Do guys read shoujo manga?

[joannekwan]

Internally I'm sure! He's read a bunch more but I've forgotten all the titles. He gets attached to certain characters and really roots for certain guys to end up with the main girl. xD

[mirokulaw39]

Really!!!! Well i'm like that too! But lately i've been reading one shot manga At least I will know already who will be together in the end!
I was hesitant to do shojo manga because it might divide the number of people who will be wanting to read them!
(m_m)!

[Kura]

Haha, yeah I don't know if it's just my city or what but yes, it was mostly guys that read them for some reason (both boys and girls would read shonen, but Kenshin, Prince of Tennis, Hikaru no Go and Death Note were all HUGE for female readers and I knew a lot more girls that read those than guys).

Heck now that I think about it, I think it was all guys that introduced me to most shoujo series.

[joannekwan]

As long as the story's good, you'll attract all sorts of readers!

[mirokulaw39]

What! Hahaha! It's all twisted! I'm not very picky with genre, though lately, I've been reading shoujo manga to relax my self! Shonen manga excites me so much as Shojo manga
(m_m)!

[mirokulaw39]

I'm planning to make a 4 koma style manga. I hope it goes well with guys too!
(m_m)!

[AnnaLandin]

I have a couple of friends I met in college (I studied Comics and Visual Storytelling) who happily read shoujo and enjoyed it.

Mind you, they tended to prefer josei - the genre aimed more towards older teen girls/adults - but they didn't let gendered marketing stop them. I think the big favourites were Nana and Honey and Clover.

[mirokulaw39]

Ï enjoy josei too! Yes Nana and Honey and Clover were pretty popular. Paradise Kiss is good too!
But I don't know any guy who read those~
I just can't imagine them while reading cheesy moments hahaha!
(m_m)!

[hushicho]

There are many people who don't really go by the gender of the assumed audience. There are also a lot of other things to consider too, such as orientation and gender identity, which can add to the question. Basically people are people, regardless, and you'll find plenty of guys reading shoujo manga just as you will girls reading shounen. The categories are less and less "hard and fast" rules as much as they are marketing guidelines, these days.

Speaking personally, I enjoy plenty of shoujo manga (though I'm not a straight guy like the original question asks). I like the often relatively innocent approach to romance and the magical fantasy that pervades some of the best stories, like a candy world that might shatter if touched. I especially loved many of the stories during the 70s, and I try to keep up with the few still running, like Patalliro!

It's always nice to see homage to that strong era too. I made a "kirakira sparkles" brush for Manga Studio 5/Clip Studio Paint a few months ago in honor of my favorite period.

[azureXtwilight]

I do sometimes, if I need guilty pleasure XD But my favorites are mostly parodies like Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun and Ore Monogatari

[mirokulaw39]

Yes thats true! Maybe the genre doesn't dictate the audience it will get.
Maybe it's just whom I know that really are not into shoujo manga!
(m_m)!

[hushicho]

I think in the modern day, people don't pay attention to the target audience as much.

Of course, some people keep it a secret what they like. I have known some people who are reluctant to admit that they liked a certain series, just because it was thought to be for another audience!

I think by now I'm too old to care about that XD

[mirokulaw39]

if I need guilty pleasure XD

Haha! Me too~ Then go fantasize the main charäcter!
I love Gekkan Shoujo!!! It's so funny! and i like Hori-senpai so much
(m_m)!~

[mirokulaw39]

Maybe they're just shy to tell that they are actually reading them haha!

I think by now I'm too old to care about that XD

Hahaha! Well, not all people think like that! Haha!
(m_m)!

[zetina]

yes, let's kick gender norms into the abyss, please.
the only reason to dislike shoujo would be the often problematic relationships á la YA novel style. but if it's good, then a guy who happens to like romance will enjoy it too.
you'd be surprised how many romantic and sweet guys there are. societal norms force them to hide those parts of themselves cuz YA GOTTA BE MACHO AF ugh.
i dont know many manga readers in person in general due to my country being what it is so i can't answer for myself. but i'm fairly certain that there's plenty dudes among the shoujo readers on online reading sites who are guys. (girls have it easier in this regard since we'll be downright praised as some kind of rare valuable animal if we enjoy "dude stuff" :/)

Oh! If you mention Nozaki and Ore Monogatari, you can't go w/o mentioning Ouran Host Club too! they're the hilarious shoujo-standard-breaking trio \D

[Aspie_Gamer]

As quite a few people here on Tapastic already know, I have a shoujo manga I'm working on called Life of an Aspie so as a straight guy with a healthy libido who is 100 percent comfortable with his heterosexuality, I can confidently say that yes, I do read shoujo manga on occasion.

[YONBUI]

everyone reads shoujo manga even if they say they dont

[SirHellsir]

I don't know about reading, but I used to watch sakura card captor in secret when I was a kid, years later I found out all of my male friends did the same

[glennsong]

I'm a guy and I enjoy Shoujo and Josei manga and anime. I probably like Josei more than Shoujo though.

I like the love stories and the relationships. Shoujo is simplistic though -- there are so many of them that seem to have the same first love story, shy protagonist, etc. (Kimi ni Todoke, Say, I Love You, and Blue Spring Ride). Josei feels a bit more like a prime time soap opera -- the characters are young adults, they're dealing with university life, dating, and adulting, plus all the crazy anime tropes. I'm talking about shows like Nodame Cantabile, Honey and Clover, and Golden Time.

This is gonna sound weird, but they feel a little more down to earth (in an anime way) compared to a lot of the high-concept sci-fi, fantasy, mecha shows that dominate much of anime.

I'm curious what you will use all this reference for in your comic.

[ashriott]

I agree with you, guys do tend to like Gekkan Shoujo and Ore Monogatari. Interestingly enough though, while Gekkan Shoujo has its shoujo vibes, it is actually officially labeled a shounen, not shoujo - and I can see why. Apart from probably being serialised in a shounen magazine, its parody-themed, somewhat gaggy jokes aren't common in shoujo manga.

Other shoujo series I can think of guys liking are Akagami no Shirayukihime and Akatsuki no Yona. I'm guessing cause these shows have fantasy settings, and moments when swords clash and war happens lol.

Another good one that guys like is Ouran Highschool Hostclub - for obvious reasons. This show is hilarious xD

I have a friend who has seen both Ai Yazawa's Nana and Paradise Kiss, and he even ships the characters. However they are more josei and mature than shoujo. Having seen/read Paradise Kiss myself, I can say it's one of my favourite romances.