Shoujo Fever

My manga mood has its cycles, may it be sports, romance, thriller, or anything in between. Right now, I’m in a shoujo fever. I’ve been re-reading old-ish titles with much fervor. With this atmosphere, it is only natural to compile another set of favorite shoujo manga list.

Top ten lists vary from year-to-year. But what the heck, I’ll give it go anyway.

10. KISS (Tomo Matsumoto). It was those random downloads that brought me to KISS. I was not expecting much, really. No major antagonist to speak of, nor a major dilemma to resolve, KISS is almost a slice-of-life series dealing with a blooming romance between a piano teacher and his student. And I was hooked. Let’s just say once I realized that only half of the manga is scanslated, I immediately hunted down the tankoubons. ^^;;

9. Kagen no Tsuki (Ai Yazawa). Arguably, Ai Yazawa’s best work to date. Miles away from the uber-soap of Nana, Kagen no Tsuki captures love, betrayal, sorrow, and hope in a stylish three-volume series. I would really love this to be animated. Maybe I should watch the movie adaptation…

8. Hana Yori Dango (Yoko Kamio). The manga endures the test of time. Sort-of. Even with new favorites toppling the old, HYD manages to stay afloat in my top 10. Meh lurvs MakinoxRui… Erm, I mean MakinoxDoumyoji. ;p

7. Tokyo Crazy Paradise (Yoshiki Nakamura). Yep, I am smitten, infatuated, in-love with Nakamura-sensei. Her characters ooze with charisma; I can’t resist. In TCP, she has created a world of mafia and gangsters with a humorous and, sometimes, heartbreaking spin. If there is a god, someone should license this manga in the US shores. They did it for Skip Beat, why not TCP?

6. Itazura na Kiss (Kaoru Tada). Finally, a series where “And they lived, happily ever after” does not come after the boy gets the girl. No, sirree. In fact, half of the manga deals with the marriage between the odd couple.

5. Please save my Earth (Saki Hiwatari). I initially balked at the idea of reading PSME. With such an ominous title, I thought it would continuously drill preaching of conservation, blah, blah, blah. Well, I was wrong. And thank god for it.

4. Basara (Yumi Tamura). Oh, the angst. Of star-crossed lovers, of friends and foes, Basara has it all. Almost. Damn, I can almost imagine myself holding a big-arse banner featuring SarasaxShuri and not bat an eyelash. Yes, this series is pretty darn awesome.

3. Glass Mask (Suzue Miuchi). Hah. My obsession with GM does not finish with the anime alone. It runs deeper than that. Or so I would like to think. Unfortunately, Suzue-sensei is taking her oh-so-sweet time before releasing the next volume. Gawd, will I still be in my 20s by the time volume 43 comes around?

2. Skip Beat!! (Yoshiki Nakamura). I’ve mentioned my passionate lurv for Nakamura-sensei. And it does not stop with TCP. Her current manga, Skip Beat, pushes me into a not-so-healthy fascination. Kyouko-demons seem to be invading my mind. I think they have a very wide reach. So if I start droning on and on about SB, blame it on the Kyouko demons. ;p

1. Bara no Tame ni (Akemi Yoshimura) A real ugly duckling joins a family of graceful swans. What makes up a family? With warmth and humour, the series tries to answer this question in a course of sixteen volumes. If you plan to read the series, prepare for laughter and tears. And a friendly advice, if volume one still does not tickle your fancy, volume two will definitely capture your heart. Honestly.

If you’re unfamiliar with one of the titles, give it a try. It could be worth your time. Cross my heart… ;p

Beware of Spoilers. You have been warned.

05.22.06 @ 3pm
anime-ish