Do you think shoujo fans have a trouble with liking the protagonists? I feel like I see a lot when people are talking about shoujo is 'I hate (the protagonist). She's such a bitch. I only read for the (love interest)."

Like for Heroine Shikkaku, people hated Hatori. Hatori was only really guilty of not being perfect (and not choosing Kousuke). Or in Mairunovich, I see a lot of people hate Mairu for having a low self-esteem, which is a natural trait for a teenage girl who's nickname is poison mushroom.

Do you think fans are too harsh on the heroines in shoujo?

As someone that's not to fond of shojo heroines, I don't think that fans are too harsh. I think it's more of the fact that people are tired of the same weak willed protagonist and then add the fact that the love interest is actually an interesting character and you get people getting maybe a little too annoyed.

to be honest I have no issues with weak willed shoujo protagonists.
I am more annoyed by those idiotic love interests.
my favorite example: tsunderes.
a female tsundere character is often a bit mean but the "opposing" protagonist is strong willed or just doesn't take it to heart and she gets sweet after that.
a male tsundere character tends to almost mentally abuse the opposing protagonist who is more often then not weak willed and even when becoming nice immediatly snaps back to the usual self.
sorry but shyness may be cute, abuse and being an ass most of the time isn't. never.

I only draw the line when protagonists do stupid things, and I don't mean things that they do because they lack experience (oh we see this excuse so damn often) but things no girl (or human for that matter) in their right mind would do. sadly when this happens with the girls, the boys aren't that bright either, and bright is a huge understatement in this case...

I also don't understand why you should 'read for the love interest' - not liking the main protag means more than 50% of the manga is crap in your eyes so why continue? let's be honest: it's not that you won't find the exact same face with the exact same traits in like 20 other shoujos as well... So you can at least pick one where the MC is or better the MCs are decent.

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I think that female readers are harder on female characters than male characters, though male characters are usually created as 'ideal' men as opposed to the more flawed, human heroines and I'm sure that has something to do with it too. But generally girls seek heroines who can be role models or, at the very least, not total embarrassments to the gender. I think that heroines who fit traditional stereotypes of women - like physically weak, emotionally weak, not as smart as men, etc. - are generally more offensive to people than heroines who may be annoying for different reasons.

Personally, I'm pretty easy on characters & I often find stories with unlikeable characters to be more interesting. The exception is any story with a physically/sexually abusive guy and a girl who treats it like it doesn't matter & falls in love with him, I can't stand that kind of stuff.

For me i'm fine with any heroine as long as they are faithful to their love interest

I think so. People underestimate their fear, awkwardnesss and mistakes so when they see it in Manga as a female protagonist it hurts their pride ^_^ That said, there are alot of cliched shoujo MCs so I do understand the hate a little bit, but me myself, I don't hate weak-willed main characters.

But honestly there's alot of Bishonen in shoujo that are too cliched. I really get bored of most of the badass/ideal bishonen.

I'm one of those people that hated the heroine from Heroine Shikkaku (but I didn't really like many of the other characters either, except for Kousuke).

Part of what grated me was how much a bait and switch character she was. The manga started out as a parody of shoujo manga and then fell into the exact tropes it was making fun of! Readers who liked it deemed her "realistic," while I was annoyed by her "realism" because I've had enough of that "realism" from the last 50 something other shoujo manga I read.

Anyways, to the main question, I think part of the problem is how the protagonist and the love interest is written.

We see things from the protagonist POV, so we get to witness a lot of their flaws. Protagonists with strong personalities may come off as bitchy to some people. (I've read a lot of manga and books, and sometimes authors confuse being bitchy as being a strong female. Sometimes it's a fine line and everyone has a different standard of it.) We usually see the motivations for whatever action the heroine takes, which may not always be something we can sympathize with.

And I'm not sure how much of a role it plays, but shoujo heroines are presented with Japanese sensibilities in mind, usually. I'm sure you've noticed how characters always comment how a girl is "more beautiful when she's in love" and how the heroine wants to be a "good wife/girlfriend" by cooking/cleaning for the guy, even if she can't cook or clean! No matter how strong she is, she always has some kind of "cute" fear/vulnerabilities, like being afraid of thunder/lightning (Haruhi from Ouran..), being terrible at math/English, or being insecure about her small breasts. No matter how much of a tomboy she is, she'll always become feminine for a guy. Now I'm not saying Hollywood doesn't pull similar tricks, but certain aspects of the shoujo heroine are at odds with Western values.

On the other hand, love interest are written with the explicit intent of showing why the heroine would fall in love with him. He's rich/smart/handsome/talented/"even though he's mean, he actually cares deep down." (That last one is a bit too close to abuse for my liking *cough*Wolf Girl and Black Prince*cough*).

In general, the love interest has something else going on in their life other than romance, whereas the heroine's story seems to be defined by whatever love interest they have at the time.

I think the reason why fans are often so hard on the female protagonist is because they don't do what they want them to do. A perfect example can be shoujos with multiple love interests. I hate it when the main female lead (or the author) give false hope for the second love interest. This is one of the primary reasons why shoujo fan girls tend to go insane and hardcore on the female lead. Matter of fact, I hate secondary characters because we all know why they're there, to add drama to the series but it's clear that they're not going to end up with the main protagonist like Hirunaka no Ryuusei, Ao Haru Ride, Hiyokoi, etc.

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Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it. I guess every superhero need her theme music...

I'm not a shoujo ''fan'', i am currently having ambivalent feeling towards shoujo for always criticizing it but ironically that is the genre i read the most.
So, i have a different view about the stupid protagonist along with her handsome love interest(s).

Usually people cheer on the love interests, no matter how bad their traits or treatments to the heroine. Why? Simply because of their appearance. Their coolness and their background story and even their cheesy lines have charmed the usual readers, with they realizing it or not. And yes, who cares about the impoverished super-lucky plain and cant-do-anything girl who can get all the superior and rich boys liking herself?

I dont hate heroines or hero or any characters with low self-esteem, mistakes and such. What i hate is a heroine who always depend on the hero. Being saved or protected etc, never try to fix her mistakes. But that doesnt mean i'll cheer on the guy all the way, a guy who is too charming (because the author forced it that way) is somewhat disgusts me.

I don't hate the protagonist.. more like I hate the choices they make because...no I don't hate. Hate is too harsh. I just dislike it when the author draws a character that could amount to so much more than slams them to the ground by making the protagonist a baby in the disguise of a teenager or other who can do anything for herself. Yup. And as Cherelle stated, the rebound guy, gets all your feels.

It just frustrates me when the lucky female lead is such an airhead that she would trip while standing up. And female leads that are too kind and helps everyone and is surrounded by flowers and sparkles because she is so pure and innocent just makes me want to dunk my head in the oven. Like how can anyone be so... so... ugh.

And I guess the male suitors or whatever you call them are cheered on because they're so cool and caring. I think the female readers sometimes put themselves in the female lead's position so if some arrogant hottie shows his soft vulnerable side to you, wouldn't that make you weak in the knees? Hahaha

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I think therefore I err.

This is possibly linked to shoujo heroines being someone we readers should relate to the most out of all characters in the manga. Most often than not, these MC's make decisions that we don't agree with, or have thought processes that we can't even identify with. This clash of intentions causes our frustration --->>> hate.

It really bugs me that most shoujo heroines are whiny, annoying, and stupid beyond belief. There is nothing wholly evil about having any of those traits, as we are all human. However, it is the character development that is so lacking that I'd ask myself how in the world could anyone - let alone a smoking hot and capable character - fall in love with these MC's. Most often than not, there are no real special qualities about these characters (save for BS like "...she's really nice...she's honest...she's blah blah - like at least 80% of the human population)

EDIT:: I'd also like to add that the love interests get so much....er, love mostly because they are good-looking. That's the truth of the world ladies and gentlemen. Besides, 'shoujo' manga is aimed towards younger girls who tend to like these kinds of things. They will want to be pampered by such a handsome love interest. They will want to feel extra special. They will dream out their fantasies. I say, let 'em. The only no-no I have is acting said fantasies out. Clue, worst case scenario you'll end up with douchebags who'll never change despite you thinking that you can. It's not worth it girls. You're all better than that.

Last edited by smily_lois at 9:43 pm, Jun 7 2016

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My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite