In many shoujo manga, the characters are prevented from doing something "cliche", and then later they say "It's not like we are in a shoujo manga, so something as cliche as that won't happen" ( when describing some corny / moe moe scene that actually does happen in some cliche shoujo manga)

I've been noticing it a lot recently. The characters in a shoujo manga say "we aren't in some shoujo manga" when in fact they are.

Could it be that this in itself is becoming a shoujo manga cliche? Because if it is, then the characters are doing exactly what they said the aren't doing. What's the word for this? Ironic?

But still, I crack up everytime I read it. lol

It depends how they present it...usually they are mocking cliches, so I don't think saying that its a cliche..

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Breaking the fourth wall is kinda more of a technique than a cliche. It's used all the time in all sorts of media, and often in an a self -referential, "it's not like we're in X" type way.

Breaking the fourth Wall is a technique however the phrases themselves are a bit cliche. I suppose it could be dramatic irony (in which the audience knows something the characters don't) but it's played for laughs indeed.

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I think it's some kind of a technique that makes it more realistic or something? I mean, it makes the readers believe that the manga characters actually think that they are real. (LOL. Don't know if it made sense. XD) Hope this helps.

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My bad, I read this wrong, Breaking the fourth wall could very much become a cliche, but not yet.

Last edited by aziza_ at 9:54 pm, Apr 8 2012

Actually, it is not breaking the fourth wall if characters say that they are not in a manga. That is like someone in a horror in film expressing that they are not in a movie. This is more like a tool to instill a feelng of realism (although it may backfire).

However, if they start to sound as if they are indeed in a fictional story, such as in YOMEIRO-CHOICE, when a girl scolds another for taking up a whole page just for a transformation sequence, or when a character says that 'readers don't want white loli,' it is considered a comedy technique to add humour.

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I don't see it very often so no I don't think so. (I'm mainly a shoujo/josei reader and have been for years so I've read a lot)

It is funny though when I see that.

I have seen this a few times, but the only manga I remember is Kodomo no Omocha. I haven't seen it enough though, so it doesn't feel overused to me.

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I see this really often, actually. I don't think it's become a cliche necessarily, but the effectiveness does depend on how it's used. Sometimes it's done really poorly, as if the mangaka is screaming "MY MANGA, IT'S NOT STEREOTYPICAL SHOUJO, I EVEN MADE A JAB AT CLICHES LOLOL!" but other times it makes me chuckle.

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