Merry Month of Shojo: VS.

CMX's library never fails to surprise me, even after all these years.  Their library was filled with interesting little shojo series like this.

VS. (Vasasu), by Keiko Yamada.  First published in 1999 and first published in North America in 2006.

PLOT:

Reiji is an incredibly talented violinist who is driven to succeed so that he can save himself and his sister from their abusive father.  His playing is technically accomplished, but often lacking in emotion.  Thus, his teacher calls upon the assistance of Mitsuko, a former student and violin prodigy whose career was cut short by an accident.  The two of them are frequently at odds, as Mitsuko tries to find a way to connect with Reiji while Reiji fights to save his sister before it is too late.

Merry Month of Shojo: ALICE 19TH

It seems like the further I look into Yuu Watase's career, the more likely I am to like their work.  I hated Fushigi Yugi, I was iffy on Ceres, but I legitimately loved this one.

ALICE 19TH (Arisu Naintinsu), by Yuu Watase.  First published in 2001, and first published in North America in 2003.

PLOT:

Alice Seno is a quiet, pleasant girl, the sort of person who wants to please others at the expense of her own happiness.  She's nothing like her older sister Mayura, who is beautiful, lively, and the darling of both her parents and classmates.  Alice has a crush on one of her sister's classmates, Kyo Wakamiya, and is crushed when her sister starts dating him.

At the same time, Alice encounters a strange bunny, who turns into an equally strange little girl who tells her she is a Lotis Master.  Alice doesn't quite understand what this means until some hasty, heated words from her cause her older sister to disappear and the boundaries between this world and another begin to break down.

Merry Month of Shojo Manga: DEMON SACRED

Today we look at another victim of Tokyopop's shutdown, a series that's wild, nonsensical, but impossible to hate.

DEMON SACRED (Demon Sakurido), by Natsumi Itsuki.  First published in 2003 and first published in North America in 2010.

PLOT:

Fifteen years ago, strange phenomenon started to occur across the earth.  Demons straight out of mythology appeared, and a condition known as Return Syndrome started to retroactively age people back to zygotes.  Mona's twin sister Rina is one of those affected and Mona is determined to save her by any means possible.  She gets her chance when a mysterious man from their past named Mika returns.  Through him, Mona discovers she is heir to an incredible power that allows her to capture and tame the demons.  Together, they may be able to reveal the truth and save Rina...if the government doesn't get to them first.

Merry Month of Shojo: THE PRINCE'S ROMANCE GAMBIT

Kodansha continues to churn out digital-only shojo series, and for once I wanted to feature one that didn't make me mad.

THE PRINCE'S ROMANCE GAMBIT (Oji ga Watashi wo Akiramenai!), by Nikki Asada.  First published in 2015 and first published in North America in 2018.

PLOT:

Koume Yoshida is an ordinary middle-class girl at the extremely elite and wealthy Okan Academy.  She never expected to encounter the school prince Hatsuyuki Ichimonji up close, much less while he was eating lunch in the girls' bathroom.  He ends up fascinated by her commoner ways, much to the consternation of his student bodyguards.  Koume is mostly exhausted by his attempts at being "normal," but she slowly finds herself falling for the sincere boy underneath it all.

Merry Month of Shojo: OTOME MANIA!!

Yo dawg, I heard you like otome games, so they made an otome-style manga about making otome games!

OTOME MANIA!!, by Tsukigase Yurino.  First published in 2015 and first published in North America in 2017.

PLOT:  

Yuzumi discovered otome games as a teen, so she's excited when she's hired on by the otome game studio Trick*Star.  While she has loads of fangirl enthusiasm, she has no experience at being a producer.  Worse still, her supervisor never lets her forget.  Yuzumi is going to have to learn the hard way when her pitch for an educational otome game gets approved, learning what she can from her unusually handsome coworkers.

Merry Month of Shojo: BEAST MASTER

Of course, there's plenty of middle-of-the-road fare to be had.  The most interesting thing about this one has nothing to do with the plot, but with who created it.

BEAST MASTER (Bisuto Masuta), by Kyousuke Motomi.  First published in 2006 and first published in North America in 2009.

PLOT:

Yuiko loves animals, but they definitely do not love her back.  The only creature she can seem to charm is the new kid in class, Leo.  He's a literal wild child whose fierce eyes and strange behavior scare away most of their classmates, but Yuiko is drawn to his ability to charm any animal he encounters.  In turn, she's the only one who can calm Leo's savage fury if he sees blood.  As Yuiko explores just what made Leo this way, she finds herself falling harder and harder for him.

Merry Month of Shojo: MERMAID BOYS

It's not uncommon to find shojo manga based on fairy tales like "The Little Mermaid."  What's less common is finding one that changes it so much, modernizes it and still make it a legitimately entertaining manga to read.

MERMAID BOYS (Mamaido Boizu), by Yomi Sarachi.  First published in 2016 and first published in North America in 2018.

PLOT:

Prince Naru has always been fascinated by the human world.  Lately, though, he's been fascinated with a human girl named Nami, even more after he saves her from drowning.  He's so determined to be with her that he trades his manly good looks to a sorcerer to become human, but Nami is far from the delicate maiden he presumed her to be.  Will Naru be able to win her heart within a year's time, or will both he and his romantic dreams turn into sea foam?

Merry Month of Shojo: THE DEVIL DOES EXIST

Alas, this month can't be all joy and surprises.  Sometimes it requires diving into the dumpsters of publishers past, dusting off a particular piece of garbage, and marveling at how little that particular brand of garbage has changed over the years.

THE DEVIL DOES EXIST (Akuma de Soro), by Mitsuba Takanashi.  First published in 1999 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

Kayano just wanted to finally confess to her crush, Yuichi.  Instead her letter gets intercepted by Takeru, who uses his looks and his status as the principal's son to get away with all sorts of bullying.  Now Kayano is his new favorite target, and his determination to mess with her only increases when Kayano's mother and Takeru's father get engaged.  Will Kayano ever escape his torment?  Or will she discover that this devil isn't as tough as he looks?

Merry Month of Shojo: MUGEN SPIRAL

Today we look at another Hana to Yume title, from a creator who would go on to write one of modern shojo's blockbusters.

MUGEN SPIRAL (Mugen Supairaru), by Mizuho Kusanagi.  First published in 2004 and first published in North America in 2007.

PLOT:

Ever since her parents died, Yayoi has dedicated herself to carrying on their legacy, using her powers as a mystic to seal away harmful demons.  Her first target was a demon called Uru, whom she sealed away in the form of a cat.  Uru wants revenge, but as the two fight more and more together against both hungry demons and Uru's treacherous family, the more he and Yayoi realize that they will need to work together to survive.

Merry Month of Shojo: SNOW WHITE WITH THE RED HAIR

Well...this is certainly not how I imagined things would be like for the site's 8th anniversary.

I mean, there have been some bright spots over the last year.  My Patreon continues to (slowly) grow, I finally got to do a panels at both Sakuracon and Otakon, and have met plenty of new folks.

And then...well...the virus happened, and with that went any plans for anime cons this year, any hopes of getting a new job, and even a lot of the focus I had for all the various other projects I was working on, and that's not even getting into how it's affecting the wider world.

That just means that it's all the more important that I deliver my usual merry month of reviews in celebration.  Once again, we're going to be devoting this month to shojo manga.  After all, we could all use a bit of joy, love, beauty and excessive amounts of floating sparkles in our lives, even if it's only experienced vicariously.

So let's not delay things further.  Let's kick off this year's Merry Month of Shojo with a series that just missed out on last year's Holiday Reviews.

SNOW WHITE WITH THE RED HAIR (Akagami no Shirayukihime), by Sorata Akiduki.  First published in 2006, and first published in North America in 2019.

PLOT:

Shirayuki is a humble healer whose bright red hair makes her a target for men who see her as a beautiful novelty.  While running away from a pompous prince who wishes to possess her, Shirayuki ends up befriending another runaway royal named Zen.  After helping to dispose of her unwanted suitor, Zen offers Shirayuki the opportunity to not only pursue further study, but the chance for all sorts of new adventure.