Hi, I am looking for some original shoujo.
I don't know about you but I'm really sick of isekai'd villainesses with evil families and timid school girls who blush too much. I really like fls who are really strong either physically and/or mentally but still have enough room for character development and don't blush every time they see a handsome man. If you have any unique/original manga that you know of please let me know!

P.S
Some examples would be Crimson Karma, Apothecary Diaries, and Dictatorship.
Sorry the topic says 'unoriginal shoujos' it's meant to be original*

Last edited by Anonymous_16 at 3:32 pm, Jun 14 2021

I understand the never-ending quest for original shoujo all too well! If you have not read them already, these might be worth a spin:

Manwha/Webcomics:
Blinded by the Setting Sun - The page summary is not great, but the main character is essentially a retired hero who's still fully capable and badass.
Bring the Love - Please don't be intimidated by the different art style, its very funny and good!
Amina of the Lamp - Accomplished and smart wizard lead, with an unconventional setting.
The Knight and Her Emperor - Pollyanna is top tier as far as strong female leads go.

Manga
Love of Kill - Fun mystery and spy-movie-esque action.
Raise wa Tanin ga Ii - Excellent if you like street action, and the FL just gets more badass as the series goes.
Meteor Methuselah - Super unique and interesting setting! The FL has guts and drive, but because she's inexperienced at the beginning she does a lot more running around than accomplishing things at first. One of my faves though, 10/10.
Apothecarius Argentum - The FL is for sure a bit whiny at first, but has some stellar character development. Great if you liked the medicine aspect of Apothecary Diaries a lot.

Those are some of my top picks, I have additional stories in the vault but those are best saved for when there's nothing left in the "Exceptional" category to read first.

If you really enjoyed Apothecary Diaries, and felt like you wanted more content the web novel is excellent! Try looking on Creative Novels for it, iirc.

Last edited by SureinDragon at 1:08 am, Jun 15 2021

i agree with you that raise wa tanin feels very shoujo but it's actually a seinen

Apothecary Diaries is actually seinen, and Crimson Karma is labeled josei here (though it's a webtoon, so it's a bit more variable). Do you actually want just shoujo recs, or are you looking for stories with female leads?

Anyway, here's the shoujo for now...
A Compendium of Ghosts
Aqua (note: the sequel Aria is published in a shounen magazine)
Blue Glass
Charlotte's Letter
Demon Sacred
The Flower That Was Bloomed by a Cloud
From Far Away
Genjuu no Seiza
Golden Days
Hoshi no Ko
Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits
Kanashi Kanashika
Kigurumi Boueitai
The Pale Horse
Rozi in the Labyrinth
Snow White with the Red Hair
The Sock Monster
Tokyo Babylon (and its sequel X if you want your heart to be torn out)
Uchi no Shitsuji ga Iu Koto ni wa
Usotoki Rhetoric
Wait Where the Shooting Star Falls
Yona of the Dawn

Stuff that's based on webnovels that seem mostly worth it...
Albert-ke no Reijou wa Botsuraku wo Goshomou desu
The Antagonist's Pet
Beware the Villainess!
The Black Haired Princess
Daughter of the Archmage
The Fantasie of a Stepmother
Ginger and the Cursed Prince
The Great Wish
I Shall Master This Family
Joou Heika to Yobanaide
Lady Evony
Lamia Orphe Is Dead
The Monstrous Duke's Adopted Daughter
Princess in the Rough
Princess to the Rescue!
Queen Cecia's Shorts
The Villainess Is a Marionette
The Villainess Turns the Hourglass

I also wanted to rec 7 Seeds but that's a josei, so I guess I'll rec Basara instead, though I don't find it quite as good.

There's also a few good school life and/or slice-of-life I left out since you didn't seem interested in them. If you are, let me know.

I haven't seen these before, thanks!

@SureinDragon
I'll definitely have to check iut the webnovel. Thank you for the list! These look great.

@Suxinn
Oops, I guess I didn't look at the genres well. So yeah I just basically meant manga with a female lead. And I don't mind slice of life or school life all. I'll try reading 7 seeds. I'm not really picky about the exact genre I just want a female lead with a little bit of romance and shoujo was what I could think of. Thanks for giving me tons of reading material!

Last edited by lambchopsil at 9:16 am, Jun 16 2021

Oh, well, if you're only interested in female leads with some romance, then some of my previous recs (e.g. Uchi no Shitsuji ga Iu Koto ni wa which is a mystery with zero romance and two male leads) probably won't work, but I assume you'll probably figure out what you like/dislike from checking them out yourself...

Anyway, I did a cursory search through my lists again to include all demographics with good female leads:
Chang Ge Xing (on indefinite hiatus)
Ciel - The Last Autumn Story
Eternal Sabbath
Gisèle Alain (on hiatus)
Hengoku no Schwester (no romance)
Kingdom of the Queen (no romance)
Majo no Tabitabi (no romance)
Maria the Virgin Witch
Noragami
Online - The Comic
Seirei no Moribito (no romance)
Sengoku Komachi Kuroutan (no romance)
Sousou no Frieren (no romance)
Skip to Loafer
Your Throne

And webnovel adaptations:
The Holy Grail of Eris
The Rebirth of a Tyrannical Empress
A Villainess for the Tyrant
The Villainess Lives Again
Untouchable Lady