I'm at an age where I'm too busy to read manga, but also not as motivated since I haven't found anything great in a while (try half a year). Im afraid that when my favorite mangas are finish, I will not be reading anything at all (scare the heck out of me!). So help me find something fun!
Criteria:
Shoujo/Josei
Romance (straight)
No Sci-Fi/Mecha (as long as it is not inportant to the story. Ex: Tokyo Crazy Paradise. Take place in the future as has a few futuristic scene, but all in all, it is normal).
i prefer something more mature, bc for some reason, cute looking manga (aka girl eith sparkling eyes) makes me want to puke out my guts (used to be my bread and butter)...
Thanks!

H2O. Pretty good because it's funny and the romance is cute...
Meloholic. Because of the mystery it hooked me in!

there are not so many mangas out there that are addictive so this is all i can give....

Skip Beat! - She is NOT your average heroine (bear with the first few chapters), she has her sparkling moments but not exactly like you expect... Same author as TCP

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I'm sorry for my long comments... So much stuff going through my head and I think I should share all of it with the world!
Plus, learning other people's opinions of the things I say is addictive to me.

KNOWLEDGE & NONSENSE... It makes the world go round <3

Gokusen
Kanata Kara - The relationship between the main characters is the main focus of the story, however, the setting is not normal; thus it may fall slightly out of your preferences.

Though Shoujo and Josei are not my forte I have confidence that these are rather good series.

Most of the mangas that I find interesting these day aren't very long. I'm not sure if you'll be hooked, but these mangas I found very endearing,
Majo no Shinzou It's completed. A tragic fantasy. The scenery is very nice.
Baby, Kokoro no Mama ni! It's a male perspective in a shoujo, the cuteness is from the kids, so I don't think you'd have a problem. (Only 3 chapters out so you may not want to invest yet)
Akagami no Shirayukihime Ok, this one has been around for a while. It's fantasy.
Nekota no Koto ga Ki ni Natte Shikatanai. I like the main character, she's spunky? In a weird kind of way.
Dame na Watashi ni Koishite Kudasai Another main character that I like. She makes funny faces. But, she's a little on the "slow" side.
Takane to Hana This! Here! It's hilarious. The relationship between the mains never gets old. And other rom-com, with a spunky lead. A different kind of spunky though. Try not to judge too quickly. Give it like 2 chapters.
Mahoutsukai no Yome The story progresses slowly, but for some reason it works so well. Oops. It's not shoujo. O-O I've always thought it was..... Um... Well... I still recommend it.
Colette wa Shinu Koto ni Shita Okay, so the images are the sparkly shoujo, but! She is not like the regular air-head heroines! Give her a chance.
Koi Dano Ai dano One of my all time favorites, along with the prequel Warau Kanoko-sama.
Pen to Chocolate Was a nice short read.
Odette Just warm and fluffy.
Nukoduke! More fluffy and cuteness.. No sparking girls, but very cute cats. I don't think you'd puke, since its not the shoujo big eyes, small face, rose background, type of cute.
I'd also suggest looking at TAKAO Shigeru-sensai's works. There's just an air of "maturity" in them, or maybe it's just me.

Okay, I think I'm digressing from the topic. These are more of my recent likes, because like you my taste are changing. LOL I can not get myself to finish "regular" shoujo's these days... I hope this helps a little. Post about your likes, and I may be able to set you up with more in the similar categories. =3 Best wishes~~~

Last edited by F_J at 7:09 pm, Mar 23 2016

Here are a few more (not sure what you've read so I'm suggesting ones I think are less mainstream):

Ongoing:

Cheese in the Trap
Kuragehime
Seigi no Mikata (Complete, but not completely scanlated)
Otoko no Isshou (Complete, but not completely scanlated)

Complete:

Ashita no Ou-sama
Oishii Kankei

Also, there are really great romance Seinen/Shounen manga that aren't your typical Seinen/Shounen. I think out all the demographics, Shoujo is the only one that hasn't grown more encompassing to different stories in the past few years. So yeah give these a shot too:

Mahou Tsukai no Yome
Otoyomegatari
Sekine-kun no Koi (Oddly doesn't have a demographic, art is very Josei though)
Ooku
Natsu no Zenjitsu
Ran to Haiiro no Sekai

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Heptagon, It's nice and short. I'll second Seigi no Mikata, it's by the same author/artist
Maybe Oboreru Knife.
I'll also second Ran to Haiiro no Sekai, and recommend Ballroom e Youkoso even if they're considered shonen/seinen. They both fit what you want; fun and suck you into the story.

Song of the Long March historical fiction during the chinese Tang dynasty
Bokura no Kiseki - mixed with fantasy but it's a great story; ongoing and long chapters. convoluted but as long as you pay attention to the storyline as well as the details, you may be able to speculate answers. Romance kind of takes a back seat but it's a compelling story imo.
Bread & Butter I thought of this the instant you said it xD It's a josei. Quite unusual circumstances but not completely out of the box.
Ane no Kekkon female lead is a beautifully aged woman in her 40s
The Sleepy Residents of Birdcage Manor it's about people living in an apt building. I can't say much since it's not a usual story.
Hibi Chouchou this is not a sparkly eyed shoujo in the superficial sense- has a slice of life feel. Shoujo also used to be my bread and butter (i have gone through many in the past and I know what mediocre is and this is not it). Occasionally there are gems and this is a great sigh of relief from annoying melodrama from usual shoujo cliches. I'm still working my way through the chapters though. There's only one more volume I think before it is completely scanlated but it's being worked on.
P.A. episodic so you don't have to read it all in one go but there is a story line that threads eventually as we learn more about the female lead
It's Difficult to Love an Otaku Fun little josei comedy about two normalish people working at an office and are consider otakus for enjoying manga, games, and occasional cosplay.
Bambi to Dhole slice of life shoujo.
They, too, love shoujo school setting and manhwa.
Shima Shima romance is debatable because there is more to it than that. It hasn't been updated in a while but it's a interesting storyline. Unusual business run by the female lead.
Cipherclassic shoujo style set in late 80s or 90s of America (new york and later LA as well). More about male lead than female lead. More coming of age story but love factors into the growth

Second the following:
Cheese in the Trap
Heptagon
Otoyomegatari historical fiction about a different women and her families/community in central asia/kind of near russia?
Ballroom e Youkoso (one of the hottest things right now across all demos I think)
Takane to Hana - the format kind of gets repetitive so i don't recommend reading this is in one go.
TAKAO Shigeru - definitely this mangaka; every single one of her work is a good read though I do admit not all of them stand up equally.

There is so much more when you combine a recommendation for shoujo and josei but this is a good amount I'd say. Sorry if you have lists; didn't check.

Last edited by mysstris at 5:36 pm, Mar 25 2016