The manga haven't been scanalated, but I know the anime fits for Magical Angel Creamy Mami and Fancy Lala, both are magical transforming idols. Fancy Lala has just subtext for romance, but in MACM Yuu has an openly announced crush on her best friend, but the story more follows her being an idol anyways.

Another one I'm not sure about the manga, but LOVE the anime, is Akazukin Chacha. It's another transforming girl, but it's not a hidden identity sort of transformation. Chacha's two best friends have a love triangle with her, but she's oblivious to it so it doesn't amount to much. It's very funny and cute, highly recommended.

Perhaps Aka-chan to Boku? It's similar to Usagi Drop but instead of an adult caretaker, an elementary school kid takes care of his 3 year old brother. It's adorable

Cardcaptor Sakura should be a good choice.

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Wow, thanks so much for all the contributions! ^^ For the record, recs doesn't have to fit all the like/dislike criteria; they're just guidelines.

My sister is 8. She likes characters that are around her age best.

My sister's favorites are, in order:
1. Yotsuba&!
2. Mushishi
3. Cardcaptor Sakura (although she didn't like Master of the Clow much)
4. Aria and Aqua
5. Beauty Pop
6. [m]Magic Knights Rayearth[/m]
7. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
8. Clamp School Detectives

So you see she doesn't stick to her preferences 100%, and I don't stick to my filters 100% (YKK is too awesome to block just because Misago doesn't like wearing clothes much. Besides, that's non-fanservice nudity.)

Liscensed series are preferred because she doesn't like reading manga online.

And as for the "creepy male authors" - I swear I didn't teach her this one. For some reason she thinks it's creepy when men write or are the intended audience of a series populated mainly by little girls intended to be really cute. She used to like Di Gi Charat but gave it up for this reason, and this and the yamato nadeshiko characters were what made her dislike the anime Sasami Magical Girls Club.

I know some people believe it's wrong to censor a kid's media intake, and I largely agree with that. I definitely think it's wrong to shelter kids from knowing about the bad things that happen in the real world. Fiction is different. For example, one of my sister's favorite books is The Egypt Game. That book deals with what is presumably a pedophilic serial killer. But it isn't anywhere near graphic and it obviously portrays what this guy is as a bad thing. Kids really are absorbent, and a series that portrayed any of those things up there as a good thing or something to enjoy watching might send a little too much of a bad message.

Not that I'm one of those people that think such series are evil and shouldn't be read. I love Loveless. Just not for 8-year-olds.

Last edited by akari_mizunashi at 11:02 am, Aug 1 2009

Peach Fuzz is good for younger kids, I guess : D

Creepy male authors - I am sure when I was 8, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Your sister is... dunno how to describe it, too mature for her age, maybe?

I know azumanga daioh and K-ON! are definitely made by "creepy male authors" by her definition. Even I enjoy K-ON! (mostly for the music aspects) even though I know clearly its intended audience is male. Yet, I read lots of serieses with moe characters or ecchi as I am a shounen/seinen reader so it doesn't make much difference to me.

I agree with the doubt on Usagi Drop for kids. It has drama and a lot of adult situations (IMO what makes this series not boring is exactly the drama). But she might enjoy it as long as she doesn't find it boring.

Last edited by base_coat at 10:43 pm, Jul 31 2009

Smart kid
I think Strawberry Marshmallow will fall into 'creepy male authors' category (though I love it and have the tankoubon XD).

in regard of (very little) nudity in Doraemon (I especially recommend the long stories), it's unlike many manga these days. Fujiko Fujio (Fujiko Fujio A and Fujiko F. Fujio) are ardent followers of Tezuka, so you've got good kids' manga that's highly imaginative, educational, and with moral lessons.

If you ever get the chance, take a look on Kobo-chan. It's not licensed, but bilingual version exists

Last edited by yuuri097 at 12:36 am, Aug 1 2009

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Damn, even Doraemon has ecchi moments (it's not nudity since nudity =/= ecchi. It's how it's done.) even if it's intended for kids. I remember the scenes where the boy accidentally breaks into a girl's house, seeing her having a bath, and getting beaten up. It was probably earlier than all the harems/ecchis with similar stuff though. Is it already a natural part of the Japanese or manga culture then? O_o

Don't get me wrong. I didn't mean Doraemon can't be read by kids though.

You could try Magical X Miracle. It's cute and pretty with magic and licensed.

Don't all the pretty art ones have bishounen (shounen mangas included), unless it's an all-girl manga? But all-girl mangas are usually done by creepy male authors.

Last edited by base_coat at 2:47 am, Aug 1 2009

Probably not everyone will agree, but I'll say Hikaru no Go.

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the anime hamtaro!!!

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Umm.. Hmm.. Your younger sister's taste is kinda like mine XD [except I like Josei more than Seinen]

Detective Loki
Tactics
Bartender
HandxRed
Ann Cassandra
Ookami ga Kuru!
Apple [one-shot]
I am A Piano [one-shot too]
Asklepios
Amatsuki
Mr. Morning
Minna Kira Kira
Yoru nimo makezu!
Sugar Sugar Rune [it's shojo, but it's interesting ]
Pita-Ten
Yoki, Koto, Kiku.
Magical JxR
Hatsukanezumi no Jikan

If she liked Cardcaptor Sakura, then how about Shugo Chara!? The main girl is 12 I think. The content in the manga is a little over-the-top, if you get what I mean, but other than that, it is a good read.

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Haha some of these recommendations really don't fit. Anyways, I second Akazukin chacha and also recommend Daa Daa Daa. They're both clean and for younger audiences.

I say go with the classics and let them read Astro Boy.

I read that as a kid and loved it. I still drag it out if I need a good read too.

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Heh! I read that book when I was her age. It was one of my favorites.

Lets see...
Twin Spica is really innocent. Depending on her maturity level, it may be a little hard to really connect to, but it fills all your requirements.

Nodame Cantabile is practically the same as Twin Spica. One character is a lecher, and gets drunk a couple of times, but he is generally frowned apon. This one really depends on your sisters maturity level.

I also second +Anima.

If she doesn't mind Mecha, when I was her age I really enjoyed Candidate for Goddess, although, I watched the anime back then. I think they say damn a couple times, but not very much.

HunterXHunter has slight violence, and some of the characters are messed up, but yeah...
EDIT; Maybe not, now that I think of it. One of the main characters is an assassin. Still, I read it when I was her age, and it really bad.



Last edited by Dragonfiremule at 12:28 pm, Aug 12 2009

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