Okay. Okay. I'm going to need a minute here, shoujo is my favourite of all genres and there are currently too many possibilities running through my head to count. S_S
Well I will start by saying I second the rec for Skip Beat! It's one of the only series I buy regularly because it is AWESOME and there is nothing in the world more satisfying than reading about Kyoko terrifying the universe with her amazing powers of revenge and determination. Also charming most of the universe! Kyoko has never met an evil rival she did not win over within a volume. =D
For awesome ladies and crossdressing I recommend Basara! It’s set in a post-apocalyptic Japan where a pair of twins are born under a prophecy that one of them will be the Child of Destiny, leading their people out from oppression. Everyone figures this is the boy twin Tatara and are all about waiting for him to grow up and do his thing. Which makes it a bit unfortunate when the Red King (see oppressive monarchy needing liberation from) comes by their village to murder him! Luckily Sarasa is perfectly willing to go about crossdressing and leading the revolution in the name of great justice and excellent adventures.
It is my favourite manga of ALL TIME. Sarasa is awesome and she goes through so much growth in the course of the story. Plus there's an enormous ensemble cast full of characters who are all memorable and interesting if not always likeable (mostly likeable though!). It takes a few volumes to hit its stride but once it does it's excellent. I've heard some people say they couldn't get into it because of the art style but YMMV. I personally like the art quite alot, it's very distinctive. Plus the story is totally worth it even if you don't like the art style. I should know, I made it my life mission in high school to convert people into fans regardless of protest. =D I still feel one of the best things I did in twelfth grade was convince my librarian to buy the first five volumes for the library. A LEGACY THAT WILL LIVE ON BEYOND ME. 8DDDD
I'm also pretty fond of Never Give Up. It's a bit like Hana Kimi in terms of being a crossdressing story starring high schoolers except the crossdressing is actually convincing (Kiri makes a hot guy, I have never met anyone who disagreed with this assessment) and is set in the crazy world of manga-style modeling! Where moms head modeling agencies and blackmail their daughters into modeling their male line by recruiting their crush. 8D
Fruits Basket is excellent and is of the adorable characters who all have some sort of traumatic past school. Only better than most of them. I love the heroine Tohru, she's an utter sweetheart and ends up helping out pretty much every member of the Sohma family (see: traumatic past) just by being herself. She also gets her own character arc which shows signs of being planned from the very beginning! (I went back to reading the first volume and I was like wow, this mangaka actually knew what she was doing, she set up all her pieces from the very start! Natsuki Takaya, you are awesome. \o/) Also uhh the family she lives with are cursed to turn into various animals from the zodiac whenever they're hugged by someone of the opposite sex. So, y'know, you've got your cracktastic plot device there from the start. xD
Did someone say shoujo manga recs?
Well I will start by saying I second the rec for Skip Beat! It's one of the only series I buy regularly because it is AWESOME and there is nothing in the world more satisfying than reading about Kyoko terrifying the universe with her amazing powers of revenge and determination. Also charming most of the universe! Kyoko has never met an evil rival she did not win over within a volume. =D
For awesome ladies and crossdressing I recommend Basara! It’s set in a post-apocalyptic Japan where a pair of twins are born under a prophecy that one of them will be the Child of Destiny, leading their people out from oppression. Everyone figures this is the boy twin Tatara and are all about waiting for him to grow up and do his thing. Which makes it a bit unfortunate when the Red King (see oppressive monarchy needing liberation from) comes by their village to murder him! Luckily Sarasa is perfectly willing to go about crossdressing and leading the revolution in the name of great justice and excellent adventures.
It is my favourite manga of ALL TIME. Sarasa is awesome and she goes through so much growth in the course of the story. Plus there's an enormous ensemble cast full of characters who are all memorable and interesting if not always likeable (mostly likeable though!). It takes a few volumes to hit its stride but once it does it's excellent. I've heard some people say they couldn't get into it because of the art style but YMMV. I personally like the art quite alot, it's very distinctive. Plus the story is totally worth it even if you don't like the art style. I should know, I made it my life mission in high school to convert people into fans regardless of protest. =D I still feel one of the best things I did in twelfth grade was convince my librarian to buy the first five volumes for the library. A LEGACY THAT WILL LIVE ON BEYOND ME. 8DDDD
I'm also pretty fond of Never Give Up. It's a bit like Hana Kimi in terms of being a crossdressing story starring high schoolers except the crossdressing is actually convincing (Kiri makes a hot guy, I have never met anyone who disagreed with this assessment) and is set in the crazy world of manga-style modeling! Where moms head modeling agencies and blackmail their daughters into modeling their male line by recruiting their crush. 8D
Fruits Basket is excellent and is of the adorable characters who all have some sort of traumatic past school. Only better than most of them. I love the heroine Tohru, she's an utter sweetheart and ends up helping out pretty much every member of the Sohma family (see: traumatic past) just by being herself. She also gets her own character arc which shows signs of being planned from the very beginning! (I went back to reading the first volume and I was like wow, this mangaka actually knew what she was doing, she set up all her pieces from the very start! Natsuki Takaya, you are awesome. \o/) Also uhh the family she lives with are cursed to turn into various animals from the zodiac whenever they're hugged by someone of the opposite sex. So, y'know, you've got your cracktastic plot device there from the start. xD