Your first shoujo/josei series and how it changed you...

[phio_chan]

Let's track back to old times a bit.

This idea pops in my head randomly. What was your first shoujo and josei series? I was wondering how those old, first series you read actually shaped what you think of shoujo and josei world. How it made you think of this demographic, how it made you like this demographic, etc. We can also talk about series we would recommend to people who have never touched shoujo and josei before. XD

I will add mine later, so let's see what you got!

[Zeltrax]

Uh..um..I can't really remember
But I do know my first romance series is Toradora! and I don't think that is shoujo, more towards shounen..yet toradora amazed me much more
than any love series did.
Toradora, of course..I was still young(2 years ago) changed my outlook on love significantly, I was always so full of myself and always though
that I understand what love really is, but toradora changed that.
Moving on, the shoujo series that I first watched was skip beat. I only caught up with the manga a few months ago but the anime when it first air'd, I was already watching it. It was more comedy than romance, it didn't change anything in me but I still like the ren and kyoko interactions.
It did change my Point of view since sb is through a girl's pov. Then came kimi ni todoke, that was great..and I think through KnT I understood this genre better.

[phio_chan]

That iis interesting, Zelx.

How do you view this genre now, then?

As for me, I actually read several minor titles (some are even in Indonesian) before; now if I think about it again they were actually my first shoujo series. Merry Go Round is one of them, maybe that title is a bit more popular (at least MAL has it XDD). I was still around elementary and didn't understand too many things, but after I got bigger and re-read the series I felt like those are probably why I think of love like that at the beginning. Series back then were so much centered at the love journey of the main characters that I thought this genre is only about love. Reading more shoujo as I grew up, I saw more interesting sides to shoujo than simply love; thus why I like it. ^^

I can't remember my first josei series... Nodame Cantabile is considered josei, though I only watched its live-action. XD *goes to think of another josei titles*

[igotthegoods]

Nice topic, phio. ^^

My first shoujo series was Vampire Knight. At the time I tried it out, I had only read shounen series, so this was kind of a big deal for me to branch out and try another demographic. The reason I chose this one specifically was because I was promised it was a "shoujo for shounen lovers", which at the time, I was. After giving it a shot, I was surprised to find that I actually liked it quite a bit.

Unfortunately, I don't read VK anymore (dropped it due to not being thrilled with the way the story was heading), but I'm really glad that I tried it out. It was honestly a perfect transitional manga for me. It made me look at manga in quite a different way. I realized manga was so much more than those typical shounen stereotypes! I know, I know -- I was such a noob. But I hadn't been exposed to anything else, so I didn't know what I was missing.

I moved on to Nana next, which I really loved (and even now, I still cling to the hope that someday the hiatus will end ). I then branched out to reading some seinen as well as some josei, and then discovered the awesomeness that is alt manga. And now, shounen is no longer my primary fandom at all. Trying out some shoujo definitely changed the way I read manga and, ultimately, allowed me to find my taste.

[Kaiten]

Vampire Knight was also my first shoujo, I started it right before season one of the anime debuted. The preview of the anime looked good so I thought that I may as well read the manga first. I read for at least a year than dropped it when it stopped making sense. It did convince me that I did not care if a series was girly or not and I started reading more shoujo.

[heartofprincess]

My first Shojo was Skip beat age 18. For me it completly revolutionized what is read as at the time i was stuck in my way of shounen was what i should of been reading as a bloke and that shojo was just crap. However this changed the way I saw the demographic and as time has gone on I actually now read only shojo as I just prefer it. I do have people tease me for only reading 'girly' series but I don't really care anymore as I prefer the plots and character development.

[Zeltrax]

My first Shojo was Skip beat age 18. For me it completly revolutionized what is read as at the time i was stuck in my way of shounen was what i should of been reading as a bloke and that shojo was just crap. However this changed the way I saw the demographic and as time has gone on I actually now read only shojo as I just prefer it. I do have people tease me for only reading 'girly' series but I don't really care anymore as I prefer the plots and character development.

Hello princess! Welcome to MH
It seems like we share the first shoujo. I totally agree, you should just read what you prefer and shoujo is a completely different thing to shounen sometimes. It's alright, I enjoy lovey dovey moments sometimes too and people calls me girly for that too. Who cares right, I enjoy what I want Maybe you should check our skip beat thread out and other shoujo threads to see if something interest you.

That iis interesting, Zelx.

How do you view this genre now, then?

It's an..realistic..and non realistic genre .
Most shoujo aren't practical yet the light and fluffy is so addicting to read. I guess we all need some love

As for me, I actually read several minor titles (some are even in Indonesian) before; now if I think about it again they were actually my first shoujo series. Merry Go Round is one of them, maybe that title is a bit more popular (at least MAL has it XDD). I was still around elementary and didn't understand too many things, but after I got bigger and re-read the series I felt like those are probably why I think of love like that at the beginning.

Wow, reading shoujo when you're in elementary school.. but I was watching love dramas at that age .

Reading more shoujo as I grew up, I saw more interesting sides to shoujo than simply love; thus why I like it. ^^

Yep it isn't really all about love. Friendship and dramatic moments..and even more.

[raDar]

Hmmm, although I still am not into this demographic of manga yet, I think my first shoujo experience was watching the Taiwanese live action series adaptation of Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) which was entitled Meteor Garden. It was way back when I was 10 years old (when I still am innocent about the existence of manga... just anime)and I really admit I loved watching it as a child and really affected my childhood (well not just me but this affected my country big-time). I didn't know it was based from a manga until the Japanese live action series was aired years after the MG-fever then the anime was also aired and then the South Korean adaptation recently XD. Well, I wasn't that shocked when I found out that it was (and still?) the top selling shoujo of all time (correct me if I'm wrong).

And I just realized (just now, lol) that almost all of my shoujo/josei experience was through live action series that was aired in free TV here like Hana Kimi, Itazura na Kiss, Nodame Cantabile, 1 Litre no Namida, and Gokusen (which was one of my faves to watch ). I promised to myself I would catch up with Kimi no Todoke one of these days. And hope this could make a huge impact to my manga experience. :3

[heartofprincess]

Hello princess! Welcome to MH
It seems like we share the first shoujo. I totally agree, you should just read what you prefer and shoujo is a completely different thing to shounen sometimes. It's alright, I enjoy lovey dovey moments sometimes too and people calls me girly for that too. Who cares right, I enjoy what I want Maybe you should check our skip beat thread out and other shoujo threads to see if something interest you.


It's an..realistic..and non realistic genre .
Most shoujo aren't practical yet the light and fluffy is so addicting to read. I guess we all need some love

Wow, reading shoujo when you're in elementary school.. but I was watching love dramas at that age .


Yep it isn't really all about love. Friendship and dramatic moments..and even more.

Thank you! I din't really mind what people think but it is getting hard to hide most of my shojo collection of manga as I now have over a 100 volumes that I have bought. I agree with points that shojo is just more than romance as people originally think. I also like most of the leads in shojo such as kyoko, misaki and shirayuki. I love the fact that each one has a depth that you don't tend to find in other genres. I also like the fact that they don't try to use hack and slash fights to cover a boring plot.

I also like the art work as I love the attention to detail to some of the clothes and the looks of the characters/

[phio_chan]

Great stories, people~ It's so interesting to see how you came in contact with shoujo/josei and how it changed you.

My first Shojo was Skip beat age 18. For me it completly revolutionized what is read as at the time i was stuck in my way of shounen was what i should of been reading as a bloke and that shojo was just crap. However this changed the way I saw the demographic and as time has gone on I actually now read only shojo as I just prefer it. I do have people tease me for only reading 'girly' series but I don't really care anymore as I prefer the plots and character development.

That is an interesting turn~ I do have a friend who still resents shoujo sometimes due to it being too girly and always about romance and such. While personally I think that is its strong point; it is what makes it different from other demographics. There were times when I was bored with shoujo as well, when the plot has been a bit too redundant or the characters are being made too dense or something, but still that is what shoujo is. XD

And welcome.

It's an..realistic..and non realistic genre .
Most shoujo aren't practical yet the light and fluffy is so addicting to read. I guess we all need some love

Wow, reading shoujo when you're in elementary school.. but I was watching love dramas at that age .

We do, we truly do. And the lovey-dovey romance love most of the times.

Yeah, shoujo at a very young age. It was the standard shoujo; childhood friends, grew up together, confessing to each other but haven't given an answer, rivals came, they confessed again and answered, happily ever after. At that time I was simply, "Okay, it's good." but nothing much special until I read more shoujo in the next years. XD

(Actually, love dramas too. Endless Love was my first, but we're going off-topic here. :P)

Hmmm, although I still am not into this demographic of manga yet, I think my first shoujo experience was watching the Taiwanese live action series adaptation of Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) which was entitled Meteor Garden. It was way back when I was 10 years old (when I still am innocent about the existence of manga... just anime)and I really admit I loved watching it as a child and really affected my childhood (well not just me but this affected my country big-time). I didn't know it was based from a manga until the Japanese live action series was aired years after the MG-fever then the anime was also aired and then the South Korean adaptation recently XD. Well, I wasn't that shocked when I found out that it was (and still?) the top selling shoujo of all time (correct me if I'm wrong).

And I just realized (just now, lol) that almost all of my shoujo/josei experience was through live action series that was aired in free TV here like Hana Kimi, Itazura na Kiss, Nodame Cantabile, 1 Litre no Namida, and Gokusen (which was one of my faves to watch ). I promised to myself I would catch up with Kimi no Todoke one of these days. And hope this could make a huge impact to my manga experience. :3

SO you started from drama, cool. My mom did that, got on me too, but I was more attached to anime/manga than to drama. XD
Shoujo and josei series, even though they might be redundant or boring or flat because focusing on romance, have their own colors of slice of life elements and the moral of the series. I think that is why lots of them are also appreciated in world of drama. ^^

[Zeltrax]

Thank you! I din't really mind what people think but it is getting hard to hide most of my shojo collection of manga as I now have over a 100 volumes that I have bought.

I won't hide it if I were you, I'll always proudly cooking and displaying my kitchenware and recipes despite the elders and relatives that always says cooking is a job for female..I mean, what generation are we in now right My sisters and some of my friends know I read shoujo and even seinen and that sometimes I like twisted and sick stories.
So it's okay to have shoujo change you.

I agree with points that shojo is just more than romance as people originally think. I also like most of the leads in shojo such as kyoko, misaki and shirayuki. I love the fact that each one has a depth that you don't tend to find in other genres.

I don't know about shirayuki but I like kyoko . Misaki was great in the anime too.
You're right about the characters having depth. Most of the time shoujo is about the characters and their emotions sometimes more than the plot.

I also like the fact that they don't try to use hack and slash fights to cover a boring plot.

Haha, I know what you mean about this.

I also like the art work as I love the attention to detail to some of the clothes and the looks of the characters/

Well I don't know, I haven't been paying attention to the clothes but I admit they look pretty good and fluffy

Hmmm, although I still am not into this demographic of manga yet, I think my first shoujo experience was watching the Taiwanese live action series adaptation of Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) which was entitled Meteor Garden. It was way back when I was 10 years old (when I still am innocent about the existence of manga... just anime)and I really admit I loved watching it as a child and really affected my childhood (well not just me but this affected my country big-time). I didn't know it was based from a manga until the Japanese live action series was aired years after the MG-fever then the anime was also aired and then the South Korean adaptation recently XD.

Taiwanese adaption..was it the f4? I remember a certain star, Jerry Yan was in it. Not quite sure.
I think thanks to the South korean adaption almost everyone knows Hana Yori Dango. But then again HYD was pretty famous back then. I haven't read it but I watched some segments of it..seems like a fun watch. I guess you were laughing alot at the beginning.

Well, I wasn't that shocked when I found out that it was (and still?) the top selling shoujo of all time (correct me if I'm wrong).

It is..thanks to the many adaptions

And I just realized (just now, lol) that almost all of my shoujo/josei experience was through live action series that was aired in free TV here like Hana Kimi, Itazura na Kiss, Nodame Cantabile, 1 Litre no Namida, and Gokusen (which was one of my faves to watch )

.
Great titles . I love both 1 Litre, Nodame, Itazura and enjoyed Hana Kimi. I'm not sure about Gokusen but it seems like a must-check-out.

I promised to myself I would catch up with Kimi no Todoke one of these days. And hope this could make a huge impact to my manga experience. :3

You should like I'm going to, too. KnT changed my sister's life. It brought her into the manga world..and now she is always reading shoujo.

At that time I was simply, "Okay, it's good." but nothing much special until I read more shoujo in the next years. XD

is it because of puberty?
I guess we can't understand shoujo when we're young but even I'm at an age like this, I still can barely get some of the messages the author is trying to convey. Those messages are constantly trying to tell me to change my outlook on this and that

[heartofprincess]

Great stories, people~ It's so interesting to see how you came in contact with shoujo/josei and how it changed you.



That is an interesting turn~ I do have a friend who still resents shoujo sometimes due to it being too girly and always about romance and such. While personally I think that is its strong point; it is what makes it different from other demographics. There were times when I was bored with shoujo as well, when the plot has been a bit too redundant or the characters are being made too dense or something, but still that is what shoujo is. XD

And welcome.



We do, we truly do. And the lovey-dovey romance love most of the times.

Yeah, shoujo at a very young age. It was the standard shoujo; childhood friends, grew up together, confessing to each other but haven't given an answer, rivals came, they confessed again and answered, happily ever after. At that time I was simply, "Okay, it's good." but nothing much special until I read more shoujo in the next years. XD

(Actually, love dramas too. Endless Love was my first, but we're going off-topic here. :P)



SO you started from drama, cool. My mom did that, got on me too, but I was more attached to anime/manga than to drama. XD
Shoujo and josei series, even though they might be redundant or boring or flat because focusing on romance, have their own colors of slice of life elements and the moral of the series. I think that is why lots of them are also appreciated in world of drama. ^^

I admit my interest did do a 180. It was also down do being bored and completely frustrated with shounen at its lack of depth and plot. It is quite funny that I never would've read it if a friend didn't keep going on about how good they were. She also recommended most of my current favorites and it has only depend my love of the genre. I also prefer having a heroine as they tend not to be so linear or have mundane personalities. But at heart I am just a sucker for a good story with a romantic part in it.

[phio_chan]

Taiwanese adaption..was it the f4? I remember a certain star, Jerry Yan was in it. Not quite sure.
I think thanks to the South korean adaption almost everyone knows Hana Yori Dango. But then again HYD was pretty famous back then. I haven't read it but I watched some segments of it..seems like a fun watch. I guess you were laughing alot at the beginning.

The series is actually adapted to Taiwanese drama (Meteor Garden) and Korean one (Boys Before Flowers). I think it is one shoujo series lots of girls are crazy about... Perhaps that is even the first 'huge, highly popular' shoujo series I encountered after growing up, famous enough to earn two adaptations and lots of attention. XD

is it because of puberty?
I guess we can't understand shoujo when we're young but even I'm at an age like this, I still can barely get some of the messages the author is trying to convey. Those messages are constantly trying to tell me to change my outlook on this and that

What do you think?
That is true. That is why reading such series is interesting; sometimes it could even apply to your own life, feeling somehow funny that you could be in the same situation.

Just wondering, though, do you guys ever 'used' the 'tricks' done at the series in real life, in case you have similar situations?

I admit my interest did do a 180. It was also down do being bored and completely frustrated with shounen at its lack of depth and plot. It is quite funny that I never would've read it if a friend didn't keep going on about how good they were. She also recommended most of my current favorites and it has only depend my love of the genre. I also prefer having a heroine as they tend not to be so linear or have mundane personalities. But at heart I am just a sucker for a good story with a romantic part in it.

Bluntly speaking sometimes even shoujo series basic plot is standard. What actually spices up the series is the development of the characters, how they interact, how they change, with the addition of humor or action or anything else. :3

[Enn]

The only shoujo/josei mangas I have read were Kare Kano, and Honey & Clover. After that, seinen has totally pulled me into its beauty, but the two that I've mentioned were fun to read and I loved the emotional dynamics of each characters. I was a kid and was very bored back then so I read any manga that I find interesting.

[barbapapa]

I think being hired to letter Gals! (even though it was absolutely retarded) kind of softened me up towards shoujo manga. I'm not gonna call myself a fan, but I've read some authors that I really enjoy. Like Ryou Ikuemi, and Emiko Yachi. Yachi's P-Natsu ga Ippai was the first one I really read out of my own volition, and I suppose it changed me in the sense that I kind of blindly shrugged off shoujo and josei manga before it. I think the old school art really helps a lot, though. Both Yachi and Ikuemi have been around since the 80's, and it shows.