Shojo is not a genre...
Rob Kelk
I've heard comments like "I don't watch fantasy or action anime, I watch
shojo anime" in the anime shops too many times lately. I'd really like
to point out to the people who say those kinds of things a few shojo
fantasy or shojo action shows... or other genres of shojo anime,
depending on the exact comment.
But I'm having trouble remembering shojo shows that aren't romances,
except for one shojo superhero show ("Seven of Seven") and one shojo
space opera ("Stellvia"). What other non-romance shojo anime are out
there, and what genres are they in?
sanjian
Mahou Shoujo:
BSSM
CCS
Wedding Peach
Sugo Chara
ad nasium
War:
Simoun
That's just lopping off the top of my head, though.
Galen
wrote:
Both Stellvia and 7 of 7 are anime original stories, and it is
therefore difficult to say who the target market was. Since
7of 7 emphasizes moe, I would expect it to be aimed at guys.
>
The trouble is going to be that not much shoujo anime
makes it into the shops ... and too many people think
moe anime like Bottle Fairies and Bincho-tan is shoujo
because it's cute. Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar is technically
not shoujo, although little girls go for it.
Full Moon Sagashite, Mirumo de Pon, Mermaid Melody -
okay, so all the girls want to get partnered; does that
make them romance stories?
Kirarin Revolution; Hello, Yoko; Legendary Idol Eriko -
career girls who sing.
Fancy Lala - gets crush on much older guy, never goes anywhere.
Futari wa PreCure - no romance. Although PreCure 5 has some
subtext in that direction.
sanjian
Ooh, let's not forget Utena.
star...@yahoo.com
Sports, Motivational/Inspirational.
Mike
Mehdi Tibouchi
>
> War:
> Simoun
I don't think it's correct to say Simoun is shoujo. The original work is
the anime, and it didn't air in time slots suitable for young girls.
There are two manga adaptations: one in Comic Yuri Hime, which is
admittedly a shoujo magazine but with a significant male readership, and
the other in Megami, which clearly isn't a magazine aimed at girls.
Captain Nerd
Galen <ga...@nekomimicon.net> wrote:
Well, there's Lovely Complex, which surely is as much a comedy
as it is a romance.
Where would "Aishiteruze Baby" fall in the "genre"?
And even though it hasn't ever made it to the US (dammit dammit
dammit) how about "Daa! Daa! Daa!"?
Cap.
--
Since 1989, recycling old jokes, cliches, and bad puns, one Usenet
post at a time!
Operation: Nerdwatch http://www.nerdwatch.com
Only email with "TO_CAP" somewhere in the subject has a chance of being read
sanjian
Close enough to bring it under the tent.
Megane
rob...@deadspam.com (Rob Kelk) wrote:
> (Yes, it's list time again...)
>
> I've heard comments like "I don't watch fantasy or action anime, I watch
> shojo anime" in the anime shops too many times lately. I'd really like
> to point out to the people who say those kinds of things a few shojo
> fantasy or shojo action shows... or other genres of shojo anime,
> depending on the exact comment.
A good way to think of it is that shoujo is not a genre, it's a
DEMOGRAPHIC. Just because the protagonist is a girl does not
automatically make something shoujo. If a show was based on a manga, the
demographic of the manga (shounen, shoujo, sienen, etc.) is generally
what matters. And stuff with a lot of moe is usually not aimed at young
girls, even if they do happen to like it.
sanjian
Though this isn't always the case, such as with Escaflowne.
Ken Arromdee
Princess Nine.
Escaflowne is borderline.
And don't forget the fanservice-for-women shows like Weib Kreuz and
Gravitation (though that might be josei).
--
Ken Arromdee / arromdee_AT_rahul.net / http://www.rahul.net/arromdee
"In a superhero story, Superman jumps off buildings and flies. In a realistic
story, Superman doesn't jump off buildings and can't fly. Deconstruction is
writing a story where Superman can't fly but he still jumps off of buildings."
paranormalized
Well, this is a bit of a demographic longshot, but does anyone know
who originally published _The_Twelve_Kingdoms_, or _Juuni_Kokuki_, by
Fuyumi Ono? Wikipedia and my copy just says Kodansha, but was it
published under any specific branch aiming at any specific
demographic? It also looks like some short stories in that series
were published in IN(Star-symbol)POCKET and Mephisto, but I have no
luck in finding what demographic those magazines(?) are aimed at...
Fuyumi Ono's _Ghost_Hunt_, however, is shojo and is more Horror/
Mystery than Romance, I would argue.
Jonathan Fisher
E. Liddell
Yami no Matsuei/Descendants of Darkness, Angel Sanctuary, and (I think)
Please Save My Earth were all published as manga in Hana to Yume, and so
would fit even the strict definition of shoujo. Likewise, X and Pretear
(both Monthly Asuka, IIRC). Probably also Rayearth (and most of CLAMP's
other-earlier-stuff-turned-anime, like RGVeda) and Saiyuki, although I
have no idea where any of those were published.
RLP
wrote:
>(Yes, it's list time again...)
Is Miyu Shojo?
Ru Igarashi
> But I'm having trouble remembering shojo shows that aren't romances,
> except for one shojo superhero show ("Seven of Seven") and one shojo
> space opera ("Stellvia"). What other non-romance shojo anime are out
> there, and what genres are they in?
Keep in mind that I have no idea what manga category these
came under, and I generally don't worry too much about how
"girlish" a show is...
I'd almost suggest "Vampire Princess Miyu OAVs" and "Mermaid's
Forest OAVs" - Macabre (or Horror)- but I suspect folks will
say they're josei. The VPM TV series seemed more shoujo, though.
Not sure where to place the MF TV series.
Was "Laughing Target" aimed more at the male crowd? Same
question on "Lunar Legend Tsukihime".
How about "Fire Tripper"? Romance (hence disqualified)? Fantasy?
What was "Haibane Renmei" (fantasy) considered?
What about "Basara"? What about "Kino's Journey"? (fantasies)
Oh, wasn't "RG Veda" shoujo? "Scrapped Princess" seemed somewhat
more shounen than shoujo... am I wrong?
I have a difficult time thinking that "I My Me Strawberry Egss"
was shounen or seinen, but, again, I have no clue about the manga.
Kamichu seemed geared towards a younger crowd, but more for
girls than boys, do you think? "Risky Safety" seemed geared
towards a younger crowd, too, but still...
"Strawberry Marshmallow" seemed geared to a younger crowd, but
with the big sister lending an older perspective, I found it
appealing as an adult, too.
Who was "Kurogane Communication" directed at? It seemed at the
same level as "Stellvia".
Who was "Mushi-shi" (supernatural) meant appeal to? It has a
female sensibility, but for an older crowd, so I was thinking maybe
it's josei instead.
I know that "To Heart" was a dating sim or something like that,
but the anime dwelt a lot less on romance (thankfully), and more
on building friendships. Seemed shoujo to me.
"You're Under Arrest" (TV and OAV) does have romantic elements,
but most of the time it was cop antics with a female bent. Shoujo?
Who was "Azumanga Daioh" directed at? It has an all female cast,
but a lot of the stuff seemed more universal.
ru
--
Maintainer of the REC.ARTS.ANIME.MUSIC FAQs
http://members.shaw.ca/ru.igarashi/FAQS/raa_music/
and Ru's Annual Anime Fan Survey
http://members.shaw.ca/ru.igarashi/Surveys/fans/
Massimo Sabbadini
wrote:
>space opera ("Stellvia"). What other non-romance shojo anime are out
>there, and what genres are they in?
Horror:
Vampire princess Miyu
Pet Shop of horrors
--
Massimo "Gohan" Sabbadini
Email: gohan(at)megane.it
"Tibi, magnum Innominandum, signa stellarum nigrarum
et bufaniformis Sadoquae sigilim" (De Vermis Mysteriis)
Mehdi Tibouchi
>
> I'd almost suggest "Vampire Princess Miyu OAVs" and "Mermaid's
> Forest OAVs" - Macabre (or Horror)- but I suspect folks will
> say they're josei.
VPM is indeed shoujo, but Mermaid Forest is shounen (Shounen Sunday
manga).
> Was "Laughing Target" aimed more at the male crowd?
Yes, Shounen Sunday manga as well.
> Same question on "Lunar Legend Tsukihime".
Tsukihime is an ero doujin game for males.
> How about "Fire Tripper"? Romance (hence disqualified)? Fantasy?
Shounen Sunday.
> What was "Haibane Renmei" (fantasy) considered?
It isn't as clear-cut since the original work is a series of all age
doujinshi. If one were to put a demographic label on Haibane Renmei,
though, the natural one would probably be "seinen".
> What about "Basara"?
Shoujo indeed (Betsucomi).
> What about "Kino's Journey"? (fantasies)
The original novel was serialized in Dengeki hp, which targets young
adult males.
> Oh, wasn't "RG Veda" shoujo?
Not sure whether Gekkan Wings is considered shoujo or josei.
> "Scrapped Princess" seemed somewhat more shounen than shoujo... am I
> wrong?
At any rate, the target audience is male.
> I have a difficult time thinking that "I My Me Strawberry Egss" was
> shounen or seinen, but, again, I have no clue about the manga.
I don't think there was a manga at all? So the target demographic isn't
so clear. It aired in an early evening slot, though, so you might say
shounen.
> Kamichu seemed geared towards a younger crowd, but more for girls than
> boys, do you think?
My take is that Kamichu targets the same audience as shows like Azumanga
Daioh and Ichigo Mashimaro, namely young adult males (the manga
adaptation is published in Daioh, which is technically a shounen magazine
but mostly read by 20-somethings; and it's Naruko Hanaharu, a well known
eromangaka, who's in charge of that adaptation).
> "Strawberry Marshmallow" seemed geared to a younger crowd, but with the
> big sister lending an older perspective, I found it appealing as an
> adult, too.
Daioh fare. Shounen that is actually seinen.
> Who was "Mushi-shi" (supernatural) meant appeal to? It has a female
> sensibility, but for an older crowd, so I was thinking maybe it's josei
> instead.
The manga was serialized in Afternoon (a seinen magazine).
> I know that "To Heart" was a dating sim or something like that, but the
> anime dwelt a lot less on romance (thankfully), and more on building
> friendships. Seemed shoujo to me.
Has an overwhelmingly male following, and a manga adaptation in Daioh.
> "You're Under Arrest" (TV and OAV) does have romantic elements, but
> most of the time it was cop antics with a female bent. Shoujo?
Seinen (Afternoon as well).
> Who was "Azumanga Daioh" directed at? It has an all female cast, but a
> lot of the stuff seemed more universal.
Daioh.
Aya the Vampire Slayer
>I've heard comments like "I don't watch fantasy or action anime, I watch
>shojo anime" in the anime shops too many times lately. I'd really like
>to point out to the people who say those kinds of things a few shojo
>fantasy or shojo action shows... or other genres of shojo anime,
>depending on the exact comment.
I've been known to say "I prefer shoujo" although usually not "over
fantasy", etc. I would take it to mean "I prefer shows aimed at girls,
not boys", as, a lot of shoujo series do contain romance geared toward
females (bumbling bimbo gets all the bishis), which girls tend to like.
This is as opposed to male-oriented series which tend to have the style
of romance that boys like (lamer gets all the hot chicks).
So, given an "actual" genre that I do like that comes up for discussion,
(Fantasy, for instance), I would tend to prefer female-oriented Fantasy
series over male-oriented Fantasy series. And similarly for "actual"
genres that I don't like (say, Sci-fi), if I *had* to watch something of
that genre, I'd be more likely to enjoy a shoujo Sci-fi than a shounen
Sci-Fi series.
So in this context, I'm not sure if you'd call shoujo a "genre" or a
"super-genre" or a "sub-genre" or something completely different, but it
does have the effect of limiting the various anime series in the
universe to a much smaller subset, a function that traditional genres
also perform.
>But I'm having trouble remembering shojo shows that aren't romances,
>except for one shojo superhero show ("Seven of Seven") and one shojo
>space opera ("Stellvia"). What other non-romance shojo anime are out
>there, and what genres are they in?
A question I would find more difficult to answer is: are there any
shoujo series that do not have romance in them at all as any kind of
plot device? (romance seems to be one of the required traits of shoujo,
even if the show isn't necessarily about the romance)
--
"Care must be exorcised when handring Opiticar System as it is apts to
be sticked by dusts and hand-fat." --Japanese Translators
"Keep your fingers off the lens." --Elton Byington, English Translator
Galen
<ry...@gatech.rmv.this.part.edu> wrote:
>
>A question I would find more difficult to answer is: are there any
>shoujo series that do not have romance in them at all as any kind of
>plot device? (romance seems to be one of the required traits of shoujo,
>even if the show isn't necessarily about the romance)
The original Himitsu no Akko-chan (1969).
Or wait; two of the teachers sort of admire each other,
which is a plot point early on when Akko fails to realize
that aspect of their relationship while impersonating them.
But Akko '69 herself never gets romantically involved.
(Neither does Akko '98, for that matter, but her parents
are romantically involved (with each other) - Akko '69
doesn't even have that. Akko '88 is a prosti-tot.)
Little Witch Chappy ... it's been so long since I watched this ...
the only guy I recall in Chappy's life is her daddy
Miracle Girl Limit - her rejection of romance is part
of her character, but it is done explicitly.
Chris Mattern
> Marimite, of course. Just licensed.
>
> Princess Nine.
>
> Escaflowne is borderline.
Escaflowne actually had two manga incarnations, one shounen,
one shoujo.
>
> And don't forget the fanservice-for-women shows like Weib Kreuz and
> Gravitation (though that might be josei).
Surprised nobody's mentioned Utena yet.
--
Christopher Mattern
NOTICE
Thank you for noticing this new notice
Your noticing it has been noted
And will be reported to the authorities
RLP
<sys...@sumire.gwu.edu> wrote:
>On 2008-03-09, Ken Arromdee <arro...@green.rahul.net> wrote:
>> Marimite, of course. Just licensed.
>>
>> Princess Nine.
>>
>> Escaflowne is borderline.
>
>Escaflowne actually had two manga incarnations, one shounen,
>one shoujo.
>>
>> And don't forget the fanservice-for-women shows like Weib Kreuz and
>> Gravitation (though that might be josei).
>
>Surprised nobody's mentioned Utena yet.
Was Utena Shoujo or Yuri? In the end, the butch girl ends up with the
ultra-babe. Both nude in the movie.