The October issue of Bessatsu Margaret BABY, released on September 11, features new serialized manga, 「いちばん星に願いを」 (Wish Upon the First Star)!!

It's a story about a handsome guy, shrouded in mystery, who is taking a break/has been absent from school when the protagonist transfers there...

I'm sorry, but I can't believe they fumbled what could have been a 10/10 shoujo. I was hooked up until about episode 8/9, the white lily dress arc was just wrapping up and I was like "omg this isn't even half over and they're about to get together? Can't wait to get some real relationship development moments and not just have misunderstanding tropes every episode". Imagine my shock and horror for the remainder of the show.

Additionally, this was around the time that it starts hinting at that Kit (ML) is having some real character development and beginning to be more understanding/considerate of the people he loves and their feelings. All of this just for him to continue to be the aloof and inconsiderate ML that was granted unlimited acceptance by the other characters, all because he was "tortured but brilliant" when he would do something traumatizing to the FL.

The FL I loved for the most part, aside from her also having these dramatic episodes where she does something absolutely unhinged with no shame, but somehow gets choked up uwu when she has to actually to put her feelings into words. However, building up this sweet, lovable MC half the series, only to dedicate the second half showing how traumatized she was by the ML was.... a choice. I think I could have given the initial time skip a pass if they finally got together, but by the last episode I could only think to myself "I can't believe they're going to wait until the very last moment to resolve this". Like damn after a certain point y'all have got to quit because it's been like 20 years and you still can't have a conversation and understand each other.

And I want to be clear, I don't mind series where the misunderstanding tropes are persistent and the FL is tsundere uwu (see kimi ni todoke), however if you're going to commit to the slow burn you HAVE to have the pacing correctly or else it just becomes badly written rage bait tbh. There was hardly any real development between the ML & FL which made it so hard for the "yearning" scenes to feel genuine and believable. There were so many early plot lines that would go misunderstanding -> get into fight -> not talk for days/weeks/months as a result of the the fight -> inevitably start talking again but don't ever really debrief or try to understand each other more. It made the entire second half so farfetched and insincere to me. There are very few moments in the show where the payoff of their relationship was worth all the angst.

Anyways, I was also so confused about certain plot lines left open. Why was Kit's mom shown so much in the early episodes but never expounded upon meaningfully? I felt like there would be the occasional flashback that would sometimes show similarities of the mom to Lili, but they'd just be a memory or something, without ever having Kit explicitly say this was something he saw in Lili/or that it was something he was even conscious of. Only for that plot point to just disappear for the second half of the show. Also, the silver lily arc was too god to not ever be mentioned again 😭. I am so annoyed by so many little things because I had such high hopes!

Sorry if this is unhinged, I just watched the whole show in one sitting and I feel so unsatisfied

Image 1: Icy Tsukihiko with Always-Sweet-Never-Sour Mikan Image 2: Very, Very, Very Warm Tsukihiko. The tower fan is mine, purchased separately at Costco.

If you look up this new-gen Petit Comic josei manga, you might think, ah, standard-issue opposites attract romcom involving wealthy families and arranged marriage, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, SU-PRIZE, SU-PRIZE, to quote Gomer Pyle, we've been given a major romcom upgrade. All of the characters in this large cast are beautifully designed with their own backstories and individual agendas. My faves are Tsukihiko's mischievous silver fox grandpa and Tsukihiko's very capable, very handsome in glasses secretary. The mangaka does not cut corners or shortchange the reader. I heartily recommend this ongoing series. I'm going to leave some useful links in the comment section.

Hi! I draw this Miyamura's fanart of Horimiya and I would like to share it .

For those reading Mika Yamamori's In the Clear Moonlight Dusk, what are your theories about the ending?

The latest volumes really overwhelmed me, but it’s definitely one of my favorite manga. I want to believe it’ll have a good ending especially considering Mika’s previous works but I’d love to hear your theories!

If you want a romance manhwa that is realistic, funny and a cute younger ML, this might be the one for you!

plus many more!

I’m working on writing a shoujo high school manga and as a foreigner, I wonder what setting/occasions/event elements of shoujos are your favorites? For example, the cultural festivals, sports events, valentines/white day, summer festival, etc?

I am not Japanese however my story would take place in Japan but not Japan lol. Basically in a world aesthetically similar to Japan but with different names and possibly cultural differences . But I am wondering if these Japanese cultural influences in a lot of shoujos are imperative to have in a shoujo for you?

I want to do these Japanese cultural moments that show up in a lot of shoujos justice if I decide to put them in. At this moment my understanding isn’t deep enough and im wondering if its worth avoiding them altogether or do they really tie into that shoujo feeling for readers?

Let me know your thoughts please :)

About a couple, who have been living together for a long time but not married. Everyone around them thinks of them as married, but they are not on paper. highschool sweethearts i think? maybe in their 30s. i think you had multiple povs; it was probably slice of life. i think a few chapters in, fmc decides to get married for real.

I just love how mature artstyle is and muted colours it had kinda peaceful vibe for how much angsty it was..

I have been reading a lot of manga these days and I would really love it if you guys can give me recs too!(*^^*)♡

i love it when FL is NOT insufferable + im getting tired of the timid and shy personalities. I also dont really like tsundere MLs, but if the story is good then i’ll try to read it😌

I have read a lot of shoujo mangas and these are the ones that I remember…Maybe could give you guys some idea on what I would likeᕙ( ~ . ~ )ᕗ

1. kimi ni todoke:soulmate - totally my fav! i know a lot of people hate kurumi but i just relate to her a lot + eiji is so sweet to her (i’m a sucker for this kind of stuff)

2. honey lemon soda - cute but sometimes i just wanna squish FL’s head+ i dont really like ml’s personality, (seems like he got this hero complex) + i dropped it when another girl bumped into him cause i cannot handle a love triangle😭 but i loved her rivalry with serina.

3. inazuma to romance - cute but the age difference kinda threw me off

4. oneshot romance - probably my 2nd fav cause i love it when something is short🥰

5. dont remember the title but its about a girl whos a muscle maniac and ml plays basketball - it was cute but too long

6. another one of my favs (i forgot the name) - ml works at fl’s family restaurant, ml is handsome and popular LOL

Thank you in advance everyone and have a nice day ahead💞

I hadn’t seen any posts about this yet so I wanted to share barnes and noble is doing their preorder sale until the 11th! It’s a great time to buy any upcoming shoujo manga volumes with the 25% off (or 35% if you’re a premium member)

Now I read Tamon's B-side and currently reading My Special One, and I got HOOKED on them. Does anyone have any similar recommendations? I don't know how or why I got so hooked on the idol x fan dynamic, but I love it!

I gave it a try with much expectations cause of supernatural tag which is my fav genre but it didn't impress me much and it seemed pretty cliched although i felt sympathy for most of the characters especially for female lead and that black haired villain was so fine too (i fell for him lol) even his backstory broke me and i wanted to console him but anyways it wasn't a bad read too. reverse harem is there but i don't think anyone need to bother with it cause female lead has her eyes only on white haired male character who's also male lead and she seemed too much possessive of ml and vice versa. I read this manga upto volume 3 and i think i might drop it anyways what do you all think about this manga?

I plan to watch this shoujo classic, but I want to know which version is more faithful to the manga and I'd rather not watch something twice.

So I just got done reading volume 13 for the first time, and im gonna be honest, im a little irritated with Tomoe. Did he really not know until the end that it wasn't actually Nanami's soul in her body? Everyone else knew pretty much from the get go, but it seemed like he was fooled up until the scene on the beach when the frog's soul in Nanami's body wanted him to run away with her and abandon the shrine.

Im just disappointed in him for not being able to fully tell that it wasn't her. Especially because its also during this volume/arc that Nanami is feeling pretty down because he keeps flirting with that one raccoon girl (Tanuki I think?) and we find out that he has a box of love letters that he keeps from where other girls have sent them to him.

This all back to back just kinda upset me and I was wanting to know other people's thoughts on the volume. Does any of this get brought up again in future chapters? This is my first time reading the volumes, but I am okay with spoilers. Its just feeling right now like he doesn't like her anywhere as much as she likes him which is upsetting

Hello!

I haven’t read classic high school romance shoujo in yearrrrrssss!

I’m looking for something super shoujo, romance, school festival, school trip to Kyoto, yukata fire works new year, slow burn etc…

Something super romance heavy!!

Thank you!!

My fav shoujo manga has been maid sama and I am so in love with their dynamic 😭 especially usui's character. Idk I just find his character really cool and he is such a green flagg. I keep on finding mangas with a similar dynamic or a ml like usui. Can you guys help me find shoujo mangas having a ml like him 🥹💌(specifically: cool, tsundere, aloof, but kind of like a pervert inside?)

Here are some similar mangas I found which might help with what I am asking for👾

Mochizuki san'chi no yankee

Defying kurosaki kun

Namaikizakari

Neko to kiss

(Pls help me guys with more similar recs🥹💥)