Hey folks,
My boyfriend teased me about reading shojo/josei manga so I am going to make him read one. What is a romance manga you think a 17 year old guy might enjoy reading?
Bonus points if you know a guy/are a guy who has perviously enjoyed reading a particular shojo manga

If you haven't read these manga already. They're pretty good.

Shounen Hakaryuudo
Gyon-Woo and Jik-Nyu
Immortal Rain
ANNARASUMANARA
SAMURAI HIGH SCHOOL
NONONONO
TAMAGO NO KIMI!
1/2 Prince
HATENKOU YUUGI
AKAGAMI NO SHIRAYUKIHIME
MIGAWARI HAKUSHAKU NO BOUKEN
Until Death Do Us Part

Try this thread.

In terms of josei my best guy friend (who also happens to be 17) adores Nodame Cantabile and Nana. For shoujo, he likes Kimi ni Todoke. BUT he's particularly romantic, so...

It's tricky to guess what a guy might like but I'll give it a try. Unfortunately, I don't have any guy-certified suggestions.

Gokusen has lots of comedy and a kickass female protagonist. However, the romance is very, very low-key and develops very, very slowly.

Saver has a much more serious tone with an equally kickass female protagonist, though you forget it half the time since her disguise as a guy is so convincing. Again, romance is all very subtle. Also, for this one you would have to make him promise not to give up right away, because the first bit before she ends up in another time/place might scare him off.

Tokyo Crazy Paradise has a kickass female protagonist (disguised as a guy) who is forced to work as a body guard for her yakuza classmate. Comedy, action, slow romance (but faster and more pronounced than the previous two).

Oresama Teacher is super funny. Ex-delinquent, dense female protagonist who is insanely strong and good at fighting. Romance is developing but at this point it is still anyone's guess who she might end up having feelings for.

Amatsuki is a good josei. However, it is not romance. Are you looking specifically for romance? If so, I'd definitely second Immortal Rain. It's got enough blood, violence, and complex plot to keep the men interested, and enough romance to satisfy all the girls. Also, C-Blossom - Case 729, DokuHime (it's darn disturbing—at the very least, he will never make fun of you again), and The Embalmer (definitely romance, appealing and interesting storyline).

Hopefully one of these skirts even a little bit close to what you're looking for. Good luck! I know how hard it is to pick the right series to show a doubter. Is your boyfriend otherwise interested in manga? Depending on how much he's seen and what beliefs he has about it, there might be other things you'd need to factor in...

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What kind of manga does he like in general? Do you want him to read a romance manga?

Straight up Romance

Dengeki Daisy - Two of my guy friends like this one. It's a romance that is funnier and more mature than most shoujo manga.


Shoujo/Josei with Romance subplot

7 Seeds - This Josei manga is much more intense than a lot of shonen manga i've read. It's a psychological/horror/survival manga with a lot of character development and a bit of romance. If he's not into survival stories, this might not be his cup of tea though. Also, stuff doesn't go down until volume 2.

DokuHime - If you want to scare him. About concubines who are trained to assassinate using poison.

Gokusen seconded! Yakuza teacher, wannabe gangster kids. It's all pretty awesome.

Shigeshoushi also seconded if he's down for a more slow moving story about the day to day life of an embalmer. Very sobering.

Natsume Yuujinchou not so much romance. A slow moving supernatural manga about a boy who helps spirits.

Miyori's Forest About a cynical and sarcastic ten year old girl who is left at her grandparents house by her irresponsible parents. A coming of age story.


Last edited by faraway at 9:49 pm, Apr 26 2011

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I second 1/2 Prince.

Otoyomegatari is a work of art~

Nodame Cantabile is a safe choice I think
and maybe... maybe Bara no Tameni
also Please Save My Earth since the emphasize isn't really lovey dovey romance, I think guys will like it. And no girls go gya gya over the men

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Help! I'm looking for... manga with dangerous guys http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=39874&pa ge=1#post594033

Mostly anything by Zero Sum, try also those in Avarus. They're targeted at females, but they're more of adventure and the like.

Hey, thanks so much! Nodame Cantabile might be good since he told me he really liked Honey and Clover.
Also he's a pervert and I think "more sex" is preferable...

Kuragehime

My ex-boyfriend and brother seem to love it.

Nana maybe?

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Help! I'm looking for... manga with dangerous guys http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=39874&pa ge=1#post594033

Until death do us part is seinen

He likes Honey and Clover?! I approve! loooooool!

My guy friends seem to like Fruits Basket (but they watched the anime. It's a good way to get introduced to the story, but I believe that the manga is so much moreeeeee).

There's a raving fanboy that I met on Aerandria's IRC channel who loves LOVES Hapi Mari (and considering that it's smut, I think he'll like it).

For the funny smut:
YOSHIHARA Yuki is the reigning champion... he can try Chou yo hana yo and Darling wa Namamono ni Tsuki.
Momoiro Heaven and R-18 are really funny as well XD

I second Gokusen -- though there's not much romance, it's really funny and feel-good.

Definitely check out the link that hahhah42 posted above:

And this thread: shoujo a guy can relate to?