This is the list of my manga collection, basically. From single volumes I've kept, to completed series's, here are my favourite manga of all time, which I do recommend to people. And of course most of them are shoujo.
I couldn't not do this list, since I've been into anime and manga since I was a kid, which grew stronger when I was a teenager. My obsession has petered out somewhat recently, but I couldn't ignore such a big part of my life - my life as a geek. I probably wouldn't even be a comics fan if not for manga as my opening gateway drug. Time to celebrate and pay back with love and appreciation!
Quick disclaimer: The list contains manga that I really like and hold dear, even those from my teen years. Series's that are either incomplete or I have merely lost interest in, or outgrew, will likely not be included. I'm adding Attack on Titan only as an honourable mention, because, while I wouldn't say no to reading or watching more of it, I have lost interest over the years and nothing has made me want to come back to it. That said, I still own the first volume.
The Revolutionary Girl Utena manga adaptation might also count as an honourable mention. It's not officially included on the list because I'm pissed by its blatant queer erasure and straightwashing. The anime is superior in every way.
Finally, like my previous favourites lists concerning comics, I will include links to my original reviews that give more detail to the product.
With that out of the way, let's begin! Enjoy!
20. 'The All-New Tenchi Muyo! #1: Alien Nation' by Hitoshi Okuda, and 'No Need for Tenchi!, Volume 1' by Hitoshi Okuda
Same franchise, same author, so I'm including both of them in the same slot. These are enjoyable and entertaining manga that can be read as standalones. They bring me back to my Toonami-watching childhood days. Action-packed and hilarious, Tenchi Muyo! is such a versatile and fun franchise, featuring a fantastic female cast. My review of The All-New Tenchi Muyo! #1: Alien Nation is here, and my review of No Need for Tenchi!, Volume 1 is here.
19. 'Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Vol. 1' by Coolkyoushinja
A guilty pleasure, to be sure. Nonetheless, it is a hilarious fantasy series, containing LBGTQ elements. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is "a kinda cute, kinda crass fantasy comedy with a wild premise and female focus." Review here.
18. 'The Legend of Chun Hyang' by CLAMP
The very latest manga I've read, and it is a classic that was tragically cut short in production. This legendary Korean folktale retelling has a bit of everything in it, including a kickass heroine. The Legend of Chun Hyang "is full of history, action, fantasy, comedy, romance, mystery, tragedy, politics, faith, spirits, heart, and beauty. It possesses a bit of everything, to match its stunning artwork." Awesome. Review here.
17. 'I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up' by Naoko Kodama
One of the very few manga standalones that exist. To me it feels like that, anyway. A funny, sweet and touching yuri book that is - shock of all shocks - tasteful! It is a contemporary Japanese manga that successfully analyses and criticizes patriarchal ideas in society. It is bold, yet light and unpretentious. What a lovely treat. Review here
16. 'Girl Friends: The Complete Collection 1' by Milk Morinaga
From one yuri manga to another. Girl Friends is one of the best titles that that particular genre has to offer. It represents female relationships of all kinds. It just gets girls. It knows girls. It likes girls. It's about female love in its many forms! And how positive and powerful femininity is! It's scary how relatable the series can be. Any teenage girl, regardless of sexual orientation, can connect with Girl Friends. However, I only recommend the first volume collection, since in my opinion the second and final volume collection isn't as good. At all. But give the first part of the story a chance! It's worth it. Review here.
15. 'Young Miss Holmes, Casebook 1-2' by Kaoru Shintani
An obscure and expensive manga series that is worth your money and time. What a cute and enjoyable outing into the Sherlock Holmes world, with legitimately fun and clever mystery plots. Young Miss Holmes (starring Homes's ten-year-old niece) is, no joke, the most feminist Sherlock Holmes-related series I've ever seen. Girl detectives and female bonding groups full of smart women for the win! Review here.
14. 'Liselotte & Witch's Forest, Vol. 1' by Natsuki Takaya
A quiet, sweet, gentle, and mysterious shoujo fantasy series. As I say at the end of my review: "A guilty pleasure, but a calming, lulling one. Like a trickle in a glade. A quiet gem." Review here.
13. 'Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 1' by Sorata Akiduki
A lovely, sweet, charming, and surprisingly feminist slice-of-life fairy tale retelling. It's shoujo with heart and brains. There is an understated strength and boldness underneath its gentle and "girly" surface. This applies to both the concept and its heroine, whom I would call a "strong female character", and not for the usual, trite reasons. Femininity is not weakness, and defiance does not have to mean violence. Such a beautiful manga. Review here.
12. 'Flying Witch, Vol. 1' by Chihiro Ishizuka
A slice-of-life manga that's Kiki's Delivery Service nearly grown up. Need I say more? Refreshingly simple fantasy that is no less enjoyable. Review here.
11. 'The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Vol. 1' by Nagabe
Beautiful, ethereal, dark and mysterious. Quiet and cute - in the surrounding eerie nightmare. The Girl from the Other Side, to borrow quotes from my own review: "is a nice blend of light and dark - literally contrasted as two different kingdoms here - of sweet and sinister, with layers, that can be read through like a ghostly tapestry in under half an hour." "the little manga about a little girl living near dark wood with a scary-looking demon man who isn't so scary after all has all the simple beauty of an ethereal pearl." "A great reflection on what constitutes light and dark, good and bad, normal and strange. A mirror on the fear of "Outsiders", or to put it another way, the "Other". 'The Girl from the Other Side' is a quiet, enchanting fairy tale for both the kid at heart and the adult in mind, reminding us of both the simple things in life, and of its darkness, which comes in many colours." Review here.
10. 'Satoko and Nada Vol. 1' by Yupechika, Marie Nishimori (Script Advisor)
An episodic and anecdotal Japanese-American manga. Starring a Japanese woman and a Saudi Arabian Muslim woman who are college roommates, it is all about tolerance and friendship. It's very funny, too. A highly educational, charming and relevant manga. Do yourself a favour and check it out if you haven't already. Review here.
9. 'Kaiju Girl Caramelise, Vol. 1' by Spica Aoki
A fun, funny, touching, thoughtful, adorable, precious, action-packed shoujo manga, with giant monsters! I love manga. I love Japan. Teen girl transforms into a kaiju as a metaphor for adolescence. There is much more to it than that, of course, but that premise alone should attract anyone's attention. "(goddess, even the title is freaking cute, did I mention I love Japan!?) - sweetness, self-awareness, remarkable wokeness, comedy, and heart. And pancakes. Recommended to anyone." Review here.
8. 'Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1' by Kamome Shirahama
One of the best and most original fantasy series I've read in years. A new modern day manga series set in a richly, beautifully-drawn fantasy world full of witches. And dangerous spells and creatures. Fresh, lively, creative, well rounded, smart, intricate, and intriguing. Witch Hat Atelier is like Harry Potter meets Studio Ghibli. The charm and heart are boundless. Review here.
7. 'Amazing Agent Luna' by Nunzio DeFilippis (Writer), Christina Weir (Writer), Shiei (Artist)
Yeah, I'm including an American-made manga on here. It is that good. I'd only discovered this series this year, and I am already a huge fan. It really is like a cartoon - the best of fun, hilarious and heartfelt cartoons, with action and mystery to keep you coming back for more. Each character is three-dimensional, well rounded, complex, and interesting. Amazing Agent Luna - an all-ages, underrated, charming, endearing, adorable gem. For a cute-spy-sci-fi-action-high-school-romance-comedy-drama series, it is far better than it has any right to be. It respects its audience's intelligence. I cannot recommend it enough. My review of the first volume is here, and my review of the series overall is here.
6. 'Kare Kano: His and Her Circumstances' by Masami Tsuda
One of the most underrated shoujo slice-of-life manga ever. I haven't completed this classic series yet - perhaps one day I will, since it is genuine high quality, high school romance and drama. For a '90s manga, it is subversive for its time. It is truly a lovely series. Highlights from my old review: "'Kare Kano' does something that most shoujo romances rarely take a chance on: it sets up a solid relationship between the school girl and boy early, and the rest of the series revolves around the challenges that come with teenage love and how the couple fights to stay together." "When the leads, top "model" students Yukino Miyazawa and Soichiro Arima, learn more and more about each other and help one another overcome their personal egos and psychological insecurities - learning more about themselves along the way - they make an even better couple. Their individual circumstances - hence the series's title - are issues that slowly evolve into things to love, trust and understand in their relationship. But another bonus is that this helps them to socialise better with classmates." "'Kare Kano' contains such an endearing and cute cast of characters who each get a development story arc - and who have their individual hobbies and ambitions, including writing, running and designing." "So the series may appear simple and sweet on the surface, but it is surprisingly witty, and a dark take on shoujo drama titles, especially for the mid-to-late nineties when it first came out. It is exactly what I look for in slice-of-life titles as well: what it may lack in overall plot it makes up for with interesting characters and side stories. Each volume cover features a different type of flower to symbolise a character's personality and growth. What 'Kare Kano' teaches its readers is that people are not always what they seem in public. Learn to look past facades, and love and respect and trust what is inside. Everyone you meet may likely be struggling with life as much as you are, or more so. Be yourself! as lives can improve by socialising and understanding others as a team." Review here.
5. 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' by Magica Quartet, Hanokage
Do I need to add anything more? Of course I would love some of the manga adaptations of one of my absolute favourite anime of all time, and one of my favourite Magical Girl series of all time. Read my reviews of this volume, and this volume, and this volume, and this volume, and this volume, and this volume.
4. 'Chobits' by CLAMP
The only series by CLAMP that I have completed and liked up to today. Chobits is a classic, and also one of my favourite anime ever. And it is a light ecchi, sci-fi, magical girlfriend series. It is more self-aware than one might think, when looking at the surface. Its social commentary is subtle, and it is overall sweet and lovely. "I'm too wrapped up in the cuteness, the levelly-paced-storytelling and the deep, psychological themes concerning humanity's relationship with technology to care that much. A great science fiction and shoujo manga, I highly recommend 'Chobits' to anyone, even feminists. Decide for yourself whether the sexism is only a front, and discover the genre-deconstructing layers - and the heart - underneath the circuitry." Review here (be warned, though, it is very long).
3. 'Kitchen Princess' by Natsumi Ando
The sweetest, cutest, loveliest, most delicious, bittersweet and tragic shoujo manga ever. How can anyone not adore this series? A scrumptious treat all throughout its ten volumes. Review here (where I get very gushy and mushy). Also, here is my review of the mini light novel.
2. 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon' by Naoko Takeuchi, William Flanagan (Translator)
Nope. No need to add anything here. It's enough said. Millions of times I've talked about Sailor Moon already. It is my childhood - both the manga and the anime are my childhood. It is practically my life. It encompasses my identity. Just read my many, many, many manga reviews and heroine set pieces on the rest of my blog.
1. 'Fruits Basket' by Natsuki Takaya
Again, anyone who knows me shouldn't be surprised that this and Sailor Moon are at the top of my list of favourite manga. Fruits Basket changed my life. It is the definitive manga series to me. Anything that anyone may need in life, it is in Fruits Basket. A pity that a sequel series, Fruits Basket Another, just had to be made, and of course it's mediocre at best (read my review here). Leave things that have ended well enough alone. Read my reviews of the masterpiece Fruits Basket as a whole here, and here.
And that's the end of that. Take care and have a good day, or try to. We will get through this...
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