Shoujo Manga

Don't let the title of this manga fool you. This is not a happily-ever-after story of a character who falls in love with someone and everything unravels (or gets complicated) from there. In fact, this manga is hardly about the conventional concept of love. The focus here is not a matter of the heart - it's a matter of the mind : escapism. The mangaka makes sure the reader experiences this, telling from his suitably grim lineart as well as his no-holds-back storytelling. The direct contrast between the typical notions of shoujo manga and the general atmosphere of the characters in this manga is appalling, but it is necessary, and even crucial, to make us connect and understand the relationship between the jaded protagonist and the world around her.

Basically put, it's a seinen (guy) manga about shoujo manga. It's definitely different from the normal shoujo, and with that, I give it a thumbs up for its originality. :)


Below information from Baka-UpdatesManga
Genre: Seinen (+Psychological +Love +Children)
Description: Set in the dystopic future: A girl steals a bag from an old woman reduced to living in a tent. All the bag contains are volume after volume of shoujo manga. But even after the girl has finished reading all the volumes, our story is still not complete...

Update @5.18pm : I forgot to mention that I downloaded this under a torrent of one-shots courtesy of Mangascreener. I didn't read all that were in the collection (some of them kinda freaked me out haha) but At the Park is worth a mention (it's very short) for the conventional-shoujo fan. ;)

[ Torrent it! ]
from Mangascreener

Kon no Ki Konoha

This mangaka goes by the name Sahara Mizu @ Yumeka Sumomo. I've read 3 other of her works (Hoshi no Koe, Bus Hashiru & Nanairo Sekai), and they're just as captivating. Her stories, this one not excluding, are always touching and told in a calm but passionate tone. Her artstyle is also commendable, and very bishie material. ;)

This oneshot is different from the other stuff I've read by her because it's been injected with some fantasy/supernatural aspects. I'm not much into fantasy/supernatural, but she manages to grab my attention and emotions well, perhaps because of the way she 'tells' the story. It's heartwarming and overall, a lovely one-shot to read on a rainy day when you're just chillin' at home with a nice warm cuppa.


Below information from Baka-Updates
Associated Names: コンノキコノハ, Leaves of the Deep Blue Tree
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Shoujo, Supernatural,Tragedy
Description: Only in autumn when the dead leaves flutter about can Akino meet the mysterious boy who lives inside the deep blue tree.


[ Download it! ]
from EndlessStory

Detective Conan

Easily one of the best mangas i've ever read. It's got mystery, thriller, drama, and a lil bit of romance here and there. I think it's the only detective manga that I actually really like reading, as compared to Kindaichi and I can't remember the other one I once read (shoes how much impression it had on me huh?). There's tonnes of volumes (alright to be fair probably no more than a 100) and every volume is about 2.5 stories on average, meaning for one book there are 2 full stories and one half a story. Most of the time.

Something that bothers me is the English version of the title - 'case closed'... I wonder why they couldn't just retain 'Detective Conan', and if anyone else is bothered by this? Hmm.


Below information from AnimeNewsNetwork
Alternative title: Detective Conan, Detektiv Conan (German), Mästerdetektiven Conan (Swedish), Meitantei Conan (Japanese), 名探偵コナン (Japanese), 명탐정 코난 (Korean), Case Closed (English)
Genres: Action, adventure, comedy, mystery
Age rating: Teenagers (may contain bloody violence, bad language, nudity)
Plot Summary: High school detective Kudo Shinichi is infamously known to the people of Japan as "The Modern Sherlock Holmes." Yet things will changed as he is drugged by two mysterious men in black and found himself shruken to the size of a kid. Hiding his real name, Shinichi now lives with his childhood sweetheart Mouri Ran under the name of Edogawa Conan and hoping to find some clues about the men in black through clients and cases of Ran's father--a pathetic second-class detective who quickly became well-known through secretive helps from Conan.

[ Download it! ]
from RealityLapse

next reviews

update: 220209 @3.23am ~

...when i get around to making them, which of course is sometime in the unpredictable future. but not too long in the future, probably, because i've made the banners already, after playing around a bit with my macromedia fireworks, hah :P

• dear friends
• kimi to scandal
• bus hashiru
• purikyu
• akuma de soros
• shoujo manga ~

they're all awesome manga titles, i really recommend manga (esp.ly shoujo) lovers to read them.

cheerios, folks.

Senaka no Otoko

Another awesome manga by one of my fave mangakas, Matsumoto Tomo. The story is basically about how a girl is attracted to the back of a guy she admires but whom she has never seen the face of.

I'm not sure if everyone notices this, but some ppl have really attractive backs. Not 'just' their bums or back of the legs or heads or whatever, but more like the whole back of the body, especially the torso. Well, this story is about this, and Matsumoto Tomo pulls off the intensity and mysteriousness of such an attraction very well.

Below information from MangaFox
Alternative Name(s) : Back View of a Man, His Back
Mangaka: MATSUMOTO Tomo
Genre(s): comedy, romance, school life, shoujo
Summary (In The Water): Biri Kobouku's gaze always happens upon a figure. For some reason, she can always notice him, even though she's never seen his face. Can someone fall in love ... just from their back view?

[ Read it online! ]
from MangaFox

Nanairo Sekai

4 sweet love stories of different couples under different circumstances. Awesome artwork, cute characters, and really heartwarming tales of the ups-and-downs of love, not just in the romantic sense.

If you want to read a good shoujo/romance manga anthology, this one fits the bill perfectly. :)

Below information from MangaFox
Alternative Name : The World In Seven Colours
Mangaka : Sahara Mizu
Genre(s) : romance, school life, shoujo, shounen ai, slice of life
Summary : A collection of oneshots -

• The Glasses Thief
• Convenience Store Honey (Shounen Ai)
• Adult-Uniform
• Refrigerator Chocolate

[ Download it! ]
from Kiarin