What is shoujo manga?

The word and its spellings

Shoujo comes from the Japanese word for a young girl. You will see it written shoujo, shojo and, in the strict Hepburn system, shōjo. All three mean the same thing, and publishers and fans use them side by side. In this site we write shoujo.

In everyday use the word describes manga made for girls, traditionally readers from about ten years old into the late teens. The audience is the point. A series is called shoujo because it is published in a magazine aimed at that audience.

Shoujo is a label for readers, not a genre

Because the label follows the magazine, the stories inside it vary a lot. Romance is the best known thread, and school settings are common, but shoujo magazines have also printed historical drama, science fiction, fantasy, horror, comedy, sports stories and tales of show business.

• The Rose of Versailles is a historical drama set before the French Revolution.
• They Were Eleven is science fiction set on a spaceship.
• Angel Sanctuary mixes gothic fantasy with angels and demons.
• Sailor Moon combines school life, friendship and fighting.

So a good short answer to the question is this: shoujo manga is manga written and drawn for a readership of girls, with a strong tradition of putting feelings and relationships at the centre of the story, whatever the setting is.

What the stories tend to share

These are tendencies, not rules, and plenty of series ignore them. Shoujo stories often follow a character's inner life closely: thoughts appear next to or outside the speech bubbles, and a small gesture can carry a whole chapter. Friendships, family and rivalry matter as much as romance, and the pacing leaves room for quiet scenes.

The look is also distinctive. Expressive eyes, flowing hair, decorative backgrounds and panels that overlap or have no borders are common, and we describe them in the guide to the shoujo manga art style.

Where the label stops helping

Readers grow up and creators change magazines, so the border is blurry. Josei is the usual name for manga aimed at adult women, and some series sit close to the line. Many boys and men read shoujo, and many girls read shonen. The label also says nothing about age rating, which publishers in other countries set separately.

If you are weighing the four main labels against each other, read shoujo vs shonen vs josei. If you simply want something to read, jump to the best shoujo manga for beginners.

Is shoujo the same as romance?

No. Romance is a genre that appears in all four demographic groups, and shoujo includes many stories where love is a side thread or absent. It is fair to say that romance became the most visible part of shoujo, especially in series translated into other languages, which is why the two words are often mixed up.