There is something about manga, something appealing, something unique, and something great about it that captures you in like a good book. So what if it’s not considered literary (which is debatable since I just took a class on literary themes in comic books, manga included), it’s enjoyable, entertaining, and arty. Ok arty isn’t exactly a word, but that is what it is. It has specific demography coded in their genre making it easier for those to see what is targeted to them. But even the most open-minded person has preferences and a limit on letting certain content side. Shoujo will be our example for today (don’t worry shounen, you’ll get yours soon).
Shoujo is targeted to young girls (age is uncertain, could range from seven years to late teens). Yes, there are people outside the age range that have an interest in shojo, but I’m assuming that number is low. The flowery background, female protagonist, “beautiful” boys, and romantic themed storyline are no stranger to shojo manga. But sometimes there is a lacking here and there that separate it from gaining an older audience. Here are just a few examples.
Passive Females
Ever read about the girl who did nothing? No? Why not? Because it’s boring! Females leads in shojo manga tend act passively on situations that need action. Why is it they choose to do nothing, or let someone else do the work for them, at that moment? They have no back bone, nothing that holding them up. It’s even more frustrating when a passive character doesn’t develop into an active character. That feel of helplessness is an annoying trait many shojo females suffer from.
Heroic Studs
I get it. The “Prince Charming” syndrome. When a relatively weak female (must be slightly attractive) is in need of help, her “Prince Charming” comes to the rescue. Mainly typical when the female is overly passive. Now there is nothing wrong with a drawing of a “beautiful” man, or boy in most cases, but does he always have to come to her rescue? Can’t he let her learn how to handle herself once in awhile? Her overly dependence on him is irritating, and too distracting to the storyline. Speaking of which…
“LOVE”
Does all shojo manga have to have “love” as the main theme? The Mangaka make it so obvious what the female character wants at the end of the story. Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty all followed a similar route, but each one didn’t focus on love through the entire story (please note that I’m using the Disney version). Cinderella was too busy cleaning and keeping a secret life from her evil family. Snow White was hiding with seven short people from an evil relative. Sleep Beauty lived with three fairies while trying not to get pricked by a needles. You may find it unfair to compare shojo stories to well-known Disney tales, and it probably is, but there is a reason these are well-known stories told time and time again (and not because of Disney). There is more to the story than “love,” there’s an adventure. Those type of stories would fit well with shojo manga.
Freaky Themes
I’m not talking about style, that’s entirely different. Though there are things in shojo manga that would make a mother blush. Submission, domination, sexuality, borderline abuse, bits of sadism (look it up on your own time). It could be said that such themes are only used to gain a bigger audience, though it doesn’t work well if everything I just wrote above is visible in the manga.
Just to note, there are good shojo manga. Skip Beat and Ouran High School Host Club are just a few shojos I enjoy reading. But there are others, like Hot Gimmick and Vampire Knight, that just make me scream out of frustration. There is a reason I rarely rate and review shojo, and that is because I have two members on my team shojo manga targets to.
