i need more unhinged shoujo protagonists like kyoko that are so rooted in hatred but its so unserious and funny i love her so much lol like she is so positive and hopeful yet so hateful its so entertaining and seeing her development makes it even better
I am following the manga till this day. When Kyoko felt insulted when Sho in a slump over "Beagles" plagiarizing him and thus said her 2cents to get him motivated back, so that she can achieve her dream of pushing him down the popularity altar herself is 👍👏. Then when he is back on his feet and kissed her (which I hated Sho for even thought of doing it), she is back in cursing him out! 😆 Kyoko still holding on to her "feminine traits" till this day is a relief and it is delivered nonchalantly without whatever drama over feminism nowadays affecting it is chef kiss. Her growth as actress till the current Route Kingdom arc is 👏👏. Like you said, she is optimistic soul that is so loveable. Clear on her love and hate, good hearted but not a doormat, brave to face head on against her trauma over childhood but not without realistic fear and moment of weakness. Honestly, the running jokes of her dream role she wanted to land on associated with dreamy and fantasy-likes but keep on landing antagonistic characters are 😂. The facts her acting ability keep evolving beyonds many directors' initial expectation! She is a character that transcended times. I can keep on re-reading the manga over and over again just for her 🥰.
Beware of the Villainess is one of the villainess mangas that I believe breaks this “nice girl” mold. The MC straight up beats the crap out of her previously cheating fiancé, and NEVER forgives him.
I'm also a fan of Beware the Villainess! I go into a bit more of a specific look into some of my favorite villainess stories in an older video of mine called Villainess Noble Girls: The New Shoujo Craze
I think Kill the Villainess is a much better example (no hate to Beware of the Villainess, it was one of my first shoujo manhwa). Girlie was isekaied and just wants to back home, she has 0 tolerance for the male characters that treated her with disdain, and often acts like an actual villainess. She isn't _evil_ by any means, but she's very "self-centered" in the way that she's primarily focused on achieving her own goal to go home without really paying heed to others like what many shoujo leads tend to do. It's a very great read, and actually finished recently, the main story concluded about a month ago, and the last side story was released last week.
The Emperor and the Female Knight is a gem that you should also check out. It does start with the female in a worse position than the male lead but the way their romance is treated is very well done. Kusuriya no Hirogoto is also very good. And of course, Burning Effect (though this one has no "main romance") is awesome.
The Villainess Lives Twice, Today the Villainess Has Fun Again, To Be You Just For A Day. My favourites for sure, a good revenge manga with a strong/evil/stubborn lead and lots of MC progression. Yum.
I can't not mention Death Is the Only Ending For the Villainess/Villains Are Destined to Die. If I had to compare her to anything I'd say the MC acts like a feral animal desperately trying to survive and escape her abusive situation, and she means a lot to me
"when the female shoujo protagonist has goals other than the male lead, the romance is a step back" and "her world becomes wider, but the genre itself doesn't" is SUCH an awesome take and describes the whole shoujo issue MARVELLOUSLY! And I think it's also a problem in reality: Girls, being in love and centralising guys too much. I am 34 and because of media like that (not solely, but also) when I was a teenager and young tween as soon as I had a crush, my whole world revolved around him - even though I had a lot else going on. At least I was never the type to ditch my friends for guys and spent less time with them when in a relationship. You described what I could never put my finger on why I love Kyoko so much: Yes, her goal is to f*ck up Sho, but she still has so much else going on for her. Her traditional japanese upbringing makes her INSANELY dedicated and disciplined, she has innate talents to boot and doesn't do the things she does to impress Ren, but for her goals. Impressing Ren is just an after effect. Ouran is the same for me and I have the impression that people who watched the dub instead of the sub find it more problematic nowadays than people who watched the subbed version. About Ouran, one thing: you are wrong about her being dirt poor. She is not, she has a normal middle class Japanese lifestyle. The joke is just that the guys are so lavishly rich they THINK she is dirt poor. She didn't get her scholarship because of financial problems, she did gain it because Haruhi is academically a top notch student (tbf the manga shows this more intensively than the anime)
The manga does OHSHC a LOT better than the anime imho. Obviously, it's because the original mangaka had the story in mind and all, but, yk, I really liked reading the entire series and seeing how many things were changed in the anime (like in the physical exam episode, it wasn't Tamaki who saved Haruhi but rather, it was Honey/Mitskuni who did. And also, the entire plot of the last two to three episodes of S1 of OHSHC didn't happen in the manga)
@@localheaddealer1382 absolutely, couldn't agree more! Unfortunately it was the style at the time to make anime before the stories were finished and for that they still made an awesome job in my opinion!! But as everyone who loves Ouran, I'm still hoping it gets a second season or even a new version like Fruits Basket did (but I hope they don't make it as moe as Fruits Basket was, the anime art style was perfect) I'd LOVE to see the whole Kaoru/Hikaru in love with Haruhi play out in the anime, as well as Hikaru's new hair colour. *Sigh* but we all know, it's a pipe dream.
@@matchalecheMy thoughts exactly! I do hope Bones, or frankly, any animation studio, decides to pick up OHSHC and do it from scratch and everything. Wouldn't it be funny if the VAs for all the characters somehow remain the same in the re-animated version? 🤭
@@localheaddealer1382 TBH I can't really imagine someone else doing their voices 😭😭😭 Even now, when thinking about the characters I'm literally hearing them!
Nanami in Kamisama Kiss could have left the shrine. She actually trapped Tomoe hahaha. He also never had power over her, he had to obey her commands as a god. She fell in love with Tomoe long before he had any feelings for her. I get the sentiment though. A good video overall - I love skip beat, akatsuki no yona and lovely complex 🥺
@@clearestblue2564 she did leave the shrine for a small amount of time when she felt powerless in the last episode of the 1st season, so we know she's not above going back to homelessness for a reason less pressing than a physical burden or abuse, etc. she also wasnt offered housing in the shrine by Tomoe, idk why this video says that.
From what I remember from reading the manga, Nanami was homeless and had a chance meeting with the original god of the shrine who offered her to live in the shrine. He did so due to some time travel reasons expanded upon in the later parts of the story, to (spoiler) reunite Nanami with Tomoe - who had been so depressed his memories had to be erased.
Also Nanami is the one who told Mikage in the first place. And Nanami was always true to herself, she doubted herself she improved herself and she did it not out of desperation but cause she wanted to let her cause be anything.
A couple corrections on Kamisama Kiss: it isn't the male lead's offer to live at the shrine, it is actually Mikage, who Nanami saves. She then takes on his role as the land god for the shrine. Also, the title is "Kamisama Kiss" for the English version, "Kamisama Hajimemashita" for original Japanese.
Same here. I was recently re-reading it and realized that there were arcs I had completely forgotten about. I'm currently reading at right after they finish the Heel siblings arc. That arc happened when Frozen released- the author mentions something about wanting to go watch "Frozen Princess" (LOL, translations) and I was SHOCKED. Both at how long Skip Beat took to get to that point (originally released in 2002, so a total of 11 years!!) and also how old Frozen actually is (released in 2013). Time is definitely a construct and I also fear, either Nakamura-sensei will pass first or I will. But, Skip Beat is one of my faves and I can never let it go. 😭
I am a simple girl, I see Kyouko I come RUNNING! In all seriousness, this was a very good video. The main heroines are often the main reason as to why I would even like a shoujo series. And while I think recent leads in isekai stories are fine, they always seem to lack this "inspirational" factor. Because, while reincarnating into the role of a villainess that is destined to die is scary as a concept, it becomes completely null because the heroine will just start acting nice and the plot is going to bend to their will. And while that is nice on a wish fulfillment basis, it can get very tiring. One of the more interesting stories that I have read recently that turns this concept on its head is "The One Within The Villainess" where the actual personality of the villainess still remains after another girl reincarnated into her body. She hates it at first, but then actually ends up actually liking the girl, because she is actually one of the only people who cared for her despite her status as a villainess, and actually turns "her" life for the better. Which is all the more sad when, as a result of a shock due to another character ruining all the hard work she did to make "her" life better, the reincarnated girl goes dormant, which leads to the villainess being in control of her body once more. The villainess, in rage because of how the only person she cares about was treated, makes the decision to "regain" what was lost and continue doing things as the girl did them. Not because she is inherently nice, but because "That's what SHE would do. And I want to retain all of what she built for when she comes back." So her motivation, rather than fear of her doom, is her love and admiration towards the only person she considered a "friend". From that point on, it goes into being wish fulfillment again, with nothing being very challenging for the villainess, but that is not really the point of the story in and of itself. Because while she "uses" a lot of people to get what she wants, sometimes I felt like she would once in a while would have these moments where she would start connecting with them, only for her to dismiss it nonchalantly. And that theme of "learning to actually build meaningful and fruitful connections" is something I hope I get to see more of as the story further continues. I am not sure as to whether this story is "good" yet. While the villainess herself is interesting concept wise, it very rarely showcases anything beyond her obsession over avenging her precious friend. I do feel like that is going to become a plot point for potential future chapters though, so I will be holding my judgment until then. Nevertheless, I do think it is worth reading due to how different it feels to other villainess stories, and especially other shoujo manga protagonists. It did not exactly feel "inspirational" for when I read it, but I did feel an instant deep connection to her rage at the injustice brought to her friend, and it really hooked me.
I have never seen anyone mention "The One Within The Villainess"! The premise is very interesting but other than that the plot can feel a bit flat for now... or maybe because not many chapters are out at least none than are readily accessible I think? But it does have the revenge plotline which is also quite popular nowadays so... idk
Omg I did a presentation on “The one within the villainess” it’s soooooo good. I love that the central theme is her love for the MC It’s so unique that it feels refreshing imo
I am obsessed with that manga/novel. Also fun fact, the Japanese web novel has the ‘girl love’ tag which you could probably guess from how Remilia talks about Emi and vice-versa ❤ The novel may have been an satisfying revenge plot but the manga said ‘hold my beer’ and went DEEP! Those god designs are astounding and seeing how Remilia is trying to set the perfect stage for Emi to come back- I love it all, I even love seeing Pina’s annoying face knowing what’s going to happen to her~ You also never get the feeling the Remilia is a good person, she is a villainess through and through but knows how to put on her Emi mask well enough to get what she wants, also she knows Anghel’s power so she twists her words enough to make them true which was more obvious in the novel.
Lovely complex was really good aside from the part where koizumi has a crush on maity or something (can’t remember) I just thought that part was very irritating and unnecessary
@@Mcpollo_Justdonalds I actually liked that part, because quite a lot of my classmates did silly stuff like this when they were around 16-17. It was the right level of immaturity and stupidity for me (plus a teenage girl's over the top desperation). Felt like something a high school girl would do. Considering I'm from the generation of goth and emo teenagers, the stuff she did seemed mild compared to my friends back in school.
In Kamisama Kiss Tomoe was the one who was trying to get away and Nanami trapped HIM. That's literally why it's called Kamisama Kiss (not the original Japanese name I know but still) because she kissed him and forced him to stay and become her shinshi, making her the one with more power because she can literally force him to do anything she wants with the power that binds him to her as a shinshi.
I loved Skip Beat too until the manga became too text-heavy for my smooth brain lol I couldn’t tell what was happening and it felt like the mangaka was just stalling Ren and Kyoko’s will-they-or-won’t-they too much for me. When it’s all over, I’d like to read it from the beginning
I don't usually say this about a manga cause I love a good slow burn but the kyoko ren will the y won't they got so boring after like 10 years of watching that I stopped caring and just dropped the show
I stopped at the same arc. And tries today to see if it was finished cause you know it's been so long it can't still be ongoing......found out it's still ongoing and they haven't gotten together yet....and people say mangaka has health issues so the updates are even slower...so we may not get a full on ending....so now idk if I should continue were I left off. :(
@@ririenkoThey are together from my understanding, they are just taking it slow because Kyoko is underage and Ren just came out of a scandal, they confessed their feelings for each other last year.
Surprised at no mention of Princess Tutu (too magical girl / fantasy / not romance enough?) or Nana (too josei?) as mid-2000s shoujo. Loved the video and your tracing through shoujo history, though!! always down for more critical anime analysis
I knowww omg I loved princess tutu and I remember I did want a bit more romance but I think the overall theme really touched me by the end and I literally remember it as a fond memory. One of the best anime’s I could’ve watched as a young girl I think
I think it was really interesting analysing how the use of poverty as a plot point, or a plot barrier leads to some toxic power unbalance in the romances…..great point!!!
The Villainess Turns the Hourglass is one where the protagonist is out to get revenge and does it in a clever way. She uses people, manipulates them, plays the *role* of a good person to gain sympathy sometimes, but her inner monologue is still of a woman out for blood. She is in fact a villainess. And I love it.
Right? The same with The Villainess Lives Twice and Kill The Villainess too! MCs from Miss Not so sidekick and Beware of Villainess also very interesting and entertaining
In Kamisama Kiss Nanami was homeless but I wouldn’t say there was a huge power imbalance between her and Tomoe. He was meant to be a servant for her while she gained her powers and strength and she essentially became the new owner of the house and him when she became a God.
I would also argue that Nanami is the one with the most agency. Sure, when it comes to physical capabilities, Tomoe had the lion's share. But what he lacks is ambition and goals, often telling Nanami to not try anything. But the heroine strives to move things forward and get things done. Sure, she has character flaws that get her in trouble such as being stubborn, which sometimes has her needing help. But Nanami is still one who has agency and takes the initiative. Not to mention, despite her lack of physical powers, she uses her wits and limited resources to get around her obstacles, which is fun to watch and surprises a number of characters. In fact, in my opinion, she's one of the better heroines in manga overall. One thing the video wishes for in shojo leads are basic humanity. Nanami is able to behave pretty much like a normal person. She's kind and hardworking to a fault, but she's not above becoming irritated or angry when she'd around, doubted upon, or perceives bad behavior. Many girls in manga lack assertiveness. As much as I enjoy Tohru Honda, she is kind of a pushover (which is kind of the point as she learns to grow a spine in the story). But Nanami is more outspoken and direct. She's also allowed other traits not seen often in manga such as being loud, dorky, and outspoken. I wish more female characters would be more well-rounded like her.
@@cadethumann8605 yea I agree I think that Kamisama Kiss was probably touched on too briefly because a power imbalance is not what I got from Kamisama Kiss
@erinpooh3804 That being said, as much as I enjoy the series, there are legitimate concerns to be had. Like this video's point about SA being treated lightly as "jokes" or what have you, both Mizuki (in his introduction) and Tomoe's past self had tried to force themselves onto Nanami. Granted, their attempts aren't framed as good but they both are largely glossed over. Now, I still enjoy both characters (in fact, Mizuki is my second favorite thanks to his substantial character development over the manga's run), but this dark aspect is problematic.
@@cadethumann8605 That's true that is one thing I wished Kamisama Kiss didn't do cause even in the manga it was also displayed with Akura-Ou (the main antagonist) at some point.
Bro about Erika, I remember watching WG & BP back in 2019 when my mom found it online so we could watch it togheter. I was only 12 and I loved watching romantic animes and overall shows with her. Infact, I loved WGBP. But... now that I am more mature, I rewatched it and Jesus, luckly I wasn't a really impressionable teen because that is a TERRIBLE example for impressionable young teen girls, who are the target demographic for the shōujo industry. That relationship was straight up toxic, specially in one panel in the manga that touched topics such as loosing weight for your boyfriend. I felt so bad for her, and in defense of her, she was just a young teen that wanted to be included between her peers to the point of lying, I mean, just like any other high school teen, so I dont get why people hate her. Still the opening slaps tho. Btw ty for making these videos, you are helping the shōujo community stay alive!!
I love how you made a clear structure about the shōjo manga video! I love Kyoko (she's one of my favorite leads with Yona), because they both are portrayed very human. Is there a chance you know the manga (or anime adaptation) "Kodomo No Omocha"? It's also a little bit older, but I love the female lead of the manga (Sana). Miho Obana is making her character's in Manga very deep and human. And topics like psychology (manga) are represented very fine (in my opinion). It's worth a read 💚
kodocha was such a good anime! the change in genre from comedy to a more dramatic psychological in s1 to s2 was rlly done well, it's realistic too because the older you get, the less sunshine and rainbows life is. thx for bringing back some nostalgic memories 😭❤️
Omg you just completely covered almost all my issues with the shoujo genre, thank you so much for this. I understand that these kinds of series are solely for fantasy fulfillment, and there's certainly nothing wrong with having fantasies like these, but the issue stems from the fact that the target audience for these shows is young adolescent girls; girls who don't yet know any better, thus when they watch series like these, they interpret them as "this is the epitome of a desirable relationship." This is very different from when a fully grown adult reads a trashy romance novel with similar problematic themes, because they're an adult and are fully aware that the relationship in said novel is unrealistic and are solely reading it for the fantasy. But young girls are unable to separate that fantasy from reality, thus, these shows completely and utterly wreck their perspective of what a healthy romantic relationship looks like in reality. This can be legitimately dangerous, especially when you consider that another trope in shoujo is the "older man/younger woman" dynamic. This is probably my biggest issue with shoujo anime: why why why why W H Y are the female protagonists in these shows getting with full grown men when she herself is STILL IN HIGHSCHOOL???? My friends ask me why I don't watch anime much anymore, especially romance anime, and I'm like, "THIS. THIS IS WHY." Just, why can't we normalize healthy relationships in fiction? Would it not be interesting enough or something????? Anyway sorry for the long rant, great video, will be back for more. 😊
Interesting to note that the elements of the “being born with the golden spoon” villainous noble girl trope often has the original life be from humble origins.
you're right! whenever its an isekai the author does tend to strongly show that at least in the "original" life, they are humble and hardworking. it's only regressed villainess' that are never implied to have had anything else. a very, very speedy cinderella story that works better in some stories than in others.
AHHH I've never seen anyone on the internet who has the same taste in shoujo as I do! The way you've analysed all the shoujo girls/tropes in this video makes me understand why I cannot enjoy some of the fan faves like Maid-sama, etc, I'm so happy to have come across this video
One of the things that puts me off some shoujo manga when I was really into it, was how much mistreatment the female lead would take from the male lead an normalise it as an obstacle for their love to grow. Male leads were allowed to be awful, pushy, coercive 99% of the time and the 1% time with a stray kitten, helping out an old lady or volunteering to do something would just wipe it all away. The female lead would end up doing 90% of the work for the relationship to grow and flourish. Needless to say that "odd balls" female leads like Kyouko/Haruhi/Sunako who seemed confident, assertive and determined were much more appealing than most of the feminine leads offered at the time. Fruit Basket/Aishiteruze Baby/Kimi ni Todoke didn't have similar leads but were really well done as well.
What I would give to have "Switch girl" animated also great video, it's like everything I felt about the past shojo heroine put in words. Kyoko is queen!
@@TheeSilentObserverzif it’s just for a show i really don’t see the issue. idrc if the jokes are a bit dated and offensive most of us are watching it for nostalgia.
Skip Beat! Such an underrated shoujo! My favorite by far! The art style is a bit peculiar at first but you get used to it very quickly and the story is like no other. It's funny, over the top, cute, a bit sad at times, and it's easy to relate to Kyouko in the search of herself and her passions. The manga is still on-going, and I make sure to buy every new release.
I never seen one of your videos before but one of my first thoughts was the lack of music, I think it made me focus up and actually listen to what you were saying! Cheers!
I do actually think shoujo and josei genres are ripe with opportunities for diverse female leads and when they`re there,it really makes a difference. There`s a reason why Nana Osaki endures in the anime world to this day. She`s inspirational but also flawed in her struggle. I`d actually say both Nanas step out of the mold created by anime and manga. Nana Komatsu for me represents the reality of almost every shoujo heroine since she`s got believable flaws juxtaposed with her sweet overall personality that`s preferred. On the other hand,Nana Osaki is the lead that`s usually never given the spotlight in other anime and manga,which lets us explore her deeper fears and plans. Nana really is fantastic work of art. I LOVED Kyoko growing up,but the length of the manga and the meandering of it put me off,I think I gave up 3 years ago. I still love the anime,but I`d be lying if I said I didn`t want appropriate closure,even back then.
I've seen tons of videos pop up about modern Shoujou with really damning titles like Shoujou is dead, it was all better before, it's so horrible now tones and I never watch them because I simply don't think it's true. Your video is the first I've seen appear which looks at it objectively, and explains how shoujou genre was shaped and has evolved and I really enjoyed it! It was instructive and interesting! I hope we get some real genre breakers in the future, like Nana, Madoka Magica and Chihayafuru were!
Bimbougami ga! Is a breath of fresh air when it comes to shojo. Great comedy, mc is the worst but grows throughout the series and very relatable as it shows the dark side of almost every girl hilariously :)
Great video😊 but a little correction on kamisama: basically our girl trapped herself there😅 but your statement stays! I love how you choose examples of the shoujo anime that have created all of the tropes we know today. I know that the stories are a little bit silly but i still go look for them...the nostalgia is strong 😄 Thank you very much for your effort of making this video! 🙏
Well, basically yes. I think that the point was that the romance was forced... Well she didn't have a choice neither he did, because in the first episode she was going to be eaten... And after that I don't remember very well but that means only one thing - time to rewatch!
When the korean wave of shoujo came and I realized that yes, shoujo protagonists are always nice, always soft, and it started bothering me. After watching Kyoko and Yona and even Tsukushi being allowed to be angry, to be petty, to do more, they felt stale. And since no protagonist in Japan is allowed to be so unadulteratedly EVIL as Remilia from The One Within the Villainess, I started reading more korean webtoon. Where I found the masterpiece Hell hath no fury/Revenge is ours. A story about revenge, self love and female friendship that takes the time to stop all male romantic interests in their tracks and goes: No, you ass, you suck, do better because these girls love themselves too much for your silly romantic advances. I always hoped Japan would start copying that part of korean webtoon as they have copied tropes and scenarios, but so far, nothing to write home about.
Kyoko was absouloty one of my faviorite protagonistes of all time, it's amazing to see her showen some appreciation. The video is much more relaxing without any music ❤❤
I'm a big fan of the shoujo genre! Almost all of the animes you listed I've watched/read or heard about. I stopped reading for about 5 years or more and stumbled on this video. It's a good start to stay updated with what's going on with this beloved genre of mine. Would love to see more from you.
Wait didn’t in kamisama kiss tomoe didn’t even initially want nanami to be at the shrine even telling her he wouldn’t except her as his master. She kisses him making a pact and after he sees how she’s taking the shrine seriously he starts excepting her. I didn’t think he was making her stay at the shrine tho. Even when he found out she had feelings for him he was trying to distance himself cause she was human and had his own trauma with loving humans. I do get she had no where to go but I never got tomoe taking advantage of that. Could be wrong tho haven’t seen or read it in a while
I always veered away from shojo when picking a new series and your observation has finally hit upon exactly why show those stories often made me uncomfortable: the unspoken idea that the romance is more important than the rest of the plot/setting makes the world of that series feel unreal to me. But I’d been considering trying to dive into the genre for a while now because I’m sure I’ve been missing out so this video has given me some great recommendations! Solid video essay by way. It was so refreshing to listen to someone actually explore a topic with multiple texts and applying some context; far more measured and considered than most essays my feed recommends these days x
I LOVE skip beat, been reading since I picked the first volume up at a scholastic book fair when I was 11 or 12; (the first manga I ever read) and have been reading it still, I’m 28 now and will be 29 at the end of this year. I hope it gets finished, and I also hope nana finally gets an ending too :(
Skip Beat is God-tier (even with that weird pretend sibling arc) if Kyoko was a real person I would protect her with my life. Black Bird is trash (but still better than Vampire Knight). The dude from Maid-Sama deserves a swift kick in the junk for that beach arc. Misaki deserves so much better than him that I couldn't keep reading the series. Meanwhile, I have to mention, Nozaki-kun is also God-tier. 👌
YONA OF THE DAWN MENTION I loved that anime as a teen, and I think it’s still really holds up as a fun and interesting shoujo, though like all of them it has it’s misses. Also as a sidenote, this video illustrates what i’ve been enjoying about the Apothecary Diaries anime so far (i’m on episode 20) with the main female character being a fully realised character, with goals, and flaws, she’s valued for her skills and knowledge and the show honestly sometimes has like crime procedural vibes? I’d say she’s something of a more traditional shoujo protagonist in terms of values, but its more that she’s hardworking out of passion for her work and isn’t as selfless and altruistic and it definitely struggles with the power imbalance present in many shoujos but doesn’t shy away from acknowledging and exploring that, the romance is also very slow burn,which I personally like, and there’s plenty of side characters who have relationships to the MC so she’s not as isolated as some other protagonists are. Overall it’s a really fun, courtly drama shoujo that doesn’t fall into some of the pitfalls of the subgenre
I disagree with the kamisama kiss thing. The fact that they picked those things about her backstop is because that part was supposed to be a parody. A lot of the anime was, that's why they introduced it in the way they did. The difference, though, was that she was made into a God. Considering this way, there wasn't just this man who could take advantage of her in every way. Now, there is still a power imbalance. I just believe it's not in the way that you mentioned.
as a guy i watched most of the classik shojo such as Nana, kare kano, fruit basket, kaichou wa maid, blue spring ride, wolf girl etc but still after all these year, i haven't found another shojo like Skip Beat. i still listen to some of its ost and especially the ED song. it had that crazy factor in it, similar to GTO in a way that really appeal to me. it is maybe one of the few shojo i've seen where i never roll my eye reacting to the naivity of the main heroine.
It was a great video and i didn't even notice that it was without bg until you said that. Video is soo nostalgic it was the best era of shoujo anime It's hilarious that when I was younger watching this there was no problem with the age gaps, abusive behaviour and other things. My favourite shoujo anime from that time was itazura na kiss i think if i watch it now i will also find some problems with it
What I dislike about the stereo typical heroine is that they almost always write them as perfect. They are always calm, always kind, can never get angry, can not stand up for them selves, they cant think too critically and they can never do anything immoral. For me I don't feel like they are written as a 3D character. But nozaki, which is unfortunately not a shoujo with chiyo has one of the best written characters in all of anime for me. In reality I am more like Tohru than chiyo, but because chiyo is written with so much personality I can relate to her more. She is funny, dramatic, bold, imaginative yet gets grounded back into reality, hard working, passionate, stupid, girly and cute.
Damn. I saw all of these animes and mangas and when you brought them up I was impressed. You mentioned Black Bird and I was like...."Oh boy. I know where she is going with this." 😂. P.S. brilliant video. Though you might need to change your mic. You have a voice like me where it lingers when you talk on the mic and makes you sound raspy. 🥺
what an interesting topic to choose!! and your arguments are very astute. i grew up reading the fruits basket manga and watching original-anime tohru, and tbr, it f*cked me up. i was SO SURE for SO LONG that to be liked you need to be the kindest, most comfortable person to be around, and to help others at the cost of your own comfort, and it took me well into my adult life to unlearn these lessons i implimented as a teen. and skip beat is one of my favorite animes to this day!!! i saw some clips from skip&loafer in the video and am curious about your opinions about the protag and also the love interest. anywho, loved this video so much!! thank you for sharing it with us.
I had those clips of skip&loafer from when I brought it up as an example in my Slice of Life video! I think the protag of skip&loafer is incredible, and I'm both cheering for her whenever she makes a step forward with dating the male lead and cheered even louder when she took a step back. it's adorable
I struggle with this too even as an adult 😢 and I’m still working on it lol. And I even see girls talking about they wish they could be like tohru and I’m like NOOOO 😭😭😭
YES it was the same for me with tohru (and other protagonists like her). I would force myself to do things that I didn't want to, put other people's feelings and interests first, and never express what I wanted just because I thought that was what I was supposed to do and that was what it meant to be a good person (for a girl). These female protagonists are terrible models in this regard in my opinion, and I wish shojo had more real, contradictory, selfish protagonists, so that other girls wouldn't conclude as I did that they have to put themselves aside to be considered good, nice or desirable.
@@sofiipote7 Tohru's constant kindness and not expressing her internal issues for the sake of not burdening others WAS framed as a problem though. It was her main character arc because the whole reason she adopted the constant polite-girl personality was due to the trauma she endured in her childhood.
You mentioning Tohrui's friends reminds me of how much I appreciate the portrayal of female camaderie and friendship in shoujo, and not just romance. On their own, female leads like Tohru and Sawako don't feel like the strongest or most progressive female models, but the fact that their stories give space and weight to their bonds with their female friends does a lot to make them relatable and avoid saturating the story with just romance and focus on the male lead. It gives them and the story more depth too, making it more appealing to the female experience.
One series I like a lot is 7 Seeds manga (not the Netflix anime). I know a lot of people will wave off the protagonist because today so many people complain about characters who genuinely struggle with self esteem. But, Natsu, the main female lead-is literally one of my favorite protagonists in any series. And it’s because she is realistically flawed. She really isn’t beautiful and she was a recluse when in school. She doesn’t change to become a popular girl in the story or cool, but remains as she really is but has believable character growth-she doesn’t become a 100% confident person, but she becomes someone who wants to help others and tries to do well, even if she fails. The difference between the start of the story and the end is Natsu learns that her mindset of assuming the worst of everyone was wrong. And that she was actually unknowingly selfish-that refusing to try to do anything because of fearing failure was a bit self centered of her. This comes into play because the story is about people who wake up from pods after discovering an apocalypse had happened and they happened to be chosen to save based on various factors (genetics, skill, and even finally a group of ppl seen as outcasts-and she was part of the outcast group. The idea with forming an outcast group being that if these people all woke up into a harsh world and they only included ppl who had wonderful lives before then they worried that they might not have the ability to keep going after losing a perfect former life. So as a backup measure they included ppl who were rejects of society too.) This premise honestly probably is perfect for a character like Natsu. She wakes up to a harsh world but it’s true that at first she’s not as concerned about losing her former life (later on though it does fully hit her and she misses her beloved pet cat and her mom, dad and little brother.) and pretty quickly she is faced with the lesson she is going to learn throughout the series when she’s instructed to gather wood for a fire. And she doesn’t do it because she’s afraid of standing up to another person in the group who gives different instructions to her. The other person wasn’t threatening her, she just was too afraid to say anything-even though it wasn’t a big deal. She gets reprimanded later for not gathering any wood. And so the series goes. Eventually she starts being less afraid of others and she learns to even care about others even more than herself. And it’s really great, seeing her become a true heroine character while still ultimately being a girl who isn’t cool and likes stories. Who has lots of flaws. But, she is brave now. And a better person.
@@Pangie12 Sarasa is the protagonist of Basara. She's a strong female lead (revolutionary leader type). You should read it if you liked 7Seeds, it's by the same author ! It has not multiple protagonists like 7Seeds though. I'm glad to meet another Sawako's enjoyer XD
i saw skip beat in the thumbnail and had to clock! its so heartwarming to know there are now adult women who consumed the same, much more niche at the time, anime that i did as a young girl :-) great video!
kyoko from skip beats was one of my favorite shoujo protags back in the day, too. I only read the manga and it was still running and I only missed the last few books... this makes me want to reread it again 😭💀
If this video hadn't mentioned Dengeki Daisy I probably never would have thought of that manga ever again. lmaooo man that really was just pulled out from the deep and usually forevermore untouched creases of my brain.
As someone who loved Ouran even though I wasn't a huge Haruhi fan, I can vouch for the importance of there being more to the shoujo than the romance. I was able to enjoy Ouran in spite of not being into Haruhi's love life and main couple at all, or even caring much about Haruhi because the show was enjoyable beyond that. I will mention that that while I personally have always found Haruhi boring, I was able to understand recently how relevant she is a female lead, especially as you mentioned because of the trans implications. I'm not surprised I wasn't able to get this because as I am cis so I hadn't really considered that angle until recently. But back to the shoujo stories not being solely about the romance, you only need to look at how much shipping happens outside of shoujo, in male oriented media even to realize that female (and queer) audiences often enjoy their romance more when it's not the end all be all of the plot. When it's complimentary to some other plot, when we can derive romantic meaning and development from non romantic subplots even.
Funny how the most popular shoujo are the ones I don’t like bc I couldn’t get into it except ouran. wolf girl. Fuck that one. Princess Kitchen. Absolute Boyfriend. Dengeki daisy. Princess jellyfish 🪼, sugar apple fairytale and Kageki shojo . Those are the good ones that I like.
I’m crying tears of joy at someone mentioning Kitchen Princess. It’s one of my favorite series ever, but it felt like no one knew it existed except me!
@@QueenCloveroftheice Omg I love that kitchen princess!! Even tho it has corny lines it’s still cute bc Najika was cute as hell. 💕 back in high school they had the series in the library picked it up. Best decision ever!!
I haven't heard of Jellyfish Princess in so long, I really enjoyed that series! I feel like that was one of the few shoujo where the female protagonist actually changed and grew throughout the series, I was rooting for her through the entire manga. Also, 100% relate to not liking all the popular shoujo anime. I remember watching Maid Sama solely because everyone couldn't shut up about how great it was; completely hated it. That experience was honestly part of why I eventually turned into a petty mainstream hater where the more someone told me to watch something, the less likely I was to watch it, lol
@@TiredSnowBerry holy shit same! I tried watching kami sama kiss I didn’t like it. Maid sama. I didn’t like it. Fruits basket I swear if I said I didn’t like I would get my throat ripped out. If I known princess jellyfish sooner in my teen years I think it would’ve hit me personally since I asked myself why should I pretty. But it’s not to say I didn’t read all of these other good mangas. ✌️
Kitchen Princess needs an anime. :( The author's other work Arisa could also use some more love,. It is gripping! Also, Princess Jellyfish is a Josei, not a Shojo. There's a slight demographic difference there.
rare to hear anyone mention black bird or even dengeki daisy . i read them when i was particularly young and getting into shoujo and figured it was all par for the course. wasnt till years later i found that shoujo could be way more loving in a real way and much more interesting than a high school girl and a random adult who chases after her.
You're wrong about Kamisama Kiss. Tomoe doesn't invite her to live with him. She has nowhere to go so the God of that shrine Mikage (who knows that she is important in the future thanks to her telling him in the past thanks to time-travel) bestows upon her his mark on her forehead so she can be the new God and tells her she can live at his shrine. Which is where she meets Tomoe who is Mikage's familiar, and he doesn't much like or want her around and basically ignores her. But later when she's in danger of being killed SHE kisses HIM and creates a contract (because the other house spirits told her how) so it actually meant he had to do what she said not the other way around.
I dropped off skip beat basically a little over a decade ago, but finding out through here theyve introduced a lesbian character makes me wanna check it out again. It really was so unique and i love making of the sausage behind the scenes type shows both fiction and nonfiction.Having a main character whos fueled by such anger and revenge while also wanting to help out their rather closed off friend is very unique and was compelling to me. Im pretty sure i modeled my personality partially on her i middle and early high school 😊
I honestly don’t know why i never got into skip beat tbh , but i ate up Chibi vampire, angel beat, peach girl, say i love you and most of the ones you named in the video
The first villianess genre that I read that TRUELY portrayed a villain set out for revenge and not just a misguided pumpous brat was the villianess turns the hour glass. That story hooked me in from the get go!!
Just stumbled on this video, liked it. Feeling pretty impressed with myself for knowing all the series you mentioned. Decided to check out your other videos only to be put off by the background music lol. Really glad you didn't have any background music in this video because I found it distracting and too loud in the two other videos, I clicked on by you. Hope this helps!
Dude, I LOVE Reika BECAUSE she acts like how any of us WOULD if we were in her place: she FINALLY has wealth and privileges and won't give those up for the lame-o classmate who is actually cringy and pushy. NO GUY is worth losing all of that, so no wonder she avoids those plot points and does use her agency to opt out of that nonsense.
You revealed the various strategies used to create the stories about girls whileholding fast to the wider conservative Japanese cultural norms If not having music helps your content and arguments by "taking away the safety net" then try it... because this is great stuff
I feel like we have a similar background in enjoying shoujo manga through the years. I think the overall genre was sort of stagnating before the villainess subgenre came out so I'm glad it happened and we're getting protagonists with a smidge more agency out of it... The power of simply knowing what's going to happen/where resources are really helps balance out the power that male leads usually have over the FMCs
so glad you mentioned nozaki-kun near the end. even though seo's not the lead, she's my favorite shoujo girl ever because i feel like it's so rare to see female characters written like her. she's loud, cocky, oblivious, doesn't pick up on social cues, and is unintentionally an asshole, but she's still well-liked within the series. i feel like anytime i see characters like her they're usually written as misunderstood outcasts or as antagonists but not her. she has plenty of friends who know all this stuff about her and still like and hang out with her anyways. she's great lol
If anyone is into the reincarnating villainess trope than I suggest you guys read Villains are destined to die. It’s a really good manhwa and I can definitely say it’s not your average reincarnation trope
this was a nice vid, though you should've used the word romcom instead of "shoujo manga" to refer to the genre, since you even mention shonen manga at one point. anw i will def check out you other videos !
Kyoko best girl ever! and best shoujo protagonist all the time, the only criticism I would give is the manga still going and for shoujo manga it's too long :(
That's why I loved "Tokyo Crazy paradise" and Tsukasa!it's my all time fv shoujo. Her character was pretty tomboy & story as well as event were centralised towards the mafia/police (since she was from police bg while ML was mafia Heir) more rather then the romance element. PS: it's also by yoshiki nakamura
I keep seeing a lot of videos mentioning Revolutionary girl Utena and it’s making me really happy. I was afraid this gem would be forgotten but thankfully not. The whole story was really ahead of it’s time. I’m also happy someone is acknowledging my favourite shojo protagonist Kyoko from skip beats.
@@zarintheloh my god 😅. I just looked in your list of videos and I have seen all of them. I’m sorry I didn’t recognise you. But yeah I love all your videos on Revolutionary girl Utena.
Great video and love the way you covered it. I've also grown up with all these shojo's! And Fruits Basket, Ouran and Skip beat have definitely been my favorites. I miss strong female characters like Haruhi and Kyoko in the shojo's now a days. Having grown up with Fruits Basket as my first shojo, I sometimes really long for character dynamics like that again. The same goes for Ouran. Those really stood out for me. One of the newer shojo's that also has a strong female lead (who resembles Haruhi's personality imo) is MaoMao in The Apothecary Diaries. Also a GREAT show where romance is not the first priority. And another adventurous fantasy shojo with (imo) a great female character is Sugar Apple Fairy Tale. Romance is also not the first priority here but her work is. I'm not sure as in how far these two break the 'mold' but it was a refreshing watch for me atleast. (:
I am so ignorant about shoujo but this video was lots of fun! Loved the music in your Utena videos but those were more like dramatic readings of your text while this was akin to a derivation of some formula in science class - you certainly made your case clear. Thing is i got like half of these titles on my to-read/to-watch list but i don't seem to get any reading done, shoujo or otherwise. It's a sad adult life.
If Maid-sama was maid today, Misaki would be a much more tamed tsundere. Violent tsunderes like Misaki and Taiga (from Toradora) are looked down on now for hitting the love interests. I think the reason many of us who didn’t mind it is because we grew up in a time with cartoons like bugs bunny and Tom and Jerry where they are always harming each other for fun so we don’t see it as much of a big deal compared to youths who grew up with different style of cartoons and anime.
I miss when Shoujo were more spicy tbh, I dont really care if its problematic or not, I always enjoyed stuff like Hana Yori Dango or Black Bird because it provides good drama/entertainment.
I just feel like shoujo protags have become more like self inserts these days instead of being their own people. There are still amazing shoujo protags out there today, I'm sure, but this is what I've been seeing lately. It's kind of like how male isekai protags are supposed to be projected on as well. Or the average harem protag. I don't mind a heroine not being strong, or not being outgoing, outspoken, stubborn- whatever. I mind them not being their own person. I just want them to have a personality that makes sense for them, and to have the room for development. On that note, it's time to reccomend to people the manga Seiyuu Ka! I really love Seiyuu Ka! Edit: Will say, that I still have newer shoujos I absolutely love today! Realizing my comment makes me sound pessimistic or dismissive lol. There's older shoujos that definitely haven't aged well, too. Also, ohligatory: Please watch Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge. Please don't let the artstyle put you off lol.
I would actually debate that the male lead from dengeki daisy did not have impure intentions. He would contact her because he felt guilty that he took away her brother figure so he tried to become the big brother that he took away from her by becoming her comfort space he never intended to become a romantic figure for her. Also if im remebering correctly he rejected her when she confessed because he knew it was wrong but she kept pushing. Honestly it is wrong after but I would still say that the power imbalance debate isnt that much at play if you read the manga. He wants to be a comfort or breathable person to her that is why he didnt reveal at first that he knew her he didnt take advantage of the fact that she cared for him already. When she found out she tried hiding it from him so that she could stay close it was HER decision. Honestly this is all from memory so i may be wrong in some bits but dengeki daisy is a masterpeice with its complicated story that i just want to analyze the characters
I actually loved the wolf girl anime and was always caught off guard when people started hating on it Also there was a shojo i watched as a kid called itazura na kiss and i remember clearly hatung the protagonist cause she had no self love at all and the interest seemed to hate her. She was all i wish i wasnt, but society hoped i become. 💀
i need more unhinged shoujo protagonists like kyoko that are so rooted in hatred but its so unserious and funny i love her so much lol like she is so positive and hopeful yet so hateful its so entertaining and seeing her development makes it even better
I am following the manga till this day. When Kyoko felt insulted when Sho in a slump over "Beagles" plagiarizing him and thus said her 2cents to get him motivated back, so that she can achieve her dream of pushing him down the popularity altar herself is 👍👏. Then when he is back on his feet and kissed her (which I hated Sho for even thought of doing it), she is back in cursing him out! 😆 Kyoko still holding on to her "feminine traits" till this day is a relief and it is delivered nonchalantly without whatever drama over feminism nowadays affecting it is chef kiss. Her growth as actress till the current Route Kingdom arc is 👏👏. Like you said, she is optimistic soul that is so loveable. Clear on her love and hate, good hearted but not a doormat, brave to face head on against her trauma over childhood but not without realistic fear and moment of weakness. Honestly, the running jokes of her dream role she wanted to land on associated with dreamy and fantasy-likes but keep on landing antagonistic characters are 😂. The facts her acting ability keep evolving beyonds many directors' initial expectation! She is a character that transcended times. I can keep on re-reading the manga over and over again just for her 🥰.
I just hope they continue the anime. T^T
they should remake it so ppl can appreciate her as a true villainess, not a reformed goody two shoes@@kurisuchiinu1206
you've captured everything i fell about her chara so well
Kyoko is goated, the bar is too high.
Beware of the Villainess is one of the villainess mangas that I believe breaks this “nice girl” mold.
The MC straight up beats the crap out of her previously cheating fiancé, and NEVER forgives him.
I'm also a fan of Beware the Villainess! I go into a bit more of a specific look into some of my favorite villainess stories in an older video of mine called Villainess Noble Girls: The New Shoujo Craze
I think Kill the Villainess is a much better example (no hate to Beware of the Villainess, it was one of my first shoujo manhwa). Girlie was isekaied and just wants to back home, she has 0 tolerance for the male characters that treated her with disdain, and often acts like an actual villainess. She isn't _evil_ by any means, but she's very "self-centered" in the way that she's primarily focused on achieving her own goal to go home without really paying heed to others like what many shoujo leads tend to do.
It's a very great read, and actually finished recently, the main story concluded about a month ago, and the last side story was released last week.
The Emperor and the Female Knight is a gem that you should also check out. It does start with the female in a worse position than the male lead but the way their romance is treated is very well done. Kusuriya no Hirogoto is also very good. And of course, Burning Effect (though this one has no "main romance") is awesome.
The Villainess Lives Twice, Today the Villainess Has Fun Again, To Be You Just For A Day. My favourites for sure, a good revenge manga with a strong/evil/stubborn lead and lots of MC progression. Yum.
I can't not mention Death Is the Only Ending For the Villainess/Villains Are Destined to Die. If I had to compare her to anything I'd say the MC acts like a feral animal desperately trying to survive and escape her abusive situation, and she means a lot to me
"when the female shoujo protagonist has goals other than the male lead, the romance is a step back" and "her world becomes wider, but the genre itself doesn't" is SUCH an awesome take and describes the whole shoujo issue MARVELLOUSLY!
And I think it's also a problem in reality:
Girls, being in love and centralising guys too much. I am 34 and because of media like that (not solely, but also) when I was a teenager and young tween as soon as I had a crush, my whole world revolved around him - even though I had a lot else going on. At least I was never the type to ditch my friends for guys and spent less time with them when in a relationship.
You described what I could never put my finger on why I love Kyoko so much:
Yes, her goal is to f*ck up Sho, but she still has so much else going on for her. Her traditional japanese upbringing makes her INSANELY dedicated and disciplined, she has innate talents to boot and doesn't do the things she does to impress Ren, but for her goals.
Impressing Ren is just an after effect.
Ouran is the same for me and I have the impression that people who watched the dub instead of the sub find it more problematic nowadays than people who watched the subbed version.
About Ouran, one thing: you are wrong about her being dirt poor. She is not, she has a normal middle class Japanese lifestyle. The joke is just that the guys are so lavishly rich they THINK she is dirt poor. She didn't get her scholarship because of financial problems, she did gain it because Haruhi is academically a top notch student (tbf the manga shows this more intensively than the anime)
The manga does OHSHC a LOT better than the anime imho. Obviously, it's because the original mangaka had the story in mind and all, but, yk, I really liked reading the entire series and seeing how many things were changed in the anime
(like in the physical exam episode, it wasn't Tamaki who saved Haruhi but rather, it was Honey/Mitskuni who did. And also, the entire plot of the last two to three episodes of S1 of OHSHC didn't happen in the manga)
@@localheaddealer1382 absolutely, couldn't agree more!
Unfortunately it was the style at the time to make anime before the stories were finished and for that they still made an awesome job in my opinion!!
But as everyone who loves Ouran, I'm still hoping it gets a second season or even a new version like Fruits Basket did (but I hope they don't make it as moe as Fruits Basket was, the anime art style was perfect)
I'd LOVE to see the whole Kaoru/Hikaru in love with Haruhi play out in the anime, as well as Hikaru's new hair colour.
*Sigh* but we all know, it's a pipe dream.
@@matchalecheMy thoughts exactly! I do hope Bones, or frankly, any animation studio, decides to pick up OHSHC and do it from scratch and everything. Wouldn't it be funny if the VAs for all the characters somehow remain the same in the re-animated version? 🤭
@@localheaddealer1382 TBH I can't really imagine someone else doing their voices 😭😭😭 Even now, when thinking about the characters I'm literally hearing them!
I wish they'd do a reboot and do the whole story. I was sad that they never completed the whole story.
Stumbled upon this video randomly and clicked on it while I ate a sandwich, the sandwich is gone, but I’m still here deep in shojo lore and LOVING it
Facts 😂
Frfr
Nanami in Kamisama Kiss could have left the shrine. She actually trapped Tomoe hahaha. He also never had power over her, he had to obey her commands as a god. She fell in love with Tomoe long before he had any feelings for her. I get the sentiment though. A good video overall - I love skip beat, akatsuki no yona and lovely complex 🥺
She would've been homeless, so in reality, she trapped him out of need and desperation.
@@clearestblue2564 she did leave the shrine for a small amount of time when she felt powerless in the last episode of the 1st season, so we know she's not above going back to homelessness for a reason less pressing than a physical burden or abuse, etc. she also wasnt offered housing in the shrine by Tomoe, idk why this video says that.
From what I remember from reading the manga, Nanami was homeless and had a chance meeting with the original god of the shrine who offered her to live in the shrine. He did so due to some time travel reasons expanded upon in the later parts of the story, to (spoiler)
reunite Nanami with Tomoe - who had been so depressed his memories had to be erased.
Also Nanami is the one who told Mikage in the first place. And Nanami was always true to herself, she doubted herself she improved herself and she did it not out of desperation but cause she wanted to let her cause be anything.
LoveCom, OMG!! 😭🙏🏽✨❤
A couple corrections on Kamisama Kiss: it isn't the male lead's offer to live at the shrine, it is actually Mikage, who Nanami saves. She then takes on his role as the land god for the shrine. Also, the title is "Kamisama Kiss" for the English version, "Kamisama Hajimemashita" for original Japanese.
Yes I agree with her in all cases except Kamisama Kiss cause I think from the start Nanami was just Nanami .
I am pushing 40, I’ve been reading “skip beat” since I was 17 that was over 20 years ago. I hope it ends soon lol
Same here. I was recently re-reading it and realized that there were arcs I had completely forgotten about. I'm currently reading at right after they finish the Heel siblings arc. That arc happened when Frozen released- the author mentions something about wanting to go watch "Frozen Princess" (LOL, translations) and I was SHOCKED. Both at how long Skip Beat took to get to that point (originally released in 2002, so a total of 11 years!!) and also how old Frozen actually is (released in 2013).
Time is definitely a construct and I also fear, either Nakamura-sensei will pass first or I will. But, Skip Beat is one of my faves and I can never let it go. 😭
Hehehehe😂😂😂😂😂😂 same here and i am 33 already and about to re watch and re read again...😅😅😅
skip beat was TOO fucking good back in the day omg its one of my very first mangas i clicked as soon as i saw kyoko in the thumbnail
I am a simple girl, I see Kyouko I come RUNNING!
In all seriousness, this was a very good video. The main heroines are often the main reason as to why I would even like a shoujo series. And while I think recent leads in isekai stories are fine, they always seem to lack this "inspirational" factor. Because, while reincarnating into the role of a villainess that is destined to die is scary as a concept, it becomes completely null because the heroine will just start acting nice and the plot is going to bend to their will. And while that is nice on a wish fulfillment basis, it can get very tiring.
One of the more interesting stories that I have read recently that turns this concept on its head is "The One Within The Villainess" where the actual personality of the villainess still remains after another girl reincarnated into her body. She hates it at first, but then actually ends up actually liking the girl, because she is actually one of the only people who cared for her despite her status as a villainess, and actually turns "her" life for the better. Which is all the more sad when, as a result of a shock due to another character ruining all the hard work she did to make "her" life better, the reincarnated girl goes dormant, which leads to the villainess being in control of her body once more.
The villainess, in rage because of how the only person she cares about was treated, makes the decision to "regain" what was lost and continue doing things as the girl did them. Not because she is inherently nice, but because "That's what SHE would do. And I want to retain all of what she built for when she comes back." So her motivation, rather than fear of her doom, is her love and admiration towards the only person she considered a "friend".
From that point on, it goes into being wish fulfillment again, with nothing being very challenging for the villainess, but that is not really the point of the story in and of itself. Because while she "uses" a lot of people to get what she wants, sometimes I felt like she would once in a while would have these moments where she would start connecting with them, only for her to dismiss it nonchalantly. And that theme of "learning to actually build meaningful and fruitful connections" is something I hope I get to see more of as the story further continues.
I am not sure as to whether this story is "good" yet. While the villainess herself is interesting concept wise, it very rarely showcases anything beyond her obsession over avenging her precious friend. I do feel like that is going to become a plot point for potential future chapters though, so I will be holding my judgment until then. Nevertheless, I do think it is worth reading due to how different it feels to other villainess stories, and especially other shoujo manga protagonists. It did not exactly feel "inspirational" for when I read it, but I did feel an instant deep connection to her rage at the injustice brought to her friend, and it really hooked me.
I have never seen anyone mention "The One Within The Villainess"! The premise is very interesting but other than that the plot can feel a bit flat for now... or maybe because not many chapters are out at least none than are readily accessible I think? But it does have the revenge plotline which is also quite popular nowadays so... idk
Omg I did a presentation on “The one within the villainess” it’s soooooo good.
I love that the central theme is her love for the MC
It’s so unique that it feels refreshing imo
I am obsessed with that manga/novel. Also fun fact, the Japanese web novel has the ‘girl love’ tag which you could probably guess from how Remilia talks about Emi and vice-versa ❤ The novel may have been an satisfying revenge plot but the manga said ‘hold my beer’ and went DEEP! Those god designs are astounding and seeing how Remilia is trying to set the perfect stage for Emi to come back- I love it all, I even love seeing Pina’s annoying face knowing what’s going to happen to her~
You also never get the feeling the Remilia is a good person, she is a villainess through and through but knows how to put on her Emi mask well enough to get what she wants, also she knows Anghel’s power so she twists her words enough to make them true which was more obvious in the novel.
People always forget about Lovely Complex, for some reason. And that saddens me... I love reading it from time to time and watching the anime too.
Same! My favorite ~
Lovely complex was really good aside from the part where koizumi has a crush on maity or something (can’t remember) I just thought that part was very irritating and unnecessary
@@Mcpollo_Justdonalds I actually liked that part, because quite a lot of my classmates did silly stuff like this when they were around 16-17. It was the right level of immaturity and stupidity for me (plus a teenage girl's over the top desperation). Felt like something a high school girl would do.
Considering I'm from the generation of goth and emo teenagers, the stuff she did seemed mild compared to my friends back in school.
@@Ongaliman I can understand that. Just from the direction the anime was going, the maity arc was a bit odd
@@Mcpollo_Justdonalds I can understand your viewpoint too, it was a bit strange after all. I would say that it was handled better in the manga.
In Kamisama Kiss Tomoe was the one who was trying to get away and Nanami trapped HIM. That's literally why it's called Kamisama Kiss (not the original Japanese name I know but still) because she kissed him and forced him to stay and become her shinshi, making her the one with more power because she can literally force him to do anything she wants with the power that binds him to her as a shinshi.
I loved Skip Beat too until the manga became too text-heavy for my smooth brain lol I couldn’t tell what was happening and it felt like the mangaka was just stalling Ren and Kyoko’s will-they-or-won’t-they too much for me. When it’s all over, I’d like to read it from the beginning
I don't usually say this about a manga cause I love a good slow burn but the kyoko ren will the y won't they got so boring after like 10 years of watching that I stopped caring and just dropped the show
I stopped at the same arc. And tries today to see if it was finished cause you know it's been so long it can't still be ongoing......found out it's still ongoing and they haven't gotten together yet....and people say mangaka has health issues so the updates are even slower...so we may not get a full on ending....so now idk if I should continue were I left off. :(
@@ririenkoThey are together from my understanding, they are just taking it slow because Kyoko is underage and Ren just came out of a scandal, they confessed their feelings for each other last year.
Surprised at no mention of Princess Tutu (too magical girl / fantasy / not romance enough?) or Nana (too josei?) as mid-2000s shoujo. Loved the video and your tracing through shoujo history, though!! always down for more critical anime analysis
Aw man. Nana was so down real. Like holy shit such a good anime. Kind of sucks it’s risky to reboot a show like nana.
I knowww omg I loved princess tutu and I remember I did want a bit more romance but I think the overall theme really touched me by the end and I literally remember it as a fond memory. One of the best anime’s I could’ve watched as a young girl I think
@brokeninfinitysonic1 i've seen nana picking up a lot of traction on tiktok, so idk about japan but it's having a little revival here!
I think it was really interesting analysing how the use of poverty as a plot point, or a plot barrier leads to some toxic power unbalance in the romances…..great point!!!
The Villainess Turns the Hourglass is one where the protagonist is out to get revenge and does it in a clever way. She uses people, manipulates them, plays the *role* of a good person to gain sympathy sometimes, but her inner monologue is still of a woman out for blood. She is in fact a villainess. And I love it.
Right? The same with The Villainess Lives Twice and Kill The Villainess too! MCs from Miss Not so sidekick and Beware of Villainess also very interesting and entertaining
I hate the beach episode in OHSHC so much
Edit: YES I LOVE MONTHLY GIRLS NOZAKI KUN
In Kamisama Kiss Nanami was homeless but I wouldn’t say there was a huge power imbalance between her and Tomoe. He was meant to be a servant for her while she gained her powers and strength and she essentially became the new owner of the house and him when she became a God.
I would also argue that Nanami is the one with the most agency. Sure, when it comes to physical capabilities, Tomoe had the lion's share. But what he lacks is ambition and goals, often telling Nanami to not try anything. But the heroine strives to move things forward and get things done. Sure, she has character flaws that get her in trouble such as being stubborn, which sometimes has her needing help. But Nanami is still one who has agency and takes the initiative. Not to mention, despite her lack of physical powers, she uses her wits and limited resources to get around her obstacles, which is fun to watch and surprises a number of characters.
In fact, in my opinion, she's one of the better heroines in manga overall. One thing the video wishes for in shojo leads are basic humanity. Nanami is able to behave pretty much like a normal person. She's kind and hardworking to a fault, but she's not above becoming irritated or angry when she'd around, doubted upon, or perceives bad behavior. Many girls in manga lack assertiveness. As much as I enjoy Tohru Honda, she is kind of a pushover (which is kind of the point as she learns to grow a spine in the story). But Nanami is more outspoken and direct. She's also allowed other traits not seen often in manga such as being loud, dorky, and outspoken.
I wish more female characters would be more well-rounded like her.
@@cadethumann8605 yea I agree I think that Kamisama Kiss was probably touched on too briefly because a power imbalance is not what I got from Kamisama Kiss
@@cadethumann8605 also she was the one who put Tomoe under contract so that he would have to listen to her 😭
@erinpooh3804 That being said, as much as I enjoy the series, there are legitimate concerns to be had. Like this video's point about SA being treated lightly as "jokes" or what have you, both Mizuki (in his introduction) and Tomoe's past self had tried to force themselves onto Nanami. Granted, their attempts aren't framed as good but they both are largely glossed over. Now, I still enjoy both characters (in fact, Mizuki is my second favorite thanks to his substantial character development over the manga's run), but this dark aspect is problematic.
@@cadethumann8605 That's true that is one thing I wished Kamisama Kiss didn't do cause even in the manga it was also displayed with Akura-Ou (the main antagonist) at some point.
I SAW SKIP BEAT I PRESSED RIGHT AWAY!
SAME 😂
Bro about Erika, I remember watching WG & BP back in 2019 when my mom found it online so we could watch it togheter.
I was only 12 and I loved watching romantic animes and overall shows with her.
Infact, I loved WGBP.
But... now that I am more mature, I rewatched it and Jesus, luckly I wasn't a really impressionable teen because that is a TERRIBLE example for impressionable young teen girls, who are the target demographic for the shōujo industry. That relationship was straight up toxic, specially in one panel in the manga that touched topics such as loosing weight for your boyfriend.
I felt so bad for her, and in defense of her, she was just a young teen that wanted to be included between her peers to the point of lying, I mean, just like any other high school teen, so I dont get why people hate her.
Still the opening slaps tho.
Btw ty for making these videos, you are helping the shōujo community stay alive!!
yes. I remember disliking it on a re watch, but I didn't think it was because of the character. this makes a lot more sense
I love how you made a clear structure about the shōjo manga video!
I love Kyoko (she's one of my favorite leads with Yona), because they both are portrayed very human.
Is there a chance you know the manga (or anime adaptation) "Kodomo No Omocha"?
It's also a little bit older, but I love the female lead of the manga (Sana). Miho Obana is making her character's in Manga very deep and human. And topics like psychology (manga) are represented very fine (in my opinion). It's worth a read 💚
kodocha was such a good anime! the change in genre from comedy to a more dramatic psychological in s1 to s2 was rlly done well, it's realistic too because the older you get, the less sunshine and rainbows life is. thx for bringing back some nostalgic memories 😭❤️
Omg yeas I love Sana she was amazing until the very end.
Omg you just completely covered almost all my issues with the shoujo genre, thank you so much for this. I understand that these kinds of series are solely for fantasy fulfillment, and there's certainly nothing wrong with having fantasies like these, but the issue stems from the fact that the target audience for these shows is young adolescent girls; girls who don't yet know any better, thus when they watch series like these, they interpret them as "this is the epitome of a desirable relationship." This is very different from when a fully grown adult reads a trashy romance novel with similar problematic themes, because they're an adult and are fully aware that the relationship in said novel is unrealistic and are solely reading it for the fantasy. But young girls are unable to separate that fantasy from reality, thus, these shows completely and utterly wreck their perspective of what a healthy romantic relationship looks like in reality. This can be legitimately dangerous, especially when you consider that another trope in shoujo is the "older man/younger woman" dynamic. This is probably my biggest issue with shoujo anime: why why why why W H Y are the female protagonists in these shows getting with full grown men when she herself is STILL IN HIGHSCHOOL???? My friends ask me why I don't watch anime much anymore, especially romance anime, and I'm like, "THIS. THIS IS WHY." Just, why can't we normalize healthy relationships in fiction? Would it not be interesting enough or something?????
Anyway sorry for the long rant, great video, will be back for more. 😊
Interesting to note that the elements of the “being born with the golden spoon” villainous noble girl trope often has the original life be from humble origins.
you're right! whenever its an isekai the author does tend to strongly show that at least in the "original" life, they are humble and hardworking. it's only regressed villainess' that are never implied to have had anything else. a very, very speedy cinderella story that works better in some stories than in others.
AHHH I've never seen anyone on the internet who has the same taste in shoujo as I do! The way you've analysed all the shoujo girls/tropes in this video makes me understand why I cannot enjoy some of the fan faves like Maid-sama, etc, I'm so happy to have come across this video
I never liked boys over flowers, maid sama, or black bird even in middle-high school because the male leads were so mean
One of the things that puts me off some shoujo manga when I was really into it, was how much mistreatment the female lead would take from the male lead an normalise it as an obstacle for their love to grow. Male leads were allowed to be awful, pushy, coercive 99% of the time and the 1% time with a stray kitten, helping out an old lady or volunteering to do something would just wipe it all away. The female lead would end up doing 90% of the work for the relationship to grow and flourish.
Needless to say that "odd balls" female leads like Kyouko/Haruhi/Sunako who seemed confident, assertive and determined were much more appealing than most of the feminine leads offered at the time.
Fruit Basket/Aishiteruze Baby/Kimi ni Todoke didn't have similar leads but were really well done as well.
Ikr? Such one sided effort in relationship like that would end up be toxic irl for any gender. Like how happened with Kyouko and Shou in Skip Beat.
What I would give to have "Switch girl" animated also great video, it's like everything I felt about the past shojo heroine put in words.
Kyoko is queen!
God I loveeee Switch Girl
When watching old anime/reading older manga I just turn my brain off lolol some things just don’t age well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That mindset will also don't age well
@@TheeSilentObserverzif it’s just for a show i really don’t see the issue. idrc if the jokes are a bit dated and offensive most of us are watching it for nostalgia.
Skip Beat! Such an underrated shoujo! My favorite by far! The art style is a bit peculiar at first but you get used to it very quickly and the story is like no other. It's funny, over the top, cute, a bit sad at times, and it's easy to relate to Kyouko in the search of herself and her passions. The manga is still on-going, and I make sure to buy every new release.
I never seen one of your videos before but one of my first thoughts was the lack of music, I think it made me focus up and actually listen to what you were saying! Cheers!
I do actually think shoujo and josei genres are ripe with opportunities for diverse female leads and when they`re there,it really makes a difference. There`s a reason why Nana Osaki endures in the anime world to this day. She`s inspirational but also flawed in her struggle. I`d actually say both Nanas step out of the mold created by anime and manga. Nana Komatsu for me represents the reality of almost every shoujo heroine since she`s got believable flaws juxtaposed with her sweet overall personality that`s preferred.
On the other hand,Nana Osaki is the lead that`s usually never given the spotlight in other anime and manga,which lets us explore her deeper fears and plans. Nana really is fantastic work of art. I LOVED Kyoko growing up,but the length of the manga and the meandering of it put me off,I think I gave up 3 years ago. I still love the anime,but I`d be lying if I said I didn`t want appropriate closure,even back then.
I've seen tons of videos pop up about modern Shoujou with really damning titles like Shoujou is dead, it was all better before, it's so horrible now tones and I never watch them because I simply don't think it's true. Your video is the first I've seen appear which looks at it objectively, and explains how shoujou genre was shaped and has evolved and I really enjoyed it! It was instructive and interesting!
I hope we get some real genre breakers in the future, like Nana, Madoka Magica and Chihayafuru were!
Bimbougami ga! Is a breath of fresh air when it comes to shojo. Great comedy, mc is the worst but grows throughout the series and very relatable as it shows the dark side of almost every girl hilariously :)
Bibbougami Ga! is a Shonen though.
SUCH A GOOD ANIMEEE
Great video😊 but a little correction on kamisama: basically our girl trapped herself there😅 but your statement stays! I love how you choose examples of the shoujo anime that have created all of the tropes we know today. I know that the stories are a little bit silly but i still go look for them...the nostalgia is strong 😄 Thank you very much for your effort of making this video! 🙏
nice profile pic👀
Also it's been ages since I watched kamisama kiss, but didn't she trap Tomoe too?
Well, basically yes. I think that the point was that the romance was forced... Well she didn't have a choice neither he did, because in the first episode she was going to be eaten... And after that I don't remember very well but that means only one thing - time to rewatch!
@@user-je4ty3bt2qI suggest reading the manga. It has more details not shown in the anime adaptation.
When the korean wave of shoujo came and I realized that yes, shoujo protagonists are always nice, always soft, and it started bothering me. After watching Kyoko and Yona and even Tsukushi being allowed to be angry, to be petty, to do more, they felt stale. And since no protagonist in Japan is allowed to be so unadulteratedly EVIL as Remilia from The One Within the Villainess, I started reading more korean webtoon. Where I found the masterpiece Hell hath no fury/Revenge is ours. A story about revenge, self love and female friendship that takes the time to stop all male romantic interests in their tracks and goes: No, you ass, you suck, do better because these girls love themselves too much for your silly romantic advances. I always hoped Japan would start copying that part of korean webtoon as they have copied tropes and scenarios, but so far, nothing to write home about.
Kyoko was absouloty one of my faviorite protagonistes of all time, it's amazing to see her showen some appreciation.
The video is much more relaxing without any music ❤❤
I'm a big fan of the shoujo genre! Almost all of the animes you listed I've watched/read or heard about. I stopped reading for about 5 years or more and stumbled on this video. It's a good start to stay updated with what's going on with this beloved genre of mine. Would love to see more from you.
I liked the absence of music. It made it easier to hear and focus on what you were saying, and your voice is pleasant enough on its own.
idk about other videos (yet) but I liked the lack of bgm and thought this was a nicely done video
Wait didn’t in kamisama kiss tomoe didn’t even initially want nanami to be at the shrine even telling her he wouldn’t except her as his master. She kisses him making a pact and after he sees how she’s taking the shrine seriously he starts excepting her. I didn’t think he was making her stay at the shrine tho. Even when he found out she had feelings for him he was trying to distance himself cause she was human and had his own trauma with loving humans. I do get she had no where to go but I never got tomoe taking advantage of that. Could be wrong tho haven’t seen or read it in a while
I always veered away from shojo when picking a new series and your observation has finally hit upon exactly why show those stories often made me uncomfortable: the unspoken idea that the romance is more important than the rest of the plot/setting makes the world of that series feel unreal to me. But I’d been considering trying to dive into the genre for a while now because I’m sure I’ve been missing out so this video has given me some great recommendations! Solid video essay by way. It was so refreshing to listen to someone actually explore a topic with multiple texts and applying some context; far more measured and considered than most essays my feed recommends these days x
The thumbnail showing my 2 fav Shoujo FL 😂😂 Kyouko and Haruhi + Sunako from The Wallflower are legit my top 3 FL in shoujos ever ❤
I LOVE skip beat, been reading since I picked the first volume up at a scholastic book fair when I was 11 or 12; (the first manga I ever read) and have been reading it still, I’m 28 now and will be 29 at the end of this year.
I hope it gets finished, and I also hope nana finally gets an ending too :(
As an Ouran glazer, I would have LOVE Skip Beat if I found out about it as a kid
Skip Beat is God-tier (even with that weird pretend sibling arc) if Kyoko was a real person I would protect her with my life. Black Bird is trash (but still better than Vampire Knight). The dude from Maid-Sama deserves a swift kick in the junk for that beach arc. Misaki deserves so much better than him that I couldn't keep reading the series.
Meanwhile, I have to mention, Nozaki-kun is also God-tier. 👌
YONA OF THE DAWN MENTION I loved that anime as a teen, and I think it’s still really holds up as a fun and interesting shoujo, though like all of them it has it’s misses. Also as a sidenote, this video illustrates what i’ve been enjoying about the Apothecary Diaries anime so far (i’m on episode 20) with the main female character being a fully realised character, with goals, and flaws, she’s valued for her skills and knowledge and the show honestly sometimes has like crime procedural vibes? I’d say she’s something of a more traditional shoujo protagonist in terms of values, but its more that she’s hardworking out of passion for her work and isn’t as selfless and altruistic and it definitely struggles with the power imbalance present in many shoujos but doesn’t shy away from acknowledging and exploring that, the romance is also very slow burn,which I personally like, and there’s plenty of side characters who have relationships to the MC so she’s not as isolated as some other protagonists are. Overall it’s a really fun, courtly drama shoujo that doesn’t fall into some of the pitfalls of the subgenre
I disagree with the kamisama kiss thing. The fact that they picked those things about her backstop is because that part was supposed to be a parody. A lot of the anime was, that's why they introduced it in the way they did. The difference, though, was that she was made into a God. Considering this way, there wasn't just this man who could take advantage of her in every way. Now, there is still a power imbalance. I just believe it's not in the way that you mentioned.
as a guy i watched most of the classik shojo such as Nana, kare kano, fruit basket, kaichou wa maid, blue spring ride, wolf girl etc but still after all these year, i haven't found another shojo like Skip Beat. i still listen to some of its ost and especially the ED song. it had that crazy factor in it, similar to GTO in a way that really appeal to me. it is maybe one of the few shojo i've seen where i never roll my eye reacting to the naivity of the main heroine.
It was a great video and i didn't even notice that it was without bg until you said that. Video is soo nostalgic it was the best era of shoujo anime It's hilarious that when I was younger watching this there was no problem with the age gaps, abusive behaviour and other things. My favourite shoujo anime from that time was itazura na kiss i think if i watch it now i will also find some problems with it
What I dislike about the stereo typical heroine is that they almost always write them as perfect. They are always calm, always kind, can never get angry, can not stand up for them selves, they cant think too critically and they can never do anything immoral. For me I don't feel like they are written as a 3D character. But nozaki, which is unfortunately not a shoujo with chiyo has one of the best written characters in all of anime for me. In reality I am more like Tohru than chiyo, but because chiyo is written with so much personality I can relate to her more. She is funny, dramatic, bold, imaginative yet gets grounded back into reality, hard working, passionate, stupid, girly and cute.
Damn. I saw all of these animes and mangas and when you brought them up I was impressed. You mentioned Black Bird and I was like...."Oh boy. I know where she is going with this." 😂. P.S. brilliant video. Though you might need to change your mic. You have a voice like me where it lingers when you talk on the mic and makes you sound raspy. 🥺
This is really good ❤ loved this analysis
what an interesting topic to choose!! and your arguments are very astute. i grew up reading the fruits basket manga and watching original-anime tohru, and tbr, it f*cked me up. i was SO SURE for SO LONG that to be liked you need to be the kindest, most comfortable person to be around, and to help others at the cost of your own comfort, and it took me well into my adult life to unlearn these lessons i implimented as a teen.
and skip beat is one of my favorite animes to this day!!!
i saw some clips from skip&loafer in the video and am curious about your opinions about the protag and also the love interest.
anywho, loved this video so much!! thank you for sharing it with us.
I had those clips of skip&loafer from when I brought it up as an example in my Slice of Life video! I think the protag of skip&loafer is incredible, and I'm both cheering for her whenever she makes a step forward with dating the male lead and cheered even louder when she took a step back. it's adorable
I struggle with this too even as an adult 😢 and I’m still working on it lol. And I even see girls talking about they wish they could be like tohru and I’m like NOOOO 😭😭😭
YES it was the same for me with tohru (and other protagonists like her). I would force myself to do things that I didn't want to, put other people's feelings and interests first, and never express what I wanted just because I thought that was what I was supposed to do and that was what it meant to be a good person (for a girl). These female protagonists are terrible models in this regard in my opinion, and I wish shojo had more real, contradictory, selfish protagonists, so that other girls wouldn't conclude as I did that they have to put themselves aside to be considered good, nice or desirable.
@@sofiipote7 Tohru's constant kindness and not expressing her internal issues for the sake of not burdening others WAS framed as a problem though. It was her main character arc because the whole reason she adopted the constant polite-girl personality was due to the trauma she endured in her childhood.
You mentioning Tohrui's friends reminds me of how much I appreciate the portrayal of female camaderie and friendship in shoujo, and not just romance. On their own, female leads like Tohru and Sawako don't feel like the strongest or most progressive female models, but the fact that their stories give space and weight to their bonds with their female friends does a lot to make them relatable and avoid saturating the story with just romance and focus on the male lead. It gives them and the story more depth too, making it more appealing to the female experience.
One series I like a lot is 7 Seeds manga (not the Netflix anime). I know a lot of people will wave off the protagonist because today so many people complain about characters who genuinely struggle with self esteem.
But, Natsu, the main female lead-is literally one of my favorite protagonists in any series.
And it’s because she is realistically flawed. She really isn’t beautiful and she was a recluse when in school. She doesn’t change to become a popular girl in the story or cool, but remains as she really is but has believable character growth-she doesn’t become a 100% confident person, but she becomes someone who wants to help others and tries to do well, even if she fails.
The difference between the start of the story and the end is Natsu learns that her mindset of assuming the worst of everyone was wrong. And that she was actually unknowingly selfish-that refusing to try to do anything because of fearing failure was a bit self centered of her.
This comes into play because the story is about people who wake up from pods after discovering an apocalypse had happened and they happened to be chosen to save based on various factors (genetics, skill, and even finally a group of ppl seen as outcasts-and she was part of the outcast group. The idea with forming an outcast group being that if these people all woke up into a harsh world and they only included ppl who had wonderful lives before then they worried that they might not have the ability to keep going after losing a perfect former life. So as a backup measure they included ppl who were rejects of society too.)
This premise honestly probably is perfect for a character like Natsu. She wakes up to a harsh world but it’s true that at first she’s not as concerned about losing her former life (later on though it does fully hit her and she misses her beloved pet cat and her mom, dad and little brother.) and pretty quickly she is faced with the lesson she is going to learn throughout the series when she’s instructed to gather wood for a fire. And she doesn’t do it because she’s afraid of standing up to another person in the group who gives different instructions to her.
The other person wasn’t threatening her, she just was too afraid to say anything-even though it wasn’t a big deal.
She gets reprimanded later for not gathering any wood.
And so the series goes. Eventually she starts being less afraid of others and she learns to even care about others even more than herself.
And it’s really great, seeing her become a true heroine character while still ultimately being a girl who isn’t cool and likes stories. Who has lots of flaws. But, she is brave now. And a better person.
I agree with you, Natsu is one of my favorite female shojo protagonists, along with Sarasa from Basara and Sawako from Kimi no Todoke.
@@pandax9949 Sawako is another favorite character of mine too! I haven’t seen the other character you mentioned.
@@Pangie12 Sarasa is the protagonist of Basara. She's a strong female lead (revolutionary leader type). You should read it if you liked 7Seeds, it's by the same author ! It has not multiple protagonists like 7Seeds though.
I'm glad to meet another Sawako's enjoyer XD
i saw skip beat in the thumbnail and had to clock! its so heartwarming to know there are now adult women who consumed the same, much more niche at the time, anime that i did as a young girl :-) great video!
kyoko from skip beats was one of my favorite shoujo protags back in the day, too. I only read the manga and it was still running and I only missed the last few books... this makes me want to reread it again 😭💀
If this video hadn't mentioned Dengeki Daisy I probably never would have thought of that manga ever again. lmaooo man that really was just pulled out from the deep and usually forevermore untouched creases of my brain.
i like that it didn't have bckgrnd music
why is your profile pic so cute
Great video, really made me want to read more Shoujo mangas/watch Shoujo anime. As for the background music, I really prefer it when there's not any.
As someone who loved Ouran even though I wasn't a huge Haruhi fan, I can vouch for the importance of there being more to the shoujo than the romance. I was able to enjoy Ouran in spite of not being into Haruhi's love life and main couple at all, or even caring much about Haruhi because the show was enjoyable beyond that. I will mention that that while I personally have always found Haruhi boring, I was able to understand recently how relevant she is a female lead, especially as you mentioned because of the trans implications. I'm not surprised I wasn't able to get this because as I am cis so I hadn't really considered that angle until recently. But back to the shoujo stories not being solely about the romance, you only need to look at how much shipping happens outside of shoujo, in male oriented media even to realize that female (and queer) audiences often enjoy their romance more when it's not the end all be all of the plot. When it's complimentary to some other plot, when we can derive romantic meaning and development from non romantic subplots even.
Funny how the most popular shoujo are the ones I don’t like bc I couldn’t get into it except ouran. wolf girl. Fuck that one.
Princess Kitchen. Absolute Boyfriend. Dengeki daisy. Princess jellyfish 🪼, sugar apple fairytale and Kageki shojo . Those are the good ones that I like.
I’m crying tears of joy at someone mentioning Kitchen Princess. It’s one of my favorite series ever, but it felt like no one knew it existed except me!
@@QueenCloveroftheice Omg I love that kitchen princess!! Even tho it has corny lines it’s still cute bc Najika was cute as hell. 💕 back in high school they had the series in the library picked it up. Best decision ever!!
I haven't heard of Jellyfish Princess in so long, I really enjoyed that series! I feel like that was one of the few shoujo where the female protagonist actually changed and grew throughout the series, I was rooting for her through the entire manga. Also, 100% relate to not liking all the popular shoujo anime. I remember watching Maid Sama solely because everyone couldn't shut up about how great it was; completely hated it. That experience was honestly part of why I eventually turned into a petty mainstream hater where the more someone told me to watch something, the less likely I was to watch it, lol
@@TiredSnowBerry holy shit same!
I tried watching kami sama kiss I didn’t like it. Maid sama. I didn’t like it. Fruits basket I swear if I said I didn’t like I would get my throat ripped out.
If I known princess jellyfish sooner in my teen years I think it would’ve hit me personally since I asked myself why should I pretty. But it’s not to say I didn’t read all of these other good mangas. ✌️
Kitchen Princess needs an anime. :( The author's other work Arisa could also use some more love,. It is gripping!
Also, Princess Jellyfish is a Josei, not a Shojo. There's a slight demographic difference there.
I love Skip Beat. I've been wanting to seriously get back into the manga recently so maybe this will finally jumpstart that.
Very nice video! I hope to watch the animes you listed. Also any chance of you making a video on NANA?
Good analysis
This was a great analysis. Love this content
rare to hear anyone mention black bird or even dengeki daisy . i read them when i was particularly young and getting into shoujo and figured it was all par for the course. wasnt till years later i found that shoujo could be way more loving in a real way and much more interesting than a high school girl and a random adult who chases after her.
You're wrong about Kamisama Kiss. Tomoe doesn't invite her to live with him. She has nowhere to go so the God of that shrine Mikage (who knows that she is important in the future thanks to her telling him in the past thanks to time-travel) bestows upon her his mark on her forehead so she can be the new God and tells her she can live at his shrine. Which is where she meets Tomoe who is Mikage's familiar, and he doesn't much like or want her around and basically ignores her. But later when she's in danger of being killed SHE kisses HIM and creates a contract (because the other house spirits told her how) so it actually meant he had to do what she said not the other way around.
I dropped off skip beat basically a little over a decade ago, but finding out through here theyve introduced a lesbian character makes me wanna check it out again. It really was so unique and i love making of the sausage behind the scenes type shows both fiction and nonfiction.Having a main character whos fueled by such anger and revenge while also wanting to help out their rather closed off friend is very unique and was compelling to me. Im pretty sure i modeled my personality partially on her i middle and early high school 😊
I honestly don’t know why i never got into skip beat tbh , but i ate up Chibi vampire, angel beat, peach girl, say i love you and most of the ones you named in the video
The first villianess genre that I read that TRUELY portrayed a villain set out for revenge and not just a misguided pumpous brat was the villianess turns the hour glass. That story hooked me in from the get go!!
Just stumbled on this video, liked it. Feeling pretty impressed with myself for knowing all the series you mentioned. Decided to check out your other videos only to be put off by the background music lol. Really glad you didn't have any background music in this video because I found it distracting and too loud in the two other videos, I clicked on by you. Hope this helps!
OMG SKIP BEAT MENTIONED!!!!
Thank you so much for this! For years, not a single fan talked about how problematic and toxic some of these characters and stories were!
Dude, I LOVE Reika BECAUSE she acts like how any of us WOULD if we were in her place: she FINALLY has wealth and privileges and won't give those up for the lame-o classmate who is actually cringy and pushy. NO GUY is worth losing all of that, so no wonder she avoids those plot points and does use her agency to opt out of that nonsense.
I loved the video! Great work on the research and analysis. I wish there was background music or something lol.
You revealed the various strategies used to create the stories about girls whileholding fast to the wider conservative Japanese cultural norms
If not having music helps your content and arguments by "taking away the safety net" then try it... because this is great stuff
I feel like we have a similar background in enjoying shoujo manga through the years. I think the overall genre was sort of stagnating before the villainess subgenre came out so I'm glad it happened and we're getting protagonists with a smidge more agency out of it... The power of simply knowing what's going to happen/where resources are really helps balance out the power that male leads usually have over the FMCs
so glad you mentioned nozaki-kun near the end. even though seo's not the lead, she's my favorite shoujo girl ever because i feel like it's so rare to see female characters written like her. she's loud, cocky, oblivious, doesn't pick up on social cues, and is unintentionally an asshole, but she's still well-liked within the series. i feel like anytime i see characters like her they're usually written as misunderstood outcasts or as antagonists but not her. she has plenty of friends who know all this stuff about her and still like and hang out with her anyways. she's great lol
I didn’t even notice that there was no music in the background. I really like it like that but u can also try minimal beats/ lofi beats
what a great video essay!!!!!!!
Skip beat is STILL ONGOING!? Ok im going to go read now be back in 17363846 years
highly recommend the webtoons 'the tyrant wants to be good' and 'im the queen in this life' for anyone who wants the villainess type genre thats good
If anyone is into the reincarnating villainess trope than I suggest you guys read Villains are destined to die. It’s a really good manhwa and I can definitely say it’s not your average reincarnation trope
this was a nice vid, though you should've used the word romcom instead of "shoujo manga" to refer to the genre, since you even mention shonen manga at one point. anw i will def check out you other videos !
Kyoko best girl ever! and best shoujo protagonist all the time, the only criticism I would give is the manga still going and for shoujo manga it's too long :(
That's why I loved "Tokyo Crazy paradise" and Tsukasa!it's my all time fv shoujo.
Her character was pretty tomboy & story as well as event were centralised towards the mafia/police (since she was from police bg while ML was mafia Heir) more rather then the romance element.
PS: it's also by yoshiki nakamura
I keep seeing a lot of videos mentioning Revolutionary girl Utena and it’s making me really happy. I was afraid this gem would be forgotten but thankfully not. The whole story was really ahead of it’s time.
I’m also happy someone is acknowledging my favourite shojo protagonist Kyoko from skip beats.
I’ve got 5 videos dedicated to utena! I could never overlook it
@@zarintheloh my god 😅. I just looked in your list of videos and I have seen all of them. I’m sorry I didn’t recognise you. But yeah I love all your videos on Revolutionary girl Utena.
19:08 THIS, omg, this.
Shojo isn’t exclusively romanticize
Great video and love the way you covered it. I've also grown up with all these shojo's! And Fruits Basket, Ouran and Skip beat have definitely been my favorites. I miss strong female characters like Haruhi and Kyoko in the shojo's now a days. Having grown up with Fruits Basket as my first shojo, I sometimes really long for character dynamics like that again. The same goes for Ouran. Those really stood out for me.
One of the newer shojo's that also has a strong female lead (who resembles Haruhi's personality imo) is MaoMao in The Apothecary Diaries. Also a GREAT show where romance is not the first priority. And another adventurous fantasy shojo with (imo) a great female character is Sugar Apple Fairy Tale. Romance is also not the first priority here but her work is.
I'm not sure as in how far these two break the 'mold' but it was a refreshing watch for me atleast. (:
A true villainess is The villainess reverses the hourglass. She’s maybe in the right but she really act like a villainess. I love her
I...was not expecting this to end with a gorgeous Viera in the Lancer guild but here we are 💙. Two of my greatest loves, shojo anime and ff14 lol
I am so ignorant about shoujo but this video was lots of fun! Loved the music in your Utena videos but those were more like dramatic readings of your text while this was akin to a derivation of some formula in science class - you certainly made your case clear. Thing is i got like half of these titles on my to-read/to-watch list but i don't seem to get any reading done, shoujo or otherwise. It's a sad adult life.
If Maid-sama was maid today, Misaki would be a much more tamed tsundere. Violent tsunderes like Misaki and Taiga (from Toradora) are looked down on now for hitting the love interests. I think the reason many of us who didn’t mind it is because we grew up in a time with cartoons like bugs bunny and Tom and Jerry where they are always harming each other for fun so we don’t see it as much of a big deal compared to youths who grew up with different style of cartoons and anime.
I miss when Shoujo were more spicy tbh, I dont really care if its problematic or not, I always enjoyed stuff like Hana Yori Dango or Black Bird because it provides good drama/entertainment.
hello i loved your vid and i appreciate the lack of background music
I just feel like shoujo protags have become more like self inserts these days instead of being their own people. There are still amazing shoujo protags out there today, I'm sure, but this is what I've been seeing lately.
It's kind of like how male isekai protags are supposed to be projected on as well. Or the average harem protag.
I don't mind a heroine not being strong, or not being outgoing, outspoken, stubborn- whatever. I mind them not being their own person. I just want them to have a personality that makes sense for them, and to have the room for development.
On that note, it's time to reccomend to people the manga Seiyuu Ka!
I really love Seiyuu Ka!
Edit: Will say, that I still have newer shoujos I absolutely love today! Realizing my comment makes me sound pessimistic or dismissive lol. There's older shoujos that definitely haven't aged well, too. Also, ohligatory: Please watch Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge. Please don't let the artstyle put you off lol.
I would actually debate that the male lead from dengeki daisy did not have impure intentions. He would contact her because he felt guilty that he took away her brother figure so he tried to become the big brother that he took away from her by becoming her comfort space he never intended to become a romantic figure for her. Also if im remebering correctly he rejected her when she confessed because he knew it was wrong but she kept pushing. Honestly it is wrong after but I would still say that the power imbalance debate isnt that much at play if you read the manga. He wants to be a comfort or breathable person to her that is why he didnt reveal at first that he knew her he didnt take advantage of the fact that she cared for him already. When she found out she tried hiding it from him so that she could stay close it was HER decision. Honestly this is all from memory so i may be wrong in some bits but dengeki daisy is a masterpeice with its complicated story that i just want to analyze the characters
I actually loved the wolf girl anime and was always caught off guard when people started hating on it
Also there was a shojo i watched as a kid called itazura na kiss and i remember clearly hatung the protagonist cause she had no self love at all and the interest seemed to hate her. She was all i wish i wasnt, but society hoped i become. 💀
I think Utena is like a revival of The Rose of Versailles but in an HS setting which has been the gold standard setting for shoujo for decades now
I loved the no music :) refreshing and allowed me to clearly focus on one thing