We meet today for a top manga with the shojo titles of the year 2016!
You, avid shojo manga reader, I warn you right now. This ranking was made by me alone, Blackstar! Even if my readings are quite varied and numerous, I am not a big shojo reader. As a result, my point of view may seem biased to you. On this year 2016, I had to find about fifteen attractive shojo titles, the others did not hook me at all. I wanted to group here titles that are both interesting and original in their treatment. As a result, two titles fell by the wayside, because even if I found them better qualitatively speaking, they looked too much like either the "archetype of shojo" or another title of this top (but less attractive).
5/ Kiss him, not me!
Author : Junko
Seller : Delcourt Tonkam
Release date : 20/01/2016
Number of volumes : 11 volumes in Japan, current series, 6 volumes in France
Price : 6,99 €
Synopsis :
Kae is both an otaku and a fujoshi (boy's love fan), very coated and almost non-existent. One day, she is shocked by the death of her favorite cartoon hero and, depressed, she locks herself in her room for several days. After a rather violent weight loss, she returns to high school and discovers that she now has a dream physique, which could prove devastating…
Si Kiss him, not me! please, it is on the one hand thanks to her inverted harem, since Kae, the heroine of this story finds herself overnight surrounded by 4 beautiful kids. But on top of that, she happens to be a fujoshi. Truly passionate about boy's love, Kae tries to share her passion with these men who turn around her, since they only ask for that. Humor is omnipresent and each reader can find happiness by supporting one of the 4 contenders.
4/ On stage!
Author : Cuvie
Seller : Kurokawa
Release date : 13/10/2016
Number of volumes : 6 volumes in Japan, current series, 2 volumes in France
Price: 7,65 €
Synopsis :
The life of little Kanade Ariya changes the day she attends the dance show of her neighbor Lisa. Fascinated by the grace of the girl, Kanade has only one dream in mind: to become a ballerina! But dance is a difficult school, especially when you have no particular predispositions. However, despite the obstacles and disappointments, Kanade hangs on. And she soon discovers that even the most gifted are facing failure…
If the main theme of En Scène is ballet, it has a construction typical of sports shonen of the nekketsu type. Kanade, our heroine will discover a passion by observing her neighbor Lisa during one of her performances. She will have a boundless admiration for him and will try to follow in his footsteps. By coming up against this discipline as severe as it is graceful, she will have to redouble her efforts to find a place for herself. She will of course find on her way new rivals, but also friends who will help her move forward…
3/ Perfect World
Author : Rie Aruga
Seller : Akata
Release date : 13/10/2016
Number of volumes : 4 volumes in Japan, current series, 2 volumes in France
Price : 6,95 €
Synopsis :
Tsugumi, 26, works for an interior design company. One evening, during a work evening, what is his surprise to meet around the table Hayukawa, his high school love! But since the end of their studies, the young man, involved in an accident, is in a wheelchair. Certain that she will never have the strength (and the desire) to date a man "with a diminished body", the young woman will nevertheless feel something move in her…
Released at the end of the year, Perfect World has distinguished itself from its competitors by offering a romance, where disability takes a predominant place. Engaging with a person who is in a wheelchair is far from a sinecure and those who do not know it, learn it at the same time as Tsugumi, the central character of this title. Even if love is present, we understand that it is not necessarily enough to build a relationship and maintain it …
2/ Let's get married
Author : Izumi Miyazono
Seller : Kazé
Release date : 09/03/2016
Number of volumes : 6 volumes in Japan, current series, 3 volumes in France
Price : 6,79 €
Synopsis :
So what?! Even though wanting to get married and become a stay-at-home mom these days may seem cliché and backward, in the eyes of 24-year-old Asuka Takanashi, it's the ideal lifestyle choice! Far from being stupid, she succeeded in everything: a career in banking and a loving boyfriend. But now, the latter suddenly makes a request… of rupture! She then finds comfort and encouragement in the person of Ryû Nanami, a famous and attractive TV presenter whom fate likes to place constantly on its way. But for Asuka, it is out of the question to succumb to the charms of a Don Juan adept at relationships without a future! Their convictions separate them, will Love bring them together?
Can we live a romance without sharing the same vision of life as a couple? Let's get married takes us into the meeting of Asuka and Ryu, two adults who have a very different vision of love. While the lady dreams of a union and a life as a housewife, Ryu does not want to hear about marriage. And although the two protagonists know each other's opinion on the reunion of two beings, they get closer regardless. The interest of this series is to know how their relationship will evolve? Will their attachment make it possible to override it? Will one of them renounce his convictions for their story to endure?
1/ As you are
Author : Kaname Hirama
Seller : Kana
Release date : 05/02/2016
Number of volumes : 8 volumes in Japan, current series, 6 volumes in France
Price : 6,85 €
Synopsis :
Tsumugi is a gentle and caring teenager. What differentiates her from other girls are her few extra kilos that she carries without complex. She once suffered some bullying… But instead of letting herself down, she decided one day to continue loving herself no matter what others say.
It is attracted by this optimism that Yukiya, a handsome boy, asks him to become his girlfriend. Tsumugi hesitates, incredulous enough that a boy sincerely cares about her. But this attraction of Yukiya for her will generate jealousy in the other girls…
My preference this year will be for the manga As You Are. Here Kaname Hirama proves that you can make a shojo between two teenagers, while keeping a certain maturity and using as main character a heroine contrary to Japanese clichés. Tsumugi has a few extra pounds, but that doesn't stop her from loving herself as she is. Unlike some titles, her curves are not an obsession for her, and we discover especially her sentimental inexperience. And although the latter is a real neophyte in the field, her point of view on the thing is not denied for all that.
My top shojo stops here for this year. My choice was complicated until the end and to retain only 5 titles, I questioned myself a lot, especially for two of them, Queen's quality and Love, be loved, leave, be left! In any case, as for every top, I invite you to put your selection to you and I invite you to send me your impressions on the shojo titles of the year 2016, whether they are part of my top or not!
You can also find my one-shot selection of the year 2016.
