Red River by Chie Shinohara has finally gotten an anime adaptation, so, just as everyone else is talking about it right now, we, too, are entering the fray of the ancient Hittite Empire. Shojo & Tell host Ashley is persuaded by her husband, Asher, that he's the guy fit for discussing this iconic series, because his rabbinic studies give him an informational edge. The Ashes debate what the relentlessness of sexual assault against Yuri culturally signifies, wonder at the limits of historical fiction, and get wistful about isekai of yore. On sillier notes, Ashley fawns over Yuri and praises Prince Kail for being so corny. This episode covers the first third of the series.

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We pick up right where we left off, and... It's not what you expect. At all. Rin is up to Rin machinations. Shion did exactly what you thought he did. Jinpachi is suddenly kinda sinister. Alice is struggling with her memories, in more ways than one. Daisuke exists. Tamura is still the best (Mikuro is a close second). Shojo & Tell host Ashley and special guest Autumn talk their overall thoughts on the ending of this slow-burn mystery/drama, delve into the worldbuilding presented by Mokuren's past (so you DID have cool flying spaceship jawns!), poke gentle fun at some new back-half characters, and of course, wonder "WHY?" about a slew of ridiculous ships.

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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. 

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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.

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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).

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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 mentioned
  • Maid-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 mentioned
  • Fushigi 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

Get ready to go to the beach in this emotionally affecting, short josei series. Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand by Yoko Komori follows Tokiko, a sixth grader whose parents are recently separated; as a result, she moves with her dad from Tokyo to the small beach town where her mother grew up where legends of merfolk are still honored. As she grapples with her new normal, Tokiko is also looking for a particular merman for saving her from drowning. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her husband Asher dive deep into Tokiko's family dynamics, whether or not one citizen of the town is actually real, and the consequences of pathological lying. 

REFERENCES

• Buy Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand from MangaMart, a family-run manga store offering some of the most competitive prices around (affiliate link)
• Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand is published by Viz Media's Signature line
• Other manga/anime mentioned
  • Horimiya
• 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

Ashley and Asher are back to discuss volumes 11 through 20 of Snow White with the Red Hair, and they have a lot more to say this time (most of it is still some variation of "they're so cute!"). The Ashes talk about new characters (Hisame, the Bergat brothers, Lilias folks), the overarching plots (Izana's coronation, Lilias part 2, Sereg assassination plots, Kiki's marriage machinations), the official character poll (lol Mitsuhide), and of course, all the ships (yes, Zen and Shirayuki are cute, but why not Kiki and Shirayuki?). Let the fangirling and fanboying commence.

REFERENCES

• Buy Snow White with the Red Hair from MangaMart, a family-run manga store offering some of the most competitive prices around (affiliate link)
• Snow White with the Red Hair is published by Viz Media's Shojo Beat line
• Other manga/anime mentioned
  • Bleach
  • Fushigi Yugi
  • Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden
  • Jesse and James from Pokemon
• WHYY: "How experiments with gila monster venom led to blockbuster weight loss drugs like Ozempic"
• Outro: "Tokimeki no Doukasen" (Fushigi Yuugi ending theme) + Fruits Basket (2019) episode three dialogue

CONTACT US

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

Welcome to the special collaboration episode between Ashley of Shojo & Tell and Chika and Giana of Shoujo Sundae (hereby dubbed the "shojo trio"). In this episode, we talk everything Josee, the Tiger and the Fish: the animated movie version (amazing!), the manga (basically the same as the movie but taking things at your own pace can be helpful!), the live-action movie (oh no!), and the original short story (very Japanese!). Josee, the Tiger and the Fish follows Josee, a sheltered, curmudgeonly wheelchair user, and Tsuneo, a try-hard college boy who loves diving, as they both come out of their shells to meet each other and the sometimes scary, sometimes harsh, occasionally beautiful outside world. Let's dive!

REFERENCES

• You can watch the animated movie on Crunchyroll
• You can read the manga version, published by Yen Press
• You can read the original short story, also published by Yen Press
• You can watch the live-action version on RetroCrush

STAY IN TOUCH

• Find Shoujo Sundae on: Bluesky, Instagram, X
• Find Chika on: Bluesky, Instagram
• Find Giana on: Bluesky, Instagram, Personal Website
• Find Shojo & Tell on: Bluesky, Instagram, Tumblr
• Find Ashley on: Bluesky