Shojo & Tell: A Manga Podcast

Covers volumes 1–7 of Ao Haru Ride (aka Blue Spring Ride ) by Io Sakisaka. Ao Haru Ride is the story of sweethearts Futaba and Kou after they were separated in middle school and reunited in high school. On this special episode, Nancy Thistlethwaite (the editor of the series for Viz Media's Shojo Beat!) delves into the enduring appeal of Io Sakisaka's work, how Ao Haru Ride pays homage to We Were T...

Covers all 4 volumes of That Wolf-Boy is Mine! by Yoko Nogiri That Wolf-Boy is Mine! is a lot cuter and more innocent than its title suggests. Four hot boys can shapeshift into animals in a story that's a much lighter and faster FRUITS BASKET. Sara Linsley, the letterer of the series, explains what exactly a letterer does in manga, and why she loves working on Yoko Nogiri's series so much. Discuss...

Covers both volumes of Meteor Prince by Meca Tanaka. A wild and whacky ride awaits in this super-short series about an alien named Io (who is essentially Tamaki Suoh from Ouran High School Host Club ) looking for his soul mate, Hako, on Earth. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her lover Asher dive deep into the use of soul mates in literature and have an excessively silly shipping corner. Remember: You...

This is a review of Not Your Idol volume 1, a new series by Aoi Makino that's going to be released by Viz. Not Your Idol tackles the ups and downs of idol culture in Japan (as you can probably tell from the title). It follows a girl named Nina, who was once the leader of the idol group Pure Club. At an event for Pure Club, she was attacked by a supposed fan, which leads her to drop out of the grou...

Covers volumes 19–27 of Basara by Yumi Tamura (the last third of the series). The war epic that is Basara finally comes to an end in this long denouement (and two volumes of side stories). Shojo manga master Caitlin and Shojo & Tell host Ashley answer a listener question about lost limbs, pay tribute to the characters who didn't survive to the end of the story, go into the handling of the later pl...

Covers volumes 10–18 of Basara by Yumi Tamura (the middle third of the series). The middle third of Basara contains some wacky stuff, like a baby who's not really a baby and threatens to stab Sarasa. But honestly, we don't get into all that: shojo manga master Caitlin and Shojo & Tell host Ashley discuss the identity crisis of Sarasa/Tatara and how that's wrapped up in gender, get into Ageha as a...

Covers volumes 1–9 of Basara by Yumi Tamura (the first third of the series) Strap in for a classic epic fantasy shojo series with Basara . Though it never quite blew up in the United States, Yumi Tamura's manga is spectacular, and Anime Feminist's Caitlin and Shojo & Tell host Ashley are here to set the record straight about its greatness. Basara tells the story of Tatara, the child of destiny, wh...

Covers all 3 volumes of Love in Focus by Yoko Nogiri Love in Focus is a very cute and subtly subversive series about a high school love triangle between Mako, Kei, and Mitsuru and their experiences with a photography club. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her boytoy Asher heap tons of praise on this highly aware manga. Ashley rants about why Kei is too relatable and therefore is aggravating, there's d...

Covers all 10 volumes of Girl Got Game (also known as Power!! ) by Shizuru Seino Girl Got Game is a basketball manga about Kyo Aizawa, who’s pretending to be a boy so she can play on the men’s team and live out her father’s dream of becoming an NBA star. And yet it’s also not at all a basketball manga, because they never actually play a basketball game. (Okay. Maybe once. In 10 volumes.) Even so,...

Covers all of My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and My Solo Exchange Diary by Nagata Kabi Not a shojo manga episode, yet also not a shonen exception: My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and My Solo Exchange Diary are memoir manga about a young woman’s experience coming out and dealing with deep-rooted depression. In an episode largely fueled by listener questions, Shojo & Tell host Ashley an...

Covers all seven volumes of Behind the Scenes!! by Bisco Hatori What if Ouran High School Host Club , but with college students who are members of the “art squad”? That’s the premise of Bisco Hatori’s follow-up to her smash-hit, formative comedy series. Shae from Shaegeeksout and Shojo & Tell host Ashley discuss all the ways in which Behind the Scenes!! is and is not like Ouran , give some sound d...

Covers all of Wish by CLAMP I can be your angle or yuor devil. Shojo and Tell host Ashley and journey-through-all-of-CLAMP pal Asher Sofman go on a bizarre adventure with CLAMP’s JoJo’s fanfiction. Topics of discussion include gender pronouns, purity, tests of love, and shipping, where the conclusion is that the most interesting romantic ship is between Shuichiro and his mom, Hotaru, who is a tree...

Covers all seven volumes of A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Ōima It’s a Shojo & Tell first: We’re acknowledging the worthiness of a shonen series. A Silent Voice became one of the most beloved manga of our time thanks to its raw and emotional exploration of bullying and its portrayal of living with a disability. On this episode, voice actress Kimlinh Tran and Shojo & Tell host Ashley discuss whether S...

Covers They Were Eleven , A, A Prime , and A Drunken Dream , all short works by Moto Hagio In honor of the release of The Poe Clan by Moto Hagio , longtime manga reviewer Kate Dacey ( @manga_critic on Twitter ) and Shojo & Tell host Ashley take a look at some of Hagio’s shorter works. They talk about how rare and refreshing it is to read a shojo scifi story, Hagio’s influence on the space of girl’...

Covers volumes 10-18 of OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB by Bisco Hatori OURAN superfan Rose Bridges, manga reviewer Aisha Soleil chat, and Shojo & Tell host Ashley are back to talk about even more host club hijinks. Specifically, this episode is basically about everything that wasn't adapted into the anime version. (You've been warned.) The three dive into more comparisons between the anime and ma...

Covers volumes 1-9 of OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB by Bisco Hatori Bisco Hatori’s breakout hit has made everyone laugh at pretty rich boys and their host club hijinks for over a decade. At the same time, it’s got a fair amount of problematic takes in it. So should OURAN be considered a must-read classic? OURAN superfan Rose Bridges and manga reviewer Aisha Soleil chat with Shojo & Tell host Ashley...

Covers all of Phantom Thief Jeanne by Arina Tanemura This is the first series by Arina Tanemura discussed on the podcast! What the heck’s a Phantom Thief, and what does it have to do with Jeanne d’Arc? Wait, God and some angels are here, too? There’s time travel? Long-time Tanemura fan Laura Spicer, Shojo & Tell host Ashley, and begrudging participant Asher Sofman delve into “Arina’s Christian...

Covers all of Tokyo Babylon by CLAMP In an alternate Tokyo, Subaru, Seishiro, and Hokuto have otherworldly adventures in this prequel to CLAMP’s unfinished series, X . In a poll about which CLAMP series we should cover next, Tokyo Babylon came out victorious. We’re here to give the people what they want, so on this episode, Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her journey-through-all-of-CLAMP buddy As...

Covers all of EVERYONE’S GETTING MARRIED by Izumi Miyazono This is a josei battle of wills as our heroine (Asuka) wants nothing more than to get married and become a homemaker, while the man she’s fallen for (Ryu) is determined to never be bound by the plague of marriage. (Can’t imagine who wins this war.) Aisha Soleil of MommaLuvsManga tells Shojo & Tell host Ashley what makes EVERYONE’S GETT...

A bonus episode discussing the release of the first two episodes of the new FRUITS BASKET anime in theaters and the performance of PRETTY GUARDIAN SAILOR MOON: THE SUPER LIVE in Washington, DC for the start of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and friendo Asher delve into the highs and lows of these shojo special events. REFERENCES Fruits Basket in theaters Pretty Guardian...

Covers all of The Young Master’s Revenge by Meca Tanaka What if you had scars on your butt. From being bitten by snapping turtles when you were little. That is the whole premise of this comedy from Meca Tanaka, and for such a quick, silly series, it really is delightful. The revenge that Leo, the boy with the turtle butt scars, wants to exact on his childhood friend and crush Tenma of course turns...

Covers all of My Love Story!! by Kazune Kawahara and Aruko Just how subversive (or not) is this story about an unconventionally attractive hero (Takeo Gouda), his best friend (Makoto Sunakawa), and his cute girlfriend (Rinko Yamato)? What’s up with its purity politics? How does it fit into the rise of shojo with male protagonists? How pleasant is it to see a story about characters in a relationshi...

Covers volumes 8–13 of House of the Sun by Taamo One Panel Later co-host, librarian, and manga reviewer Kelly Quinn Chiu and Shojo & Tell host Ashley dig deeper into the small moments that make this sleeper hit from Taamo so special. OK, honestly, Ashley mostly just rants about how Daiki is perfect and how he was robbed in this manga, while Kelly details how perfect Mao and Hiro’s relationship is....

Covers volumes 1–7 of House of the Sun by Taamo One Panel Later co-host, librarian, and manga reviewer Kelly Quinn Chiu explains why Taamo’s House of the Sun is such a hidden gem. Kelly and Shojo & Tell host Ashley discuss the ups and downs of this slice-of-life drama and age gap romance, why libraries don’t often have digital manga, why Mao is so obsessed with a phallic creature, how Hiro needs t...

Covers volumes 21–30 of Kimi ni Todoke by Karuho Shiina (end of the series) Welcome to our final episode on Karuho Shiina’s contemporary classic. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and shojo manga connoisseur Caitlin Moore FINALLY get to reflect on what went down between Ayane and Pin (how it was all handled was such a pleasant surprise!). Plus, Kurumi finally gets her time to shine in our elaborate alt end...