Should Boys Read Shojo-Manga?

[Kuroi Getsuga Tenshou]

Should boys read Shojo-Manga? I want to know what Girls think about guys who read Shojo-Manga and things like that, I mean the Romance and all that?

[Minami Ikki]

I read Shoujo once. It was called hot Gimmick. The content wasn't very Shoujo >_>.

[Pyramus]

I havent read it, but if boys want to read manga that has romance in it, im not saying no! Just mlike if girls want to read battle Royale that has violence and sex in it! Its there choice!

[adorkable]

That's like asking if girls shouldn't read shounen manga (with all that blood and violence! :O). J/k. Male sexed people should read shoujo manga if they want to. There's nothing wrong with that. I personally don't mind if a guy reads shoujo. =\

[Guy]

I personally have read shojo manga before, but if it's too girly and feminine, then I quit reading it (i.e. Fruits Basket, only read it cuz everyone says it's so good... -_-) I still prefer shonen tho. I have admit, shojo manga is better than day time soap opera or worse, Korean dramas *rolls eyes*

[FictionFreak]

haven't heard of that one. need to check that out along with all the other things that my friends have been yelling at about to read during Anime Club meeting.

and to go back to the question in the first post, heck yeah! ESPECIALLY Absolute Boyfriend! So good! I swear to god it is! I mean, the girl falls in love w/ robot, the robot falls in love with her, a guy falls in love with the same girl, the girl's best friend falls in love with the same robot, a different girl from this one club steals the robot, the guy admits that he's love to the girl ....

=X Oops. maybe I said too much

[M_A]

There is more than just shonen and shojo in manga, so that's what i read. I am not a big fan of either really. I think it's fine for guys to raed shojo, i read some. I prefer some drama/suspense like Kazuo Umezu's 1970s-1980s work, Monster, Battle Royale, and so on. Action is fine too, but not shonen.

[InsanesnakeShinigami]

manga is just manga to me... I could easily prefer a shojo with a good plot over a crappy shonen or vice-versa. its all in the plot and pacing.

[M_A]

manga is just manga to me... I could easily prefer a shojo with a good plot over a crappy shonen or vice-versa. its all in the plot and pacing.
I agree fully. This is what is most important for me:
1. Plot
2. Character depth/development
3. Mood/Style/Pacing
After that, it doesn't matter as much.

[Terra]

I consider the artwork important too, especially when it comes to Shojo manga, though not so much Shonen.

[Evanesque]

Well it's entirely up to the person if he wants to read shoujo. Personally, I think if girls can read Shounen then why can't boys do so too?

Some guys are embarrassed to be caught reading so-called girly stuff and so rule it out but I don't have a prob if the guy wants to read it. I guess that's pretty much it =/

Though mangas are genred to a particular type, it doesn't mean we have to be stereotyped along with it. It's mainly categorised in a way to let readers know whom the manga will interest more. And the final decision is up to the reader.

[chiriyuku]

Although I'm fine with guys reading shojo... I'm always a little suprised.

I've read Hot Gimmick too.. I think the content is pretty much shojo... except sex is mentioned a hell of a lot. LOL

[Xkavanger]

There is absolutley NOTHING wrong with guys reading Shojo-manga... I know a few boys here have read (mostly watched Shojo-anime) Shojo-manga. Its perfectly fine.
Boys should have the freedom of whatever they wish to read... and the shouldn't get bullied by it =\

Because I'm sure us girls read Shonen-manga too

[Pyramus]

I consider the artwork important too, especially when it comes to Shojo manga, though not so much Shonen.


I agree, i like good artwork! But there are 2 different kinds of manga artwork, the funny and the serious kinds! The funny, is when the hve big eyes, and they hve a lot of face spasms or whtever, the trademark mushroom sigh! Stuff like that, the serious stuff is when they hve more normal eyes, and they might be killing each other! Of course, im talkin bout BR!!!! lol!

[ɯɐpɐ]

.....

You know, some ECCHI mangas/animes storyline is SHOUJO.... well, part of. And some shounen do have shoujo. (Rarely. -_-')

[dragado123]

Theres nothing wrong about a boy reading shojo manga at all. I read Shojo manga ........ and it's not that bad. Really it isn't. I say boys should read shojo manga. Seriously read the one that you really wanna read and forget about what other people think about you reading shojo manga. Now i got nothing wrong with girls read Shonen manga. For shojo manga you should make sure it has good artwork. I wouldn't give a damn it shonen have good artwork or not. Read whatever u like best!!!

[hasuke]

Sure. If they have a VAGINA.

Seriously though, read whatever you want is my opinion (unless it's complete and utter crap, like say, NARUTO. Though I will say Shikamaru is....cool)

I personally don't like the stuff because it's way too highschool melodrama BS for me. I want my romance to be straightforward, or epic. Drama is for chumps :{

[eiChi]

i tink it's ok for guys to read shoujo. it's still manga :p take Ouran as example. even guys are reading it. for me both shoujo n shonen manga are for everyone :p but except for ecchi manga of coz...=_='''

[Z-man]

Shojo-Manga ? What's that ?

[Pyramus]

Romantic, sweet, girly manga!
Shojo manga = Girls manga (Made for girls)
Shouen manga = Boys manga (Made for boys)

The point of this debate is "Wether boys should read girls manga"

[StoneTitan]

I agree fully. This is what is most important for me:
1. Plot
2. Character depth/development
3. Mood/Style/Pacing
After that, it doesn't matter as much.


Agreed, aslong as the drawing suits the story.


Anyone else who watch Seinen?

would be a better question "should girls be wathing Seinen"? insted of shouen :P(THere choice)

[Crazy_Bleachfan]

Why shouldn't boys read Shojo manga? If they're in to it, it's fine by me. I'm a girl and I read Shonen manga too, so what's the point?
Maybe boys should read more Shojo mange :P maybe they'll learn from it :pangel3:

[Angel_shikigami]

Why not? I have this manga that says the definition of Shojou Manga is "Manga that is appealing to both genders." Plus shojou is funny and every one likes funny stuff (Besides, most of the jokes are more man funny, like men would like them more.)

[Guy]

Shoujou manga is only a genre that exploits more romantic stuff. Guys usually don't like that, but really, who cares if they read romantic stuff? Shoujou manga usually is much better than crappy American sitcoms.

[Kuroi Getsuga Tenshou]

never knew this thread would be so amusing

[Aleister]

ok this thread has been dead a while, but I'm gonna throw in my 2¢. I actually started reading some of the Shoujo and Josei mangas that my Fiance enjoys. While mangas like Elfen Lied and Bleach are my favorites, I actually enjoy something lighter once in a while. And many of the mangakas in those genres are very good, but one would not know that if they did't give them a try.

[SageOfHalo]

Well, I'm a guy, and I kinda stumbled onto Shoujo maga by accident. I mean, I knew thinkgs like the various Sailor Moon series were Shoujo, but that was it. So one day, I'm on onemanga, going to try and read some Love Hina, b/c everyone says it's SO good, only I miss it in the dropdown, and click on Love Monster by mistake. absolutely hilarious, and sweet at times, and I have to say that the plot is really getting interesting now. I won't say much more, in case anyone wants to read it, but there was one scene where a character was outside the main girl's window, asking her to let him in, and she says no. So the other char sighs and pulls out a cute little animal, which causes the main girl to immediately throw open the window, going "KYAAAAA!" :D quite funny, IMHO...

And Bleach is about to become the only shounen manga I read... I'm really getting fed up with Sasuk, er, I mean, NARUTO... I mean, I don't mind a long ninja fight, but the last 8 chapters haven't shown Naruto in EVEN ONE PANEL!!! It's very annoying...

[Miyagi Rikku]

Lol, I dont think its such a bad thing for boys to read Shoujo manga or watch Shoujo animes.
Quite frankly I am amazed if they mange to watch and read Shoujo stuff cause most of them are
just really plain girly but some are also really good.

[Wacer]

I read a manga because because i like the story and if it happens to be Shojo then it is. That is just naive to think that all a guy wants to read is blood and guts and what not. that is just like saying should a guy like to cook because it is something that is supposed to be more famine if you get what i mean

[Graffik]

Well, I don't see a problem with me reading a shojo manga. So long as it isn't unbelievably girly, which many of them are.

I think I've read one or two shojo manga's, but I'm not exactly the most reliable at classifying manga.

When I started reading it, I thought Bleach was seinen, LOL

[Ryuzaki]

Referring to the first post, I don't see any problems with boys reading shojo manga, as long as they enjoy it.
But most, practically all of the shojo manga do not usually attract the male audience to read them, since shojo is romance/drama.
Example, Paradise Kiss, my sister loves the story since it's full of drama and everything else a chick flick would posses, but I would most probably never read it. But some boys like the romance/drama stories and that's fine. :)

[Rhea]

I think it's okay for boys to read shojo. I mean why not girls read Shonen. Maybe the difference is you get the more soppy stuff in Shojo, but mangas like Ouran appeal to boys as well, cause lets face it's hilarious..

[Midare]

Personally I find it nice if a guy reads shoujo manga... in a way, that shows me that he's a open minded guy.
As Allcreation said, there's some shoujo manga that are really hilarious besideds the girly story, like Ouran and Perfect girl evolution and in fact even being female I like them bescause of that, not for the girly stories.

[Ciel]

I've probably read more shoujo mangas than shonen. Shonen doesn't interest me anymore becuase it tends to be repetitive, and while a decent amount of shoujo can as well, they tend to vary a bit more in my opinion.

[Cassie]

It's pretty clear what the verdict is, as nobody chose to argue otherwise.

I personally think that it's better for guys to read shoujo manga than shounen. Often times, in shounen manga, your main character isn't a very appealing guy, where as most of the guys in shoujo are high quality. No matter who you are, it's probably better to read about good things than bad. Why read a story with a stupid guy when you can read a story with a bishie? :P

btw, I removed the question marks and stuff from the title.

[Sushi]

I personally find a guy who reads shojo more appealing than a guy who reads only shonen or seinen. This shows that he's not only open minded, but also not afraid of a little romance. Not all shojo manga is like a sappy chick-flick movie, and most guys tend to pass shojo off as this. In fact, on occassions shojo manga can have better storylines and better constructed plots than shonen, where all the plots tend to run together at times.

[davidn15]

I don't think there's anything wrong with reading sho-jo. It's not the type of thing I read frequently. My shojo experience is basically vol. 1 hana kimi and some skimming of azumanga daioh

[Starfire*]

I'm a girl and i like it when i meet a guy who reads shojo. cause then we have something in common and we also have somthing to talk about.

[Kenta]

I don't think there's a should or should-not in this question. There are no labels on the volume covers saying "Boys stay away.", it's a matter of preference and boys specifically choosing shoujo manga for a variety of reasons does not denote him as any lesser of a boy.

Girls read shounen more than girls read shoujo. Should they read shounen? They would say "Hell yeah! There's Sasuke, Byakuya, Allen, Lockon, Eric, etc. I just can't get enough of them! *drools*" I don't think the answer is no here unless you want an army of fangirls going after you and for equality purposes if it works for women, it works for men too.

[Kamina]

I personally find a guy who reads shojo more appealing than a guy who reads only shonen or seinen. This shows that he's not only open minded, but also not afraid of a little romance. Not all shojo manga is like a sappy chick-flick movie, and most guys tend to pass shojo off as this. In fact, on occassions shojo manga can have better storylines and better constructed plots than shonen, where all the plots tend to run together at times.

Personally, if I were a girl of course, I would prefer a guy who wasnt a manga-head at all. And who cares about being open-minded anyways, if someone has no interest in shoujo, they shouldnt read it. Would you call me closed minded if I read 1 or 2 shoujo manga, found them not to my liking, and never read a shoujo again?

And shoujo manga hardly ever have better storylines. They are usually (from the handfull I have read) based strongly on relationships with plot in the background. I guess shounen isnt a great comparison, as the plot is usually lost in excessively long fight scenes, and then the guys just go on about morality or some crap.

Anyways, a good manga is a good manga. Who cares where is was serialized, or if its a shounen, shoujo, josei, or a seinen? I download my manga, its not like im going to the counter at Borders with 5 volumes of Ouran.

[EndlessBlack]

I don't think they SHOULDN'T read it, it's really up to them. If they enjoy reading it then I say they go and get some series. If they're going to read them just to make fun of the genre then they're immature and wasting time.