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So you want a younger guy, huh? Me, too.

It’s always nice when you’re an older female to admire the younger guys.  They’re young and youth is ever fleeting. It reminds us of those days when we were once that age. You take it for granted at that time….but I digress.



Yes, younger guys. Seems that some of the teenage protagonists in shoujo manga have taken their shotacon interests to the main stage. It’s another trend I have found to be repeating in shoujo manga series across many publishers. It kind of stumps me, too. Why would girls want to fantasize about being in a relationship with a prepubescent boy? So which series am I talking about you ask?

1. Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii (The World is Still Beautiful) – Dai Shina

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Synopsis: Nike, the fourth princess of the Rain Dukedom and one who holds the power to call forth the rain, travels to the Sun Kingdom to marry King Livius on behalf of her country after losing a game of rock, paper, scissors to her three older sisters. Upon arriving at the Sun Kingdom, she discovers that the Livius, who conquered the world in only three years after his ascendance to the throne, is only fifteen years old!

So it turns out that Nike is seventeen and Livius is fifteen. That doesn’t seem like a big difference in age, two years. But maturity wise it makes a big difference. I remember in the anime, they made the age gap look bigger with the art. Nike looked like she was 19 and Livius 14. The manga art makes them look a little closer in age. But really, give them five or so years, and age won’t be an issue at all.

2. Neko to Watashi no Kinyoubi (Neko and Our Fridays) – Arina Tanemura

NekoWatashiKinyoubi_banner

Synopsis: Ai loves cute things and chocolates. She feels she has become closer to her senpai, Serizawa-kun. And when she was about to confess her love to him her little cousin Nekota decides to intervene.

Nekota is in primary school and Ai is in high school. But he confesses his love for her and declares he will make her love him. Then it’s all about Neko’s sabotage and Ai’s indecisiveness. So last year primary school is what, 10? and first year high school is 15? That’s completely frowned upon in our society, but I guess in Japan since they’re cousins it doesn’t matter. Visually the series makes Nekota jump in age during the romantic scenes. He looks like a miniature 16 year old when he’s got Ai wrapped in his arms. But then he reverts back to the 10 year old look whenever her senpai is around.  I just read this series and shake my head. It’s confusing as all get out to read and try to ship. What was Tanemura-sama thinking?

3. Hatsukoi Monster (First Love Monster) -Akira Hiyoshimaru

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Synopsis: When fifteen-year-old Kaho Nikaidou leaves her sheltered home to start life anew in a Tokyo high school dormitory, the last thing she expects is to nearly get hit by a truck! Saved in the nick of time by a handsome stranger, Kaho falls head over heels for him and, after finally tracking him down, boldly confesses her feelings. Turns out Kaho’s mystery savior, Kanade, is the son of Kaho’s new landlord! The handsome object of Kaho’s affection agrees to go out with her, but her newfound bliss is short-lived when it turns out that her new boyfriend…is a fifth-grader?!

So this series we’re getting in North America summer 2015. This one has the same age gap as Tanemura’s series. I guess this one kinda works because it does play with the visual imagery. Kaho looks like the fifth grader even though she’s in high school, and Kanade looks like a really hot high school guy. So the boy looks older than the girl. And so do his friends. It looks the opposite of what it is. Which is messed up in my opinion. But if you just ignore the elementary school part, then the guys are nice to look at. 😛

4. Stella to Mille Feuille (Ginga’s Midwinter) – Kana Watanabe

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Synopsis: Ginga begins his freshman year in high school by living alone in order to escape his stern father and begin a new life. However, his new life seems to be full of the unexpected…?! He meets his new neighbor Momono-san who takes care of little Sakura and has a large dog.

So this time it’s Ginga who is the younger guy and he’s a freshman in high school. He meets his neighbor Momono-san and she’s taking care of a child, Sakura. It’s kind of hard to gauge Momono’s age, but I’m guessing college age – nineteen, twenty maybe. So not as pedophilic as the previous titles, at least these two are both high school and above. This one I’m really looking forward to reading more of, and I hope it’s not a sad story.

So there’s the series off the top of my brain that fit the criteria, folks. I’m an older girl and I like me some younger guys. Especially if they’re 2D. **wink, wink**  But I’m not a teenager, and I’m not a pedophile either. And according to the definition on Wikipedia, series 2 and 3 contain pedophiles. Yeesh. So I’m still kind of dumbfounded that this older female age gap thing is even a trend. But whatever sells, right mangaka and editors?!

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  • I really liked the anime Soredemo sekai wa Utsukushi. Hope we get a manga license. Hmmm yeah the age of consent in Japan (in some parts) is 13……yeah….so while completely weird, it’s fine in Japan. Still weirds me out though.

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