Best New Shoujo Manga of 2015

December 28, 2015

We’ve come to the end of 2015, and I feel like the shoujo manga industry is somewhat stabilizing in the sense that licensing is getting better. Since we’ve had so many new titles this year, I decided I’d list my top 10 favorite licenses of 2015. If you want to see the entire list of titles licensed, then have a look at the license announcements page.

For the purpose of this list I made sure not to include any shounen or seinen titles, even if they were romances. So one of your favorite series may not have been included for that reason. On to the list:

Rank	My Thoughts
#10	Demon Prince of Momochi House by Aya Shouoto This is one of the new supernatural titles we received this year, and third series by this mangaka we’ve gotten. Of all of the series, I like these characters the most. I also really enjoy the art in Demon Prince of Momochi House. This series would definitely appeal to the fans who love Kamisama Kiss.
#9	Meteor Prince by Meca Tanaka Another title with supernatural events, Meteor Prince is a welcome addition, if only to get Meca Tanaka back in the states. The story was very funny and cute. A highly enjoyable two volume series. I hope Shojo Beat is able to get more of Tanaka’s works in the future.
#8	The Secret Sakura Shares by Akira Hagio Yay for Yen Press licensing a traditional Japanese shoujo manga. While I wasn’t impressed with the license of First Love Monster, The Secret Sakura Shares is an enjoyable short story all in one bound volume. The artwork is also very nice to look at. I hope that it will sell well and we will continue to get some of these shorter series in the same format.
#7	Idol Dreams by Arina Tanemura The only josei title this year, and it came from shoujo favorite Tanemura-sama. It’s a good transition for her, as it’s a magical girl type manga with an older character. The art is gorgeous as always and I like how they made her draw more simple scenes, without all the elaborate details. As a josei title it’s a great idea for those who wish to be young again, and I think the story will prove the point that it’s better to just be who you are. I’m rather enjoying this new series.
#6	Fairy Tail Blue Mistral by Rui Watanabe A shounen spin-off for girls, Fairy Tail Blue Mistral puts the focus on Wendy, and how she may find romance as she travels to help a dragon village. I love how they’ve taken this to the younger girl audience. I’ve always liked the female protagonists in Fairy Tail, and seeing Wendy’s adventures are entertaining and inspiring for younger readers. The art by Rui Watanabe is very shoujo-like and familiar characters from the Fairy Tale manga/anime are easily recognizable. Highly recommend this for the tween readers out there.
#5	Let’s Dance a Waltz by Natsumi Ando A short 3 volume series, Let’s Dance a Waltz is the newest fare from Natsumi Ando, mangaka of Kitchen Princess and Arisa. I rather enjoyed this series about ballroom dancing. The main protagonist is highly motivated to learn and improve her dancing, and it changes her self-esteem for the better. It’s a good example of how becoming more active can improve self esteem for women of all ages. The ending felt kind of rushed, and I bet it had a lot to do with editors and voting. I wish Ando-sama had been able to end out the series as she wanted. Despite that, I still think the series is a fun read.
#4	LDK by Ayu Watanabe A new high school drama title from Kodansha, who brought us My Little Monster and Say I Love You last year. High school student Aoi ends up having to share an apartment with Shuusei, prince of her high school, and the last guy she wants anything to do with. LDK stands for 1 Living, Dining, Kitchen for apartments in Japan- in case you didn’t know. I didn’t at first. I really like the “hate you” attraction that happens in this story. It just goes to show how love/hate are two sides of the same coin. The art is really nice in this story as well. This is my favorite new high school drama this year, and I’m really looking forward to getting more volumes of this.
#3	Requiem of the Rose King by Aya Kanno I’m a total classic literature nut, so of course this series strikes a chord with me. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend you pick up a copy. Requiem of the Rose King uses Shakespeare’s Richard III and takes it along its own path as imagined by Kanno-sama. It’s a great mix of supernatural, mental illness, and bisexual all rolled into one story. It’s one of the best shoujo series we got this year, and it will appeal to all variety of audience. It’s actually licensed under Viz Media proper and not Shojo Beat, in case anyone out there has a hang up about buying a “girls'” manga. I’m anxious to read more of this story, as I’ve really enjoyed it thus far.
#2	QQ Sweeper by Kyousuke Motomi The series that happened after Dengeki Daisy, Motomi-sama takes cleaning from janitorial to supernatural. QQ Sweeper follows our hunky guy Kyuutaro and his special ability to cleanse the mind and hearts of contaminated people. His mysterious discovery of Fumi and her ability to follow him into the cleaning of places, leads to her becoming his apprentice, and maybe more? I really love the feel of this new series. It has so much potential and I’m hoping the editors at Betsucomi let Motomi-sama write it out how she wants. It already has a sequel, so I’m waiting to see if we will get the license for that as well. If you like supernatural romances you NEED to buy the first 2 volumes of this series right now.
#1	So Cute It Hurts!! by Go Ikeyamada This was my favorite license this year by far. It’s funny, it’s emotional, it’s steamy, it’s sooo entertaining! It’s shoujo gender-bender comedy at it’s finest. I devour these volumes as they come out, and I can’t help but reread them – I always miss something the first time. That’s how packed these volumes are with humor and innuendo. Cross-dressing twins, hunky male crush, cute female crush, tsundere girl rival – there’s so much to love about Ikeyamada’s story. Go buy it – all four volumes. You won’t regret it when you’re holding your side laughing.

Rank

My Thoughts

#10

Demon Prince of Momochi House by Aya Shouoto

This is one of the new supernatural titles we received this year, and third series by this mangaka we’ve gotten. Of all of the series, I like these characters the most. I also really enjoy the art in Demon Prince of Momochi House. This series would definitely appeal to the fans who love Kamisama Kiss.

Meteor Prince by Meca Tanaka

Another title with supernatural events, Meteor Prince is a welcome addition, if only to get Meca Tanaka back in the states. The story was very funny and cute. A highly enjoyable two volume series. I hope Shojo Beat is able to get more of Tanaka’s works in the future.

The Secret Sakura Shares by Akira Hagio

Yay for Yen Press licensing a traditional Japanese shoujo manga. While I wasn’t impressed with the license of First Love Monster, The Secret Sakura Shares is an enjoyable short story all in one bound volume. The artwork is also very nice to look at. I hope that it will sell well and we will continue to get some of these shorter series in the same format.

Idol Dreams by Arina Tanemura

The only josei title this year, and it came from shoujo favorite Tanemura-sama. It’s a good transition for her, as it’s a magical girl type manga with an older character. The art is gorgeous as always and I like how they made her draw more simple scenes, without all the elaborate details. As a josei title it’s a great idea for those who wish to be young again, and I think the story will prove the point that it’s better to just be who you are. I’m rather enjoying this new series.

Fairy Tail Blue Mistral by Rui Watanabe

A shounen spin-off for girls, Fairy Tail Blue Mistral puts the focus on Wendy, and how she may find romance as she travels to help a dragon village. I love how they’ve taken this to the younger girl audience. I’ve always liked the female protagonists in Fairy Tail, and seeing Wendy’s adventures are entertaining and inspiring for younger readers. The art by Rui Watanabe is very shoujo-like and familiar characters from the Fairy Tale manga/anime are easily recognizable. Highly recommend this for the tween readers out there.

Let’s Dance a Waltz by Natsumi Ando

A short 3 volume series, Let’s Dance a Waltz is the newest fare from Natsumi Ando, mangaka of Kitchen Princess and Arisa. I rather enjoyed this series about ballroom dancing. The main protagonist is highly motivated to learn and improve her dancing, and it changes her self-esteem for the better. It’s a good example of how becoming more active can improve self esteem for women of all ages. The ending felt kind of rushed, and I bet it had a lot to do with editors and voting. I wish Ando-sama had been able to end out the series as she wanted. Despite that, I still think the series is a fun read.

LDK by Ayu Watanabe

A new high school drama title from Kodansha, who brought us My Little Monster and Say I Love You last year. High school student Aoi ends up having to share an apartment with Shuusei, prince of her high school, and the last guy she wants anything to do with. LDK stands for 1 Living, Dining, Kitchen for apartments in Japan- in case you didn’t know. I didn’t at first. I really like the “hate you” attraction that happens in this story. It just goes to show how love/hate are two sides of the same coin. The art is really nice in this story as well. This is my favorite new high school drama this year, and I’m really looking forward to getting more volumes of this.

Requiem of the Rose King by Aya Kanno

I’m a total classic literature nut, so of course this series strikes a chord with me. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend you pick up a copy. Requiem of the Rose King uses Shakespeare’s Richard III and takes it along its own path as imagined by Kanno-sama. It’s a great mix of supernatural, mental illness, and bisexual all rolled into one story. It’s one of the best shoujo series we got this year, and it will appeal to all variety of audience. It’s actually licensed under Viz Media proper and not Shojo Beat, in case anyone out there has a hang up about buying a “girls'” manga. I’m anxious to read more of this story, as I’ve really enjoyed it thus far.

QQ Sweeper by Kyousuke Motomi

The series that happened after Dengeki Daisy, Motomi-sama takes cleaning from janitorial to supernatural. QQ Sweeper follows our hunky guy Kyuutaro and his special ability to cleanse the mind and hearts of contaminated people. His mysterious discovery of Fumi and her ability to follow him into the cleaning of places, leads to her becoming his apprentice, and maybe more? I really love the feel of this new series. It has so much potential and I’m hoping the editors at Betsucomi let Motomi-sama write it out how she wants. It already has a sequel, so I’m waiting to see if we will get the license for that as well. If you like supernatural romances you NEED to buy the first 2 volumes of this series right now.

So Cute It Hurts!! by Go Ikeyamada

This was my favorite license this year by far. It’s funny, it’s emotional, it’s steamy, it’s sooo entertaining! It’s shoujo gender-bender comedy at it’s finest. I devour these volumes as they come out, and I can’t help but reread them – I always miss something the first time. That’s how packed these volumes are with humor and innuendo. Cross-dressing twins, hunky male crush, cute female crush, tsundere girl rival – there’s so much to love about Ikeyamada’s story. Go buy it – all four volumes. You won’t regret it when you’re holding your side laughing.

(Titles I left off because they were not officially shoujo: Emma, Horimiya, Alice in Murderland, & The Ancient Magus’ Bride)

And that’s my list for 2015. I’d be interested to find out which ones you liked and which ones you bought as well. Let us know in the comments.

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Laura

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Super mom and teacher until the kids go to bed, then romance manga addict and writer until the caffeine wears out! Specializes in the shoujo and josei genre of manga and anime.

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