Hangout Shoujo & Josei Hangout Thread

[Nami]

Re: Josei manga

Oh...I dont really like the Jdrama for this, gave up watching after 2 episodes :P
I feel that reading the mangas is always better.

 

[One Eyed Sharingan]

Re: Josei manga

hmm, i recommend "Emma" by Mori Kaoru, and uhh the manga is way better than the anime

btw i think Nodame Cantabile is more "Josei" than "Shoujo".... gyaboooooo!!

 

[Azurel]

Re: General Josei Discussion

Kare Kano is josei?! Now that I didn't know. I started watching it recently. They are such a sweet couple

 

[eni]

Re: General Josei Discussion

Nope, Kare Kano is a shoujo. Maybe a bit more matured shoujo but no Josei^^

 

[SilvaShado]

Re: General Josei Discussion

Just caught up on this thread, had problems connecting to the site -

So Nodame Cantabile isn't published in English? What about the anime?

I'll have to check out Happy Mania sometime. It sounds good.

I've never heard of Flowers and Bees or Honey and Clover. I'll have to look into those.

I'm also assuming Kimi wa petto isn't being sold in English? That really sounds interesting. Guess I'll have to look for Edited Mangas sometime.

 

[Ayah]

Re: General Josei Discussion

The Nodame Cantabile manga is licensed by Del Rey and it appears that 8 volumes has been published in English. The anime is only at episode 6 in Japan.

Kimi wa Petto is licensed by Tokyopop, and was renamed "Tramps Like Us". It seems that 11 volumes are out in English. Good luck in finding Edited Mangas of it since Manga Editors usually drop projects once they are licensed.

 

[baboysai]

Re: General Josei Discussion

I guess if you can't get a hold of the manga for Kimi wa Petto you can check the Jdrama out. I love the actor of that one. I just forgot his name. He also played Domyouji in Hana Yori Dango Jdrama.

 

[SilvaShado]

Re: General Josei Discussion

The Nodame Cantabile manga is licensed by Del Rey and it appears that 8 volumes has been published in English. The anime is only at episode 6 in Japan.

Kimi wa Petto is licensed by Tokyopop, and was renamed "Tramps Like Us". It seems that 11 volumes are out in English. Good luck in finding Edited Mangas of it since Manga Editors usually drop projects once they are licensed.

Ah, thanks. I don't really mind buying manga. I'm actually looking to start a new series. So I just have to decide whether I want to try Nodame Cantabile or Tramps Like Us.

 

[Gold Knight]

Re: General Josei Discussion

NANA is a josei manga, you'd enjoy it!

Kare Kano too is considered josei, though they're still in high school. See, Kare Kano isn't too light in the later chapters.

Incidentally, by the way, Nana isn't josei - on the brink of it yes - but it's shoujo. The most popular shoujo title in the world, according to the back cover of the Viz volumes we get out west, heh.

 

[SilvaShado]

Re: General Josei Discussion

Do you really trust anything that Viz says? I don't. Take anything they print with a grain of salt, and then check a more official source. But that's just my opinion.

 

[Gold Knight]

Re: General Josei Discussion

Well, I looked and it is listed as josei at MangaUpdates, so I guess it is josei. It certainly does fit the bill with the mature themes of the story... perhaps we should move the Nana discussion thread over here, then.

 

[SilvaShado]

Re: General Josei Discussion

Maybe... I was never a fan of moving threads too much, especially if it has a lot of traffic, but it's up to you mods.

 

[Gold Knight]

Re: General Josei Discussion

It was already here xD

 

[eni]

Re: General Josei Discussion

*googles*
NANA is published in Cookie, that's a shoujo magazine. Besides it has Furigana. They list it as the best sold shoujo magazine in 2003 in Japan as well, there it also got the Shogakukan Manga Award in the categorie shoujo (well, they don't have a Josei categorie but Seinen)
*close google*

But the content is mature, that's true. I have the same problem with Yoshihara Yuki's manga. All about older woman, but released in a shoujo magazine and also marked as shoujo everywhere. But personally I would categorize them as Josei, same with NANA.

 

[SilvaShado]

Re: General Josei Discussion

Then I guess it's partly a person opinion. I mean, if you were a parent, would you let your 12 year old read Nana? Probably not. But maybe your 16 year old.

Publishers will label things whatever they feel. Whether its what they can get away with or what they think will help it sell the best. Maybe they think Nana will sell better labeled as Shoujo than Josei?

 

[eni]

Re: General Josei Discussion

I mean, if you were a parent, would you let your 12 year old read Nana? Probably not. But maybe your 16 year old.

Yeah, that's why we also have to differ between Shoujo and mature Shoujo. Just because something is a Girls Manga does not mean, that it's aimed to all ages, e.g. Eden no Hana and Confidential Confessions, which are clearly mature Shoujo covering serious topics.

On the other hand, you can't label them Josei just because the topic is serious. There're also light-hearted Josei outside. The age of the protagonist is a good indicator, but not always.

 

[Azurel]

Re: General Josei Discussion

so basically how does one differentiate shoujo and josei? From where they are published?

 

[Nami]

Re: General Josei Discussion

Hi Azurel,

You can try reading this threads : What is Shoujo? and What is Josei?

To get a better idea, you can also try reading a Josei manga e.g. Nana, recommended here and a shoujo series e.g. Parfait Tic, to compare. Even for me, I took a while to be able to tell the difference.
Josei mangas are usually published in Japan, and we have licenced english ones by VizMedia, Tokyopop etc.

By the way, have you read any shoujo series before? if you need some recommendations, let us know.

 

[Azurel]

Re: General Josei Discussion

Well, actually, I already do know Josei are for older female audience and has a rather mature content while Shoujo are for female audience, usually younger, about young love etc. But sometimes, it's hard to differentiate mangas which are on the boundaries of both. I've read plenty of short shoujo mangas which I believed some were actually josei when I think about it. So where exactly do you draw the line?

 

[Nami]

Re: General Josei Discussion

Hi Azurel!

Whether it is josei or shoujo can be determined by :

- Content (The substance and the issues involved. E.g. female independence, working life issues- conflicts with collegues, relationship issues which goes beyond the normal pairing and breaking up, choices make in life - relocation, divorce, affairs etc. Sometimes, the younger audience may not fully grasp what the story is saying. Hence, a josei manga sometimes is quite thought-provoking.)
- Characters Involved (They are mainly in their 20s, single working girls etc.)
- Drama (Sometimes, it has realistic settings. e.g. low class working girl, low salary, and josei does not mean explicit love scenes, they are able to convey the story well, without going into that)


Btw, u made me curious, which short shoujo series are you reading that you thought are josei? Cos maybe you are right? We can also add them in the List too.