This episode discusses all six volumes of Absolute Boyfriend by Yuu Watase.

The Ashes are back to do a compare and contrast between two shojo heavyweights, Yuu Watase and CLAMP. Last episode we covered Chobits even though it's a seinen series, partially because we're determined to read every CLAMP series, and partially because we knew Absolute Boyfriend appears to have taken heavy inspiration from Chobits and shojo-ified it. We talk about how Absolute Boyfriend handles sex and A.I. compared to Chobits, whether it's magical and dreamy that your boyfriend can be destroyed and have to go to the Apple Store, and are thankful that, at the very least, Riko is not a schmuck. (Although, she might be the high school female equivalent of a schmuck? You decide after hearing how she handled her love triangle between the figure, Night, and her best friend, Soshi.)

REFERENCES

• Absolute Boyfriend is available in English from Viz Media's Shojo Beat line
• Why do they keep making live action adaptations of this??
• Other Watase series mentioned:
  • Fushigi Yugi
  • Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden
  • Fushigi Yugi: Byakko Senki
  • Ceres
  • Arata
  • Sakura-Gari
• Other CLAMP series mentioned:
  • Legal Drug
  • X
• CLAMP interview mentioned
• Misc. mentions:
  • Megane
  • Boss Baby
  • Twilight
  • Magical Girlfriend
  • Noragami
  • BioShock
  • Hatsune Miku
  • IA
• Outro song: "The Streatham Hill Gods" by Danosongs

CONTACT US

• Asher on Archive of Our Own: @dashery
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
• Ashley's Tales of Xillia fanfic: Well Suited

This episode discusses all eight volumes of Chobits by CLAMP.

We're continuing our journey through CLAMP with their most provocative, perverted, and problematic series yet: The sci-fi series Chobits, where personal computers (persocoms) take the form of cute high school girls with cat ears. Hideki, peak schmuck boy, finds a free one in the trash, and he names her Chi, and then he may or may not fall in love with her, even though she behaves like a child. Talk about awkward. Asher and Ashley have A LOT of feelings about the moral implications of the relationships between humans and persocoms that are presented by each character arc, the way artificial intelligence and computer memory is discussed, and about the handling of the sexual topics. Look. CLAMP apparently isn't saying it's okay to marry Hatsune Miku. But your love of Hatsune Miku is real love. Ashley's still waiting for the "so what?" of it all.

PLEASE NOTE: This episode is marked explicit due to being unable to avoid talking about lewd topics. Knowing that, Ashley also curses more than she ever has on this podcast. Proceed with caution!

REFERENCES

• Chobits is available in English from Kodansha Comics
• This episode is really just an advertisement for the podcasts CLAMPcast in Wonderland and Hot Money
• Other CLAMP series mentioned
  • Angelic Layer
  • Magic Knight Rayearth
  • Cardcaptor Sakura
• Other series mentioned
  • Fruits Basket
  • Naruto
  • Absolute Boyfriend
  • Marmalade Boy
• Battlebots stuff
  • Jamison Go/SawBlaze
  • Tombstone
  • Witch Doctor
• Songs/artists mentioned
  • Yuri the Only One for Me by LeetStreet Boys
  • Oxytocin by Billie Eilish
  • Snow (Hey Oh) by Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • Lil Nas X
  • Hatsune Miku
• Computer stuff mentioned
  • BBS (Bulletin Board System)
  • Defragging
  • YouTube AI algorithm failures
  • Tricking the Twitter/Microsoft chatbot
  • This ex-Google AI idiot
  • The Most Human Human
  • Three Laws of Robotics
• Outro song: "The Streatham Hill Gods" by Danosongs

CONTACT US

• Asher on Archive of Our Own: @dashery
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
• Ashley's Tales of Xillia fanfic: Well Suited

This episode discusses volumes 9–17 of Love Com by Aya Nakahara.

We're back with a walkthrough of the highs and lows of the second half of Love Com, where we no longer see height. Height means nothing when it comes to true love. (Or... does it?) Ashley and Loyola discuss the appearance of Kohori, how Otani and Risa broke up (!!) then got to back together (!!!) and slept together (!!!!) — but no not in that way, they haven't even kissed four times in a row yet (?!?!). We have one of the most heated shipping corners on this podcast so far, where Ashley insists that Haruka and Seiko are a couple and Otani and Risa might be better off just friends. In conclusion: Nobu's still the best and Risa's brother, Takato, is hot.

REFERENCES

• The Love Com manga is available digitally from Viz Media's Shojo Beat line
• The Love Com anime is available to stream on Crunchyroll
• Other episodes Loyola's been on:
  • Arina Tanemura One-Shots
  • Girl Got Game
  • MeruPuri
• Other anime/manga mentioned:
  • The Vision of Escaflowne
• Outro song: "The Streatham Hill Gods" by Danosongs

CONTACT US

• Loyola on Twitter: @loyolarankin
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
• Ashley's Tales of Xillia fanfic: Well Suited

Discusses volumes 1–8 of Love Com by Aya Nakahara.

Ashley and Loyola are here to discuss the first half of the romantic comedy Love Com, aka Lovely Complex, which is the romcom that all other romcoms should aspire to. We gush about how cute Risa and Otani are, the impeccable comedic timing, the emotional levity that hits home, and so much more. Loyola is subjected to Ashley making her take the quizzes at the end of volume 8, to hilarious results.

REFERENCES

• The Love Com manga is available digitally from Viz Media's Shojo Beat line
• The Love Com anime is available to stream on Crunchyroll
• Other episodes Loyola's been on: 
  • Arina Tanemura One-Shots
  • Girl Got Game
  • MeruPuri
• Other anime/manga mentioned:
  • Waiting for Spring
  • Attack on Titan
  • The Vision of Escaflowne
• Outro song: "The Streatham Hill Gods" by Danosongs

CONTACT US

• Loyola on Twitter: @loyolarankin
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
• Ashley's Tales of Xillia fanfic: Well Suited

Discusses all 9 volumes of The Story of Saiunkoku, written by  Sai Yukino and illustrated by Kairi Yura.

ASHLEY: I'm like, 'I could have been a better person if I'd read [The Story of Saiunkoku] 10 years ago.'
DEE: That's how we should have ended the no spoiler section! 'Read this manga, it will change your life.'

In this episode, we're going to historical China for a semi-supernatural, extremely feminist manga adaptation of a light novel series. Dee, who makes the Josei Next Door blog and writes/edits for Anime Feminist, joins to discuss why this series never got its time in the spotlight in English like it deserves, why Shurei’s journey to fulfilling the seemingly impossible dream she has of becoming a civil servant is one of hope, and how Shurei's dad may just be the best dad in all of anime/manga, despite being a killer. We also, of course, talk about the gaggle of hot men in Shurei's life and her badass boss, Kochou.

Find a full transcript of this episode here.

REFERENCES

• The Story of Saiunkoku manga is available from Viz Media's Shojo Beat line
• The only version of the anime that's available legally in English is dubbed and is called Corlourcloud Palace
• Other series mentioned:
  • The Apothecary Diaries
  • Culinary Chronicles of the Court
  • Basara
  • Ouran High School Host Club
  • Fushigi Yuugi
  • LoveCom
• Anime Feminist articles mentioned:
  • You Don’t Have to Kick Ass to Be Kickass: Shoujo fantasy and the value of the noncombatant hero
  • Fire Balls & Ice Rinks: How My Hero Academia reflects inequality in competitive sports
• Outro song: "The Streatham Hill Gods" by Danosongs

CONTACT US

• You can find Dee's writing on Anime Feminist and Josei Next Door
• Follow Dee on Twitter: @joseinextdoor
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
• Ashley's Tales of Xillia fanfic: Well Suited

Wife and husband duo Ashley and Asher are back to talk about the short comedic manga Flower in a Storm. While neither would say they really loved the story of rich-boy Ran going after super-strong Riko, Ashley, at least, thinks it shows lots of promise from the author, and is a funny parody of mid-2000s shojo manga tropes. But the real standouts are the two unrelated short stories that are included.

REFERENCES

• Flower in a Storm is available from Viz Media's Shojo Beat line
• The only other manga out by this author in English is Caste Heaven, a BL manga under a different pen name
• Other series mentioned:
  • Snow White with the Red Hair
  • Witch Hat Atelier
  • SP Baby
  • Takane and Hana
  • Ouran High School Host Club
  • Maid-Sama!
• Outro song: "The Streatham Hill Gods" by Danosongs

CONTACT US

• Asher on Archive of Our Own: @dashery
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
• Ashley's Tales of Xillia fanfic: Well Suited

Covers the entire series of Planet Ladder by Yuri Narushima.

Wife and husband duo Ashley and Asher discuss the wild ride that is PLANET LADDER. They're not quite sure what happened, but they both know Bambi is the best. Also, there's a giant chicken. Surely you want to know more?

REFERENCES

• Planet Ladder is out of print. It was published by TokyoPop, and you can find used copies on places like eBay.
• Planet Ladder is inspired by The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
• Other series mentioned:
  • The Vision of Escalfowne
  • Mars
  • Fushigi Yuugi
  • The Young Master's Revenge
  • Shortcake Cake
  • Weathering with You
• Characters mentioned because Planet Ladder characters remind us of them
  • Arisa Uotani (Fruits Basket)
  • Helena Saint Tessero (Neo Yokio)
  • Icktidarl (Haruka)
• We just want to see you turn into a Giant Woman
• Outro song: "Yuri the Only One for Me" by LeetStreet Boys

CONTACT US

• Asher on Archive of Our Own: @dashery
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
• Ashley's Tales of Xillia fanfic: Well Suited

A discussion of volumes 7–12 (the second half) of Shortcake Cake by Suu Morishita.

Ashley and Olive are back to process what the heck happened in the back half of Morishita’s series. They discuss Rei and Riku's family drama, Riku and Ten and Chiaki’s relationship (how is Riku not canonically confirmed bi??), the use of tension in Morishita's works, and much, much more. Because so much happened in these six volumes, and the reader is definitely not prepared for all of them.

REFERENCES

• Shortcake Cake is available from Viz Media's Shojo Beat line
• A Sign of Affection, Morishita's current work, is being published by Kodansha
• Other manga mentioned:
  • My Love Mix-Up!
  • Maid-Sama!
  • Ouran High School Host Club
• Other artists mentioned:
  • CLAMP
  • Arina Tanemura
• Truck-kun
• The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
• Bridgerton Season 2
• Jacob and Renesmee from Twilight
• Outro song: "The Streatham Hill Gods" by Danosongs

CONTACT US

• Olive on Twitter: @allofthemanga
• Olive writes for But Why Tho?
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram

This episode covers volumes 1–6 of Shorkcake Cake by Suu Morishita (that's the first half).

The duo that makes up Suu Morishita burst onto the English manga scene in recent years with Shorkcake Cake and A Sigh of Affection. In this episode, Shojo & Tell host Ashley and manga reviewer Olive discuss what makes SCC a breath of fresh air, from Ten's kind frankness, to Chiaki's dorkiness, to Riku's fumbling sincerity. Then again, there's also Rei, who's been going Goblin Mode since before it was cool. Why??

REFERENCES

• Shortcake Cake is available from Viz Media's Shojo Beat line
• A Sign of Affection, Morishita's current work, is being published by Kodansha
• Other manga mentioned:
  • Ao Haru Ride
  • Daytime Shooting Star
  • Dengeki Daisy
  • Princess Jellyfish
  • Fruits Basket
  • Snow White with the Red Hair
  • My Love Mix-Up!
  • Bleach
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
• Outro song: "The Streatham Hill Gods" by Danosongs

CONTACT US

• Olive on Twitter: @allofthemanga
• Olive writes for But Why Tho?
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
• Ashley on Twitter: @AshMcD00

We discuss all three volumes of After Hours by Yuhta Nishio.

Welcome to the club. Emi knows nothing about dance music. Kei is a DJ with manic pixie dream girl energy. Emi gets sucked into Kei's world in this series that's basically a 101 lesson in EDM. "Isn't this a seinen manga?" Yes, yes it is. But Shojo & Tell host Ashley has a soft spot for these lesbian DJs, so we're covering it anyway! Ashley and her husband, Asher, discuss the particular moment in music time the series is in response to, how relatable Emi's millennial struggle is, the rosy portrayal of technology and the club scene we get, and more. Let's vibe.

REFERENCES

• After Hours is available from Viz Media in English
  • Interested in reading After Hours? Use our affiliate link to buy from MangaMart, a small, family-owned manga shop
• Ashley's been reading Tim: The Official Biography of Avicii, which provides a great history of the scene After Hours is in response to (and also, it's sad :( RIP Tim)
• Take a look at the top 100 DJs in the world throughout the years on DJMag. You will see a lack of women until like, 2024.
• Asher keeps raving about One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, no matter what the discussion
• Other series mentioned:
  • Dimension W
  • Chobits
  • Daytime Shooting Star
• Nonstandard/specific tech mentioned:
  • Google Glass
  • Apple AirTag
• Songs/artists mentioned in episode but not in the manga:
  • DJ Sumirock
  • Avicii
  • deadmau5
  • Calvin Harris
  • Skrillex
  • Swedish House Mafia
  • The Chainsmokers
  • "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" [Seeb Remix] by Mike Posner
  • Lil Dicky
  • "Save Tonight" by Eagle-Eye Cherry
  • "Save Me, San Francisco" by Train
• Songs/artists mentioned in the manga (at least, the ones we know are real):
  • "Music Sounds Better With You" by Stardust
  • Daft Punk
  • "We Are Your Friends (Justice Vs Simian)"
  • "Lucky Star" by Basement Jaxx
  • "Local Distance"
  • Rytmeklubben
  • Pa's Lam System
  • Iglooghost
  • DJ Wildparty
  • Ducky
  • Slugabed
  • GRRL
• Female DJs Ashley likes:
  • Rezz
  • Buddygrrl
  • Chantel Jeffries
  • Havana Brown
  • Juicy M
  • Krewella
  • NERVO
  • Rebecca & Fiona
  • The Jane Doze
• Cool EDM/electronic-y songs/artists Ashley is forever sad don't get enough attention:
  • Dave Edwards
  • "Slow Down" by BeatauCue
  • The Naked and Famous
  • Broke for Free
  • "OMG" by Gryffin ft. Carly Rae Jepsen is a god-tier level song, it is a CRIME that it was not played on mainstream radio
  • Hujje
  • The Knocks
  • I'm sure there are 50 million things I'm forgetting but you get the picture
• Outro song: "The Streatham Hill Gods" by Danosongs

CONTACT US

• Asher on Archive of Our Own: @dashery
• Asher on Twitter:  @asherdashery
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
• Ashley on Twitter: @AshMcD00