It's bittersweet and wonderfully poetic. The story is also accompanied by beautiful visual symbolism: the scene where she is literally running on money; the house of the "big headed" family which is unnecessarily gaudy with massive diamond and all, yet simultaneously fragile (literally "2 dimensional" and flat) compared to the surrounding houses. I agree with another reviewer here saying the plot... 715j28

I don't read shoujo much nowadays, although I still think Beauty Pop is a real gem amongst shoujo. The main female protagonist is seriously likeable since she is just so different to all the cliched heroines floating around lately: kind yet cold, indifferent, a bit apathetic. She also doesn't really care for romance much at all, doesn't randomly blush nor cry easily, doesn't care about her...

This anthology contains possibly my favourite one shot of all time; Apple Baby Cat. It presents the issue of anorexia and body image in a bright, colourful, seemingly lighthearted tone laced with irony, satire, and surprisingly deep and thoughtful symbolism. It made me think about what we really want: to be healthy or to be perceived as being healthy?

I think this anthology can be likened to...

I think this is possibly the best shoujo-ai/yuri manga I've ever read. The main character Mika is so mature, open-minded and refreshing, totally unlike all the trope-filled female leads I've seen around in yuri nowadays (cute, ditsy female; calm, cool, dark-haired beauty). The other female lead is also refreshing as well; she's surprisingly open-minded and mature even though she's younger. Both...

This series has some of the best bromance ever, along with well-developed characters that don't fit into cookie-cutter tropes, an easygoing, humorous tone laced with some surprisingly complex character development, and a perfectly well-defined, not too long nor short length to the story. Princess Princess doesn't fit cleanly into a genre: it's neither shoujo, slice of life or shounen-ai, but...

I think Hikaru no Go is quite unique in that it seems to be an addictive, entertaining shounen manga about competitions, rivalry and ambition on surface level but is actually also surprisingly deep and symbolic underneath. The character development of Hikaru, his rival Akira and the mythical spirit Sai are all done really well. They aren't unchanging, static one dimensional characters but change...

Although 1/2 Prince is the first work that introduced me to Yu Wo, looking back on this now I realise that it's probably Yu Wo's weakest work. It's still amazing though, and particular credit needs to be given to the wide coverage of genres, meaning that it's an enjoyable read for almost everyone. However, there are elements that make this read almost like a fanfiction - characters like Kenshin...

It's got a very calm and lighthearted mood throughout, no unnecessary angst and only a bit of drama (not at all melodramatic like Citrus (Saburouta) for example), making for a very enjoyable read. I also loved how the main characters are straightforward with their feelings for one another and for their shop and it's future. Pretty much my favourite sort of romance. 🙂

Note to people like the...

I'm really in love with this anthology. I love how all stories are so atypical compared to many other BL I've read, and it's also a great starting point to identify some really good BL authors as well. An interesting point I noticed was the particularly wide range of BL; some stories are like heavy bara and explicit while others were mild shounen ai. I liked stories 1, 4 and 8 particularly. My...

Finally, a shounen manga that actually knows when to stop. I've actually always found the endless arcs of many (serialised) shounen to be unbearable but Kurogane ended perfectly in my opinion. I know many shounen fans will disagree; I've heard complaints that Kurogane's ending was rushed and didn't portray character development and the journey in general. However, if you imagine it continuing, it...

Both the characters and plot were pretty cliche and trope-filled (Mary Sue guy protagonist, mind control repercussions kind of shallow and unexplored etc.) However, the reason why I'm giving such a high rating is for the worldbuilding. I like how they explained the mechanics behind their "modern" magic with a (somewhat) scientific basis which by itself already places it way above all the other...

I first saw this in a Gothic Lolita Bible book (forgot the exact name), and was captivated. Even though it's super short, this is probably one of my favourite one shots. It has a sort of surreal feeling yet the symbolism of their relationship as cat and bird can be easily understood.

It's calm with an easygoing pace. Like some other reviewers below have mentioned, it doesn't have much of an excitement factor, so I think some people would probably get bored pretty quickly. However, once you look past the uber-relaxed pacing you'll find some rare treasures that aren't commonly present in shoujo: realistic, complex, likeable characters that don't conform to tropes (the main...

It does involve its share of shoujo cliches, but I really liked this when I first read it a couple of years back. I'm quite partial to stories where the romance is a bit unexpected, a case that especially applies here since the guy isn't even the type she'd usually fall in love with, being both younger and shorter than her. Anyway, it's pretty cute.

I'm particularly partial to works like this; very calm, pleasant, gentle and almost nostalgic feeling slice-of-life set in an alternate universe. It differs from conventional BL in that any romance is only hinted at; in this work it is other relationship dynamics and character interaction that are explored more deeply. Another thing I particularly liked was how it wasn't melodramatic and didn't...

I've only read chapter 15 (I am Piano), so I'm just going to be reviewing that one. So there's not many one-shots that feel complete, but this one definitely does the trick somehow. It's a story about a personified piano. Very poetic.

It's not an original idea, but it's well executed. I was a bit wary of this initially since I'm not really into relationships where one of the characters looks a lot younger, but even though the younger girl is pretty innocent, she's also surprisingly mature and straightforward. I found the relationship cute to read about.

Mixed Vegetables is a typical albeit refreshing shoujo manga themed around cooking. The heroine's strong willpower and enthusiasm reminded me of the heroine from Kitchen Princess, although unlike Kitchen Princess, the plot presented in Mixed Vegetables is fairly different. The heroine's family owns a patissiere while the other male protagonist's family owns a sushi restaurant. Anyway, each...

The main strengths of Seiyuu Ka! are its refreshing characterisation of the two main leads and the really nicely developed relationship interwoven with their own character development. What I really liked about the relationship was that it wasn't approached as a typical girl falling in love with a guy story (but neither does the guy fall in love first, really). They start out with their own...

It has a gentle, easygoing and calm tone throughout. I found it quite refreshing, without all the tropes commonly associated with BL, and I particularly liked how the relationships between the partners were still emphasised as being important in themselves without necessarily needing explicit romance.

This would be a pretty good introductory BL for someone I think, although any BL reader looking...

I may be biased since this is the first manga I've ever read before, but I thought Shugo Chara was really cute. All the characters were well-developed, likeable and had their own distinct personalities; the story's tone was upbeat and energetic with some thoughtful and even somewhat dark undertones; and the artwork is pretty and well-suited to both the characters and story. I didn't feel that the...

It's true that there wasn't much plot, but I still couldn't drop this series. Both main characters were immensely likeable. The main girl protagonist was strong-willed and determined, and complemented the almost fragile and elegant personality of the main male protagonist perfectly. Being a piano player myself, I enjoyed the way the theme of the piano was presented throughout the series, and how...

But I'd say it's most enjoyable if you're younger than 14. This is because the immaturity of the heroine who is hardworking and imaginative but clumsy and cries easily might get annoying if you're older. However, it's still a pretty good shoujo compared to quite a few others; the focus of cooking is present throughout (unlike some other shoujo that veer off), the art is cute and the characters are...

The first thing I'd ever read with shounen ai subtext quite a few years back. I enjoying this quite a bit initially as the alternate world constructed was so detailed at first. However, a thing that bothered me was how the potential of the world was not fully taken advantage of and in the end, the whole thing felt relatively unexplored.

The art is particularly beautiful: intricate, quirky and clean at the same time. However, that's where the magic stops; the plot is decent but somewhat boring, and the characters appear somewhat shallow and two-dimensional. However, the fantasy twist is really interesting, and helps to salvage the work, making it quite readable overall.

I think the premise of Kiniro no Corda is awesome. The central theme of musical instruments was interesting and although the heroine was quite generic (which is the case with a lot of reverse harem manga) I think she was irable with her determination.

The concours present in the first arc were particularly enjoyable to read about, but like some other commenters have pointed out, the manga...

I'm quite partial to genderbending manga since they attempt to deviate from the cliches and tropes associated with males and females respectively. However, the male in this shows very cliche feminine mannerisms and tropes associated with female characters (he enjoys activities like cooking, is timid, delicate and not physically strong, etc.) and likewise for the female character who exhibits all...

I was actually enjoying this somewhat at the beginning. It has an interesting concept, protagonist and subtle dark undertones to what was otherwise a pretty lighthearted story. However, that all changed soon after, becoming literally the worst thing I've ever read.

The fact the main character is a girl is used in a really distasteful way. Although she appeared strong at the beginning, she starts...