Some people still equate shoujo and josei with romance, and we're here to explain how wrong they are. Titles like shoujo, shounen, josei, or seinen only explain the demographic that they're catering towards, which allows you to briefly guess the genres that these stories would explore. The fact that shoujo mostly delves into romantic stories is a byproduct of stereotypes: the authors believe that teenage girls love romance. But there are some notable works that break this stereotype, showcasing stories that don't fit this formula.
Some works focus on the slice-of-life approach without any romantic subplot, like Natsume's Book of Friends. It's a story about Takashi Natsume who inherited the ability to interact with spirits from his grandmother and who now tries to balance his regular life with the spiritual part of it. The main emphasis is on Natsume's growth, on the life lessons he learns through his communication with spirits, both friendly and malicious, and on his daily life.
Another work is Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey, a story focused on Hayashi Akiko, a girl who wants to become a shoujo mangaka. It's an autobiographical story filled with artistic struggles, career ups and downs, a bond that she forms with her art teacher, and motherhood (and no, the latter two are not related). Readers grow together with Akiko, they take a peek into her head, learn her thoughts about the artistic community, education, the editorial world, and life as a single mom, and ultimately grieve with her. Romance is barely mentioned: Akiko's love life is not the main point of the story, but its byproduct, the kid, is featured quite prominently.
Hokusou Shinsengumi and Kootetsu no Hana are both set in the Bakumatsu period and tell the story about the Shinsengumi, still catering to the shoujo demographic. They follow the life of Hijikata Toshizo, the vice-commander of this group, in different settings: one is focused on the Battle of Hakodate, and the other is mostly about the relationship between him and Okita Souji, one of the captains. Still, no romance in the vicinity; instead, there is some historically accurate violence.
There's even a psychological thriller in the ranks, called Top Secret: it's a crime drama in a sci-fi setting where it's possible to extract memories of the deceased, which helps to significantly improve the crime solving rate. But this one, despite being released in 1999, asks questions about privacy and interaction with disturbing content that are more than relevant in our time.
So no, shoujo is more than romance. It always was and always will be.
Not everything should be about love.
Some people still equate shoujo and josei with romance, and we're here to explain how wrong they are. Titles like shoujo, shounen, josei, or seinen only explain the demographic that they're catering towards, which allows you to briefly guess the genres that these stories would explore. The fact that shoujo mostly delves into romantic stories is a byproduct of stereotypes: the authors believe that teenage girls love romance. But there are some notable works that break this stereotype, showcasing stories that don't fit this formula.
Some works focus on the slice-of-life approach without any romantic subplot, like Natsume's Book of Friends. It's a story about Takashi Natsume who inherited the ability to interact with spirits from his grandmother and who now tries to balance his regular life with the spiritual part of it. The main emphasis is on Natsume's growth, on the life lessons he learns through his communication with spirits, both friendly and malicious, and on his daily life.
Another work is Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey, a story focused on Hayashi Akiko, a girl who wants to become a shoujo mangaka. It's an autobiographical story filled with artistic struggles, career ups and downs, a bond that she forms with her art teacher, and motherhood (and no, the latter two are not related). Readers grow together with Akiko, they take a peek into her head, learn her thoughts about the artistic community, education, the editorial world, and life as a single mom, and ultimately grieve with her. Romance is barely mentioned: Akiko's love life is not the main point of the story, but its byproduct, the kid, is featured quite prominently.
Hokusou Shinsengumi and Kootetsu no Hana are both set in the Bakumatsu period and tell the story about the Shinsengumi, still catering to the shoujo demographic. They follow the life of Hijikata Toshizo, the vice-commander of this group, in different settings: one is focused on the Battle of Hakodate, and the other is mostly about the relationship between him and Okita Souji, one of the captains. Still, no romance in the vicinity; instead, there is some historically accurate violence.
There's even a psychological thriller in the ranks, called Top Secret: it's a crime drama in a sci-fi setting where it's possible to extract memories of the deceased, which helps to significantly improve the crime solving rate. But this one, despite being released in 1999, asks questions about privacy and interaction with disturbing content that are more than relevant in our time.
So no, shoujo is more than romance. It always was and always will be.
