Hi! I'm one of the people who subscribed to your newsletter out of genuine interest :) Now that I read your post, it seems like we have quite a few things in common (as probably a lot of us adult shoujo fans do?). I also have been rediscovering my love for shoujo/josei after so many years of running away from while trying to be a proper adult.
But all that aside, I really enjoyed getting your newsletter and will be looking forward to your upcoming thoughts, reviews, essays, and anything in between! You've teased a few very interesting ideas that I'd be happy to read about more in the future.
AHH! Hi Maryam!!! SO nice to meet you!!! I"m honestly so happy at least 1 person was here from genuine interest and now I feel much braver hehe :D IDK why but the idea all of my 11 subscribers being like from a spam list freaked me out so bad LOL. It really shouldn't matter? But I am super happy you're here!
Honestly, being a proper adult is so lame? If it means I can't enjoy fun things then what's the point! It is so easy to say, but I bought 2 shoujo mangas at once the other day (I mean, I like have only bought like a few ever in my life beacuse I'm a digital reader first... so it's not like I have a huge collection, honestly hyper consumption of manga kinda freaks me out so I am really careful about what I buy anyway) and then I was like gripped with this feeling that I wasted my money even though I literally have a set fun budget to buy whatever I want each month. But how is buying a series I like and will reread multiple times wasted money??? It's not!
Thank you so much for your support and interest and your comment made me SUPER happy! I feel very motivated and way less scared now ^.^ What's your favourite shoujo so far or what one was your favourite in the past? :) Mine right now is probably A Sign of Affection which is kinda basic but its so cute ;----;. My high school favourite which I'm still so nostalgic for was Maid-Sama although the community as a whole seems to hate that one now lol RIP for me XD I got shook when I went to the Maid-Sama subreddit and everyone there was literally trashing it for being toxic and I was like "well that sucks". I know everything didn't age perfectly there but idk I thought it was just fun and not so serious lol.
Oh my, I'm so happy to get such a warm reply :) Glad you found my comment comforting. Means it served its purpose! Some of the pages might be spam but I'm sure there are other people like me (just a little shyer?). And with time, there will be even more. So please, do not get discouraged! It seems like you have a lot to share and I really hope you will. I think it's important to talk about this medium in all kinds of ways, be it silly or serious.
First question, what was that series you bought? I'm really curious :D Also congratulations! It's an investment (into our well-being). But I understand your feelings – as it's difficult and expensive to get manga where I live, I always had to be very selective with the physical copies I buy. For me, it's more like a souvenir than a real way to consume manga. But anytime I do get anything or spend too much time reading manga, I do have to mediate a small battle with a voice inside me, telling me adults shouldn't be doing this. (I'm also in my late 20s, btw :))
A Sign of Affection is so beautiful! Probably also one of my favorites from the new releases, granted I haven't read as much in the recent years and have a lot of catching up to do. I've also been really enjoying My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 (basic, I know). Makes me happy to see mature adults in love, communicating, solving issues, and dealing with complicated feelings that naturally arise, which seems to be a popular topic in shoujo/josei as of late.
And as for when I was younger, I loved Maid-Sama! Still remember reading as it was getting released... Good times :D Also just recently found out that Usui was getting a lot of hate and was a little surprised. Guess that times have changed indeed. But being honest, as a teenager I adored Ai Yazawa's work (talk about problematic). Nana had such a huge impact on me growing up. I still reread it every other year and enjoy it just as much.
I think you're right that people are shy and that's totally okay, hehe. Nobody is obligated to comment. I had 10 signups in 1 hour back in June and then like 2 of them were like 'investmentgrowthopportunities@xxxxxxx' kind of email and I went from being super excited to being like HMMMm I think maybe this wasn't real :') (And then proceeded to get increasingly more anxious XD, but I am very comforted now honestly).
I also LOOOOOVE Yamada-kun! It's SO sweet. More than one of my post ideas was about that manga and just how cute and realistic it is honestly. I LOVE Akane as a female lead, she makes me want to be a better person honestly. Her kindness feels so real and genuine and I like how she chooses to respond and react in difficult situations while still being true to herself. I feel like a lot of her plot arcs also feel very realistic as a 28yr old too and it's really comforting to read stories like that. I honestly found myself reading spoilers on twitter last week because I wanted to find out what happened with the manga (totally unhinged, I never do this lol).
Also omg yay you also like Maid-Sama ;-; I honestly feel like I took away positive messages about a relationship from it? Like my husband totally exhibits some of Usui's best caring qualities? IDK These things seem so complicated as to "What's problematic" and seems more personal than like overarching, I personally abandoned Dengeki Daisy because I couldn't get into the age gap romance where she was in high school and he was the janitor haha. That felt problematic to me but also if people like that manga I have no issues too? I don't inherently think it's causing people to form abusive relationships lol. It's not some great evil in this world, it's just a fun story and other people have different narrative tropes than me that they prefer! I've noticed there's like a reoccurring trend of like dissecting which shows/couples in shoujo are toxic and nasty as video essay topics and stuff but like not a ton of focus on which ones are super wholesome and positive? And it made me kinda sad... so I started this space LOL. I feel like the same energy isn't there for critiquing shonen/male romances or isekai's like there's so much uncomfortable vibes with weird harem dynamics, very flatly written women who only simp for the male leads and actual slavery narratives TT_TT Like the bar is low and yet all the critique is on shoujo? Feels weird to me. ANYWAY LOL TANGENT.
OOH! I haven't read Nana yet but it's on my to be read list and because you love it so much I'm going to bump it up to start reading it sooner! Once I read it I'd totally love to hear more about why it was so impactful for you, in obviously a positive way! I honestly feel Maid-Sama impacted me positively too was a younger girl and should probably write about that as well hehe.
EDIT: I also forgot to answer about the manga I do buy! Basically, I too read everything online (honestly like... the free way :') or on my e-reader... in a free way....) And then I support the stories I like the most. Just like how I read normal books these days, it's just WAY too expensive to be like buying everything and authors only get a small portion of the profit anyway, publishers get the vast share and I don't really care about them? I bought Maid-Sama last year when it went on sale. And then a friend gifted me some volumes of a sign of affection (which I've continued collecting although I don't have Volume 6 yet), and then I have 2 volumes of In the Clear Moonlit Dusk. And that's honestly probably all the series I'm interested in owning until Loving Yamada gets its English print release in 2024! I just really want to only have the ones I love the most and will reread a lot! Otherwise I'm happy to just read them online/my e-reader.
Very sorry for not replying earlier, Emmalin... I was back from my vacation and things got a little hectic at work. And since I wanted to give your message the attention it deserved, it ended taking some time. But it has been on my mind every day. Really sorry for this. :)
So you too! I even downloaded the Japanese app that hosts Yamada-kun, as the translations have been lagging behind a little. I can't understand much, but even flipping through the page brings me joy :D I really like Akane too. Her kindness is so thoughtful and sincere. And the conversations they are having are so realistic too! I can easily imagine having them with my boyfriend. I like that they communicate when they misunderstand each other and treat each other with so much tenderness. Would love to read your essay on realistic romance and how you've been relating to their story as well. ^^
Have to confess, I really enjoyed Dengeki Daisy... I liked Teru and thought the mystery aspect was quite interest. As I was very young (around 14-15, I think?), I think I didn't grasp the age gap all that well, especially because otherwise he was very respectful and behaved a bit like her classmate (which some might say is problematic in and off itself).
Overall though, I think shoujo/josei covers such a huge spectrum of relationships. It's the beauty of the demographic and I wouldn't want it any other way. I agree with you – just as playing violent video games does not lead to more violence, reading about problematic relationships doesn't necessarily make you blind to people's faults. It's the opposite, if anything. Have noticed a trend with what kind of shoujo gets attention as well, but I wonder if some of it is a just a media bias towards negativity? Since people are more likely to give attention to negative content, maybe creators to unconsciously end up leaning into that. As for problematic shounen tropes... I'm afraid to even get started. I could gush about it for hours.
Small thing, but I found it so adorable that both us seem to find positive shoujo traits in our partners. I tell him all the time that he is very shoujo-coded. :)
Yey!! I'd LOVE to hear what you have to say about Nana once you read it (the anime is also very good, especially the music). It's not a very happy story... But it doesn't try to glamorize the abusive relationships and shows how damaging and dangerous they can be. It's extremely realistic.
SIGN OF AFFECTION MANGA *___* It's so so pretty. Really want to get it and Yamada when it's out. And can't wait to get back into Clear Moonlit Dusk (I've started it a few months ago but didn't get a chance to get back into it because of work). It seems like another beautiful and heartwarming series. I have your essay bookmarked to read after I catch up with it. :)
P.S.: Btw, I just read your bio and noticed that you also enjoy Colleen's content! She was one of the people that inspired me to pick shoujo back up. And my boyfriend has also been the main victim of my obsessions. :D
AAH No worries friend I totally am the same way, wanting to reply properly. And also, as a fellow working adult totally get how demanding work can be and also just how tiring it is to exist as a millennial, working, doing laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc then somehow finding time for fun things on top. So no stress :D
I feel so validated you also are looking at the Japanese version of Yamada too omg I was really like "AM I CRAZY I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS" like I was so stressed with the latest plot of Akane in the alleyway and was like I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS THIS SITUATION IS TOO RELATABLE. I just love how she was on the phone with Yamada the whole time and after the next day ;-; <3 I also feel like all their conversations and interactions are super relatable as well. It's soooo good.
Honestly, I think if I'd read Dengeki Daisy as a teen too I would have liked it also. I totally shipped age gap things when I was a teen and then as an adult kinda fallen off of it. I prolly woulda been on Tumblr defending those two and how their relationship was not problematic at all heheh. And yeah, I just even though I didn't like it when I tried to read it earlier this year, I don't think it's like a deeply harmful piece of media that causes young girls to make bad choices LOL. It's just a story. I do think you're totally onto something here with the negativity probably increasing engagement. I know that one of my goals for this space is to at least primarily like about stuff I like not stuff I don't like. LOL I am reminded of the like little ending voice note in Taylor Swift's "Daylight" song that's like "I wanna be defined by the things that I love / Not the things I hate". I've been watching Ooku with my partner and we've been discussing it and honestly I've got some complex feelings on it so far and am considering doing a review here but then it's not like something that's just about something I like so I was fretting if it was too negative LOL. But I'm sure it would be fine. I'm not truly disliking the show I just feel there are some elements that could have been done better?
I'm going to start Nana super soon! I think I'll watch through the anime first because now that's been recommended a few times and then move into the manga to continue! I don't mind that it features some dark themes! Like you said, the beauty of shoujo/josei is that it covers a vast array of ground! :D
Colleen is helping SO much with the shoujosei community!!! I was watching her videos and feeling jealous because I wanted to talk about shoujo too hehe and then I realized I could on Substack here :D I'm not really cut out for YouTube too much of an introvert that feels that being on camera is awkward but I do enjoy writing! I kept going on these long rants to my partner about various shoujo things and then when I brought up the idea of doing this space he was super supportive too which was cute ^.^ I feel super lucky to have a supportive partner who likes shoujo/josei too with me! He's actually been huge in just me even getting back into anime as an adult, encouraging us to watch it together because he found out I used to like it. It's been fun to get back into everything over the years. We were reading Skip and Loafer together which was really fun. I know that's technically a seinin but it's got huge shoujo vibes IMO.
Hi! I'm one of the people who subscribed to your newsletter out of genuine interest :) Now that I read your post, it seems like we have quite a few things in common (as probably a lot of us adult shoujo fans do?). I also have been rediscovering my love for shoujo/josei after so many years of running away from while trying to be a proper adult.
But all that aside, I really enjoyed getting your newsletter and will be looking forward to your upcoming thoughts, reviews, essays, and anything in between! You've teased a few very interesting ideas that I'd be happy to read about more in the future.
AHH! Hi Maryam!!! SO nice to meet you!!! I"m honestly so happy at least 1 person was here from genuine interest and now I feel much braver hehe :D IDK why but the idea all of my 11 subscribers being like from a spam list freaked me out so bad LOL. It really shouldn't matter? But I am super happy you're here!
Honestly, being a proper adult is so lame? If it means I can't enjoy fun things then what's the point! It is so easy to say, but I bought 2 shoujo mangas at once the other day (I mean, I like have only bought like a few ever in my life beacuse I'm a digital reader first... so it's not like I have a huge collection, honestly hyper consumption of manga kinda freaks me out so I am really careful about what I buy anyway) and then I was like gripped with this feeling that I wasted my money even though I literally have a set fun budget to buy whatever I want each month. But how is buying a series I like and will reread multiple times wasted money??? It's not!
Thank you so much for your support and interest and your comment made me SUPER happy! I feel very motivated and way less scared now ^.^ What's your favourite shoujo so far or what one was your favourite in the past? :) Mine right now is probably A Sign of Affection which is kinda basic but its so cute ;----;. My high school favourite which I'm still so nostalgic for was Maid-Sama although the community as a whole seems to hate that one now lol RIP for me XD I got shook when I went to the Maid-Sama subreddit and everyone there was literally trashing it for being toxic and I was like "well that sucks". I know everything didn't age perfectly there but idk I thought it was just fun and not so serious lol.
Oh my, I'm so happy to get such a warm reply :) Glad you found my comment comforting. Means it served its purpose! Some of the pages might be spam but I'm sure there are other people like me (just a little shyer?). And with time, there will be even more. So please, do not get discouraged! It seems like you have a lot to share and I really hope you will. I think it's important to talk about this medium in all kinds of ways, be it silly or serious.
First question, what was that series you bought? I'm really curious :D Also congratulations! It's an investment (into our well-being). But I understand your feelings – as it's difficult and expensive to get manga where I live, I always had to be very selective with the physical copies I buy. For me, it's more like a souvenir than a real way to consume manga. But anytime I do get anything or spend too much time reading manga, I do have to mediate a small battle with a voice inside me, telling me adults shouldn't be doing this. (I'm also in my late 20s, btw :))
A Sign of Affection is so beautiful! Probably also one of my favorites from the new releases, granted I haven't read as much in the recent years and have a lot of catching up to do. I've also been really enjoying My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 (basic, I know). Makes me happy to see mature adults in love, communicating, solving issues, and dealing with complicated feelings that naturally arise, which seems to be a popular topic in shoujo/josei as of late.
And as for when I was younger, I loved Maid-Sama! Still remember reading as it was getting released... Good times :D Also just recently found out that Usui was getting a lot of hate and was a little surprised. Guess that times have changed indeed. But being honest, as a teenager I adored Ai Yazawa's work (talk about problematic). Nana had such a huge impact on me growing up. I still reread it every other year and enjoy it just as much.
I think you're right that people are shy and that's totally okay, hehe. Nobody is obligated to comment. I had 10 signups in 1 hour back in June and then like 2 of them were like 'investmentgrowthopportunities@xxxxxxx' kind of email and I went from being super excited to being like HMMMm I think maybe this wasn't real :') (And then proceeded to get increasingly more anxious XD, but I am very comforted now honestly).
I also LOOOOOVE Yamada-kun! It's SO sweet. More than one of my post ideas was about that manga and just how cute and realistic it is honestly. I LOVE Akane as a female lead, she makes me want to be a better person honestly. Her kindness feels so real and genuine and I like how she chooses to respond and react in difficult situations while still being true to herself. I feel like a lot of her plot arcs also feel very realistic as a 28yr old too and it's really comforting to read stories like that. I honestly found myself reading spoilers on twitter last week because I wanted to find out what happened with the manga (totally unhinged, I never do this lol).
Also omg yay you also like Maid-Sama ;-; I honestly feel like I took away positive messages about a relationship from it? Like my husband totally exhibits some of Usui's best caring qualities? IDK These things seem so complicated as to "What's problematic" and seems more personal than like overarching, I personally abandoned Dengeki Daisy because I couldn't get into the age gap romance where she was in high school and he was the janitor haha. That felt problematic to me but also if people like that manga I have no issues too? I don't inherently think it's causing people to form abusive relationships lol. It's not some great evil in this world, it's just a fun story and other people have different narrative tropes than me that they prefer! I've noticed there's like a reoccurring trend of like dissecting which shows/couples in shoujo are toxic and nasty as video essay topics and stuff but like not a ton of focus on which ones are super wholesome and positive? And it made me kinda sad... so I started this space LOL. I feel like the same energy isn't there for critiquing shonen/male romances or isekai's like there's so much uncomfortable vibes with weird harem dynamics, very flatly written women who only simp for the male leads and actual slavery narratives TT_TT Like the bar is low and yet all the critique is on shoujo? Feels weird to me. ANYWAY LOL TANGENT.
OOH! I haven't read Nana yet but it's on my to be read list and because you love it so much I'm going to bump it up to start reading it sooner! Once I read it I'd totally love to hear more about why it was so impactful for you, in obviously a positive way! I honestly feel Maid-Sama impacted me positively too was a younger girl and should probably write about that as well hehe.
EDIT: I also forgot to answer about the manga I do buy! Basically, I too read everything online (honestly like... the free way :') or on my e-reader... in a free way....) And then I support the stories I like the most. Just like how I read normal books these days, it's just WAY too expensive to be like buying everything and authors only get a small portion of the profit anyway, publishers get the vast share and I don't really care about them? I bought Maid-Sama last year when it went on sale. And then a friend gifted me some volumes of a sign of affection (which I've continued collecting although I don't have Volume 6 yet), and then I have 2 volumes of In the Clear Moonlit Dusk. And that's honestly probably all the series I'm interested in owning until Loving Yamada gets its English print release in 2024! I just really want to only have the ones I love the most and will reread a lot! Otherwise I'm happy to just read them online/my e-reader.
Very sorry for not replying earlier, Emmalin... I was back from my vacation and things got a little hectic at work. And since I wanted to give your message the attention it deserved, it ended taking some time. But it has been on my mind every day. Really sorry for this. :)
So you too! I even downloaded the Japanese app that hosts Yamada-kun, as the translations have been lagging behind a little. I can't understand much, but even flipping through the page brings me joy :D I really like Akane too. Her kindness is so thoughtful and sincere. And the conversations they are having are so realistic too! I can easily imagine having them with my boyfriend. I like that they communicate when they misunderstand each other and treat each other with so much tenderness. Would love to read your essay on realistic romance and how you've been relating to their story as well. ^^
Have to confess, I really enjoyed Dengeki Daisy... I liked Teru and thought the mystery aspect was quite interest. As I was very young (around 14-15, I think?), I think I didn't grasp the age gap all that well, especially because otherwise he was very respectful and behaved a bit like her classmate (which some might say is problematic in and off itself).
Overall though, I think shoujo/josei covers such a huge spectrum of relationships. It's the beauty of the demographic and I wouldn't want it any other way. I agree with you – just as playing violent video games does not lead to more violence, reading about problematic relationships doesn't necessarily make you blind to people's faults. It's the opposite, if anything. Have noticed a trend with what kind of shoujo gets attention as well, but I wonder if some of it is a just a media bias towards negativity? Since people are more likely to give attention to negative content, maybe creators to unconsciously end up leaning into that. As for problematic shounen tropes... I'm afraid to even get started. I could gush about it for hours.
Small thing, but I found it so adorable that both us seem to find positive shoujo traits in our partners. I tell him all the time that he is very shoujo-coded. :)
Yey!! I'd LOVE to hear what you have to say about Nana once you read it (the anime is also very good, especially the music). It's not a very happy story... But it doesn't try to glamorize the abusive relationships and shows how damaging and dangerous they can be. It's extremely realistic.
SIGN OF AFFECTION MANGA *___* It's so so pretty. Really want to get it and Yamada when it's out. And can't wait to get back into Clear Moonlit Dusk (I've started it a few months ago but didn't get a chance to get back into it because of work). It seems like another beautiful and heartwarming series. I have your essay bookmarked to read after I catch up with it. :)
P.S.: Btw, I just read your bio and noticed that you also enjoy Colleen's content! She was one of the people that inspired me to pick shoujo back up. And my boyfriend has also been the main victim of my obsessions. :D
AAH No worries friend I totally am the same way, wanting to reply properly. And also, as a fellow working adult totally get how demanding work can be and also just how tiring it is to exist as a millennial, working, doing laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc then somehow finding time for fun things on top. So no stress :D
I feel so validated you also are looking at the Japanese version of Yamada too omg I was really like "AM I CRAZY I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS" like I was so stressed with the latest plot of Akane in the alleyway and was like I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS THIS SITUATION IS TOO RELATABLE. I just love how she was on the phone with Yamada the whole time and after the next day ;-; <3 I also feel like all their conversations and interactions are super relatable as well. It's soooo good.
Honestly, I think if I'd read Dengeki Daisy as a teen too I would have liked it also. I totally shipped age gap things when I was a teen and then as an adult kinda fallen off of it. I prolly woulda been on Tumblr defending those two and how their relationship was not problematic at all heheh. And yeah, I just even though I didn't like it when I tried to read it earlier this year, I don't think it's like a deeply harmful piece of media that causes young girls to make bad choices LOL. It's just a story. I do think you're totally onto something here with the negativity probably increasing engagement. I know that one of my goals for this space is to at least primarily like about stuff I like not stuff I don't like. LOL I am reminded of the like little ending voice note in Taylor Swift's "Daylight" song that's like "I wanna be defined by the things that I love / Not the things I hate". I've been watching Ooku with my partner and we've been discussing it and honestly I've got some complex feelings on it so far and am considering doing a review here but then it's not like something that's just about something I like so I was fretting if it was too negative LOL. But I'm sure it would be fine. I'm not truly disliking the show I just feel there are some elements that could have been done better?
I'm going to start Nana super soon! I think I'll watch through the anime first because now that's been recommended a few times and then move into the manga to continue! I don't mind that it features some dark themes! Like you said, the beauty of shoujo/josei is that it covers a vast array of ground! :D
Colleen is helping SO much with the shoujosei community!!! I was watching her videos and feeling jealous because I wanted to talk about shoujo too hehe and then I realized I could on Substack here :D I'm not really cut out for YouTube too much of an introvert that feels that being on camera is awkward but I do enjoy writing! I kept going on these long rants to my partner about various shoujo things and then when I brought up the idea of doing this space he was super supportive too which was cute ^.^ I feel super lucky to have a supportive partner who likes shoujo/josei too with me! He's actually been huge in just me even getting back into anime as an adult, encouraging us to watch it together because he found out I used to like it. It's been fun to get back into everything over the years. We were reading Skip and Loafer together which was really fun. I know that's technically a seinin but it's got huge shoujo vibes IMO.