[Aurora]

Wowwow, that's a great list there! I adoreee josei manga, and most of my definite favourites have already been included, such as Kimi wa Petto, Midnight Secretary, Hapi Mari and Private Prince =)))

There's one more which I really have to recommend though, it's this rather dated, but still extremely charming manga called Fukuyadou Honpo. Summary from Wingtipcafe as follows:

"Hina, Arare, and Hana are the three sisters of Kyoto’s oldest confectionery shop, Fukuya. Although they each have different personalities, they all take pride in their shop. Fukuyadou-honpo will bring you a taste of the ancient capital, Kyoto, with a shrewd mother, sharp-tongued grandpa, and a host of other characters who bring life to the great city."

I have a soft spot for this work... It wasn't easy to get started because the art and tone took some time to get used to, but soon enough I found myself feeling for the characters, all of whom are very nicely fleshed out. A very slice-of-life piece, very unique, quaint and just, very simply, enjoyable... Love it~

Have yet to find something similar (except Oishii Kankei, perhaps, which I love as well) Definitely a must-read :)))

[wanderlustee]

Funny but I could swear I saw a couple of shoujo series masquerading as josei up there in the first post (compiled recommendations). Anyways, here are some josei titles that I think should be more widely read:

Sunadokei or Sand Chronicles;
Fredward-shi no Ahiru or Mr Fredward's Duck;
Ashita no Ousama or Tomorrow's King; and
Kirai which is classified under mature shoujo ;)

[4evaDC]

wanderlustee, on 09 July 2010 - 02:35 PM, said:

Funny but I could swear I saw a couple of shoujo series masquerading as josei up there in the first post (compiled recommendations). Anyways, here are some josei titles that I think should be more widely read:

Sunadokei or Sand Chronicles;
Fredward-shi no Ahiru or Mr Fredward's Duck;
Ashita no Ousama or Tomorrow's King; and
Kirai which is classified under mature shoujo ;)

I know we can't really classify manwha since Koreans have a different way of marketing their comics. Still, I'm happy and suprised that Full House is up there.

Does anyone know about Queen's Butler Karin? Is it good? I like the author (she did Harlem Beat and Dragon Voice) but I can't seem to find this latest work of hers which is published in a Josei magazine.

[Akikaze]

I can't say that I've read that many josei, maybe I will find some that I like thanks to this thread.
Anyway, from the ones I read I would say that Selected Pandemonium is my favorite and maybe also Nodame Cantabile and Pet Shop of Horrors, but I have not read that many chapter from the last two.

[ILB8]

I haven't read many josei, but I liked Gokusen and soon will read Nodame C. I have read hafe of Kimi wa Pet, cause a friend recommended it to me but I wasn't impressed.

---
Great recommendations guys :yhappy:
I have updated the list. ~ vaccine

I'm glad you guys are recommending but please make sure to state why you think the manga you're recommending is the best or good for you. stating that you like "manga name" but it's not well known will be deleted

- nelo aka vaccine

This post has been edited by Nelo: 05 August 2010 - 02:00 AM

[rosamund]

Ahh yes. I was just going to say I really like Gokusen as well, and was looking through this list to see if anyone had mentioned it yet, since it wasn't on the list in the first post. I really like the strong female characters of josei manga. I was a bit surprised to see some of the titles in that list as well, since I didn't really think of them as josei, like Pet Shop of Horrors, and Oooku which seems more like historical manga to me. But then again I'm not sure how many guys would be comfortable reading something like that. Interestingly I saw copies of it at the local library, well interesting to me, for I was shocked by the purchase. I also love Usagi Drop, Dokuhime, First Girl and Midnight Secretary. There is also another one that I enjoyed but I can't remember the title. It was about free style? ballet dancing. The main character was working very had to join this special male troupe to dance with this other dancer. Hm. Well if it rings any bells please let me know, for it is going to bug me now.

I haven't read some of the very popular titles like Nodame C and Honey and Clover, though I have watched bits of the anime. Will definitely find time to read some of the titles on this list, and will be back to check for updates.

[Duppeditt]

I recomend Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa. The plot is good, the characters all feel realistic and human and the love stories all have something special in them. Yukari is a strong heroine, and George is a likeable bastard. The whole manga is filled with creativity and humor. NANA is a lot more popular than Parakiss, but Parakiss has a tighter (maybe more down to earth?) story, and it's complete =D (But all Yazawa's manga are great!)

And I second everyone who's allready mentioned Honey and Clover!

[Reverdedeesse]

Gokusen is very fun in the feminist/ pedophile kind of way. Not saying the the main character is a pedophile. But everyone that reads this will secretly want her to hook up with one of her students. (You all know who I mean if you'll read it) You have one kick butting female trying to whip a bunch of delinquents into shape while trying to keep here gang ties under wraps as to not make a bad example.

[henshin]

I think it's hard to pick out a single series. I really like anything by Mari Okazaki. Which looking at the first posts lists, it already has a series by her, Shutter Love. That one is definitely my favorite by her, though I know I've definitely read other Josei series, mainly oneshots, that have been equally good. Her series Suppli is also super good, and has a drama based off of it.

[lovecraft]

well I don't like josie mangas because they are too realistic while what I like so much about shojo mangas that they are full of romance and warm feelings which are most of the time unreal. but for my surprise I liked full house manhwa although it is josie, I just couldn't stop reading it, and the way the characters are acting with each other was wonderful. I also like pet shop of horrors a lot although it is considered a josie manga, but the stories of the weird animals and with the strange count D made me enjoy it.

[Nelo]

lovecraft, on 03 August 2010 - 12:01 PM, said:

well I don't like josie mangas because they are too realistic while what I like so much about shojo mangas that they are full of romance and warm feelings which are most of the time unreal. but for my surprise I liked full house manhwa although it is josie, I just couldn't stop reading it, and the way the characters are acting with each other was wonderful. I also like pet shop of horrors a lot although it is considered a josie manga, but the stories of the weird animals and with the strange count D made me enjoy it.

A lot of josei mangas are also filled with romance and warm mushiness :ykyaa:
Have you tried reading "itadakimasu" (or any manga from the same mangaka)? Nodame Cantabile is also a josei manga which I think is filled with sweet mushy moments :lol:

Full house, if I'm not mistaken, is a shoujo manga but included in the list because a member thought it was good enough to be a josei manga. Pet Shop of Horror on the other hand is a josei manga :ysmile:

[urumi]

really nice list i'll try out some of them, but i believe tha kimi wa petto deserves more than 2 recommendations, oh well its certainly has mine one of the best josei titles i ever read, quite addictive, i never really liked nodame cantibile i dont know why, i always got bored and zoned off

[Nelo]

urumi, on 07 August 2010 - 11:52 PM, said:

i never really liked nodame cantibile i dont know why, i always got bored and zoned off

n-no way! seriously?! :yshock:
Till what volume did you read? Nodame does have a very slow pacing at the start but this is only to introduce the individual character traits to the readers. It becomes really funny (borderline hilarious) as the story goes and as I said in my previous post, it also has lots of really sweet moments.

[Suki-joshi]

I'm actually more often a reader of seinin than josei (weirdly enough considering I'm in the perfect target market for josei). But there are a few stunning josei titles which I just love.

Kimi wa pet (Tokyopop renamed it 'Tramps Like Us' for those who we not aware): The main femal character is just hilarious, she tries to hard to seem perfect, but her 'crazy' side is what makes her so deeply loveable. The relationships she carries on with the two men in the series are beleiveable. The way she writes about office life is oh so true also, I worked in offices for a few years and fled back to retail in horror at the end!

Honey and Clover: The characters are very crazy, but for students in an art college it's actually beleivable! I love the way some of the older teachers behave, it cracks me up. The relationships are all so real and poigant, I've been in some like that. Some of the insights the manga-ka has were almost mind blowing for me and the art has this lovely feel to it.

I think half of the postings above me have already recommended these series. The best thing about them is they are both completed (man I am so seriously sick of getting into a series and then it goes on 'hiatus' and gets abandoned by the manga-ka or dropped by the english publisher and I can never find the end in scanlation form). And even better they are fully published in english too.

[Rauzan]

Totally seconded Hyakki Yakoushou aka Selected Pandemonium (one of my favourite slice of life series http://s004.radikal.ru/i206/1006/1c/d4a0007f5ad6.gif)
Worth mentioning: Heptagon and Kabocha to Mayonnaise. I'd disagree with the definition of demographic given - a member's recommendations list feature few mature shoujo series that are by no means less realistic that recommended josei, - but those two really ARE realistic.

I have also read all works (josei and shoujo) by Mari Okazaki that got scanlated, and I must say they are very impressive.

[kaichiturtle]

I haven't read much josei manga-- Kimi wa Petto and a little Nodame Cantabile is basically it as far as I know. I loved Kimi wa Petto and actually it is my favorite manga of all time. Sumire and Momo (Takeshi)'s relationship was just so interesting to me. The slow build into a relationship because they just weren't ready and (in Sumire's case wouldn't admit it) Sumire had to get over her self confidence issues about the real her. I love the complexity of Sumire's character; highly intelligent and completely competent professionally but still with real problems that have affected her personal life. Besides this manga is so hilarious!

Nodame Cantabile is good too but I can't write as much since I haven't read much of this series. But so far I like. Nodame is such a ridiculous character. Her quest for Chiaki is really cute.

Both this have already been mentioned. I wish I knew more titles, but I'm working on it. Thanks to this topic with it's recommendations, I will have some new reading material. Thanks. :)

[yaoiatmidnight]

I am so going to try reading these. I gave up on shoujo about a year ago. I will still re-read my faves form time to time but I will that it can be so unrealistic and childish at times (I feel so old now) but I guess tastes change and I hope that josei is something that will entertain me (other than yaoi) form now on.

[enygma]

I'm not really familiar with all of the genres, but from the list, the one that I recognize is Honey and Clover. I think this is one of the best manga I have read in a long time. The story is beautiful and poignant and the characters are well-developed and each of their stories is heartbreaking in its own way.

[ktho2]

Nelo, on 05 August 2010 - 02:09 AM, said:

Full house, if I'm not mistaken, is a shoujo manga but included in the list because a member thought it was good enough to be a josei manga.

Ok, I just didn't want to let this pass but according to Baka-updates Manga, Full House is under Comedy, Josei and Romance genre.
It's not a manga but a manghwa but this thread didn't ask for that discrimination, did it?

I'd like to add two more titles such as:
-Haru Koi by SUETSUGU Yuki, a volume of short sweet stories.
-Atashi_wa_Sore_wo_Gaman_Dekinai by ENJOUJI Maki. This are more smutty and light. It's from the same author of Private Prince.


Thanks to this thread, I've discovered new titles to read! Honey and Clover looks very good, I'll come back to give my opinion of it when I finish.

[theone]

I woud recommend Pride of the same author as Angel's mask and Eternal Sabbath of SOURYO Fuyumi. These two mangaka are my favorite in josei type