Shojo & Tell: A Manga Podcast

It's 1980s Japan. Saki Hiwatari is telling a story set in the extremely near future, in 1990s Tokyo (now nostalgic past). A group of teens start to meet up because they all have dreams of a past life where they were people who were the size of human pinkies and they lived on the moon. Why do they have these dreams? What happened in their past life? It's an epic drama and drawn-out science fiction mystery for the times! Shojo & Tell host Ashley and shojo manga superfan Autumn get into themes of fate and cyclical wrongs with this singular series. The discussion mostly centers around how punchable Rin/Shion is, but hey, we swear there's other fun stuff packed in here, too. 

REFERENCES

Please Save My Earth is available digitally from Viz Media

Other anime/manga series mentioned

Saint Seiya

Tokyo Babylon

The Vision of Escaflowne

Banana Fish

A Sign of Affection

X/1999

Fushigi Yugi

Paradise Kiss

Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Devilman

Maid-Sama

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Hot Gimmick 

Black Jack

Hunter x Hunter

YuYu Hakusho



Rocky is rated PG when it probably shouldn't be (it should be PG-13)

"This is a work of fiction" disclaimer history: Started in the 1930s in novels as a result of a defamation lawsuit

Outro: "Tokimeki no Doukasen" (Fushigi Yuugi ending theme) + Fruits Basket (2019) episode 3 dialogue

CONTACT

Autumn's blog: https://notanotakunao.blogspot.com/ 

Shojo & Tell on Bluesky, Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter

Ashley on Bluesky

There are few authors more synonymous with "shojo" than Arina Tanemura. We've done Tanemura works before. But Full Moon is peak Tanemura. Which is not to say it's a masterwork. 

For those who don't idolize Tanemura and are wondering what Full Moon is about, the series follows a 12-year-old girl named Mitsuki who wants to be a singer so she can reconnect with her childhood crush, whom she met when they both lived at an orphanage, but she can't become a singer because she has throat cancer that, if left untreated, will kill her. Some shinigami show up telling her she only has one year left to live, and she somehow convinces the shinigami to turn her into a 16-year-old so she can become the idol of her dreams before she dies. Are you keeping up? Tanemura fan Laura Spicer joins Shojo & Tell host Ashley once again to go through the whirlwind of a manga to, first, figure out what even all happened here, and second, to determine what the good emotional beats are.

REFERENCES

Full Moon is available digitally from Viz Media's Shojo Beat line

The Full Moon anime is available on blu-ray

Tanemura's other projects

Phantom Thief Jeanne

Idol Dreams

idolish7

The Gentlemen's Alliance

Sakura Hime

Time Stranger Kyoko



Music mentioned

+44

Linkin Park

Evanescence

Within Temptation

t.A.T.u.

Maaya Sakamoto

Yui Horie

AKB48

Morning Musume

Ayumi Hamasaki



Other anime/manga series mentioned

Fruits Basket

Sailor Moon

Cardcaptor Sakura

Ouran High School Host Club

Yona of the Dawn

Hana-Kimi

A Condition Called Love

Not Your Idol

Oshi no Ko

The Vision of Escaflowne



Outro: "Tokimeki no Doukasen" (Fushigi Yuugi ending theme) + Fruits Basket (2019) episode 3 dialogue

CONTACT

Laura on Bluesky, Instagram

Shojo & Tell on Bluesky, Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter

Ashley on Bluesky

Hanayu wants to be a sushi chef, but her father expects her to take over the family pastry shop. Hayato wants to be a pastry chef, but is expected to take over his family's sushi restaurant. Uh, you can see where this is going, right? Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her husband Asher discuss this romantic comedy series in which these 15 year old children place the weight of the world on their shoulders. Mixed Vegetables may be a mixed bag, but hey, maybe that's your cup of tea (to mix metaphors).

REFERENCES

Read Mixed Vegetables digitally on the Viz Media app

Other manga/anime mentioned

Maid-Sama

Kimi ni Todoke

Full Moon o Sagashite

Yuu Watase



Locations in Japan mentioned

Kagoshima

Okinawa

Hokkaido



How Japan’s Female Sushi Chefs Are Claiming a Seat at the Counter (Conde Nast Traveler 2022)

Koseki

Outro: "Tokimeki no Doukasen" (Fushigi Yuugi ending theme) + Fruits Basket (2019) episode 3 dialogue

CONTACT US

Shojo & Tell on Bluesky, Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter

Ashley on Bluesky

Caitlin and Ashley are back to discuss the second half of Horimiya, aka, all the bits that don't matter. Like, it's a miracle this episode is over an hour long, because the two spend most of the time talking about *checks notes*: Sawada, Iura, and Watabe. And they're definitely the most interesting characters in this whole series, right? Especially Iura.
Jokes aside, Caitlin and Ashley spend time going over the chapters they did like (and some they really didn't), plus there's a shipping corner with an 11th hour bombshell dropped. Just like the second season of the Horimiya anime, this episode isn't boring, but it might also not be necessary. Tune in to hear for yourself.
REFERENCES
Horimiya is published by Yen Press
Other manga/anime mentionedMaid-Sama!

Outro: "Tokimeki no Doukasen" (Fushigi Yuugi ending theme) + Fruits Basket (2019) episode 3 dialogue
CONTACT US
Shojo & Tell on Bluesky, Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter
Caitlin's writings at Anime Feminist and Anime News Network
Caitlin on Bluesky
Ashley on Bluesky

Finally, we're here to talk about the shonen elephant in the shojo room: Horimiya. Look at almost any list of "best shojo anime," and you're bound to see Horimiya near the top of it. But, just so we're all clear: Horimiya isn't a shojo series. It is, however, a very good shonen romance series.
Shojo & Tell host Ashley and Anime News Network and Anime Feminist writer Caitlin dig into why people often mistake Horimiya for a shojo series and how the series lovingly subverts a lot of stereotypical romance tropes through the main couple, Hori and Miyamura, and many of the B couples, especially Remi and Sengoku. There's a lot of gushing over how relatable Hori is (seriously, so relatable). But most importantly (regrettably?): Ashley and Caitlin delve into what makes the sex scene so touching and how nice it is to see an authentic teenage exploration of kink.
REFERENCES
Buy Horimiya from MangaMart, a family-run manga store offering some of the most competitive prices around (affiliate link)
Horimiya is published by Yen Press
Other manga/anime mentionedFushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden
Millennium Snow
Attack on Titan
Sword Art Online
Black Bird
Hot Gimmick
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
Fushigi Yuugi
Boys Over Flowers
Kodocha
Marmalade Boy
Full Moon

Outro: "Tokimeki no Doukasen" (Fushigi Yuugi ending theme) + Fruits Basket (2019) episode 3 dialogue
CONTACT US
Shojo & Tell on Bluesky, Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter
Caitlin's writings at Anime Feminist and Anime News Network
Caitlin on Bluesky
Ashley on Bluesky