I'd like to read a shoujo manga that isn't romance or set in high school.
Any recommendations?

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Dolls Code and a lot of other stuff by Kinashi Runamu are shoujo but not romantic or set in high school

Demon Diary I don't remember whether it's any good though, as I was in middle school when I read it and middle school me just read whatever she could find

Himitsu I don't remember what happens in it, since I read it a few years ago, before they started releasing translations again, but there was this one scene in the first main story that I was like "wow, this is some elegant guro. I'm going to keep reading"

Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue. good cat, best friend

80 Tian Zhengjiu Shijie U17 manhua is an acquired taste. It starts out making sense, but later on it becomes more chaotic and things start happening for inadequately explored reasons. Am I talking about this, or any other U17 manhua? The difference with this one is that it's still a fun read, and the author gave it an extremely abrupt ending, but an ending. Better than drawing it out until no one wants to read or suggest it anymore...

It's kind of difficult to find things that are definitively nonromantic not high school shoujo manga here or on other user-contributed sites, because people whose ideas of shoujo are so ingrained with those concepts don't even acknowledge shoujo manga that don't fall into those categories as shoujo, so the final say often comes from what magazine it's published in. Speaking of which...

This doesn't apply to everything there, but Gangan Online and GFantasy have a lot of genre bending works despite being a "shounen" publication. Tsubaki Izumi says that she doesn't make shounen manga, but GSNK is still published in Gangan Online. Cuticle Tantei Inaba is published in GFantasy too, but from what I've seen, readers who don't know that tend to think it's more josei/shoujo than shounen.

The problem is that two of the distinctive factors for "shoujo" manga include romance and teenagers (which usually leads to high school). Any series that don't contain those elements are generally only consider shoujo because of the managzine or publisher that publishes them.

That means that there are plenty of shoujo-styled titles by mainly shoujo mangakas that aren't considered shoujo, and are instead classified as shounen or seinen or josei. So as well as recommending shoujo, I'm going to recommend other genres that have the ~aesthetic~ of shoujo, even if they aren't techinically shoujo.

+Anima: though classified as shounen, the art is very shoujo-esque. The story is cute and sad and it's a fantasy adventure story, which differentiates it from most shoujo.
Ran to Haiiro no Sekai: though this title is tagged with romance, the romance is a minor aspect of the series and it's instead a magical family series. It's classified as seinen, but the art is (once again) very shoujo.
Hokuhokusei ni Kumo to Ike: from the same author as Ran to Haiiro no Sekai, the story so far has no really romantic thread and is about as far from high school as possible.
Antique Bakery: from the excellent Fumi Yoshinaga, this title is a true romance free, high school free shoujo! Though if you dive into Yoshinaga's djs for the work, you get into some shounen-ai storylines.
Ooku: also from Fumi Yoshinaga, I think it's pretty hilarious that this title is classified as shoujo. Yes, there are romantic storylines, but the series covers over 200 years of Japanese history, so the romance is certainly less important than the heady discussions of the roles of men and women in Japanese society, the pressures of government, the nature of medicine in a pre-modern era, and the complex world of oligarichal/monarchical power. Also it's won like 15 million awards, so it's very much worth checking out.
A*D - Tenshi no Uso: unfortunately, this title was discontinued, but it's still very cute and sweet and meets your criteria.

Hope a couple of these are new to you/fit what you're looking for!

Doubutsu no Oisha-san

Adekan

Nukoduke!

Working Holiday

Last edited by princess_bubblegum at 2:05 pm, Jun 14 2018

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"The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." <BR> - Albert Einstein

+a no Tachiichi
Aqua (though its sequel Aria is published in a shounen magazine)
Antimagia
B.A.D. (Sakakibara Sousou)
Donten ni Warau
Genjuu no Seiza (and basically anything by Akino Matsuri)
Golden Days (has some romance)
Kieli
The Scarlet Chair

There are actually plenty of non-romance/school-life shoujo. Unfortunately, most of them never get scanlated because they tend to be extremely unpopular with the English-speaking shoujo fans due to the lack of romance, while non-shoujo groups refuse to touch them because of the weird prejudice against anything ostensibly aimed towards teenage girls

Anyway! Seconding all of princess_bubblegum's recs, Dolls Code, Himitsu, Akino Matsuri's works, and A*D.

My own recs, in no particular order:
Banana Fish
Ballad x Opera
Maneki Neko Jinja no Tenteko Mai na Hibi
Hakkenden
Gokusai no Ie (this may develop a romance plot later on; it's early days still)
Shounen Maid
Vampire Library
Zenra Otoko to Shibainu Otoko - Keishichou Seikatsu Anzenbu Yuugeki Sousahan
Kaizoku to Ningyo
Togainu no Chi
Akaya Akashiya Ayakashi no
Bloody Mary (SAMAMIYA Akaza)
Darkside Blues
Dokusai Grimoire
Number
Rengoku no Karutagura
Dokebi Bride
Shuuten Unknown + sequel
Teen Spirit
Tom Sawyer
Sorayume no Uta
Pink to Gray
Guren 5
Tsukuroiya
Baku
Kobatotei Ibun
Lore no Mori
Mamonogatari
Shi o Utau Seiza
Shokugyou Tenshi
T.V. Eye
Gekkou Chou
Choushinri Genshou Nouryokusha Nanaki
0 no Soukoushi
Game x Rush
Hinekure Shisho no Mikaiketsu Jikenroku
Madan no Shashu
Mozart wa Komoriuta wo Utawanai
Tamara
Book Club
Ghost Hunt - Vague hints of romance, but nothing concrete. Nice cast and plot.
Ijigen kara no Tayori
Shiranui Kitanroku
Aquadom
Crimson Cross
Gin no Yuusha
Hakka Haien no Shujin to Shitsuji
Jade
A+B
Reverse/End
Kimi ga Kimi de Aru Tameni
Soul Rescue
Vartrag Tale
Hoshi no Sabaku
Malicious Code
Coda
Hard Romantica
Hatarake, Kentauros!
Kokoro ni Hana o!!
Rosetta Kara no Shoutaijou
12 Nin no Yasashii Koroshiya - Leo Murder Case
Chocolate Underground
Papa to Arukou
X-kai
Gold Rush 21
Kootetsu no Hana
Akusaga
Redrum 327
Carat!
Annyeong, Pi
Hakushaku Cain Series + GodChild
Toxic
Orenchi no Furo Jijou
Ginyuu Gikyoku Black Bard
Eien no With
Dear Friends - Has the school life tag, but isn't really set in high school.

Last edited by calstine at 9:25 am, Jun 15 2018

I?m gonna say Natsume Yuujinchou
Yumekui Kenbun
X/1999
RG Veda
Genei Musou

Ah, that sucks. I don't read/watch as much shoujo as shounen, but high school romances can get real old.

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