines, Shima is my fave among them. For her sense of humour and attitude to life.

Nomiya Takumi from Honey and Clover - I’ve been thinking about him lately and realized that I usually like characters like him: a realist, knowing what he wants, cunning, pushing others to action and some realizations (he is on the top of my list called ‘sly guys’ including Shigure from Furuba and Furuya from Kiyoku yawaku

Aramaki from 7 seeds. I just don’t know, he’s very important and needs rest and healing (also i like his character design).

Yakumo from Shouwa genroku rakugo shinjuu - see what I wrote about Aramaki + looking at him/him performing rakugos is an aesthetic pleasure.